Our long awaited (or so it seems) day to return to Lombok has finally arrived. Thunder and lightning have filled the skies for several hours before dawn and we're hoping to get a reprieve just long enough for us to reach Padang Bai where the ferry leaves to Lombok. It's a good hours ride under ideal conditions and with the wet, slippery roads it will be considerably longer. We hear a tap, tap, tap on the door as John questioningly asks, "you two ready to go?" Stalling for time, I answer, "that we'll be a little bit yet." Quietly I whisper a little prayer asking for the rain to stop. Dorothy and John (friends from Canada) are joining us over to Lombok. I contine packing and tidying things up and in the meantime, luckily for us, my prayer was answered. We arrive in Padang Bai and pull up to the ticket booth as the attendent directs us over to an area where several brown-clothed police officers are standing with all eyes on us. From below our seat, we pull out the registration along with Alvin's BC licence. In unison they nod their heads and direct us back to the ticket booth. 86,000 Rp covers the fare for the 2 of us and the bike ($9). We have been told we just missed the ferry and that in 1.5 hrs there will be another. The 4 of us meander along the dirt roads near the harbour of Padang Bai in search of an open restaurant. Due to the holiday, most are closed. On the corner we find a Padang Restaurant which displays its pre-cooked dishes on clear cake-like tiered glass plates. We enjoy dishes of chicken, rice, tofu, tempeh, vegetable dishes, curried tuna... Most were delicious although a couple were unanimously voted far too spicy. "Hurry you must leave now if you're going to make the ferry," a friendly voice pipes up from a nearby table. We were the last ones to board. The sea is calm and nothing but blue skies ahead. Looks like we're leaving rainy Bali far behind. It's been raining for months. Dorothy has come well-equipped with Suduko for the two of us. I can honestly say that she's solely responsible for my addiction to Suduko, ha ha. The 4 hours pass by rather quickly and before we know it we've arrived in Lember, Lombok. John and Dorothy are interested in going to Kuta Beach in Southern Lombok. Alvin and I agree to go along and after getting directions from a helpful local we head south. If we knew then what we know now we certainly would've never attempted the trip. It started out innocent enough with a few potholes scattered here and there. Gradually the potholes grew larger and larger to where the pavement had all but disappeared. From our guesstemation looks like they may've paved the road 10 years ago (or longer) and just "let it slip", since then. Slip it has in many areas right out of sight. John doesn't seem to be bothered by it, in fact, I think he finds it a bit of a challenge! Dorothy's more like Alvin and I (ready to call it quits, I think). Meanwhile on the back of the bike I'm having to contend with all of Alvin's colorful use of the English language. After 1 1/2 hours of this insanity and finding the road ahead becoming just a muddy goat trail we accept defeat. Now it's turn back time with another 1 1/2 hours of this same road. With storm clouds closing in, Alvin kicks it up a notch as we fly over, under and through the potholes. I can say that aside from a similar "from the depths" road in Costa Rica 15 years ago, I've never encountered a road so bad. Alvin was continuously reminding me that we were on the "Highway to Hell" and funny enough I was starting to believe him. After 3 more hours on the road we arrive in Mataram after dark. Due to the holiday all the hotels are full up. After checking about a dozen or so accomodations we come across the Crown Hotel which fortunately for us has just 2 vacant rooms. By this time our patience is wearing extremely thin. We check in, turn on the TV (which we haven't seen in months) and we're both asleep within minutes or possibly seconds, I'm not sure which. 7a.m. we're awakened by the loud ring of the telephone. "It's front desk and would you like French fries, fried bread and fried noodles or fried rice? " As we place our order we hear loud from chattering below. It's the morning vendors selling their wares in the parking lot of the Crown Hotel. Pearls, t-shirts, sarongs, blankets, costume jewely and on it goes. The fried rice and coffee were delicious although a bit unusual for us but not for Lombok, fried rice is a typical Indonesian breakfast. We scoot over to the Mataram Mall for a quick hour of shopping in their modern 4-storey complex. Still a little weary from the previous days "ride" we make our way up to Sengeggi. The most tourist-populated area on the island. While there we see a few familiar faces and a few new ones too. We have a quick and delicious spicy meal before heading off to Teluk Nara on the NorthWest corner. The scenery along the coastline lined with lush palm trees along several white sand bays is nothing short of spectacular. Now, I remember why we longed to be back here again. As we twist and turn, ascending and descending the newly paved road, we enjoy the wind as it blows through our hair and the carefree feeling of just being there leaving the hustle and bustle of the busy city life behind. From the mountain-top highway we see "our little bay" below filled with with catamarans and sailboats and how it feels so wonderful to be "home" again. Everyone in the village is overjoyed to see us as we are them. We first go to check on our property and are pleased to see that Mahari has "planted" a fence around our property secured by bamboo poles. Our well also a small fence around it. Mahari has also planted many exotic fruit trees, banana, papaya, rambutan, mango and guava trees. Next on the list are peanuts, cashews, Noni (yes, Noni the incredibly awful tasting healthy stuff), pineapple and grapes.

We get settled in and we're up with the birds at the crack of dawn preparing to spend a leisurely day at the beach. The shade from the large Noni tree offers protection from the heat of the morning sun as we watch the colorful sailboats off in the distance. Alvin and John spend hours snorkelling in the calm, clear water of the white sand bay. After a great day on the beach we head off in search of our next meal. Several kms down the road we find another Padang but this one must've had a busy day as there's little food left for us. The cook offers us some Nasi Goreng (fried rice) which we agree to. Meanwhile the TV blasts out the evening news (Indonesian) as we try to understand while beads of sweat pour from our forheads. The simple rice dish is a little too simple and we agree to look for another warung tomorrow.

Alan and his wife Fatima welcome us for an evening visit. Alan who's been living in Lombok for 20 years, originally from Australia is always willing to share interesting stories, especially during his time spent in the Vietnam war as a medic. Fatima who doesn't speak English but undoubtedly understands it well judging by her reactions to our conversations is always friendly and cheerful. Alan proudly shows off his new flat-screen TV with 6-speaker surround sound. He often has the Al Jazzera channel on while keeping up-to-date on world events. He shows Dorothy his latest Playstation game in which he defends himself against the Japanese Army.

The next morning we ride up to Permanang, the nearby village 5 kms away. We find a great little warung with a fabulous selection of delicious food before carrying on up through the mountains. The road is windy and narrow so extra caution is required. As we near the top we come across another Monkey Forest. Today there are hundreds of monkeys on the roadside, grooming each other, waiting for handouts from the tourists, babies basking in their mother's arms, while others sit and casually watch the traffic go by. Alvin and I are fascinated with the little creatures and could easily while away the afternoon feeding and observing their interesting behaviour. One large, monkey takes the rambutan gently from my hand and calmy enjoys the fruit, which is very unusual. Most of the other monkeys we've fed snatch the treat from our hand and pop it in their mouth as quicly as possible and swallow as if the race was on and they're determined to win! Not this one, he's different, his soft, bright eyes convey a sense of wisdom and pride. Meanwhile, John is off in search of Durians down the road.

On our way back to the village we see many smiling faces waving their hands while filing the air with warm, friendly hello's. Lombok doesn't have the high tourist trade that Bali does. As we drive into the village of Teluk Nara over a rut filled, dusty dirt road, Mahari and his wife, Mina call us over with an invitation to their home. Mina brings out a large bright multicolored woven mat which she places on a rectangular wooden structure used for sitting and relaxing. We tell them how pleased we are with all the hard work they've done on our property and discuss future endevours. Mahari tells us that his wife is a wonderful cook and would be happy to prepare meals for us when our house is built and Mahari has already proved his gardening skills. Perfect, already a cook and gardener, what more could we want? After a couple teas and coffees we call it a night in preparation of the next morning's journey back to Bali. It's hard to say goodbye once again to all our newfound friends and also difficult to leave the breathtaking scenery behind.

Unfortunately, the ferry ride is rougher due to the stronger winds although I seem to be the only one bothered by it. Thankfully, John offers up some Ritz crackers. After a dozen or so I start to feel the queeziness subside. I'm not sure if I looked as green as I felt but after a rocky 4.5 hr ferry trip we return to Bali and back to our favorite little restaurant tucked back away down a narrow, quiet street.............