Early start as always, I had to be ready for 6.30am pickup.

For once the journey was pretty painless and the boat company were pretty professional, apart from the Ozzie ski instructor who not only had to wear his baseball cap backwards and constantly wear his Oakley shades he also had to tell everyone, especially the girls, he was a ski instructor in New Zealand, and only worked winter and spent the summer travelling and partying.

Thats because as a ski instructor........

So apart from the tosser on the bus it was ok.......that was until we docked.

Lombok was last stop after the three islands. I had got a good look at the island I had decided on after I finished in Lombok and was happy it looked really nice, so was feeling in a good mood.

(i know, even i was shocked)

I had looked up where we docked, and it was near to where all the main boats docked at Bangsal. I guessed being the cheap charlie version they cut costs by not using the main routes, a bit like the budget airlines.

So not far from where I was staying, so I was hoping for plenty of transport around the terminal and a 50,000 cab ride as I also had read that the bluebird metered taxis operated on the island, so I was thinking finally (yes i know there are a lot of finals) I could arrive somewhere and not get ripped off....
Well as we got close to the shore I wondered if the Captain had got lost, we were in the middle of a deserted beach pulling up to a few palm trees.

Everyone else had got off at the islands, so I was the only one left.

Lombok? I queried to the man as he lobbed my rucksack on to the beach. YES, he replied.
So I hobbled down the steps a bit shell shocked, and all I could see as I picked up my sandy bag was a little shack, a small building that looked as if was being built but they ran out of money, and a car and a few people.
No jetty? No row of taxis? No buildings? No main road?

I asked the man where the taxis were and he waved his way too cheerful friend over.

Yes my friend I have car, where you go?

I knew this was the begginning of the end. I desperately looked around to see if I had missed something but just saw a motorbike go past at the end of the track.

How much to Senggigi I asked.
For you boss special price, only three hundred thousand.......

Eh?

That was as much as the speed boat crossing.

I was fuming inside but laughed and tried to have some fun with him.

I said no, not Senggigi China, Senggigi Lombok. Ten minutes by car.....not far......i even pointed to where I knew it was.

No boss, very far, minimum fourty kilometres.

I laughed again but he was having none of it.
Ok boss two hundred.

I was tempted to walk to the main road to chance my luck for a taxi but thought that we were further north than Bangsal, so would have little hope, plus the sky had gone pitch black and it started to rain.
Ok one hundred, final price, we go now, I said as I attempted to beat him with my Jedi mind tricks. I know the price of taxis as I have been to Bali I reminded him.

Then he started laughing and said to me......listen boss, Bali much competition, which the price low. Look around you, I have the only car, I have no competition and its starting to rain.

By the way this is not bad grammar, i am trying to get you in to the feel of the local lingo...

He had me by the short and curlys and he knew it, but he was kind of charming with it.

So either get wet and wait potentially all day or pay a tenner over the odds. I was livid but had no choice.

Typically I later found out it is south of Bangsal so meter taxis passed all the time, and it should have been no more than fifty thousand as I thought. Hindsight and all that.

Hotel in Lombok was ok for the money, but the room had no window which I really hated, but it did have a fan light so I decided to put up with it. Staff were really friendly though. Location was ok, on the other side from the beach, but once again the beach was disappointing.

More upsetting was the beer was more expensive, but then it is a Muslim island after all, so you had to expect it.
I decided to take it easy that day and rent a bike the next day to explore the island.

Up until now I had spent hardly any time on the beach as I was always on the move, so I had a teribble t shirt tan.....my forearms and below the knees were super tanned, and the rest of me was lilly white.
I was embarrased to take my t shirt off. Well that and my man boobs.

So I decided to speed things up and not bother with any lotion. Yes you guessed the rest, after an hour I felt my shoulders burning and knew I needed to call it a day.

Then I heard the prayers and started to get Saudi flashbacks. I had forgotten that Lombok is mostly Muslim, so they have the same with Prayers broadcast from loud speakers at all the Mosques.
Somehow I had managed still not to tan any of my white bits, but really burn my neck and shoulders. Sods law.

So next day I got a bike and headed in to Mataram, it was abit overcast but about ten minutes later the sun was burning hot.
Nightmare I thought, my t shirt tan is going to get worse.
I had been warned about the police again, so I needed to try to blend in, so the last thing I could do was take my top off while I was riding.
Mataram was a bit boring, so I bought some new swimming trunks, a bargain at two pounds and decided to head back.

The sun was hotter than ever and I only had a t shirt and I could feel the top of my neck start to burn.
I had no choice but to shove the swimming trunks down. So much for blending in.

I had got some gas earlier from a family on the roadside who store it in bottles, and she had charged me 6000, but it had gone already, so I saw a petrol station and figured I would need at least the same to get back plus a bit for the unexpected, but I did not want to over fill it as I knew I was giving it back soon.
So I guessed 10,000 should get it just out of the empty.......Wrong!

Fleeced again by the roadside, looks like she had charged me about ten times the price! 10,000 actually filled up the tank.

Fuming once again I rode back to the hotel, and decided there was no way I was handing back a bike with a load of petrol, so for the hell of it headed north back to the ferry terminal as it had seemed a really nice road on the way in.
Now my forearms were really burning in the sun, but It was worth it to use up the petrol!

The irony of course is that a single beer is more than double the cost of the petrol, and I never think twice about the money on them.

Anyhow it was a nice ride and I managed to avoid the police, so that was Lombok done and dusted.

It was Ok, but not sure why anyone would go there when you have the islands right next to it which are much nicer.

Next stop Gili Meno........