Door 3 - Lombok

We are the only tourists on a fairly crowded ferry from Gili Meno to Bangsal. At the harbor, we are immediately besieged by taxi drivers, whom we can luckily ignore, our Airbnb host personally picks us up on his scooter. Unfortunately, this also means that we have to ride one after the other. Gentleman Matze gives me the 'right of way', and I cling to the driver with my heavy backpack. Our hut is cozy and located amidst fields and jungle. Later, we take a walk and discover a village, like most here, it is inhabited by Muslims. Several young people and men are playing table tennis on a kind of village square, they curiously observe us as we approach. We don't refuse the invitation to play, we have evenly matched opponents. One of the men, Charlie, has a German girlfriend whom he would like to introduce to us. She is visibly delighted to have fellow compatriots as guests. The next day, we take a scooter tour to 2 waterfalls with a swimming space. No one else is there, a pleasure after the tourist crowds in Bali... In the evening, we are invited to Charlie's for dinner, his mother has cooked. There is bamboo, pork, and rice, the taste is very different from anything I have eaten in Asia so far. Super delicious anyway. Boogie, a friend of Wandie's, later arrives with some bottles of rice wine that he bought from the Hindus in the neighboring village (they produce it, the Muslims are not allowed to and actually don't drink it, but unofficially...^^) Our next stop is Mataram, the capital, where there is a lot more going on and riding a motorcycle is almost as adventurous as in Bali. We visit markets, temples, and Senggigi Beach, the only beach near the big city that is popular and well-known for swimming. However, on that afternoon, I feel very weak, and after swimming, I start to shiver more and more. Charlie and Boogie meet us there and are ready for anything, but I can't do anything anymore. I offer to have a taxi take me home, but in the end, we all drive to the accommodation together and Matze drinks rice wine with them on the terrace. The evening is over for me, I feel very cold and every bone in my body aches. The next morning I feel better at first, I persuade Matze to drive to the south, to Lembar, where we simply swim across the 250m to one of the small islands from the beach. We circle it, partly the beach is strewn with sharp-edged stones and oysters. Where there is sand, unfortunately, there is also garbage, especially masses of flip-flops washed ashore. Back in Mataram, I am totally exhausted again, the host mother (incredibly friendly and generous people) massages my body, which hurts in every fiber. The next morning we go to the hospital, even though I deeply oppose it, I don't have the energy to argue. I am seen immediately, everything looks very neat and clean, the doctor and nurses seem very competent. The result of the blood test is available after 1 hour of anxious waiting: dengue fever. I don't know if that's better or worse than malaria, at least I won't die. However, they still want to keep me, but I decline and am given all the bills and medications, which cost me about 40 euros. Bargain :) Our last stop on Lombok is Kuta, where the Bau Nyale, a Hindu festival, is taking place. There is dancing, eating, and in the evening, many illuminated boats go out onto the water to catch the highly coveted sea worms. Since they can only be found at night and in the very early morning, we get up very early and try our luck walking around in the shallow water. The worms are either greenish or reddish and are not too difficult to catch. Our Airbnb host serves us some for breakfast the next morning, and we unanimously find them to taste earthy and fishy. But at least we tried it.