Suddenly famous

After a delicious breakfast on Gili Air, we set off to the harbor with our backpacks. We buy two tickets for the 'public boat' that is supposed to take us to Lombok. Unlike the speedboat that brought us to Gili Air, this boat is a slower and simpler option. But there's something about crossing to Lombok on a rickety wooden boat with locals and a few tourists. Arriving in Lombok, we look for the taxi that the hotel sent to pick us up and enjoy the two-hour drive to Kuta. At first glance, Lombok is clearly greener compared to Bali. Rainforest, tall mountains, and many locals add to the image of a less touristy Lombok. We enjoy the taxi ride through nature.

As we tried to find accommodation in Kuta at short notice and a large portion of the hotels/homestays/Airbnb accommodations were already booked, we opted for a slightly fancier hotel. The value for money seemed to be good here.

And we are not disappointed. Not only is the pool impressive, but also the ambiance. And since the hotel is not fully booked, we surprisingly get a room upgrade from a garden room to a pool room. Not bad :)

The next two days are similar: We enjoy the included breakfast (incredibly delicious fruit, breakfast burrito, and tea/coffee), go to the beach, stroll through the city, have something to eat, and end the day at the pool with a good book.

While we are relaxing by the pool one evening, we think back to the funny scenes at Kuta Beach in the afternoon...

As mentioned before, Lombok, especially in the south, has not yet been overrun by tourism. Everything is simpler, more original than in Bali. Tourists still seem to be something special for the people here. So it happens that two white German tourists are used as photo subjects by both children and adults. After 20 minutes on Kuta Beach, we can easily be found on the memory cards of 25 different cameras. Like Hollywood stars, we are surrounded by a crowd of people, posing with us and engaging in small talk. The little girls want photos with Rebecca, the boys want photos with me. Then everyone together again.

Fortunately, we didn't tell them beforehand that there are likely few tourists who look worse in photos than we do. Otherwise, we might have had to miss out on the spectacle and temporary fame... Although, probably not ;)