Proyek Kampung Loco

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Summer 2009, Family Geurts

Thursday the 24th of September 2009

It took some while, one month and one day to be exactly, but the travel report “Lombok 2009”is finished. With good spirits and an easy small laptop I started to write in Lombok. But is was so busy… after a few days I was behind with my story. But, no problem, a little bit later then planned the story is finished. In a way it feels nice writing the story, later at home. Then you look different to some things and you take a bit more time to write about the ‘backgrounds’ of the live over there. So now we are already one month back in Holland, but our thoughts are still a lot in Lombok, with Impian Anak, Lombok Dive and all our friends in kampung Loco. Almost every day we are in touch with Lombok. However during the Ramadan it was a little bit less. But Mohni comes in for a chat regular and Daan sends an sms hardly every week. Opan, who takes care of the administration of Lombok Dive is doing his best. Every week he sends a list of cash book, debtors etc. That is not really easy, because his English is not so great and my Indonesian is also still a problem. But some day we will figure it out.  During the Ramadan it was still busy at Lombok Dive. Mohni is still going on, last month he opened an office in Kuta-Lombok. Over there are hardly any diving schools. Thinking of the new airport and all the resorts, which are coming very quickly now in the south of Lombok, Mohni thought this was a great investment. Surely when he is there before the other diving schools. The new 2e boat of Lombok Dive arrived in Lombok. Now the other boat can come out of the sea for a good cleaning and painting job.
About Impian Anak, everything is oke to. We put everything on the site and sent out a newsletter. We get a lot of visitors on the site. Only the English part is not jet completed, but I don’t think we have many English readers. And if we have, I can use the long winter months to translate everything. From Lombok there is not much news on the moment. Last week I carefully ask Mohni how Khaerul is doing. We are worried a bit about him. But according to Mohni, he is doing very well and goes to school every day. About the other children we don’t worry. They all go to school and feel very happy about it. The other plans/projects of Impian Anak needs some time. For the school they are building in Batu Tumpeng, we like to do something, but we don’t know exactly how to fill in. Maybe an idea for a Christmas donation in stead of the traditional Christmas gifts we normally have for the customers and relations of Orbis System Solutions. Also about the problems with asthma, we don’t really get started. We can find a lot on internet about this disease, medicine, treatments and so on, but it doesn’t help a lot. There should be somebody over there who knows more about every thing. Maybe, when Mohni has more time, he can find a doctor to talk about this. As we told before, we are looking back to a great time in Lombok. Very different from the years before. We spend more time with other things and living in the kampung showed us more of the village live. We learned more about the way the people live and think. For the language I have a long way to go. A bit of chatting, mail and sms is oke, but talking in Indonesian language is still a problem. So for the next few months we practice a lot again and next year learn more about it. Peter, Tom and Anique are looking forward to dive again, although Tom hopes to end his diving different then this year with the chicken pox…. Any way the spots are almost gone and he gets no scars, just a “nice” memory of the first visit to the Indonesian health care, which was very good. My toon still remembers Lombok, specially the hit to the rocks at the waterfall. Now I have to ware “normal” shoes and no slippers any more, I can still feel it.
I hope everybody enjoyed this report. I know it became a very long story, but I know that many people were waiting for this report. A pity we don’t know who al the people are, who are reading our story, friends, people crazy about Lombok too, other travellers, other projects? Maybe we’ll never find out who these people are…..
And of course we are looking forward to the stories of Joep and Marijke, who are going to Lombok next month. They are going to stay for 4 months. So they can continue the writing. I’m looking forward to their stories. The stories will help me getting trough the cold winter months and dream with the almost live-reports coming from Lombok.
So Joep and Marijke, not every day, but you have to write!!!! But don’t forget to enjoy everything thing that Lombok has. And that is a lot, but that we don’t have to tell you.


 

 

Thursday the 20th of August 2009

The last day in Lombok. Tomorrow we are back in Holland, unbelievable, but true. Anique wakes up very early. She wants to say goodbye to Daan, before Daan leafs for school. As she returns in the afternoon, we’ll be goon already. So all together we walk to the house of Daan. There we find Daan’s mother and little sister Zara on the beruga. Daan is sick and has a day of from school, because of the beginning of the Ramadan. There are a lot of days of. Many children have the day of tomorrow, Daan already today. In that way Lombok is just like Holland, the day of from school is not on the same time on different schools. Not easy when your children are on different schools. Daan is not that sick, she just has a little cold. Sane,
the mother of Daan gives us a big cup of tea. Many will follow today…. Daan comes and join us. Zara is great again, from a distance she smiles, but when we get to close, she almost starts crying. The other sister Saton is getting ready for school, just like Nur Badjeri, one of our other sponsor children from the kampung. Nur is a very young uncle from Daan. He is a half brother from the father of Daan. The parents of Nur are not alive any ore and now Nur lives various with his brothers in the kampung. We talk a bit and don’t have to say goodbye to Daan jet, because she has the day of. After finishing the tea, we go to Lombok Dive. The staff wants to say goodbye and around 8 o’clock most of them leave for the gili’s, and we’ll be gone when they return. We made a goodbye present for the staff. A picture of our family made in Mai when we were visiting Egypt with a pyramid on the background. This photo we already gave to our sponsor children. Every body in Lombok seems to be very impressed by this picture. I think this has to do more with Egypt and the pyramids then the family on the picture. Anyway we got a nice list for the photo and wrote some nice words for the staff. With hard feelings I walk to Lombok Dive. I don’t want to say goodbye. If it was for me, I would leave quietly, but that is not kind. We are very early, so we decide to take a “luxury” breakfast at the small supermarket next to Berry’s café. We all order a pancake and a drink. It’s only 7.30, so it would be enough time. But then somebody has to start with our order. Nobody starts… Slowly the staff of Lombok Dive is coming in, but we don’t have our breakfast jet. So first to Lombok Dive and later we will see if we get our breakfast. Peter, Tom and Anique fill in their lasts dives they made in their log book. So everything can be made complete for the registration. The photo is a big success. Everybody is impressed, Of course, the pyramids are great to see and for people of Lombok something they will never see for real. Something they only see in a book or on TV. Egypt is also well known here, maybe because it is an Islamite country. They call it Mesir. The photo is put down on the middle of the desk. Very clumsy. Umpuk is getting very quiet. He keeps looking at the picture and says, in his own nice words, that he can see us every day now, when we are back in Holland. “Well Bu, you know Bu, I can see you every day Bu, also when you are in Belanda Bu. Me happy Bu. In every sentence he says to me or Peter, is at least one time the word Pak (Bapak, sir) or Bu (Ibu, madam). We don’t want him to say sir or madam but here it is normal and the way Umpuk says it, it sounds so beautiful. So I just accept that I’m a real madam over here. Umpuk will get a bit of rest the next weeks. Since a few years he is a very serious Muslim and he wants to have a very correct Ramadan. The combination of diving and no food or drink during day time is impossible, that’s why he takes 4 weeks of during the Ramadan. That makes the time more busy for the rest, but they accept his choice of holding the Ramadan. The other dive masters are having difficulties to have Ramadan and dive. They try to live by the rules, but it not possible if you have to do 2 dives a day. I wonder if there are no exceptions for some jobs or people who are ill. But people themselves want to live by the rules. That is way Umpuk chooses not to work, during this time. As we have eaten our pancakes, which they brought over here. I put the picture some where else. I’m afraid the picture won’t live very long on this spot. In the big glass cabinet there is a nice spot. We make some nice pictures for the website of Lombok Dive, so Tom can ad the new staff members when we get home. It is 8 o’clock now. The men leave to go to the harbour. Time to say goodbye. I hate this, I’m crying already and the day is just started. Mohni we will see later on, because he is going to take us to the airport. We walk back to the kampung, all very quiet. There is a big job waiting, packing!! But before we start, we go to Sareah. She promised me to make some coconut-oil. She presses the coconut and gets nice clean oil. You can use it for your skin, but it also very good for your hair. I have no idea how much she made and how she packed it, so we first check. Saerah is a little bit in a shock when she sees us. You are leaving already? No, we come back when Boung is home to say goodbye. We tell her that we want to take the coconut-oil and give her some things that we don’t take to Holland anymore, some cups, coffee, tea and that kind of things. Sareah takes two plastic bottles, which she filled with oil. I hope they don’t break during the trip. Oil in the bags is not such a good idea. She also has another present, krupuk for mister krupuk, Tom. We want to pay her something, but she doesn’t want anything, she already got so much from us she said. We go back to Bumi and pack the plastic bags in a waterproof bag, which Tom used while diving. We just had to put them in the freezer, because when it is getting colder the oil changes in a hard part of vet. If you put the bottle in hot water it becomes oil again. But, don’t laugh, we didn’t know at that time. As we are packing, we take a good look of what we take and what we leave here. There is a lot, small flash lights, reading lights, some games, slippers, towels, some clothes and toilet ware. That creates more room and over here they love these things. The three diving suits also stay here. The suit of Anique goes to Mohni, Umpuk gets the suit of Peter, a bit to big but he loves it. The suit of Tom, Mohni can use for his customers or for another dive master. That’s up to Mohni. So we have more room in our bags, but that is filled quickly with souvenirs and many bags of krupuk. Anique brings some of her clothes to Nurul and comes back with a nice bracelet and a bag of krupuk. How sweet! For the next few months we have more then enough krupuk. As we packed most of the things, we walk to Senggigi. Peter and Tom go with Mohni to the internet café. Problems with the laptop of Mohni, a virus….. It happens many times over here. Anique and me are going to look for Kim, who we want to thank personal for his nice presents. Most of the time, you can find Kim on the beach. So we walk trough the pasar Seni (were, after the official opening, still nobody comes. What a wast) to the beach. We see some sellers but Kim is not with them. They tell us that Kim walked to Senggigi Beach Hotel a while ago. So we try to walk quickly trough the sand. There is a big wind today, but still very  hot. Until now no sign of Kim. We walk to the see view point, were we also can say goodbye to Awal and his family, who have a small shop with coffee. No coffee or pisang goreng this time, we have to hurry. As we are aroung the corner, we see Kim far away. Lucky for us, he sees us to and comes to us. Just  before we can even thank him for the presents, he start to make excuses. He wanted to make the presents himself, but he was short of time. We confines him that we are very pleased with the presents and we give him some small presents for his son, a kite, some notebooks and writing stuff. He is vey happy! He asks us to write down our names on a paper, so he can make something personal next year. So this way we have to come back next year. We have to!! Another seller, our big friend wawawa, I have no idea about his name, but the insiders know who we mean is asking if we have a present for him too. He cannot talk so he doesn’t asks by words, just by movements. But it is clear, we understand. I just have a small notebook and a pen left, but he is happy with it. Then again we say goodbye, and I am not getting more happy about this, but I’m happy we found Kim. We rush back to the main street, were Anique wants to take a look at a small souvenir shop. There was a bit of room left in the bag! We find some nice things and we have a small talk with the Australian woman who owns the shop. She lives on the outside of Senggig and she likes it. I really can imagine that. With our last bought stuff we go to the internet café. Just in time we remember that we still have to pay for the use of the wireless internet of the last weeks. The boy from internet asks a very small amount. Probably he could not check how much we used the internet. So Peter gives him a big tip. The service we got was worth it. Then we go and empty the ATM. We have to pay for the guesthouse and we are sure that Bumi doesn’t know how to handle credit cards. We say goodbye to Bu Reni. She is happy to see us, but this time we are not coming to eat. Dani is waiting for us with the spring rolls. We are worried that Bu Reni is not going to make it, with the Ramadan coming up. Not counting our selves there were only locals coming to her place and during Ramadan they wont come. If the warung survive?  We hope for Bu Reni, she tries so hard. We say goodbye to Senggigi and for the last time we walk back to the kampung. Tom’s legs don’t feel well. If nothing touches his legs, everything is all right, but when he sits down every sticks again to his legs and that doesn’t feels good. As we arrive in the kampung, we see a table in the restaurant looking very nice with a white table cloth. That table must be for us. We are impressed, this is going to be a lunch with style. Dani is coming, with directly behind her little son Bayu. As we sit down, Dani gets four big glasses of orange juice out of the fridge. And a real appetizer. She made it herself. Slices of tomato dried in the sun, mad a bit sweet. I don’t know how she did it. They taste different from the Italian sun dried tomatoes in oil. It tastes sweet, dry, a bit like a candy, but very tasty. We are curious what is coming up next. Then the main course is coming, a bit plate full of spring rolls with a delicious, spicey sauce. When we come back  next year, she can cook more often for us…. While we are eating Eful and Peter are coming to say goodbye. They are going out together and don’t return before the evening. We wish Eful good luck with all his plans for the next year. We wonder if he is going to do something with the idea of his office to use it for local kampung Loco souvenirs. Bayu is trying to get our attention. But as soon as we react he runs away very shy. With balloons we get him back and as he sees us fading the napkins in a beautiful way,  he is very impressed. Dani and the woman who helps her now and then also. Maybe they have a job for us, folding napkins, so we can stay! But I think the owner of Bumi Aditya will never improve. After we finished our lunch and thanked Dani for the great meal, we walk back to our rooms. We put everything in one room, so they can already use one room for new guests. Then the hardest thing comes, saying goodbye to the people of the kampung. We decide to start with Adi and Mariam. We have al kinds a small bags which we want to hand over to the people. As we pass the small shop from Cuk and June, June just gets on the motorbike. She is going to visit their son Judy, who sits on a boarding school. He comes home just now and then and we didn’t see him. We have a small present for him and June can take it. Then we walk to Adi and Mariam. On the way up we see the public shower and toilet getting build. Nice to see how the people over here get together and do everything together. We take a look if Kartini is  home, maybe she has the day of, but there is nobody there. Then we put the small presents just in front of their door. They will find it when they get home. As we arrive at Adi’s house he is already waiting for us. We give some presents and are invited in the house of Joep and Marijke, who are never here when we want to visit them. A bit later Mariam comes with big glasses of tea. Then Jacqueline comes to say goodbye. They stay for a few days longer and then leave for Bali and after that back to Holland. As we finished our tea, we really have to say goodbye. This is so difficult and this is only the start, we have to go all trough the kampung! With tears in my eyes I keep waving until we are around the corner. There is Boung already waiting and shearing us up. He goes inside to get us coffee and tea. Sareah is doing her magic again and comes out with all kind of nice snacks. We are still full of the great lunch. Although we are coming to say goodbye, the atmosphere is good and funny. As we take out the balloons for the children the fun gets bigger. A moment later all kind of coloured balloons fly trough the kampung, with many children behind them. Boung, the biggest child of them all, is joking again, he tries to blow any many balloons as possible in one time. Then Boung asks us to make a real family portrait, him, Sareah and their three children. For the picture they look serious, but a moment later as we ask them to leave a message on a movie for Joep and Marijke, they all start talking together. We don’t understand one word, but it is a lot of fun. Herman is coming too and we let him give a demonstration of the Dutch words we teaches him. I wonder if he still remembers them when Joep and Marijke comes in two months. But that doesn’t matter. We teach him next year again. Then it is 4.30, we have to go. We have to take our things and want to clean up a bit. With a long trip to go, you want to be fresh. After a saying goodbye with sad feelings we leave again. Daan and Nurul join us and if possible they want to come to the airport too. But we don’t know if there is enough room in the car. At Bumi, Mohni is already waiting. Budi the driver and little Dita came also. The car from Lombok Dive is not jet back and Mohni is afraid to drive this car, so he brought Budi to drive the car. We go to our rooms and fresh up and then we check how many people can come. I’m afraid there is no space for Daan and Nurul. We say goodbye to our “beautiful” room and leave the soap behind for our mouse Tikus. So here we say goodbye to Daan and Nurul and again tears are coming. I almost have to laugh when I see the woman who cleans at Bumi is crying too. They are all going to miss us so much, yes of course we feel the same!!! Budi doesn’t understand all this sadness and is waiting in the car. Then a last hug for everybody and we get in. As we just want to drive we see Juni coming back. A quick handshake and then it is goodbye friends, goodbye kampung, goodbye Senggigi, sampai jumpa tahun depan! (until next year). Yes we are sure we’ll come back next year. With a very full car we drive to the airport, but lucky for us it isn’t far. We wonder if we arrive on this airport next year. They say that the new airport should be finished somewhere in 2010. But we like Selaparang airport, it is very close to Senggigi and we don’t hope that Lombok gets to many tourists. We love it the way it is now. At the airport Dita is falling a sleep on Mohni’s lap. He put is in the car and then we say goodbye to Budi and finally to Mohni. We are surely going to miss him and probably he misses us too. We wanted to do so many things and discuss about Impian Anak and Lombok Dive and also we wanted to spend more time to help him with the administration, but there was no time. Next week we try to help by chat and mail. We shouldn’t come her in high season, when we need Mohni for different things then diving, but on the other hand it is great that he is so busy. Then we go inside. We wonder if we’ll have problems again with our seats and tickets. It would be fun if the tickets were not alright and we could go back to the kampung. …They would be very surprised if we came back again. But the ground stewardesses of Lufthansa did a good job, without any problem we check in. 80 kilo’s for 4 persons, very good. After that we go for a drink. There not much on this side of the airport, a small bar and some souvenir shops. One hour too early our flight is announced. No problem then we have some extra time in Singapore. Around 6.30 to walk to the plain. The last steps on Lombok bottom. Outside it is almost dark. A last view on this beautiful island and then we’re off. End of the holiday. What is left is a long way home. But still is goes quickly. We leave at 6.30 in Lombok and tomorrow morning 6.30 we will land in Frankfurt (were it is 6 hours earlier then in Lombok).So still in the morning we will be back home. But still I don’t want to go home. First 2,5 hours to Singapore, then a stop of 2 hours and another flight of almost 13 hours to Frankfurt. We are lucky that the flight is during the night, so we can have a good night sleep. As we pick up the car it rains, but it is still feeling warm. On the car radio we hear that it has been tropical weather the last few days in Germany and Holland, with temperatures of 36 degrades. Coming into Holland it is getting dry and more warm. So we have something what looks a bit like Lombok.
 

Wednesday the 19th of August 2009

The last complete day in Lombok. Time flies! From now on we have to spend our time by saying goodbye. It is a pity, but that’s live. The dogs didn’t like to eat the rice last night and tikus (the mouse) also didn’t want to eat it, so Peter starts feeding the chickens. Peter and Anique go to the gili’s for a last time of diving. Tom is still sleeping and that tells us he is really sick. If he wanted to go, he would have been out of bed. He is afraid to dive and in staying in the boat is no use, because he will get wet all the time. So we let him sleep and I join Peter and Anique to Lombok Dive. We take quick a cup of tea and fried bananas on the other side of the street. As Peter and Anique leave, I go back to Bumi. Tom is still sleeping so I wash some cloths. Jacqueline is coming to see me. She has a present for us from Kim, the happy wooden bowls seller from the beach.  He promised he wanted to give us a present, but didn’t see us yesterday. He saw the family Van Duren and he knows they stay in the kampung too, so he asked them to give us the present. He was afraid he wouldn’t see us before we leave. Unlike Indonesian tradition, I cannot wait and open the present. Kim made a good choice. A beautiful necklace with a pearl hanger and two wooden gecko’s. I am really impressed and surely want to see Kim before we leave. Tom wakes up and I think this is the right time to go to a doctor. Tom agrees. We decide to walk to Senggigi Beach Hotel, because there is a kind of small clinic. We don’t know if we have to make an appointment, we just go and see. On the way we meet Eful and he tells us, that you just walk in to the clinic. That’s no problem. At the hotel we are looking were to go. The clinic is somewhere in the back and not easy to find. But we see the small office with a cross on top of the door. When we get in, there is nobody there. The door is open and there is a kind of waiting room. Then the doctor walks in. Maaf (sorry) his assistant is not there on the moment, so he comes and pick us up. The doctor is a young Indonesian man, who speaks very good English. He takes a short look at Tom’s legs and he knows what is going on. It is not serious and it often seen over here. It will last about a week and is very infectious. For boys it is no problem, for girls it is. When older people get it, it can be a problem. His father got it on an older age and got partly paralyzed. But we don’t have to worry, everything is going to be all right. But still we don’t know what it is! The English name, doesn’t ring a bell, but I understand something with pox. I start thinking, it is like a puzzle. Lucky for me I carry a small Indonesian-Dutch dictionary and look for the word chicken pox: cacar air. I ask him and yes it is caca air! But then I tell him Tom had this already on the age of four. According to my information, you only get this ones. But in Asia there seam to be different kind of chicken pox and this is another one. He says Tom can dive no problem, people on holiday should enjoy. Yes, but with legs itching so much, diving is no fun. Any way after today Tom is not allowed to dive anymore, because we fly tomorrow. Then as an extra gift, the doctor shows us his belly. Not because it is so beautiful, but to show us that he had cacar air as a young boy. You can still see the scars. Now we understand why this is a problem for girls, they hate scars. Boys don’t care. So actually there is no problem. Good food and drink and enjoy holiday. I ask him if we can get something for the itching, because tomorrow night we have a long trip to make. Yes of course and then the medicine cabinet opens. It looks like sales. We get Ibuprofen, a big bus of talcum-powder. Hydrocortisone salve and Amoxililine talets (I think antibiotic) and Dexamethasone tablets. No idea were to use that for. Then the doctor asks us if Tom has problems with sleeping. We deny quickly before he also gives sleeping pills. All tablets are put in small bags and on top he writes 3 times a day 1 tablet (but it is in Indonesian language).  I can understand the antibiotic whit al those open spots on his body. The Ibuprofen is for the pain, so Tom doesn’t need them. Talcum-powder is good, but all the rest of the medicine we just leave in the bags. We, stubborn Western people, want to know what we swallow and why, because the doctor said it will stop anyway. The assistant comes in now and she can make the bill. 410.000 ruphia, a bit more then 28 euro. We are happy we went to the doctor, because now we know what is wrong. When he will get any scars we will consider them as a souvenir from Lombok. The first acquaintance with the Indonesian health care in Lombok was not bad. Nice doctor, clean clinic and quick service. Only the many medicine we get I don’t like so much. I wonder how big the difference is with the local doctors were the Lombok people go to, because this clinic is special for tourists. When we are outside I realize I forgot to ask him if he knows anything to handle for the people about asthma. We want to see if we can do anything with our project for the many children and adults with asthma. We are looking for somebody like a doctor to help us. Tom did not get any breakfast so I suggest that we go to a luxury restaurant in the main street, but Tom thinks that is a waste. We just walk back and can have breakfast at Bumi. No problem and if we are a little late, Dani still will make us something. And indeed Dani is glad to see us. Only she doesn’t understand: Tom always go diving and now he is here and Peter and Anique went diving? Yes we are a family full of surprises. When she hears that Tom has chicken pox, she if full of sympathy and gives us both a big glass of orange juice. The rest of the breakfast goes quickly to. That’s the benefit when you go late. As we want to leave, Dani has a request. She asks us if she can prepare a farewell diner tonight. She already bought meat and wants to make spring rolls. So nice, but we have to disappoint her. Mohni invited us for tonight and, knowing Sofie, she will do her very best the make a great diner. Spring rolls after that is too much. As I see Dani’s disappointed face, I suggest she cooks for us tomorrow at lunch time. Yes, she is happy now, so that a deal. We go back to our room. Tom reads a bit and I write a bit. So the morning passes by. Around lunch time we walk to Senggigi. Of course everybody wants to know how things went at the doctor. News travels extreme fast over here!  We take a small bite at warung Bu Reni. Probably the last time, because tonight at Mohni’s place and tomorrow at Bumi. But tomorrow we will walk in to say goodbye. I hate saying goodbye….. but anyway we do that tomorrow and now I don’t want to think about it. After lunch I want to go for a walk, but Tom want to go back to Bumi. He wants to lay down on his belly, so the bag of his legs get a little fresh air. So I go for shopping. The last weeks I so many nice things, I just don’t remember were. I just start in the back and walk to pasar Seni I. Now I walk alone, they offer me transport many times and everybody wants to know were my family is, and with whom, and for how long etc. I have time, so I chat with everybody and, no I don’t need transport. I just jalan-jalan (walk) and that is even more healthy too. I cannot find anything. In a way it never works for me and I hate haggle. So I walk back and find a nice little shop with fixed prices. That better for me to shop. Then I take a look at Asmara, also one of my favourite shops. I get my stuff in a linen bag, all that plastic is no good for Lombok the girl says and I agree. All shops should do like this, but the small shops don’t have the money for this and they use plastic bags. After Asmara I walk to a big souvenir shop on the main road. Then my hands are full, that’s the problem when you shop alone, nobody to carry. I get a big bottle of cold water at the supermarket. I sure Tom want some cold water too. It is very hot today, more hot then the other years, or I cannot take it so well as before. I don’t know. As I arrive at Bumi, Tom is reading a book. So we didn’t take the books for nothing. I check my books. I didn’t read a lot this holiday, to busy with other things. Some books I didn’t like. What I have finished and which I didn’t want to read, stays here. We take them to the house of Joep and Marijke. In a few years they can start their own library. The books left over we take home again, but that are only a few. Lucky for us because we have to take the souvenirs also. As Peter and Anique return, they fresh up a bit and like almost tradition, the electric is out again. No problem the flashlights are always close. So we walk with a little bit of light to the other side of the kampung were Mohni lives. On our way we meet Dani. She starts to apologize for many things. That the rooms were not that clean, that breakfast took so long, that we only had warm water for one time, etc. We try to convince her that we had no problems at all and that we had a great time. A mouse more or less doesn’t matter. But Dani has a hard time. We understand, because she works very hard and has to do almost everything on her own with very little money. In the kampung they tell us always that her husband does nothing and we had the impression to. Now Dani tells us. She often ask him to do al least the technical things, like fixing the rooms and the water support. But even that he doesn’t do. He just walks around a bit, cutting a branch now and then and burn the dirt. Around 8 o’clock in the morning he is finished and we don’t see him working any more for the rest of the day. Dani gets out of bed at 4 o’clock in the morning. Before breakfast al the water pumps has to be started again. At night she turns them down, because they leaks. Then she goes shopping, make breakfast, washing, cleaning and also take care of her little son. In the evening she often works late, to receive new customers. Ones a week the owner of Bumi comes to collect the money what she makes. Being busy like this, she must make good money, but she wants to buy all the things they don’t have enough, towels, sheets, plates etc. There should be spend some money on the rooms which are empty already for a long time, to make them oke again. But she doesn’t get enough money to do something. The poor woman, she is trying so hard and we don’t even have the time to listen to her, because Sofie is waiting with diner. At the bridge we walk carefully, not to step on a snake. At Mohni and Sofie’s house we have a great dinner with candle light. Sofie tells us they didn’t have electricity all day. This side of the kampung has even more problem with that, then the other side. We talk a bit about Lombok Dive and Impian Anak, but I am thinking we have to say goodbye. Tomorrow, around this time, we will be in the plane and the day after we’ll be home by now. But there is so much to do her and we like it so much. But everything has an end. As we say goodbye, we get a present Many bags with kerupeuk caker ayam: chicken feet kroepoek. It are really the feet and nails of the chicken. I found the recipe on internet. It was a long story and to much for Marijke and me to translate, so I made Google Translate do it. (Note of the translator Marijke, now comes a crazy translation in Dutch. Impossible for me to translate into English!!) We are lucky, we don’t have to use the recipe. Sofie went to the market and bought 6 big bags and tomorrow we can try to get them into our suitcases! We have no idea how to do this, but leaving them her is no option. If we have it with our hand luggage, I wonder if the German or Dutch custom allows us to bring it in. We will try because we really like it and we never saw a shop in Holland were we can get them. Then we really say goodbye to Sofie. Mohni we will see tomorrow and he will take us to the airport. Tom and Anique go to sleep and we walk to Senggigi. We take a seat at Mario’s, for a drink and to check our e-mail. The bar is full of men. I think from Europe and Australia, who live in Indonesia. All of them are drunk and very loud. We are not feeling happy this last night in Lombok and they are surely not helping our feelings, so we walk back to Bumi and go to sleep. One more day and I feel terrible, saying goodbye to every one. It will start before 8 o’clock in the morning, when the boys from Lombok Dive want to say goodbye and will go on until we are on the airport. Then I realize that this is the last night with our own tikus (mouse). Maybe we should ask Dani if she can leave the soap when we are gone. Then our tikus still has memories to us.  
 

Tuesday the 18th of August 2009

Today again we can relax, because we don’t have made any plans. But sleeping long, doesn’t work here and it is a waist of time. The morning is the best time, not to hot and nice quiet. As we all wake up, we go for breakfast in our restaurant. We don’t believe it, but everything goods quickly. As we are back at our little house, Adi comes along. He promised he would give a watch for Nick and Elise. We are still here some time, but Adi is afraid he will forget. And then Tom realize he wants a watch too. I can use a watch and Anique wants also a watch. So we all have a new Lombok watch, which can last one year. We happy and Adi super happy! He didn’t even leave the kampung and he sold already 3 watches, and one of them is an automatic one for Tom. He even looks more happy when Peter gives him the automatic one he bought from Adi in January 2007. It still works, but has some scratches on the glass. Peter bought a new one, last week, so this one is for Adi. We wonder if he is going to ware the watch himself. Happily Adi leaves for Senggigi and as we see him later on at the supermarket, he is walking around with his DVD’s. But we don’t see any tourists. It is so funny, every night the hotels are all full, but during the daytime you hardly see anybody. We invite him to have a drink with us. He likes a cup of coffee so we go to Warung Bu Reni. A little bit later Mohni joins us too. Adi and Mohni like each other. They are a bit the same, quiet, kindly and caring. From Holland we get a bad message about my sister. She is in hospital because of appendicitis. My first reflex is to call them, but then I realize that the time different is no good, maybe later. As Mohni leaves, we stay and talk with Adi. Although we see each other every day, we hardly had the time for a real good talk. While we stay her, we can take lunch as well. Adi doesn’t join us, because he thinks that not fair for Mariam, his wife. But another drink is oké. Talking and drinking, we get to the Ramadan, which is starting in a few days. A hard month to deal with. From sunrise until sunset no eating, drinking and maybe even worse, no smoking. Adi tells us that every year, during the Ramadan, one evening he goes with Mariam to Mataram Mall to visit the Mc Donalds. It is very expensive, but Mariam loves the burgers. So time a year they go. We had one meal in Mataram Mall at Kentucky Fried Chicken and indeed it was very expensive. This year we don’t mind about burgers and chicken nuggets, but just eat Indonesian style. Adi tells us he has to go for a hair cut later in the afternoon. Last year Peter went with him and his hair is long again, so he decides to join Adi later. I doubt if we have enough money for that, because last year he had to pay € 0,42 (yes really 42 eurocent) for the cutting and maybe it is more expensive now. But then we get an nice idea, Peter and Adi should drive on after the hair cut to Mataram and get us all some food from the Mc Donald. We can eat all together at Adi’s house. Adi thinks Mariam will love it and we think Adi too. Adi goes home for lunch and we walk on. We go to the supermarket, because the end of the holiday is coming and I want to buy some Sunsilk hariconditioner. Last year we took 2 bottles, super stuff. Anique and I didn’t use to much, but after a few months they were finished. So now we take a little bit more. We buy the complete sock of 4 bottles and then we see something for Boung and Sareah. A very big back with Indo-cappuchino. Boung loves it and Peter too, so last week we gave him a small box. Now Peter gets that coffee al the time and Boung drinks Lombok-coffee. Now if we give this to him and leave when we leave, he still will have enough to use for himself. We go back to Bum, because Anique has to study. Yes, even in her holiday. She did all the exercises for Padi-diving certificate, but still has to get her theory. So she takes the big book and starts to study. Peter and Adi go for a haircut and Tom is feeling unhappy, because the spots are now everywhere, even on his belly and his neck. When it is morning in Holland I call my mother to ask how my sister, Agnes is doing. Not so good, because after the operation there were some problems. Things like this makes it difficult to be so far away and we cannot give any support from here. We can only wait and hope every thing turn out right. Peter calls that they are on the way back and think they’ll be in the kampung within half an hour. We walk to the house of Adi and Mariam. We pass the water tank and see many people working. No the tank is still fine, but next to the tank they are building two small rooms, one for toilet and one for shower. Family Van Duren sponsor this. Great, specially for the people who live on the mountain, but also some people from the kampung don’t have there own shower and toilet. It is great to see how quickly plans come true. They just talked about it a few days ago and now they making it. Maybe we even see it when it is ready? As we arrive at Mariam, we don’t know if she knows about the present burger, so we don’t say anything. She looks surprised that we visit her. So we just drink a cup of tea and wait, and wait….It is hard talking Indonesian and try to understand each other. I call Peter again and he says they are coming soon, but there was some delay and yes a few minutes later the motor-bike is coming, with Peter, Adi and a bag of food from Mc Donalds. We sit down and while eating a burger and cold French frites we heard why it took so long. Yesterday was Hari Mederka and that why there was a party today. In front of the district office a lot of children were marching. We were waiting yesterday al day and they marched today! While their were waiting Peter got a phone call from Mohni. He was waiting for the marching kids too. But then he heard “He boss” and some body hit his shoulder and there was Khaerul, who had to march indeed. Mohni had to laugh, seeing Khaerul in traditional cloths but including super modern sunglasses. Unfortunately Peter didn’t see him. Now we know why the children practise marching so much. It was for the day after Hari Merdeka. A little later there is just one small bag of French frites left over. We have eaten enough. I do prefer the Indonesian food. Adi and Mariam loved it. We have to go again, because Anique has to do her examination at Mohni’s office and Peter joins her to help with the administration. Tom and I go back to Bumi, wher I carefully clean his legs again. The bag of his legs looks like one big spot and it is getting more worse and worse. Thinking of the long way back on Thursday, I think we should go to the doctor tomorrow. Tom doesn’t think so, but he has no choice. As we go to Lombok Dive after one hour, Anique is almost ready with her examination. Some more questions and Mohni started already to fill in the forms from Peter and Tom, which has to be sent to Australia.  They did this summer al the extra parts for the certificate Padi Advanced and they get a new certificate. As Anique is finished we have some exciting minutes waiting, but it is oké. Mohni has some questions for her and then she gets her temporary certificate too. The official one comes from Australia in a few weeks. That the reason for a party, but no dinner. We are all full of the burgers, so we go for a walk. First we go and check if Dianne is in her shop and yes we are lucky. She is in, together with her husband. We look for some nice souvenirs for ourselves and I see a beautiful bowl of porcelain in the cheap of a fish. We doubt, he is pretty heavy and of course breakable. But we have to take it. It is a beautiful present for grandmother and grandfather, who took care of our house all the time. Of course we find another gecko for Tom’s collection. He found already many and every year he finds a new model he takes home. As we say goodbye for one year to Dianne and her husband (we’ll be back next year for sure), we go to Papaya for a drink. In front of Papaya there is a small lake. We didn’t see any rain, so we think some water pipes broke down. We finish our drink and walk home to the kampung. To sit there nice and quiet. But it isn’t quiet at all. This afternoon we saw Dani’s husband, fixing something with bamboo. Now some boys and men sitting outside, holding the bamboo over the fire. They have a TV and a radio outside, using the electric of the garden lights. Easy when there is no glass inside. Somebody plays a guitar and a lot of them are using the phone, why? Tom and Anique go to sleep and Peter and I sit outside with a book. Eful and our sponsor boy Nur are coming to our room, to bring us some bamboo stick too. Inside is a banana leave filled whit rice. It tastes a little bit sandy and has no special tast. After a few bites we think it is enough and we leave the rice on the table for the dogs or our mouse. We tell everybody good night and then the party stops. We think they got orders, when we go to sleep, they had to stop the party.
 

Monday the 17th of August 2009

Selamat Hari Merdeka! At last, today is Hari Merdeka, the day of freedom. We wonder what is going to happen today. Al this time we see all kind of preparations on the schools, decorations on cars, taxi’s, even the boat of Lombok Dive is decorated with Indonesian flags. We were never here on the 17th of August, so we are excited to see what happens. We have no plans for today, so we want to go for breakfast. But the place is full, both tables are occupied. No problem, we take our breakfast on our own terrace. Easy. Bumi is still full. In the room next to us, there were 6 young people sleeping. Nice, so many people in one room. When the people left, the room was full with papers with Dutch writing. Eful asks Peter if he knows what is says. Yes, probably they make a religion trip, because the papers are al stories about the Bible. Maybe modern missionary? The room next to that is occupied by a man who makes a lot of pictures of the air. Something with spirits and other occults things. Oké, we are only dull persons. Although maybe we can see something in the spots on Tom’s leg. Any way it doesn’t look better than yesterday, even worse. But he thinks it still not necessary to go to a doctor. Just one more day not into the sea, then it will be better. We hope so. Waiting for the festivities, we go to Sareah. While we sit on the beruga with tea (Peter gets an Indo-cappuccino) and Sareah is busy in the kitchen again (she cannot stop, making nice things when we are here) we see Adam walking to Bumi Aditya. We almost forget. Today he would finish the promotional material for Impian Anak. We call him to come to the beruga. It looks great. Nice colours, well finished and perfect in time. We even get 2 pens extra. We thank him a lot and ask him to write down his phone number, so we can order extra when we need. We are going to use this stuff to give to new sponsors of our project, so we hope we need a lot! As Adam leaves, Sareah comes out of the kitchen with Tempeh Goreng and Oté-Oté and some more kroepoek. Mmmh great. Mohni calls if we want to go to Kuta with him, he has to go and we can join him. We thank him for the invitation, but rather not today. It is quit far and we seen it several times. Tom doesn’t want to sit in the car for a long time, with his itchy legs. Nurul joins us and she talks a lot of English. She changed a lot last year and isn’t shy anymore. Together with Sareah this is the perfect combination. Sareah speaks Indonesian and what we don’t understand gets translated by Nurul. This way we all learn and we have a lot of fun. Specially when Sareah wants to tell me something and I don’t understand, she starts speaking louder and louder. But there is nothing wrong with my ears, but more with my knowledge of the Indonesian language! If we really don’t understand, they think of other ways to explain something. Nurul walks back home and gets something. We are talking about traditional clothes, they wear on Hari Merdeka. She comes back with some pictures, which we gave her before. She is looking and then she found the first picture when we arrived here, a few years ago. At that time Anique danced with the other children a traditional dance in traditional cloths. That is what they meant, traditional cloths. Then Anique remembers, she has some clothes which probably don’t fit her any more next summer. So together with Nurul she gets the clothes and Nurul is very happy. The next few years we will see many children with this clothes. Because after Nurul, many children will wear them until finished. A few days ago, we solved the mystery of Peter’s lost T-shirts. In the beginning of this summer, we checked every where in our house, we were missing 3 T-shirts from Peter. I was sure we brought them home last year from our holiday. The T-shirts fit with some shirts and the shirts were back, hanging on the hangers. Peter was convinced that he took them home in November. We couldn’t find them and stopped looking. Then we saw Adi walking in one of the shirts. Yes, Peter gave them to Adi in November, when he spend some days in Lombok. Oké, now we know were the T-shirts are now and that we have no spirits in our house in Blitterswijck. But we also know that Peter can forget something. Around lunchtime we walk to Senggigi. A bit waiting for things to happen. But there is nothing going on and it doesn’t look as something is going to happen. Every thing looks normal. Strange! Then we want to go for lunch, but after the good care of Sareah we are not so hungry, but we love a drink with this heat. So we get a drink at Mario’s and after that we walk to Anna’s shop, but we are not lucky, she isn’t there. No problem we’ll be back. After that we walk to the post office and after that to the supermarket to find the ingredients to make tempeh goreng. Maybe we can get them at the toko (Indonesian shop) in Holland, but here they have it for sure. Anique sees some swimming armbands and wants to buy them for Nurul. She wants to learn how to swim, but is still practicing. With all our shopping things we walk back to Bumi. Peter goes to Lombok Dive, he promised Opan to help him with the administration. Kartini comes to bring Anique some nice crocheted needlework. There no time for lessons, so she made something for Anique. Some mobile phone bags in pink and green and a nice hairpin looking like a big flower. So sweet! A little later the girls of the kampung come and pick up Anique to go for a swim. Tom and I just relax and read and write a little. Around 5 o’clock we walk to the beach too. Today there is an important football game on the beach. They are realy having a kind of competition, with a football game every day. There are several teams from Loco, so we have to look. We pick Peter and go to the beach.. It is very busy on the beach, but that is for the game and not for Hari Merdeka. If I understood everything, there was a team of Loco, with orange shirts playing against a team called the Beach Boys, who were playing without a shirt. It is very hard to follow the game. The field/beach is very steep and there are no lines. The goals are made of some bamboo sticks. The public is sitting and hanging around. But the football is really a very serious thing. They even have a real announcer, Odjong. He stands on the wall at Pasar Seni II, from were he can see the game very well. Next to him is the sound system, which Orbis sponsored some years ago. So they still use it. We cannot understand Odjong’s words completely, but it sounds very exciting. Anique and a group of children from the kampung are playing some place further in the sea. The sellers who walk on the beach, during day time are getting there stuff to go home. There is Kim coming, the happy wooden bowls seller. He is very happy to see us. He missed us for some days. That’s right, we haven’t been on the beach a lot the last few days. We promised him before that we would buy something from him and we didn’t forget, he also of course. So we just handle it now. We take Kim to the small coffee stand under the trees and over there he takes out every thing. We are not allowed to choose, before we see everything. I like it all, but some things are to big to take, but on the other hand we leave a lot of things behind, so we choose 4 bowls and 4 masks. Kim is completely happy. After a little bit of negotiation, we pay. Then he promises’  to bring a present before we leave. He asks over 5 times when we leave, to be sure. I regret that I have no nice present in my bag. In the guesthouse we still have some nice nylon kites. I want to give one to Kim’s little son. Maybe we will see him one more time. In the mean while the football game came to an end. I think the team of the Beach Boys won. Whow, it will be quiet in the kampung tonight. As we walk back to the kampung, we take a schort look at Lombok Dive office. Opan (who’s officially name is Krisna Efendi) is working serious behind the computer. He will manage with the administration. Tonight we are a little bit late for our meal and we go to warung Bu Reni. Again we are the only customers. I wonder what is going the happen to the warung when we are back to Holland. After we finished our meal, Mohni is coming. We talk a bit, but for the drink we go some where else, because they want to close. All the other tables and chairs are already put inside. So we walk together with Mohni to Terazzo. Tomorrow we relax one more day, because Tom is not jet well. Maybe the day after tomorrow, the last possibility to dive this holiday. Time flies, and we don’t want to go home!!! As we walk back to Bumi, we realize that we have noticed nothing of Hari Merdeka. So it is not such a big day as we thought. At least not in Senggigi.  
 

Sunday the 16th of August 2009

Today we all are going to visit the Gili’s. And if everything works out, Khaerul is coming too, but you never know for sure. The day doesn’t start well for Tom. The complete back of his legs is covered with red/purple spots and itches terrible. Were does that come from? We think he has a kind of reaction from the seawater. It is above his knees, behind his swimming trousers, so it cannot be from the sun. But he dives almost every day and wet swim suit, salt water and wet all day is maybe not so good for his skin. We put some calendula salve on his legs and hope for the best. As we walk to the Lombok Dive office, we are looking for Khaerul, but we don’t see him. Mohni hasn’t heard from him to, but it not jet 8 o’ clock so we will see. We get a quick breakfast on the other side of the main road, tea and pisang goreng (fried banana). The whole staff of Lombok Dive is eating with us and they have earned this. The office looks very clean and they are sweeping in and outside everything. The always smiling Wakdi is cleaning the van. To clean the roof he has almost climb up the van. Wakdi is quit small. I make some picture, because we want to make a kind of diary on the Lombok Dive site, to show how a day goes on the Diving school. In the mean while it is 8 o’clock and still no Khaerul. Mohni goes to his house and the only thing his mother knows is that he left early morning, but she doesn’t know were he went. So how to find him. Maybe he forgot or he was to make some money with selling bracelets in stead of going with us. Mohni asks Peter to drive the (now very clean) car and pick up a French family. It is going to be a very busy day today. Anique and I just fit in and Tom goes on the back of Mohni’s motorbike. As we leave Budi, the driver of the other car, tells, smiling that he warned the French people that Peter doesn’t know the way. We don’t believe him, but as we go the French mother asks Peter , with a worried look in her eyes, if he knows were the harbour is and if he droved before. Yes, madam, don’t you worry! As we cross Senggigi, Peter drives very slowly, hoping to see Khaerul, but we are not lucky. After half an hour we are in the harbour of Teluk Nare. Tom and Mohni arrived to and all the people get their own equipment. It is always a lot of work before everybody has a got fitting suit and his equipment. Wakdi put al the measures of suits in a book. When they customers come back, they know what size they need. When all the people and the equipment are on board, we sail. I go and sit on the roof. Below it is much to busy with people and stuff. At gili Trawangan some people go out of the boat and they go snorkelling. Mahud and Budi join them for help. Now Mohni is only hoping that Budi behaves himself…. In the mean while we wait for some people, who spend the night on Trawangan. We see a big group of tourist coming, probably Korean or Japanese. All older people with big hats and big camera’s. Are they coming to our boat? No, lucky for us, they take the next boat.  A boat with a glass-bottom, so you can look under water, without getting wet. Maybe an idea for me? With our boat full again we sail a little bit further, were Peter and Mohni go into the water with some beginners. They are close to the beach, so when they are finished they can go to the beach and don’t need the boat. The more experienced divers, including Anique now, are going to Manta Point. I stay in the boat together with Wakdi and Mustiadi, the pupil boatman. The group of divers including Tom and Anique stay quit a while under water. I think it is still exciting. But Umpuk says to me not to worry, because he is very satisfied over Tom and also Anique is a very good diver. She knows what to do and stays with the group. I am relaxed to here the good news, but still I am a bit scared so deep in the water. As we sail back to Trawangan, Peter is already there. With a group of beginners they never dive so long.  We walk to our well known address and the old lady is waiting for us. She knows Tom by know and he only wants rice, rendang and sate. I would love to try every thing. She makes new things every time. We have a wonderful meal and take the walk back to the beach. Tom his legs don’t feel well and he decides not to dive this afternoon, hoping his legs will get better. Now I know it is very serious, if he skips a dive. Peter, Tom and Anique walk a little bit further to take a look at the land Mohni bought years ago. At that time it was cheap, but now people already offered him a lot of money for it. But he is thinking of building some small houses on the land. He can use it when the divers want to spend the night on Trawangan. But for now he has to make some money first. Now they are putting a wall around the land. That same to be the only way to avoid the neighbours to pick some of the land. In the mean while I take a swim and join the staff of Lombok Dive on the beach. As everybody is back again, we go for the last dive for today. On the end of the afternoon as we enter the harbour of Teluk Nare, our sponsor child Hera is waiting. The last time we had no presents for her, but this time we have the standard presents, a picture of Agnes and Peter, her sponsors, some notebooks, pencils and a bracelet. But poor Hera is very shy. As we give her everything she is just standing there looking very shy. We want to tell her that it is oke and she can go home, but she doesn’t understand. Maybe my Indonesian is not so well as I hoped for. So Mohni helps and one moment later she is happy she can leave. Now the staff of Lombok Dive is working and cleaning again. Every were they collect the mess and they make a big fire. Big clouds are coming from the fire. Not the ideal way, but everything is clean now. With Budi, Wakdi and Umpuk we go back to Senggigi. At Bumi Aditya Tom takes a shower to get the salt water from his body, but his legs are getting worse. Between the purple spots there are blisters now. Also on some spots on his feet. We try to disinfect his legs and keep them as dry as possible, but that is not easy when it is so hot. In the kampung it is very busy. They are preparing all kind of thing, all kind of children games. We think this is for tomorrow, hari Merdeka. Tom doesn’t want to walk very far, so we go to Graha to have our meal. They have good quality and the staff is a small Hindu man who lives in our kampung. I don’t know his name, but the initiate people know who I mean. Tom, who doesn’t feels well, wants to go back to the kampung. Anique is also tired and joins him. Peter and I walk to the internet to check our mail. We see the flyers from Impian Anak in the internet café. Well done Mohni! We got a nice mail from our neighbours with a picture from Beppie (our cat). She misses us terrible and wants to hug Jacqueline all day. Yes we miss her to. There are a lot of cats over here, but none of them is so nice, sweet and stubborn as our Beppie! When we return in the kampung it looks terrible, plastic cups, paper every were. Cuk and June are cleaning. It seams to have been the children party tonight, one day before Hari Merdeka. We don’t understand, when is the real date of the party and why don’t they clean the mess themselves? But it will take time to change something and the people have to know they can do it in a different way. So pelan-pelan (slowly). Every body is used to this, so we shouldn’t worry.
 

Saturday the 15th of August 2009

Today we take our time and have breakfast at Bumi Aditya, because we don’t have to leave early. Today we can take the car from Lombok Dive and we want to go to Mataram and to Cakra market. Not to buy anything but we love to walk and look around over there. As we have our breakfast (which takes some time, but who cares) we see Bumi Aditya getting empty. At least a little more empty. Family Van Duren moves today. They found a more beautiful and more important clean place in the kampung. Also the Dutch couple on their world trip are moving on. But we stay here! Even when Cuk offer us his new room for the children and the house of Joep and Marijke for us. No idea Joep and Marijke if they asked you, but Eful said it would be no problem. But we still feel good in our little guesthouse. We are not jet ready to say goodbye to our mouse. After breakfast we walk to Lombok Dive. The car should be there at 10 o’clock. And indeed the car is there, but Budi, the driver, who drives regular for Lombok Dives, looks troubled. He should take the car to the garage today. Yes actually yesterday already, but then he was a little bit tired. So he just waited one day. As he tells us the garage is in Mataram, it’s no problem. He can drop us at the market, go to the garage and pick us up later. That is the deal, so together we drive to Mataram. First we tell you something about Budi. He is about 18 years old, very small, but also very modern. He love to look at beautiful girls, most of the time when he guides the diving groups. To despair of Mohni he tells the girl this, even when their parents are around. Mohni would never do things like this and he thinks his staff shouldn’t talk like this. Budi knows a lot of Dutch words because he is sponsored by a Dutch men and even visited Holland for a while. He liked Holland but is was too cold. He prefers Lombok. The stories goes that he had his own car by the age of 14. In opposite of his looks and behaviour he drives very calm and correct. The first time I sit in the car whit him as a driver, I was afraid, but he drives very well. But for the rest there is nothing quit on Budi. He talks a lot, really a lot, loves Dutch music. So al the way to Mataram we listen to Dutch songs from a man, we don’t even loves the songs from. Only Budi is the one who can sing the Dutch songs. We don’t know the words!  Then Budi stops and tells us we are on the market. Yes, but that was not the market we mend. We told him to go to the Cakra market in Mataram. He took us there and then he realized he never saw this market, so he decided to go with us and look around. The market is really great, very traditional with all the colors and fragrances and all the people. I cannot decide which part I prefer. I doubt between the vegetables and fruit or the technical department. Many motor parts, stand full of outlets, screws, fenders, tires and so on. I think you can get here everything you need.  No I mean everything some body from Lombok needs. We only buy some notebooks. Always easy to have some extra. Budi buys something to, a CD. Al the CD over here are copies. Why not and of course not so expensive. The car still has to go to the garage so we go all together. Even to 2 garages. At number 1 we go and look for new tires and number 2 we change oil. So we go to number 1. We have to hide in the car until Budi gets his price. Seeing white people makes everything much more expensive. As he made a good price, we are allowed to leave the car and we wait until the new tires are installed. They do it the Lombok way but I love to see it. It’s about 20 years ago since I worked in a garage, but here they do everything different. With 2 new tires (the other 2 were oke) we go on to bengkel (garage) number 2. That’s more fun. There is a small coffee shop nearby, so we can drink something while we are waiting. Next to the garage there is a shop whit all kind off “pimp your car” stuff. Glitzy lights, colourful stickers, bells and many bells, audio equipment. All things Budi loves. While the car gets new oil, we just hang around at the coffee shop and the garage. In the mean while we are carefully watched by the staff of the shop and the garage. Tourist probably never come here and surely no women. Budi can tell by my looks, that I am angry we have to stay so long and I cannot go for shopping. Does he knows anything??? The only thing he can see, that I’m tired off him a bit, he is so busy. But shopping no that is not really my hobby and surely not on Lombok. Oke sometimes a souvenir shop but not here in Mataram. As the car is ready we drive back to Lombok Dive in Senggigi, of course listening to the new CD, which is more worse then we thought. When we wake in Mohni’s office it’s a chock to look around. The place is a mess. Every were you see empty plates, empty bottles. In the box of the flyers of Impian Anak, some idiot thrown a lot of mess. Lombok and dirt belongs together a bit. Some times you understand, but now we get upset. This is no place to receive customers! We just leave it this way and go, we decide to talk to Mohni later. Why take a new office, if you don’t even clean the old one. As we go for lunch at café Angel, we don’t get more happy. We order normal things but have to wait for more then one hour. Anique has her appointment with Kartini. As, after asking many times, we get our food, we eat very quickly. Before we start dinner, we asked them to make the bill already, because we are in a rush. Also for the bill we have to ask 2 times. Sometimes everything helps, sometimes nothing helps. So no tip today. We almost run back to Loco. On the way we meet Adam. He was looking for us. He has made some samples for Impian Anak, one pen and one booklet. Before he goes on, he wants to know if this is oke. We agree with him, it looks very good. So Adam can go on. He promises to have everything done at the beginning of next week. That should be fine, because we stay until Thursday. Peter walks to Lombok Dive to have a talk with Mohni. They are cleaning right now. There were some busses with tourist coming in and the drivers used their meal at the office. It’s not easy if you have to share your office with a travel agency. But however, it just has to be cleaned. Outside the office it always looks good. In the morning before they start, the brothers Umpuk and Wakdi always sweep and take care of the flowers.  But inside nobody cares. In the mean while Anique and I arrive at Bumi again. Kartini is talking with Dani and we apologize that we are late. Kartini doesn’t care, Lombok time is rubber time. Then the first lesson begins: Crochet for beginners. Kartini bought some extra cotton, two shades of pink. I just leave them to it and start to clean up a little bit. Peter comes back and tells us that Mohni wants to go to Batu Tumpeng at 5 o’clock, were we will meet 2 sponsor children of Impian Anak. That’s nice, but Anique made an appointment to go to the beach with the girls. No problem, she will wait at Boung and Sareah’s house until we are back. As we arrive at Mohni’s office it looks great. Everybody is cleaning and almost every thing is clean now. Peter’s words did had some effect. There are some beautiful schowcases full with some old stuff. We try to put the old stuff behind the closed doors and some nice books behind the glass. And after putting some flyers from Lombok Dive and Impian Anak in a standard on the desk, it looks much better. Mohni tells us that we are going to meet Hamdi and the parents of Sofie, were Dita is staying now, we realize that it will be late before we come back. And we think Anique would love to see Hamdi again. Last year he worked at the office of Mohni, but now he finished is education as a teacher and works in two different schools. Mohni told us, he is also very busy to start and build a school in Batu Tumpeng, were Mohni and Hamdi were born. Since half a year Hamdi is also helping with our project Impian Anak. He is so busy with al these things that we had no time to meet him jet. So probably this is the only time we can meet him. So Peter, pick up Anique, swimming with the girls can be any time, and then we leave with Mohni to Batu Tumpeng. This is a small village in the south-west of Mataram. The further you go away from Mataram, the more simple and more beautiful live gets. First we go to a site were they are building. It is a bit difficult to get there. Whit the car we have to cross a very narrow sandy road, with on one side a wall and on the other side a river. As a few buffaloes with their bosses come back from a hard days work on the rice fields, it gets even more narrow. But Peter manage to get trough without harming any one. We same to be expected. Before we even get out of the car, Hamdi is coming with a big smile, with behind him a big group of men and women (who, we find out are all members of the foundation, who are building this school) and a lot of yelling children. But also many children hiding behind their mother, because we are very big and very white!! As we are welcomed by every one, we are invited on a beruga and we al get a big cup of kopi Lombok (coffee from Lombok) . What a welcome and I am not a real coffee drinker. You also have to learn to drink the Lombok coffee. The glass is half full of coffee drat and on top is the coffee. And don’t forget the 10 spoons of sugar they put inside. Yes they love it manis (sweet). So you have to wait until the drat is gone to the bottom and than drink very carefully so you don’t get any drat inside. Tom and Anique are lucky today, they get some coffee too. Then some kroepoek and nuts, but we cannot eat them, with about 50 children hanging around and getting nothing. While we sit there we get an explanation about every body who is here. The man who talks is the old director of Mohni’s school. He now has a job at the government. Then some more people who have to do some thing with education and then of course Hamdi, but him we know already. Hamdi is changed, more an adult, more serious and his English is very well now, but happy for us still his big smile. While we try to finish our coffee, they tell us the story about the school. In Batu Tumpeng they only have a elementary school. There is no high school, so the children have to travel, which is together with the costs of school very expensive. So to help the children some (old) teachers are started to teach the children. But there were so many children coming, they had to find another solution. So they started a foundation to raise money for a school with 10 class rooms. To start they just want to build 4 class rooms. That costs a lot of money, surely considering the fact that they want to build a solid building, what can last for a long time. They think they need about € 22.000 for the first 4 rooms. That are the material costs. The work is done by the people of the village. They are so happy they get a school for their children, that they want to help. They have one room finished. Now they start saving for the rest. For every thing they hope for donations. They already very happy that Mohni (Lombok Dive) donated some shirts. They can use it on days like Hari Merdeka, coming up soon. I decide that this is a good place to leave the pens behind which we get from a doctor in Holland. I am sure they can use them. We are all very impressed by what these people do and how enthusiastic they are. Unfortunately we don’t get the chance for a quiet talk, because the children are pushing each other to get a glimpse of us. Some of them even try a little English. Off course our talking partners know that we try to help the children by our project Impian Anak and they expect us to do something. But this is so unexpected and chaotic by all the people, that we just tell them that we are impressed by what they do and that we help them thinking how to get the money. Before we leave they give us a proposal, which shows how they ask help from the government. They didn’t get an answer jet and they think it will take some time. In cases like this the government does nothing. As they see the school is oke and doing well for a few years, then they help sometimes with the salary for teachers and everything. It sound cruel and it is cruel, because they already did al the work by then. But this way the government has no risk to keep this school going on. Full of the impressions and waved goodby by everyone, we leave to go to the house of the parents of Sofie and Santi, Mohni’s parent is law. Santi is coming together with Dita. Dita is staying a few days with her grandparents and is getting a traditional massage, to help her with her asthma. It is starting to get dark so we hurry up to see the 2 sponsor children of our project. In 15 minutes the Koran lessons starts and they will be gone. Shame, I wanted to look around a little longer. But that is also hard, when so many children are running all around you. This village is much different then kampung Loco. Many small houses, build very close together, with a narrow alley in between. The village is split in two with a main road. Next to the road there is a small canal, used as a combination for washing, animal drinking place and sewer. We want to make some pictures but have to hurry or we loose the others in this narrow alleys. Then we arrive at the house of Muliani . It is a small low house, part of stone and a part of bamboo and cane. It has a tiled roof. We almost get on our knees to get in at the door opening (there is no door). It is very dark inside and they put some mats on the floor for us to sit down. As everybody sits, the room is full. Behind this room is another room. I think we sit in the kitchen/children bedroom and behind is another bedroom. Santi is a real teacher and takes care of Muliani. She tells her who we are and in order of Santi Muliani shakes our hands. She does this the official way. That means she takes our hand and touches her for head. Then quickly she go and sit behind Santi again. Muliani is 11 years old and lives with her uncle and aunty. Her parents died. In the small house are 2 more children, a nosy girl of 6 and a very shy boy of 3. Muliani has to talk in order from Santi and tells us she is in the 4th class of the elementary school. We give her some presents, notebooks a some writing stuff in a nice box. Then we have to hurry again, there is another child waiting. As we arrive at the house of Yatim, there is some chaos, were is Yatim? Outside in front of some big bags of rice we sit on some mats again and some body is checking if Yatim already went to the Koran lessons. I notice there is a boy sitting behind me and yes that is Yatim. After instructions of Santi he shakes hand with all of us. Then Mohni tells us how he met Yatim. When he still lived in Batu Tumpeng Mohni often visited Yatim father, who was a good masseur. Unfortunately the father died. Yatim is now living with his mother or aunt, we don’t understand completely. Any way there are 4 more children living here. Yatim looks shy but nauty. We ask  him how old he is, but he doesn’t answer. Some one tells us he is 10 years old now. He is in the 3th class of the elementary school. As we give him a picture of his sponsors in Holland, Agnes and Peter, the picture is looked at by all the people, about 50. The other gifts, some notebooks, pens and a keychain are put to the side. They don’t open the gifts over here. It is a strange habit for us put with a reason. Suppose you get a present from some body and you don’t really like it, your face might show it. Which would hurt the feelings of the one who gave it. So better put your gift away. So we don’t stay to long, because they want to open the gift of course. Any way Yatim has to go to his Koran lessons. We make some pictures from Yarim, while his mother/aunt hides away. She doesn’t want on the picture. We say goodbye and in the dark we walk back to the main road. On the other side we are invited by the parents of Sofi and Santi and we get a very luxery drink, coca cola en some cookies. They apologize that they don’t have a meal for us. The hospitality keeps surprising us. In the mean while we met the brother of Mohni and also Hamdi comes to take a look. He asks if Tom wants to join him to the Koran lessons. Tom had already some more tours from Hamdi, as a look at his school last year. So he goes with him, Anique too (nobody asked her?) Dita is tired after a long day at her grandparents house and falls a sleep on Mohni lap. Mohni wants to take her to kampung Loco again, but grandfather and grandmother decide she should stay another day. Then we see that fathers are not the boss, Dita is still sleeping and stays here. As the children and Hamdi return, we finish our drink and get back to the car, without Dita. We have quit a way to go to kampung Loco. Mohni asks us of we want to eat something on the way home. Yes, why not, he surely will know a nice place. In Mataram we stop in a street with all kind of small restaurants. Mohni goes to restaurant Java III. Java II is from the same owner and is located on the other side of the street. Java III is new, so Mohni wants to try this one. It is a typical Asian restaurant, Clean with white stone on the floor and at the wall, it looks like a butchery. Big TL-lights, plastic tables and chairs. Not very cosy but the food is good, however a bit spicy. We are the big show over here. All the Indonesian families are looking to see how we eat our nasi goreng. As we leave Mataram, we see a street with some nice houses and many lights, more like Christmas. It seams to be the houses of the military and the extra lights are for Hari Merdeka. We are curious about Monday. They prepared so many things for this day, it must be a big show. As we arrive at Bumi Aditya we are very tired. Is was a long day, with many impressions. So we go to sleep. Tomorrow is another day.
 

Friday the 14th of August 2009

It was again a real night at Bumi Aditya. The mouse cleaned his teeth again. After that we inspected the room. The airco died now and off course we had a free wake-up call  in the morning from the mosque. Then you know you are back home! But still we enjoy all of this. And even if we want, it is very hard to find an other room on the moment. Tonight even tourist slept in the new room at Cuk and June’s place. Late in the evening tourist were walking around trying to find a room. You see this now every evening. For the locals it must be a good extra income if they have a spare room. The room at Cuk’s house is save now. A few evenings ago the room was full of praying men. It seamed to be the blessing of the room for happiness and good health. We realized we had diner in that room some days ago. We were very lucky that we didn’t got sick. Tom is going to dive again today and I start with cleaning a bit and some washing. After that we walk to Senggigi. Over there we meet Adam again, the boy were Anique and I bought some key chains from. Some time we are thinking about a kind of little present as a thank you for our sponsors of Impian-Anak. We were thinking of bookmarks and key chains with the name Impian Anak written on it. They can be made by order. We like Adam and we want him to do the order. We tell him what we want and he is very interested of course. He knows Khaerul very well and knows about our project. We invite him for a drink at Mario’s, so we can also show him the website of Impian Anak  and the colours we like to use. So with a nice drink we start to negotiate about the price. He has a very fair price and tells us it will be ready on Monday. He also suggest to make some pens. We didn’t see those jet, but it looks very nice to. They are simple pens, covered with cotton, also with the colors we prefer. Then he shows us a lot of cotton to use, but nothing is the right colour we want. So he asks me to join him to the supermarket to find the right colors.  No problem, the supermarket is just a cross the street, next to the interenetcafé. We have a big choise of colors and soon we find the good combination. I pay and we walk back to Mario’s  Then he carefully asks some money in advance, because he has to buy the pens. Of course no problem. Then he even reminds me that I paid for the cottons and I have to pay less for the rest of the order now. A very nice guy! He ask us to check the amount, because he is not so good in calculating. In school he was better with languages and religion. At the schools there is a lot of time spend on religion. Adam tells us he comes from East-Lombok, he is 28 years old and married since a few years. He has no children jet and that problem shows to do something with his stomach!!! He finished the elementary school but then the money was finished. Then he worked some years as a seller in the street and lived very sober. After that he did Junior High school. After that the money was finished again and he went to Senggigi, were he works as a seller until now. I tell him when he saves again he can try to finish High school, but he thinks he is to old now.  He is satisfied with his live as a seller now, but actually he would loved to be a teacher. So every seller over here has his own story. Most of the tourist don’t know, or maybe don’t care and think that the sellers are tedious and very difficult. But they are just people who work very hard and try to make some money for themselves or for their children in the hope the children can go to school. I think it is a pity that most of the tourist don’t even want to take the time to talk to these men, to hear how they live and why they are working in the street. But like most sellers tell us, most of the tourist just ignore us and don’t even answer if we ask something. Adam suggest he makes a few samples to show us and after that he will make the rest. A real business man. He expects to have something ready by tomorrow. He will find us, but now he has to go to the mosque and after that he start working. Yes, it is almost Friday afternoon, prayingtime. The street gets empty. We want to sent Agnes and Peter, our first Impian Anak sponsors, the photos of their first child Hera by mail. That takes some time and over here almost years. So we pick up our laptop and walk to Warung Bu Reni on the other side of the road. There we order a nasi goreng, while the laptop is still sending. As the nasi is finished and the photos are send, we start walking again. We go for a short visit to Anna’s Gift shop, were we give them some flyers from our project. Dianne is not there, but her friend takes the flyers and wil tell Dianne we were there. We walk on to the beach and befor we walk back we drink a cup of cappuccino at the warung on the point of Senggigi Beach Hotel. In the afternoon we visit Boung and Sareh. As Sareah sees us she goes quickly into to kitchen. For today she makes tempeh goreng………..mmmm very nice! Tempeh is a kind of soja baked in spicey chilli. I want to learn to make that to, so with a small notebook I follow her into the kitchen. I am surprised how they can make the most wonderful things in a kitchen like this. Actually you cannot even call this a kitchen. There is an oil cooker in the corener. No sink, no table. All she has as cooking supply is a big wok a tjobek with oelek-oelek (a big mortar with pestel) a big knive and some spoons. Se all ready made the batter, but no problem. In quick Indonesian talk she tells me everything. As far as I could understand I have to use. Red union, garlic, pepper and salt. Then some strange powders out of a small bag. Then ad a little bit of water. You just put the tempeh in the batter and then fried them. Easy. I’m not shure about everything. As I ask how much I need from everything, she says things like, a bit, not to much and pretty much… Oke, this is going to be a problem at home. (after the holiday I did try to make it. But I missed something, so by adding riceflower it worked). It didn’t tasted like Lombok, but I keep on practising. As a want to look a bit more, she sends me out of the kitchen. The tempeh is ready and I have to sit on the beruga and eat. After that she takes a big carrot and cuts that one in pieces. She uses the same batter and it tastes very well. While sitting and eating we tell Boung that we would love to have a beruga like this. That’s no problem, we should go with him to Gunungsari, were a lot of Boungs family still lives and a cousin of him makes beruga’s, also for export. Why not, we are interested to see how they are made, so we want to go. As we think which day is the best, because of Boungs job, we realize that is today. But how to get there. The kampung bemo is the best choice, but the driver went home already. Cuk, who can drive to, is not at home. Then Boung realize that Peter is a driver too. He phones Eful if it is oke and then it is no problem. So there we go, together with Boung, Ana, Ani, Nurul, Daan Anique me and Peter as the driver. And driving a bemo is not easy, says Peter. He is a little bit bigger then the local drivers so his head is at the top of the bemo. On the front is a band with the tekst www.proyekkampungloco.com just the height were Peter has to look. So to see something he sits in a strange way. The steering is not so quick and the car direction on the right is acting strange. Lucky for us we have to go to the left or straight. By the time we turn to the right, Peter just put his arm out of the window. Every body in Lombok can understand this too. Put first we have to take the sandy road next to the river. They are fixing it now, so it more narrow then normal. Very carefully we ride on. I hate this, I like walking this road. Boung sits in the front next to Peter, to tell him were to go. I am in the back with the children. In a small window I can look at the front. It is fun to see the other drivers looking when they see a bemo with a white driver! That is strange! They look so much that it gets very dangerous on the road. Mean while I enjoy our ride to Gunungsari. There are not many tourists overhere. This is the real local live, with many carpenters and people making furniture out of rattan. As we meets Boung family, they show us all the beruga’s. All sizes and all kind of material. We just can choose one. But how to take a thing like that to Holland, considering that you travel by Singapore airlines and are only allowed to take 20 kilos. So we tell them we love it but don’t know how to get it home. No problem they can sent it to Holland, but nobody can tell us how much that would cost. Boung has a solution. Try to get many people in Holland who want a beruga. Joep and Marijke, Nick and Elise and their must be more people. If they sent it al together it should be more cheap. Good idea, we will see. In the mean while Anique has been kidnapped by the children. There are a lot of children and they love to see the ‘white’ people. As Anique starts to give them some balloons, they are very happy. We just have to follow the noice of the children to find Anique. She is already drinking a cup of tea at a small house, on the other side of the road. As we look around, we think there are a lot of children here who need some help to go to school. We ask Boung. He think the most of the children go to school, but they have old uniforms. But they don’t go to junior high school. Most of the time the money is not enough. We realize how happy the children are in kampung Loco with the Proyek Kampung Loco. Thanks to the help of Joep and Marijke and a lot of sponsors, these children can study. We really hope in a few years we can help a lot of children too. As we drive back we pass a weeding group. Peter parks the bemo a little further and we wait until the group walks by. It is so nice to see. First some children in traditional clothes, then the bridesmaids,  then beautiful dressed the bride and groom and behind there his friends. On the back a group of tradional musice and dancers. Around all that a lot of people. As they a walked by we go on. As we are back home, Kartini is coming. She wants to teach Anique a very traditional Lombok thing. That sound good. She opens her bag and take some cotton and a crochet needle. I think that is already a long time in Holland, but we wait and see. Kartini makes little flowers, scarves, mobile bags and hairpins. Kartini says it takes some time to explain, but the next few days she has some time. Poor Anique, Kartini is so excited that Anique doesn’t dear to say no. So tomorrow afternoon is the first lesson. Tom just arrives from his day diving and is very happy that boys don’t knit in the kampung. Then the electric goes out again and in the dark we refresh a bit. Tonight we are going to have dinner in Senggigi together with Mohni and Sofie. Dita, who has a few days of from school, went to Mohni’s parents were she gets a massage treatment to help with her asthma. Their youngest daughter Monita joins us. We cross the small bridge to go to Mohni. On the way we see something crawling again. Another snake, Tom and Peter say. I think it is a joke, but what I use the flashlight I see a snake again. Quickly we pick up Mohni, Sofie and Monita and we walk to Warung Bu Reni. Again a romantic dinner with candlelight because there is still no electric. The tourist who wants to get money are a bit upset, because the ATM is closed off course. Monita is sleeping and as she wakes up, she takes the food from Mohni plate. She having a good time eating a drumstick. Then we see Khaerul. We didn’t see him for some days. He tells us, that when we visit the school, he was too late. We don’t understand the story, because when we were there we saw him and even talked to him. Then we realize that Anique went to the school with Maud and her family. Probably the children told that to Khaerul. We have to laugh a bit, because now he had to tell he was too late. So we tell him to be a good boy and go to school in time. We want to take him to the gili’s for one day, so we let Mohni ask him. He will ask his parents. One day shouldn’t be a problem. So we tell him to come to the office of Lombok Dive on Sunday at 8 o’clock. We wonder if he comes. Mohni now has to go to the office to work again. While we were eating he had to answer the phone al the time. It almost drives Sofie crazy. Talking to somebody who gets interrupted by the phone al the time is no fun. I can imagine that she goes crazy now and then. And then he is only home late at night to eat and sleep. On the other hand it is good to see he is so busy. It means that Lombok Dive is doing very well. We walk with him to the office to take some extra flyers from Impian Anak. We want to put them on several  places. As we walk back to Loco, we stop at Pos Ronda, the bemo stop at the main road. There are always some people around to talk. Now they are arranging a lot of things for the 17th of August, Hari Merdeka. At the beginning of the sandy road there are going to be some signs, painted by Odjong, with the date of Indonesian independence 17th of August 1945, 64 years ago. Next year it most be a great party. Odjong is vey proud of what he made. Of course everybody wants to see the flyers, so we start giving them. Odjong offers to put some flyers at Graha Hotel, were he works, that is real nice. Adi is reading the flyer carefully and is impressed. He told us that he is looking for sponsors for a few children in his family in Masbagik. Of course we want to help him, but for now we don’t have any sponsors jet. We are also thinking about were to help. All of Lombok is a big area. For Mohnim, Santi and Hamdi hard to control all the children when they live all over Lombok. Maybe it is better to keep it to some areas. We want to talk whit our people in Lombok about this. Mohni is very busy and also Hamdi is very busy. So busy we didn’t meet him this holiday. He works since a few months as a teacher on an elementary school in Sekotong. Then he is also teacher on a school near Mataram. In the time left he is busy with the charity work in Batu Tumpeng, the village were Mohni, Hamdi and Santi come from. They are trying to build a new school over there. So Hamdi has no time to visit us at the moment. But still we hope to meet him next week. But thinking back of the area Impian Anak should support, we don’t think we can take children from anywhere. Like the children from Adi’s family live far away. So too far to control everything and that is very important for the success of the project. Now we just can control. Hera in Teluk Nare, were Mohni comes every day, Khaerul in Senggigi, were Mohni is every day too. Fitria in Mataram, who Santi checks, Yatim and Apandi form Batu Tumpeng, the village were the Lombok team traditional comes from and Apandi a child from Lembar. They don’t come there often but Mohni talks often to an uncle of Apandi, who takes care of him now. We think it is going to be to difficult with children from East-Lombok. So we want to take a look around Teluk Nare and Batu Tumpeng. We have to think about this a lot the next few days. I explain to Adi that we first have to find more sponsors in Holland and that we have to think about how far we go with our project to East-Lombok. I know we can trust Adi for the full 100%  if it takes how to spend the money for the children. But we want to keep the rules we made ourselves. The children have to be controlled by Mohni, Hamdi or Santi and they buy the school equipment for the children. Only in very special cases the parents get the money. It is very hard when the children live so far away. It is very hard to handle a project. You cannot help every body. We have to be consequent. Maybe in the future when our project gets bigger….A moment later I ask Adi if he saw the new bemo-driver today. He looks surprised. Yes he saw it was another driver, but he didn’t know who is was. As I tell him it was Peter, he start laughing. He met the bemo as he drived home. Like normal he twinkled his lights, but as he got closer he saw another driver. Then everybody gets the story of the new bemo-driver Peter. As we ever want to go and live there, Peter has a new job, no problem. And then suddenly, after many dark hours the lights are on again. We think this is a perfect moemtn to walk back home and go to sleep. Tomorrow is another day.
 

Thursday the 13th of August 2009

After a night of good sleep I wake up early again. But no problem, it is wonderful here in the morning. Everything start up slowely and the temperature is nice. So I take my small laptop and go to the roof beruga. Tom is already sitting there whit his camera , waiting for the sun to come up over the Rinjani. Bad luck, because from here we cannot see the Rinjani. But the sun coming up over the palm trees is also very nice to see.
I start writing because the story is getting behind. After one hour it is enough and we go for breakfast. We wonder what we are going to get, maybe they have France croissants. In the restaurant it is very quiet, only one table has guests. We get the menu and unfortunately no croissants but they have toast. Oke for me. The rest orders a  pancake. Fresh juice for the vitamins but also because we love it.
Then we see why it is so quiet in the restaurant. Everybody takes their breakfast at their own little house. I think pretty complicated, because the girls from the restaurant keep running around. By the time they delivered the food it must be cold. My toast comes quickly, even two plates, but I really ordered only one. But it seemed that this was for one of the houses. Probably they get one warm and one cold toast. Not only at Bumi Aditya they make mistakes.
As we finished our breakfast it is almost 9.30. We pack our things and put the stuff at the reception. So we still can walk around a little bit at Gili Air. As we want to leave, the owner comes to bring us some money back, because we had a cheaper room this time. Very nice, because we forgot all about it.
As we take a good look at the little houses we have to laugh. At the first site it looks very wel done, good locks, good sanitary, but at the back of the houses it is really Lombok-style, whit the electricity stacked together with very strange connections. But tourist are not supposed to look at the back of course.
We walk to the beach and a little part to the North. On the way we see a kind of salamander. He stays put for the picture. Thank you. It is very hot over here, to hot to walk far and my toe doesn’t feel liking walking a lot, although the colour is getting more normal now.
We stop at a nice restaurant and sit down on a beruga. A good one with pillows for your back and a view at the see. With a nice juice we realize that this is a great spot. We should give this address to Joep and Marijke. As they are going to stay here for 4 months and want to leave the kampung for a few days, Sejuk Cottages on Gili Air is a great spot.
As we walk back to Sejuk Cottages to pick up our stuff, we make a picture of the sign with name, phone number and mail address. Always useful!
Slowly we walk back to the harbour, were Lombok Dive is coming to pick us up around lunchtime. Anique and I go for a swim in the sea. The water is so clean and almost warm, but because the air is so hot, you still cool down.
As I leave the water, a woman is waiting for me. The mother of Eful, friend of Mohni and owner of restaurant Panorama. She saw us yesterday coming in with the fish and she wants to know if the fish was all right. Off course the fish was oke. Oh yes, and if we want to buy something from here. She has all kind of things like fruit and jewellery. Then again it is to hard for me to say no.
So we buy to bracelets, one for Nurul and one for Daan.
Just a moment later we see our boat coming with Wakdi and the student captain. Now the student is allowed to navigate and Wakdi takes care of the anchor and everything.
Yes, in a few weeks, as the second boat come for Lombok Dive, this boy has to sail on his own. But by that time Wakdi will have trained him well.
Then we sail to Trawangan, on the way telling Wakdi how great the fish was and what a pity  he couldn’t join us. At Trawangan we stay in the boat. We still have some fruit and cookies but we are not very hungery.
Tom and Anique want to snorkel and swim a bit around the boat, but come back ver quickly as they find out that there are small irritating jellyfish in the water. No problem, they dive later on and with the diving suit they don’t feel anything.
I make some pictures here, because it is so beautiful and always a lot to see. Al kind of boats stop here, some from Diving schools, some to bring building equipment. All the boats a really small and they take everything out by hand. Now there is a boat full of bags with cement. A big number of people is walking of and on, first in the water, then the hot sand, with the heavy bags on their head. If you consider what kind of people are working, most of them are small old ladies. Then you almost think of slavery.
Mohni tells us he had a message from the owner of the office / house we looked at a few days agoo. The man now only wants to sell, not for rent anymore. It is like this every time, so hard to trust somebody. So Mohni has to wait again. The men from Lombok Dive think that after high season the office will be for rent again. It is very hard to do business in high season. The prices go up every day. When it gets more quiet the market will be normal again. We shall see.
Slowely our boat is filled with tourists again. As everybody arrives we sail to Bounty Wreck. There it is very busy. There are many boats from diving schools and a lot of snorkelling.  Also the snorkelling is under guidance, which is very smart, because the last weeks some tourists had problems because of the stream between the islands, which can be very strong. But the see doesn’t show it, it looks very smooth.
Last week Mohni had to save some people. Tom was also there that day. A couple was snorkelling from out of the beach and the woman tried to swim against the stream, but she was exhausted. Mohni jumped into the water and got here out. He brought here back to the island. Also now Wakdi is sending a woman back who is too far into the sea.
As all divers are into the water, we wonder what it looks down there. As you see how many boats are waiting it looks like rush hours down there. Wakdi thinks it is a good idea to put traffic signs down there, but here they also need them in the streets. Because there are no traffic sign in all of Lombok!
I wonder that all the divers come at the right boat again. If there is a group coming up, I cannot see if they belong to us or not, but Wakdi knows. Probably he knows were they should come up again.
As everyone is back on board after one hour, we drop of some people at Trawangan and then sail back to Teluk Nare. There we take the small bus of Lombok Dive together with the other tourist. The staff is coming later with an other car.
As we come back in the kampung, we are very happy we left the car at Lombok Dive in the front. For many weeks the people are working at the pad next to the river. First they made the river more deep. After that they made the wall next to the river more high. Now they even prepare the path. Although prepare? They put a lot of stones and sand on the road, so no car can get in on the moment. Probably they try to fill all the holes in the road.
Bumi is fully bookes tonight again. We are hungry and walk to Warung Bu Reni for diner. Tom and Anique are tired and they go back home after diner. Peter and I take a drink at Berry Café. Berry offered us his place a few days a ago. He heared that we are going to buy the place were Mohni stays now. Very nice stories, because we didn’t know that we were buying!
But Berry said it was better to buy his place, much nices, but also much more expensive and we don’t even want to buy……Although everybody thinks different. 
After our juice is time to go to sleep in our own small room, were we are going to get crazy from the little mouse. But it cannot be Gili Air every night.
 

Wednesday the 12th of August 2009

With thanks to our soap eating mouse, I wake up early. But it doesn’t matter because we have to pack for our visit to Gili Air.
For one night we say goodbye to Bumi, don’t take the offered breakfast, because we wouldn’t never make it within a half hour and walk to Lombok Dive.
My toe became purple-black last night and doesn’t feel good at all. I make a quick visit to the supermarket to get some new plastic slippers. I had an extra pair of slippers but they are not made of plastic, which is not easy walking at or in the sea. My modest size 41, they only have one pair, probably intented for Lombok men feet. The female slippers have more colours, but I don’t care. Black is fine!
In the mean while Peter got our breakfast, tea and pisang goreng, at the little shop on the road. We are really going to miss this in Holland.….
Wakdi, the skipper of the boat, arrives with a big box.
Yesterday we were talking about a fish barbecue on the beach, a party or something like that. It would be good to have a nice evening with the complete staff of Lombok Dive. Wakdi suggest to buy some fresh fish form the fishermen in Ampanan. “Then you are sure you have fresh fish, on the gili’s (islands) we don’t know”. He would arrange something. It’s fine with us, so we gave him some money and invited every one for a barbecue on the beach of Gili Air tonight. So now he has 10 kilo’s of fresh fish, all packed in ice. But the boxes which contain the fish are getting wet. So they put in some extra ice, put the box in an extra bag, and the fish goes with us to the harbour. It takes a long time before a customers are in the car again. One couple still had to go for breakfast as the car from Lombok Dive arrives. An other couple cannot be found. But after a while the cars, whit all the customers, staff and the fish arrives in the harbour.
We share the car with some very big Russian people, whit is possible even more bigger under water camera’s with a lot of extra lamps. They already got very angry with Umpuk, because they had to wait such a long time. Yes, they are right, but better be angry with the other customers, who still needed, breakfast and what ever. But Umpuk stays polite, says sorry many times and keeps smiling as long as the customers can see his face….
On the way we get a special show. Tomorrow is Hari Merdeka, the day of liberty in Indonesia. Because of that we already see for many years children marching in the streets. A nice but also funny tradition.
Now we see over 20 groups from different schools practising on the road to Teluk Nare. A winding coast road true the mountains, with a little village now and then. They walk until a line of tables, were the jury is located. After that they turn around and march back. Mohni tells us that these are the preselection and the best groups will walk on Monday in front of the district office.
As everybody is arrived at the harbour and even the Russian sirs look it little bit more friendly, the crew start to load the boat. It is quit full. High season for Lombok Dive, but also the other diving schools. All diving equipment is used and they hope nothing breaks down, because in this time it is not possible to borrow something from colleagues. These are the days that nothing should go wrong and they hope nothing breaks down. Also the diving masters work 7 days a week, not possible to take a day off. I am impressed. They work every day until late at night. Also they have the responsibility for the customers and have to be friendly all the time.
But as we come in the boat we see something wrong. The bottles with water and the watermelons, specially for the customers, are not in the cooler. So no cool drink or cool watermelon today. We don’t complain, surely not if we see what is in the cooler: 10 kilo’s of fresh fish…….
First we sail to Trawangan, were we pick up some more people. Then they still change material with another boat. Today we have many people on board who need extra weight for the diving. Mohni has no extra weights any more. He ordered some, but they are not yet delivered. But for today everything is fine again.
This morning they dive at Shark Point. On board it is lovely quit when everybody is in the water. The crew cleans quickly and then just wait until the first group comes up again. As everybody is back on board, we sail to Trawangan, were we are having lunch at the place of the old grandmother in warung Kiki Nova. We get a plate (actually it is a basket) full of nice things. We drink a bottle of Teh Bottel and enjoy the meal.
After that we walk on the beach and take a cool dive before we go on board again. This afternoon Peter will guide some starters. Mohni is the official teacher, but Peter helps him. Tom did this before, but this time Mohni prefers Peter. Tom is doing very well, but when he is diving and he sees something beautiful, he takes the divers to take a look. But these lessons are intended to make them learn how to dive. Sightseeing is for later.
After diving at Meno Wal we sail via Trawangan to gili Air. There we leave the boat, with the fish. The fish is dropped at restaurant Panorama, which owner is a friend of Mohni. They will prepare the fish tonight. We hope we get some help tonight by eating all the fish, but we doubt it. When everybody is back in Teluk Nare it is already late and then they still have to clean all the equipment and prepare everything for tomorrow. If they feel like sailing back to gili Air? I don’t know. We go by chidomo (horse car). We should do this ones in Lombok, such a traditional ride in a horse car to our hotel. Poor little horse, but here they are used to the full cars. As we have to pay for the few minutes in the car, we don’t feel sorry anymore. For that amount I will run around a tropical island, no problem. But the story is right, the chidomo’s on the gili’s are much to expensive, but there is no alternative, so they can ask what ever they want.
But I’m sure we walk tonight, much healthier and much cheaper.
 Soon we arrive at Sejuk Cottages. They ask our name and we give it, together with the voucher we got after making reservations and paying of the little house. The “one moment please…” doesn’t feel good and finally a French man is coming. He is the owner of the place. Sorry, sorry, sorry but there has been a mistake. We ordered a family bungalow with two bedrooms, but they are occupied.
This is really a problem, because we ordered and paid for the bungalow months ago.
They have alternative, a house with 2 double beds in one room. Well we don’t really have a choise. It is already evening and everything is full. The boat already left and we need 4 sleeping places.
A bit grumble we follow the men to the house, but soon we are not grumbling any more. Wauw, great!!!!
It is a beautiful wooden house, with a thatched roof and on that roof they have a kind of beruga, with on top again a thatched roof. The house is put on wooden  poles and has a nice terrace outside. Inside is perfect too, very good made, nice furniture, beautiful white bedding, flowers on the pillows, fresh flowers on the cabinet. Beautiful
Airco, fan, a beautiful bathroom with…………hot water.
Via the bathroom you can walk up the stairs to the beruga. Here are some great thick pillows, a hammock and a great view.
If the owner also tells us we get some money back because this bungalow is smaller then the one we ordered, we are really happy.
It is a paradise for one night and much cheaper and then the simple rooms we had lat week on Gili Meno.
As we admired everything, we get our welcome cocktail. This reminds us a lot of the luxury hotels we used to have on Bali, during previous holidays.
After a nice hot shower, we sit outside on the terrace. The owner comes again to excuse for the double booked room. Tidak apa apa (no problem). If he didn’t tell us we wouldn’t have known it was not the right room and comparing to Bumi Aditya everything feels better…….
Then Mohni calls, he is still in Senggigi but later on he will com with 3 other people to Gili Air. So we can take our time. We decided to rest tomorrow morning also. If we don’t take the morning dive we can sleep, have a quiet breakfast and take a look at Gili Air. After the first dive, Lombok Dive can pick us up, so the gentlemen and girl can take a dive in the afternoon.
Around 7 o’clock we walk to restaurant Panorama. A long trip, but we don’t want to have such an expensive rite with the chidomo again. And walking is oke for us, only my toe doesn’t think so. We notice that most of the restaurant we pass by are almost empty, despite the fact that everything is fully booked. Don’t the people eat here, or very early or very late? We do see every restaurant has a table with fresh? Fish outside. One of the waiters tells us: “We have fish for 4  people”. He thinks we are impressed. He knows nothing, we have fresh fish for at least 10 people!!! The only problem is we have to walk half an hour to get there.
At Panorama’s not yet any sign of Mohni’s boat, so we sit down on a beruga with a drink. How peacefull overhere. After 15 minutes we see some lights coming and yes it is the boat of Lombok Dive. It is very hard to get to the shore, because of low water. The boat has to stay far in the sea, because of all the rocks. So they just walk true the water. Mohni comes with Krisna, a student and trainee and 2 other boys. The fish comes out of the ice and goes on the barbecue.
Umpuk and Wakdi didn’t come along. We understand after such a busy day. They worked al long time in the harbour and then went home. It is a pity that they cannot enjoy the fish but we do understand. Mohni has a surprise for us, the flyers of Impian Anak came today from the printer. We are curious, so is Mohni. We explained him that when you order flyers in Holland, they first make a test. If it is no good, you don’t pay. But here the printer makes al the flyers and if it isn’t good, just bad luck. Mohni looks at our faces hoping everything is all right. We look at the flyers (with the flash light, because it is quit dark overhere). It isn’t first class but we are happy with it. Mohni is very happy now too. The colours of the flyers are different, but the words and pictures are oke. In Holland we probably had to pay a lot more. In the mean while the fish baking and the beruga get filled with rice, chips, vegetables, sauces and fruit. As the fish comes we can attack. Complements for Wakdi, he has choosen some very good fish. Together with the view and nice company and peace of gili Air, we have a great evening. Around 11 o’clock Mohni and his friends leave, they have to sail half an hour and then one hour drive to Senggigi. If Mohni can make it. Many times he take a nap in he car when he is to tired to drive on. We say goodbye and walk back to Sejuk Cottages. In the mean while is getting a little more busy at the other restaurants and bars, but real full, no…..
At our bungalow we go to sleep. Great, sleeping one night without our “house” mouse waking us up. From here we wish him a good night sleep, with many soap and clean teeth.
 

Tuesday the 11th of August 2009

Mohni offered us a car, which is a perfect idea, because we want to go one more time to the waterfalls near Senaru.
Peter will take the divers to the harbour by car. After that we go to Senaru. If we are back in time this afternoon, Peter will pick up the divers. If not, they will arrange another car. What a service!
As Peter arrives at Lombok Dive at 8 o’clock to drive, he doesn’t have to, because there is another driver. He will be back at 9.30 and after that we can leave. 9.30 becomes 10 o’clock, but that doesn’t matter, “Lombok time”.
We leave for Senaru. On the way we drive by Gunungsari and monkey forest. There are a lot of wild monkeys in all sizes. Much more than we saw in other years.
It is quit a long drive to Senaru and we arrive around lunch time. So first we eat something and we talk about which waterfall we are going to visit. We can choose in the waterfall we already now with many, many stairs. Or the second waterfall. That one is one hour more walking. As we are enjoying popmie (noodles) and a bottle TehBotol (kind of ice tea), we keep thinking what to do.
However a lot of time to think we don’t get. We didn’t stop in a tourist restaurant, but at a small warung where the drivers and guides are sitting. Much more cosy, cheaper and good for my Indonesian talks.
After we answered a lot of curious questions, we leave. In the mean while it got so late that we cannot even go to the second waterfall and be back in time at the harbour. So we take the known way, more quit then last year. Then we went with al the children of Proyek Kampung Loco.
At the waterfall Peter and Anique dive into the cold water. Tom starts to make pictures, quit professional with a tripod. I walk around a bit and as I step down from a big stone, I loose my slipper and I almost fall down. I don’t fall but my big toe tries to kiss a big rock. That hurts!!!!
It doesn’t feel good, but lucky for me, there is a lot of cold water nearby.
Carefully I walk to the stream and put my foot inside. That feels good. Slowly I walk back to our stuff. Lucky for me I have some sandals with me, because the slipper is so good any more.
My toe begins to beat and swell, so I sit down with my foot up and enjoy the rest and peace of the waterfall. There are hardly any tourist today. We enjoy the spekkoek we brought and then it is time to go back. Not my favourite part of the trip, many stairs up. And today with my toe, more then hard. Very slow I walk up, trying not to stand on that toe, resting now and then and after a while I made it. On the way back Tom goes in the front and I sit in the back, so I can keep my foot up. We take the coast road back  to Senggigi and check if we are in time in Teluk Nare to take the divers back. We are in time and arrive around 15.45, while Mohni is expected at 16.00 hours with the boat. So we wait for the divers. As we arrive at the harbour, everything is a big crap. At the place were the divers normally wait is a lot of crap. Cans, bottles, plastic from foodpackages, cigarettes packets and butts. It looks terrible.
So we start to clean up. First pick up al the dirt and then sweep. That looks a lot better. Peter start also sweeping the garden. At this harbour there is an old hotel building. We think it was nice many years ago, big open with extra small buildings. That is were Mohni rent some place to keep the diving equipment. But more people use that place so it is a mess. That is something which we don’t like at all. They leave everything and nobody is picking it up. They don’t have garbage collection, so we understand a bit. We just sweep everything together so somebody can burn it. Not the best solution, but it will be gone.
As we are working a bit, a man is coming with a girl. The man is a friend of Mohni and he knows we are looking for Hera. Hera is very shy and only if he demands her she will shake our hands, but she is to shy to talk with us and doesn’t answer easy question about school or anything.
Lucky for us, Mohni comes and he talks to her. We explain that we have a small present from her sponsor from Holland, what she will get later. Then we tell Mohni, he can let her go, because it is obvious she doesn’t feel well with the tourist. Hera is 13 years old and in the last class of elementary school. She has 3 brothers and sisters. Her father dyed and the children live alone with mother. The mother of Hera has a small shop on the beach were she sells coffee, tea and some small bites. Her customers are locals, Tourist only come her by car to get to the boat and back again. That is why the children are not used to tourists. . Quit different from kampung Loco.
In the main while Tom is helping the staff of Lombok Dive to clean the diving equipment. All the stuff has to be cleaned with sweet water. Peter is sweeping a little and suddenly we see Hera sweeping too. Probably the man who was with her, told her so. She doesn’t have to  help, but how do we explain? We leave it like this and on the end we give her some money for the help. Maybe that is an idea, to hire somebody from the village who will clean a bit for some extra money. Because when the building and the environment is clean, it looks much better. We should talk to Mohni about that.
As everybody is ready, we drive back to Senggigi. The customers left before with another car. Every day they need a few cars to take and bring everybody from Senggigi to Teluk Nare.
As we arrive in Senggigi we walk the rest of the way to kampung Loco. We check how they are doing with the wall next to the river. From the bridge down they are making the wall more high. This work is done by the people of the village. Most of them are the Hindu people from the hill. The women get the sand from the dry riverbed. They use it for making cement. The man are bricklaying the wall, with big stones. The material is paid by the government. So they try to get things better every year. It looks good and I think it is a lot saver this wall next to the river.
We bring our things to our room. Dani asked for the key this morning to clean the room. Yes she cleaned, but we get only 1 towel and she didn’t lock the room by leaving. As we ask her for more towels. She says, sorry I don’t have any. The guesthouse is full…..
Then we decide to go and say goodbye to Nick, Elise and Jeffrey, for they leave the day after tomorrow. We go to gili Air for 2 days, so we won’t see them in Lombok any more. Elise sits with Adi and Mariam. Nick is still sick in bed. Mariam makes us some tea and we talk a bit. We wish Nick good health and for Elise enough straight to say goodbye to every one.
We go to Sareah to check if our laundry is ready. Yes, including a bag full of nice bananas for us. We are going to take the bag to the gili’s tomorrow. Tonight we have diner at Mohni and Sofie.
As we cross the bridge, we see something in front of us on the ground………….a snake! Yak, we are happy we brought the flashlights. Now I see there are really snakes over here. This is fearful. I don’t know if it is dangerous, but I wait till the snake is gone. As we tell Mohni later we saw a snake, he hardly gives any reaction, so it seams to be quit normal.
We give Dita the coat we bought last Saturday. Like normal they don’t give any reaction. A few days later Mohni tells us that she was very happy and wanted to wear the coat to school the very next day. Mohni said the coat was for Sunday, but she was crying so loud that is was oke, but she had to take the coat of as soon as she return from school. What do you mean…spoiled?
Sofie has mad a lot of great food, fish, different kind of meat, gado-gado, rice. For dessert she has a big boil full of fresh fruit and the same pudding Kartini had yesterday. As we finished the meal, Fitria our sponsor child from Mataram is visiting us by surprise. Her family was visiting Santi, the sister of Sofie. She just comes to meet us and Peter goes back to the guesthouse to get her presents. For every child we have some notebooks, a etui and some writing things. Also a picture of her sponsor. Fitria (or Fitriani) is not so shy as Hera. She is 12 years old and also in the last class of elementary school. She lives together with her parents and 3 brothers and sisters in Mataram. Her father makens some money by working as a ojek-driver (a motorbike taxi driver) Fitria is every year the best student of her class.
We make some picture from this little bit shy girl and say goodbye.
Mohni has to go to an hotel for a meeting with a new customer. We walk with him to Senggigi, because we want to load our Lombok-phone. As we walk there Mohni comes back again. The customer has changed his mind. So Mohni want to have a look at another office what is for rent.
Last week we saw this one from the outside, now Mohni has a key. The building is a bit lower then the street and there is a big shop/office room. Behind there is another room, a nice bathroom and a small kitchen outside. Also a big top floor.
Mohni likes this place, included the top floor to live. He expect that Dita will have less trouble with her asthma over here, because here is not so much dust. The bad thing is that there are not many children around here. The office is for rent for 1 year or 3 years. But if you hire it for 3 years you don’t get any discount. Strange, but you know you can stay for 3 years. You just hire for 1 year, you maybe have to pay a lot more next year or you have to leave. But if you take is for 3 years and it is not the good location, you have to stay. We doubt if it is the good spot. We tell Mohni to think about it and have a good talk with Sofie. If they take this place, she has to live on the topfloor with 2 small children. If this will be discussed in the family, I don’t know, maybe it is more like the man of the family decision.
We walk back and take a drink at Cak Poer, were we don’t  come often lately. Bu Reni is a very good cook and the place is very close to the internet, also important.
Then it is time to go to sleep, tonight still at Bumi Aditya, tomorrow we go to gili Air.
The last night at Bumi is no good. Our “house” mouse is making a lot of noise. Stupid animal. After cleaning his teeth with the soap, he keeps walking around the room. I keep hearing noice from the plastic bags. But also the airco keeps us awake. There is more noise then cold air. Probably this airco is much to small for this room. So it doesn’t cool the room down, but together with the fan we can handle the heat. We think the arico is almost finished, because the sound we hear now is terrible. Who worries, we ordered a room with airo and hot water, so it is without airco and hot water. This is Lombok. Maybe we have a much nicer room on gili Air, or not of course……………
 

Monday the 10th of August 2009

Today we want to take slow, but Tom has other plans. He is up quit early, the gillies are calling. Today he wants to go diving again. As he is gone, we slow down. Clean a little, wash a bit and some bigger stuff what has to be ironed, we take to Sareah. Beside her busy cook-job, she doesn’t mind to wash some extra. That way she can make some extra money. Sareah washes and Nur ironing. Nur was registered at the university but she was not drawn. Now she is waiting for a test for another training. If that doesn’t work she have to start working. That won’t be easy, because she is still very young and her English is not so good. She still has good hope that she will go to university in the future.
As we arrive at Boung and Sareah’s house with the left over pineapples from yesterday, we are invited on the beruga again. They ask us if the family Van Duren wants to come to,  because Sareah wants to cook something nice. Wauw, that sounds good. But the family Van Duren is still cleaning there room. We understand if you stay at Bumi Aditiya. Sareah start to cook gado-gado with petjes sauce.
I go with her into her kitchen. She has so many good recipes, but to understand I really have to see with my own eyes how it works. Her explaining is not understandable for me.
The vegetable for the gado-gado is ready. The kangkung (waterspinach) and Taugé. Also the lontong (sticky rice) cooked in banana leaves is ready. They use a lot of banana leaves for cooking or steaming, like lontong, but they also use it toe pack the food. The lontong is cut in small parts and then she makes the sauce. I take a good look. We can choose sambal or peanut. We go for the peanut sauce, which isn’t that spicey. But also there she puts half a lombok (chilli) for 3 persons inside. The lombok is a small very spicy chilli. She takes a few small tomatoes, 2 garlics, a hand full of peanuts and a small part of trassi, which is first baked on the fire. She puts it all in the mortar and with some water she mix it al together as a spicey sauce. And ready in a few minutes. This sauce she puts over the rice and vegetables and ready is the gado-gado.
We give the the clothes we buy in Mataram for the children. They are really happy with it. In the mean time Peter II (van Duren), Jacuqeline, Sjors and Maud arrive on the beruga. Sareah quickly makes 4 extra portions and Boung cleans the pineapples. The food over here is so simple and so fresh and good.
Of course they put all kind of kroepoek in front of us and tea and coffee. Peter is really in love with the indocappuccino. Little bags with instant coffee. As Sareah doesn’t have them in her shop, we gave them some supply. To give Peter when we come, but also to sell. Boung told us that he loves this coffee to, but never bought it, because it is so expensive. Now they have a lot, but do they drink it? No it is for Peter……
Around lunch I send an sms to Tom: apa kabar, sudah makan? (how are you, you already  had lunch?) Eful, who joined us, starts laughing as Tom answers very quickly with: bagus, sudah, (I’m fine and already had lunch). He thinks it is very funny that our Indonesian writing is better then our talking. Yes, that is what happens if you learn Indonesian by book, by yourself and chat a lot with the people in Lombok. Talking we can only learn in the 3 weeks stay in Lombok, but then there is so much to talk about, that we start talking in English, much easier. Whit Eful we talk about the project and his little office at pasar Seni II. We also talk about the coconut oil which Sareah makes. They use it as a body lotion. We know a project in Sumba were they sell the oil in Holland by internet. So we brain storm about a lot of things. Untill Peter comes with the idea to use Efuls tourist office to sell some local products, like coconut oil and wood carving, pearls, watches and even keychains with Proyek Kampung Loco on it or T-shirts with a print. This would make some money for the people in the kampung who makes the things and makes his tourist-office something special. Also a good advertising for the project. Eful is really excited. If tourist wants to visit the kampung, he can show them around. Boung can take the people up the mountain to visit the Hindu people and they can end the tour at his tourist office, were they get more information about the project and were they can buy some local things. And of course they can book some trips or transport. This is something Eful loves, ideas, planning and try to work out everything. We wonder if it would work, but if they handle it the right way, it has a chance. In the afternoon we go for a walk to Senggigi and take a drink at Warung bu Reni. We walk to pasar Seni and take the beach for the way back. At Senggigi Beach hotel we go back to the main road. As we pass Anna’s gift shop, Dianne comes out and asks us not to forget to give here the flyers about our project. We hope they are ready befor we leave, if not Mohni can bring them later. Before we go back to the kampung, we buy a big can of cookies for Kartini, were we have dinner tonight, because of Gilangs birthday. For Gilang we already bought a surf shirt. At the end of the afternoon, Tom comes back. He met the sponsorgirl from Agnes and Peter today. Hera, a girl who lives in Teluk Nare, were the boat from Lombok Dive is located. The meeting was no good luck. The girl was so afraid and shy that it took Mohni a long time to get her shaking hands with Tom. As we dress up for dinner, the electric is out again. We are getting used to it. Together with the family Van Duren, we walk to the house of Eful and Kartini. As we arrive at their house we congratulate Gilang and give the present. As usual they put the present away, without looking. It still is a strange use, we are not used to that in Holland. Later in the evening Sareah tells us that he tried the shirt on and he was very happy with a real surfing shirt.
From Elise we get the message that Nick is still sick, so he has to miss the party and his last days of holiday. This is not a good way to spend your holiday, sick in bed.
But Elise and Jeffrey did come. Kartini spend a lot of time in the kitchen. The complete floor is full with fish, gamba’s, sweet water fish, schrimps, squid and shellfish and a big boil with nasi kuning (yellow rice), the tradional birthday food. Some vegetables, white rice and of couse kroepoek. Also the plastic water cups are there. We need them because the food is very spicy, but very, very tasty. We eat still with candle light, because there is still no electricity. They even have a dessert. A kind of gelantine pudding with choclate and coconut. Strange but tasty. Then it is 8 o’clock and the children party starts. We are really curious, specially as we hear that they expect about 120 children!!
Eful explains there are 2 ways to have a children party. One way is a bit like the Dutch way, with balloons and some games, but for Gilangs 14th birthday they choose the tradional and religious way. We are curious.
Outside on an open area, are a lot of children sitting on carpets on the ground. They are sitting in groups together and Odjong (the lifeguard from Graha) sames to be the leader of the children and leads the ceremony.
For us they put a carpet on the side, were we can sit. Then the children start to read the Koran with some small lights of the oil lamps. It sounds more like singing then praying and we don’t understand a word. It is all Arabic. Later Herman (who is also praying) tells us, that he just reads everything what is says, but he does’nt know really what it means. Any way, I think it is very impressive, all those hundred children praying together in the kampung, dark with only the moon and stars to join them.
After a while the children get very sweet lemonade. They go on praying. Al the children get a small present, some nasi kuning, fruit and a small cake. Then they go home. Tom was talking to Adi during the praying and now he wants to go to bed, after a long day diving. I walk with him, with a flash light, because it is still dark. As I return it is very quit at Eful and Kartini’s house. And then there is light again, the electricity is back. We go and sit in the front of the house with Elise, Adi, Eful and Kartini and have another cup of water. This time without spoiling the water. We are learning. It is quit late when we go to sleep, but it doesn’t matter, we are going to sleep well. Let see if the mouse wakes me up this night. The last nights we have more animal visitors in the room. At night we hear a lot of wall scratching animals. The walls are made of stone, but on the inside they have woven reed mats. Between that is something. Could be ants ore mice, because every morning we see some sand and grit on the floor.
 

Sunday the 9th of August 2009

Again we wake up early and then we walk to the main-road. There we buy a pisang goreng (fried banana) for breakfast. Mohni is already waiting, so we leave quickly, we have a long way to go. Peter is driving. This time we don’t take the road to the north, but through the centre of Lombok. It takes a while before we passed Mataram. Then it is a little bit more quit on the road. In Masbagik we make a stop to buy some fruit. Mohni get out of the car and asks us to stay there. When the sellers see us, we have to pay the tourist prices, many times more then the local prices. A moment later he returns with 12 fresh pineapples . That’s a lot, but they like very tasty. But unfortunately they are not jet cut. As we drive on, Mohni sees a stal with already cut pineapples. Of course that would have been more easy, but we bought already so never mind. I ask him how much he payed. 70 euro cents for them all. Mohni says that is not expensive because on the beach of Senggigi you pay that much for one. We still think that is very cheap comparing to the prices in Holland. After Masbagik the road is more and more quit. In the east it is also dryer and more poor. It looks a lot like North-East Bali.Around 9.30 we arrive in the harbour. However harbour, it is the beach were you can find a few boats, the ordinary fishermen’s boats. And there is one real hotel. The only hotel in the neighbourhood, because tourists hardly ever come here. We take a look around and then we go for a drink at the restaurant from the hotel. There we are a real attraction. Anique gets a new girlfriend within a few minutes. A girl of here age, which speaks a few words in English. She very happy that she can talk to Anique. Her older brother is very shy and hiding himself whenever we want to talk to him or make a picture. As all the equipment is on board we leave, waving goodbye to Aniques new friend. The boat is very full, all the equipment is on the bottom of the boat and we are sitting on the edge. 5 people and a captain. The motor of the boat needs a lot of room to. He is stuck on the edge of the boat with a kind of lawnmower motor and makes a lot of noise. But we don’t have to go far, the islands Lampu and Bidara are not far away from the shore. We sail to Bidara, were there is a kind of camping place for Perama-tours. It is a beautiful island, something like Gili Sudak in Sekotong. But then more quiet. White beach, blue sea. Only this camp is on the island a kind of eco-tourism and the government wants to keep it this way. Lucky for us. The things we don’t need at the 1st dive we leave on the beach, so we have a little bit more room aboard. We go to the first diving spot. Mohni has to look good, to find the right location. If everybody is ready they go into the water. I stay aboard with the skipper. We talk a bit in defective Indonesian and slowly peddling he follows the air bubbles form the divers. It is very quiet. Although the divers are very deep, we can see them. The water is so calm and clean. It is beautiful. The skipper lives on Gili Lampu, his wife is from Masbagik. They were married in 2006 and they have 1 child of almost 2 years old. He works at a pearl farm, but it is not easy to get a job around here. That’s why a number of people are leaving for Korea or Malaysia to find a job. Most of the time they stay there for 2 years and are only allowed for 1 visit back home. These kind of stories we heard more the last few weeks. After one hour the divers come up again. It was great under water. Not so many fishes then in the west of Lombok, but the coral was more great. Also it was very easy for them, because there was hardly any stream. And of course more quiet. Some times they make a joke about diving at Meno and Trawangan, you should use traffic signs below to make sure you don’t hit anybody at the diving scene. Here is nobody.We go back to Bidara for lunch. Because there is no restaurant we brought our own bread. Not so good as nasi goren , but you cannot have everything. The few and the surrounding makes it worthwhile. As we finished our bread, Mohni tries to clean a pineapple and that is not easy. With my pocketknife and Tom’s diving knife, he fight the pineapple. It looks pathetic. On the beaches the women can make it look so easy. In moment the cut the pineapple and get out all the little dark spots. They end with a real nice form. We don’t look at the form now, put it tastes delicious. Honey sweet and juicy. Two pineapples and a lot of mess later, Peter and I go for a walk. Mohni takes a nap under a tree and Tom and Anique are hanging around below a thatched umbrella. We walk over the beach, looking for some nice shelves. They are here in al sizes and colours. Beautiful, I love shelves. But I try to hold back. Officially you are not allowed to take some shelves to Holland, so I only take the most beautiful ones. Anique is not diving this afternoon. After diving they come back to Bidara to pick up the rest of the equipment so we stay on the island. Swim a bit, look for some more shelves and eat another pineapple. Great such a peaceful day without any other tourists. As the divers come back, we slowly go to the mainland. At the little hotel is got more busy, not with tourist, but with locals. It is Sunday, so a lot of people go to the beach and now we are the attraction again. We go for a drink and Anique’s girlfriend is waiting again. She gives Anique her phone number so they can sms. There is no interent around there and also not in junior high-school. As we want tot leave she brings a present for Anique, a small bracelet. Anique doesn’t know if she can accept this, but the girl looks so happy. We are thinking if we have something to give too, then I remember we have a lot of textbooks in the car. We give her some and she is very happy. With a goodbye from the complete kampung we leave again. Home before dark is nothing going to work, so it will be a long way back. The roads a very bad, there is no light and the other traffic is terrible. Not every body has a light, even the trucs drive without, motorbikes without a light is more regular then with a light. Chidomo’s have no light at all. It is quit late as we arrive in Senggigi, but we still need a dinner. As we are in our room, the electric is out again. With a flashlight in our hands we go to Senggigi centre. Dani tells us that some friends from Holland arrived. The family Van Duren came by boat from Bali. We just crossed them, but didn’t recognize them because there was no light. We walk back to welcome them. A dark welcome in Bumi Aditya. They haven’t had dinner too, so all together we go to Warung Bu Reni. We enjoy the meal and talk a lot, but we are all very tired. No problem, there will be more days to talk together.
 

Saterday the 8th of August 2009

Today we want to go to East-Lombok. But first Tom goes with Lombok Dive to the Gili’s to help with one dive.
After the first dive he comes back with Mohni and we can leave for East-lombok.
But the start is good, Tom can find only one slipper. The slippers always stand outside in front of the door. Probably one of the young dogs, who is always walking around over here, took
So he takes a pair of Peters slippers, 3 sizes to small but better than nothing.
In the supermarket I ask for slippers, but bigger then size 41, they don’t have. Yes, the locals really have small feet. In the mean while Peter ordered our breakfast at the warung a cross the street, tea with pisang goreng and ubi goreng (sweet potato). Every thing is delivered in the office by the sales lady.
In the office of Lombok Dive there is a lot of stress. Busy today, on the last moment a lot of extra divers. We wonder how we manage to take all the tanks to East-Lombok. Probably they pick them up after the first dive, because Mohni’s compressor is not functioning well and the spare one is broken. But a boy in the office is going to arrange some thing. He will get the tanks filled and halfway in the afternoon we can pick up the tanks by car and drive to the harbour. There we are going to meet Hera, the sponsor girl from Agnes and Peter. From Teluk Nare we can drive by North to East-Lombok. If we are lucky we be in East-Lombok before dark.
But still in the morning we can use the car to go to Mataram Mall, the big shopping centre, what is growing extremely last year. As the first couple of customers is delivered, we can pick up the car.
Around 10 o’clock we go to Mataram. During the ride it is always enjoying the things you see. The most crazy things. If you see how they use any forms of transport. It is never “full” or you will never hear: “it doesn’t fit”. Complete families on one motor-bike, complete market stalls in a chidomo (horse car), goats in a chidomo, baskets full of chicken on a bike. Bemo’s filled whit about 20 children. It is great to see.
We park the car at Mataram mall. It is really a lot bigger, but not really more nice. Actually I only like the toko buku (book store). The rest is a lot of electronics, like laptops and pc’s with European prices, European clothes and a few restaurants like KFC and Mc Donalds, much too expensive.The big supermarketis on the ground floor. Nice to walk around, but on the vegetable-department they sell Durian. For many people the king of fruit, but for us a terrible smelling fruit, you can smell all over the mall. So we skip the supermarket.
In the bookshop we buy a kamus dictionary English-Indonesian, Indonesian-English for Jen, who works at Warung Bu Reni. A very chearfull boy, who stopped a few years ago with school. He was in the Proyek Kampung Loco, but had to leave, because he never went to school. A pity, but things like this happens. His English is really good, maybe because he works in a restaurant, so this dictionary can help him a bit. I cannot help buying some childrenbooks to help myself by reading Indonesian… At a stack discounted textbooks, we see a geography book. It has one page of Holland. My god, what these children have to learn! Places in Holland that the Dutch people don’t even now and then how it is written: Vaalserberg. No wonder Indonesian people know so much about our country.
After a drink we look for a present for the children of Boung. We visit them so often on the beruga, having food and drinks, that we want to give them something. For Ani and Nur we buy a nice sweater and for little Ana a great coat, with a lot of sparkling things on it. We think she will love it.
Then we cannot help ourself and we buy a coat for little Dita, Mohni’s daughter, but this time whit more sparkling things. Really something for her.
Buying here is a great experience.
At every corner there is a lady. She takes the clothes you want and writes a note. With that note you go to the pay desk, but be shure you have the right one, because every department has his own. You pay and then you get back to the first lady, who packed your stuff. Now we are going to look for some slippers for Tom. We already looked at a sports shop, but there they have only the expensive ones. Half a million ruphia’s (about € 35,-) is too much, Tom wouldn’t like that. Then we try a shoes shop. That’s better, we have to search but then we find a big pair of slippers and also cheap. Then we leave the mall, enough luxury for today. We walk to our favourite restaurant here, were we went with Adi before. But it is closed, it looks that they are rebuilding the place. So we try another place, a little warung. All three of us order a glass of orange juice and some nasi goreng. It takes a while, but then the waiter comes with 3 very big glasses which are dangerous balancing on the plate. Then one glass falls on top of Anique and trying to save the rest, glass number 2 is on her head. Anique is wet to the skin, we could jump away in time. The table and the chairs are wet and the waiter is deeply a shamed. They bring a load of napkins to dry every thing. With a little bit of sun everything is dry in a moment, but also sticky. The owner of the warung and the boy come about 5 times to say they are sorry. Tidak apa apa, ndee kombee kombee (no problem). The new glasses juice and the nasi goreng is fine. As the owner comes, he only put 2 menu’s on the bill and for Anique everything is free. But we don’t want to accept, because they said many times sorry and it was just an accident. We give them a big tip, that takes care of the 3th menu, but it was really kind of them to offer. We wonder or things like this would happen in Europe.
We walk back to the car and go to a shop were we bought school things before. The writing books are very cheap here. We buy some for our sponsor children and drive back to Senggigi. This time we take another road over Gunungsari, but there we miss an exit and are almost in Monkey forest. It is a beautiful road but if we go on, it is really far, so we turn around. Yes we missed the exit because it is market in Gunungsari and so busy with bemo’s and chidomo’s that you can hardly see the road.
As we come back to Lombok Dive, the tanks are not yet filled, communication problem. If they have to leave now, they wouldn’t be back before 5.30 in the evening. Then it is no use to go al the way to East-Lombok today, because we would drive in the dark and arrive in the dark. So we better leave tomorrow early and save a night sleeping in East-Lombok.
Mohni thinks this is a good idea, so we decide to leave tomorrow. As Tom comes back, we go for diner in Senggigi and early to bed. Tomorrow we leave at 7 o’clock to Lotim, Lombok Timor (east).
 

Friday the 7th of August 2009

Mohni asked Peter and Tom to help him with an introduction diving course at the swimming pool of Senggigi beach hotel for a group of Dutch people. That’s a good idea, because Jeffrey who want to try for one time can join them. Harfin is the official teacher, but it good when Peter and Tom can translate some things. They probably use all morning for this, so Anique and I go for a walk to Senggigi. Soon we meet a friend from Khaerul, the boy who found him last week. He sells self-made  key rings, bookmarks and pens.
Our hotel key has no key ring so we can use one. He doesn’t have them with him, but no problem, he is going to get them at home. So we tell him we meet him within an hour at Angels. We walk on to the shop of Pak Sudirman. Souvenirs, but just a little more beautiful and better quality then the rest. It says that it is all antic, but I have my doubts, but it is beautiful without any discussion. As we walk in, he remembers us of last year and we have a nice talk, all in bahasa Indonesia. If the people talk slow and they don’t use Sasak words I can really talk. How often have you been to Lombok, were do you come from, how long you will stay, how many children etc. He looks very surprised when we tell him that we stay at kampung Loco. You have your own house? No we stay at Bumi Aditiya. He advises us to buy a house if we come every year. There are some nice neighbourhoods were a lot of foreigners live. We explain him, that Bumi Aditya is so cheap, we don’t have to build our own house and we don’t like to live in a area with European and Australian people. We love to live between the locals. Mr. Sudirman, respects our vision, but maybe he thought he could make our furniture for our house in Lombok, because he also has a furniture fabric.
As we finished looking around we go to Angel. Too early to eat, but we write some postcards and take a drink. As we just finished the postcards, the seller arrives with his key rings. We invite him to join us and we order a drink for him. The staff looks questionable but the seller is our guest and we pay for him, so they just have to exept.
We made an agreement for 6 key rings, but we didn’t end up at a round sum. I only have a big note of 100.000 ruphia, 7 euro. That is also the biggest billet they have and I don’t expect him to change that money. So I ask him how many we can get for 100.000. A lot!! He looks very happy and we are looking for some nice colours in his supply. Now he can finish them, because he still has to put the ring on them. He is al shining and busy working. The manager of Angel is looking on his fingers, but he doesn’t care. As the manager leaves for a moment I give him the money. Not everybody has to see how much money he gets. It wouldn’t surprise me if he has to give some money to the manager, because he did business in his restaurant. I have seen more crazy things.
As the key rings are ready we go to the post office to bring our postcards. After that we walk to the art market, were it is very quit. Of course, it is Friday, praying day. No problem, we walk back cross the beach and soon we meet mr. Flores. That is the one we were really waiting for, but not really. We ty to get rid of him, but it is no use. Al the other sellers he keeps away. He explanes them, that we are regular guests of Lombok and do a lot of good work. We are also personal friends of him. We don’t want to be disturbed. That’s what I understand of the bahasa Indonesia. So ever body leaves us alone, just not mr. Flores. Then he takes his bag with the maps. I tell him that we will stay a while and that he can trust us buying cards from him. But he has a problem, he needs the money now. His children are going to school and that’s expensive. Then we realize if we buy now, he will leave us alone for the rest of our holiday. So we sit down and look at his cards. He doesn’t know how much they are, but we now the price of the postcards in the shop and just offer him a little bit more. I get 10 postcards, but then unfortunately he can not return money from 100.000 ruphia (€ 7,-) I just walk to Senggigi beach hotel and ask them if they can change.  They probably can but they don’t. Oke, that’s a good lesson of how helpful they are. I do it another way. I take some extra cards and let him keep the change. He is very happy and tells us we can take some more cards, but no thank you, with this number we can last for one year. As we say goodbye, Anique and I decide that we buy some deodorant for him. He always wearers the same clothes and they don’t really smell fresh. But on the beach our noses get fresh air again. But now it is getting very dark. This happens almost every day in the afternoon. In the morning there is a bright warm sun, but in the afternoon the clouds come and now and then the rains begins to fall in the end of the afternoon. But it doesn’t matter because it is warm rain, like Joep and Marijke always say.
We go back to the guesthouse but we haave no idea at what time Peter and Tom will return, but we expect that they still have to lunch. So as they return we go to Bu Reni for a good nasi goreng.
The rest of the day we do pelan-pelan (slowly), talk a little with everybody, drink a lot of tea and read a bit. We made an agreement with Mohni that we take the car of Lombok Dive tomorrow to go to the east. For the guests who wants to go to the Gili’s he will rent another car. We need a big car for 5 persons and the diving equipment. The good thing is that Mohni’s car has an insurance. Very important if you want to cross all over Lombok.
In the evening we have dinner at Cuk and June’s house. They also invited Elise, Nick and Jeffrey. Because we don’t want to come empty handed we bought a big box with cookies. They love cookies but hardly ever by them. The box is very handy to put some stuff inside. For their son Judy, which we are not going to meet because he is on a boarding school, we brought a nice T-shirt from Holland. As we arrive in the evening we can sit in their new room. Just finished painted in green-yellow and perfect finished, considering the Lombok style. This is going to be Judy’s bedroom. They are going to put one room on top, but for now the money is finished, so pelan-pelan (slowly). On the tile there is a carpet were we sit on. On the carpet are already a lot of small dishes with delicious food. They point extra on the kentang goreng (chips) to make Joep jealous. I like chips but the Indonesian food is so good. Chicken, tempeh goreng, nasi, a great sate ayam, kroepoek (special for Tom) kankung (Indonesian water spinach) urab-urab and a lot more.
Eful joins us and Adi and Boung who are still working, will come later.
Unfortunately we don’t see our host June. Later we hear she has bellyache, but maybe the tradition doesn’t allow here to join us. It is a pity because now we cannot thank her for the great meal. We surely will do that tomorrow. Of course we are fighting again with the cups of water. You have to stick the straw through the plastic in one strong move. If you do it slowly, you get very wet. Peter is very good in getting wet! After diner we get some lovely mandarins. Cuk says we don’t have to help clean the dishes, but we don’t want June to do everything tomorrow, so we help a little. The rest of the meal is for Adi and Boung. The smokers go and sit outside and the not smokers (they are only few) join them. In the evening it is always great to sit outside. It is nice and warm and the sky is filled with twinkling stars. As Boung and Adi show them selves, we have great fun, sitting and talking all together.
Regular somebody walk next to Cuk’s house. Late in the evening a Dutch tourist comes around to ask if there are any rooms available in Bumi Aditiy, but they are full. The man has just arrived with his 2 daughters and looks for a room for only one night. But Senggigi is full and so is Kampung Loco. Then Peter says: why not at Madalika Homestay. That’s the place were Boung works, but a bit out of the touristway. The bemo is standing on the parking, so Boung, Cuk and Nick get together with the man in the bemo. They pick up the daughters and bring them all to Madalika Homestay. Again somebody happy with a place to stay and somebody happy with a customer.
When everybody gets back it is time to go to sleep. Tomorrow is another day.
 

Thursday the 6th of August 2009

Today early rise again, because we want to see the children go to school, part of them walking, a part by bike and a part by Bemo. After that breakfast. We help a little because Tom is going to dive again and has to be ready at 8 o’clock. It worked out just in time and we deliver him at Lombok Dive in time. We start the day slowly with a cappuccino at Mario’s. A little later Nick, Elise and Jeffrey walk in for breakfast. We write some in the report and put it on internet, check our e-mails. When we take the first om table inside, we just have connection with the internet. From another table is too far away.
When we are ready, we walk on again to Sheraton Hotel. It is a long walk but it is a very luxury hotel. Quit different from Bumi Aditya, but I don’t like the luxury. We are not here for a hotel room, but to rent a car. There is an office inside from TRAC car rent, were we rented a car in previous years. Next weekend we need a car, because we want to go to East-Lombok. We want to keep the car for some days, to make some day trips.
It takes a while for the reception office finds somebody who can tell us something about the cars. All cars are occupied. However, not all cars, there are cars with a driver, but we don’t want that. We ask them if they know another company who rents cars. No problem, they know. The cars are oke, but now assurance. That is the limit for us, we are not going to drive with a car, which has no assurance, so we have to find another solution.
We use the beach to walk back to kampung Loco. On the beach we meet Adi, who is very happy to tell Peter he found the watch Peter was looking for. They are indeed the watches we want. Adi found them at a colleague seller. Then again the problem. How much is the watch. Adi just asks only purchases prizes, so we just give him some extra. Adi had a financial tough year, because his father was in hospital for a long time and then died. Adi also supports a part of his family to help his nephews and nieces to go to school. We tell him that we bring him the money later on, of course with a lot of cups of tea. As we finished the tea, I go an write at the report. Peter and Anique go to the beach to snorkel. As they are back the girls from the kampung come to play some games again. In the evening we have diner at warung Bu Reni. Cap Poer is very fine also, but a much longer way to walk and Tom is pretty tired in the evening after all the diving. Disadvantage is that this warung only has a small menu so there is no dessert, But no problem, when I ask if they can make pisang goreng (friend bananas), they suggest to get them at another warung. So Jen, a 18 year old boy, from our kampung jumps on a motor-bike and gets us a bag of fried bananas. Good service over here!
 

Wednesday the 5th of August 2009

We get out of bed at 6 o'clock. We want to see the children go to school and we walk to Cuk's house, were the bemo is ready for transport. While we get a cup of tea from June, the elementary-school children already arrive and go into the bemo. They get a lift to SDN1 Senggigi, because the bemo has to take some children to Grandangan. After that the bemo pick up the junior-high school children who go to Ampanan or Mataram. In the morning the bemo is allowed to drive all the way to Mataram, but he is not allowed to pick up any passengers between Ampanan and Mataram. In the afternoon the bemo is not allowed to pick up any passengers, so the children still need transport to Ampanan. Some times the children still have to go by public transport because the school times are sometimes different.
As all the children are gone, we go for breakfast. To make it more easy we go and help in the kitchen, because Peter an Tom are going to dive at 8 o’clock. Now they get a lift from the location next to Berry’s café, which is much closer to Loco. That is were all the people from Lombok Dive come together in the morning.
Mohni and Sofie were last night in their own village. On the way back they dropped Dita at here school in Montong. Now Mohni arrives with his wife and almost one year old baby girl Monita at the diving centre. Mohni has to go with the customers and leaves Sofie with the baby and some bags of luggage. Anique and I offer the help her carrying everything home in the kampung. So we walk back to Loco. I have a big pan with soup, Anique carries bags with clothes and Sofie carries Monita. It is hard to talk together. Sofie is shy and speaks no English and I only a little bahasa Indonesia. But with hand and feet we understand each other. At here house we sit a while until we finished our conversation, so Anique and I walk back to Bumi Adytia, with a noisy look by all the neigbours. Kampung Loco at the Senggigi-side is much different then the other side were Bumi Adytia is. It is more an open space, more simple. Mohni rent a house in a long row. The house has 1 room, were the family lives and sleeps, with in the back a small toilet with mandi (kind of shower).
Cooking and eating they do outside. At the front they have a little veranda. For the privacy there are some hardboard plates between them and the neighbours. Here outside they cook and a small fire and they have a small cupboard for their plates and cups and some supplies.
They eat outside on the little veranda. In the room there are only a bed and a sideboard and that is it.  It is really a simple live. They buy the food fresh every day, because they don’t  have a fridge and I can imagine that the mice also like to visit their house for some dinner.
People in Lombok cannot understand that we don’t go to the market every day. What do you eat? People over here who don’t go to the market buy their supply from sellers who come to their house. These sellers buy bigger supplies at the market and sell it with a little profit. The bad thing is that there is no market in Senggigi/Loco. The markets most nearby are one in Ampanan and one in Gunungsari, about 20 minutes by bemo. Resell often happens with vegetables and fruit. Meat is not often on the menu, much to expensive. Also the supermarkets are too expensive for the locals.
Many times they get their meal at a small warung or at a small cart in the street who passes their door. Cookies and candies are something nobody here can afford. If the get some it goes one by one, like at Sareah’s shop were children some times buy 1 candy or a glass of lemonade. Actually it is not a glass but a small plastic bag with a straw.
What a big different with Holland, were every body has a supply of cookies, candy, choklat and drinks. Over here the people really live of day by day. No money, no food.
As Anique and I get back to Bumi, it is still early. So we sit down, Anique with a book and I with the laptop. Oh, I’m already behind with al the writing. ….
As we have enough of all that, we walk to Senggigi. Of course on the way we keep explaining were Tom and Peter are, and how long they will stay, etc.
Soon we see Mister Flores. He is drinking coffee at the warung of an old lady, near the supermarket. We join  him. I still want to buy some cards to send to Holland, but I just don’t want to negotiate at the moment. Mister Flores doesn’t ask any thing, so the carts will be for later. We don’t want the coffee or tea from the warung, but we walk to Mario’s and like real spoiled tourists we take an ice cappuccino. Much more expensive than the local coffee, but very good and still much cheaper then in Holland.
As we drink our coffee, a salesman arrive with rings. We just want to talk, but he already opens the box. And then off course we see nice things. We have 10 fingers so why not. Anique sees a nice one. I will pay, but she has to negotiate and Anique knows very well how to do that. I am to polite, don’t want to go a lot below their price, but Anique offers just a quarter of what they ask. The sellers love it and call her an anak pintar (a clever child). Yes they get to a real nice price, probably still too much, but less then half the price he asks in the beginning Seller happy, Anique happy. I wait this time, maybe later with another seller. This way more people have a chance to make some money, because they don’t really get rich. In the moment there are a lot of tourists, but many are French and they don’t buy a lot of souvenirs. We walk on and come at a big souvenir shop with fixed prices. Of course we see a lot of nice things, but the bag is the limit. I wish I could send a container to Holland. I love the furniture, lights and little souvenirs and they are so cheap. Now we just buy a litlle bowl, painted in the colours of Aniques room. The rest of the souvenirs still have time.
So it is time for lunch. We go to Angels and order gado-gado. Nice but the peanut sauce cold have been more spicy. We are losing our tourist taste.
After that we go to the supermarket to get some postcards. The beautiful mr. Flores batik postcards are for later and we take them to Holland. Now every body gets an “greetings from Lombok” postcard. There is not much choice or quality. They look pale and dusty. We choose the best of them and we doubt if that are the same like last year. Probably, but that doesn’t matter. We just decide it for the idea not the postcard.
We go back to the kampung, I write a little and then we go to Boung and Sareah. It is always cosy on the beruga. Within a minute we have a big glass of tea. Sareah made special kroepoek for Tom, (mr. Kroepoek). He has bad luck, we get every thing. With watermelon, cassava-chips, nuts and more nice things. We try to stop here, but that is not easy. For the guests se takes every thing out of her “shop”. In a few minutes the beruga is full of children.
This beruga is really the centre of the kampung. Every body comes here, to talk, drink some coffee or tea or to buy something from the little shop. Boung is a real family man helps with the coffee and tea and plays with the children. Very not Lombok style. Boung thinks every body is very quit today and really the children are really quiet. I suggest that Anique get a game. We got like 6 in 1 games, with chess, backgammon and al kind. Some kids walk with us to Bumi. On the way we see a special transport. On top of a bemo there are two big sofa’s. If I see the house were they should go in, I wonder if they can go by the door. For the moment, one sofa stays outside and the other one hangs between out and inside.
We go on and at our room it is really cosy. With playing the children have to talk together about what the game is like. And as we take the candy out of our room, the party is complete.
Moments later Peter and Tom arrive. Also Kartini comes to see us and give us an invitation for Gilangs birthday next Monday. Then again electric drops out. Very hard to find the way in the room in the dark, but we start to learn. Until now it is oke, but to make sure we have the flashlights nearby. 
As we walk to Senggigi, we are talking about project things. Until now we couldn’t do much about Impian Anak. Mohni is so busy with the diving school. Together with his team he works long days. They start in the morning at 7.30. Between 8 and 9.30 they pick up the customers and go to the harbour in Teluk Nare. Over there they have to look for the right supply for every customer, wetsuit and so on. They have to put all this in the boat and then they sail to the Gili’s (small islands). Most of the time first to Trawangan, were they still have to pick up some customers. Then they have their morning dive. At lunchtime they drop of all the customers on one island for lunch. If they are lucky they can rest a little bit, but most of the time they have to fill the tanks, or pick up some other customers , give extra lessons for them who were too late or arrange other things. Then back for the afternoon dive and later bring the customers to one of the islands were they stay overnight. Back to Teluk Nare were everything comes from the boat again. Clean all the wetsuits and start to refill the tanks for tomorrow. Lombok Dive has 2 compressors to refill the tanks, but often is one broken. If takes until late at night to fill. As the customers are relaxing already for a long time, Mohni often in the evening has meetings with new customers or theory lessons and administration. Lucky for Mohni, he has a good team to help him. The captain of the boat, Wakdi and his brother Umpuk who is a dive master. Then more dive masters, Zen and Harfin and Mahfud in the office. These people make Lombok Dive work. Mohni is very great full to them, but some times he thinks he asks too much. As a part of a thank you, we have decided to take their children in to our project of Impian Anank. We as a family want to sponsor these children by ourselves each year. We let Mohni decide if he buys the things for the children or gives the money to his staff. He wants to give the money but bit by bit. So in the beginning of the school year to buy the uniforms etc. and then each month a part. So they really will use it for school. Tonight we eat at warung Bu Reny, were it is still very quit. We think that after we leave for Holland, she has no customers at all, only some sellers who come here now and then for coffee.
 

Tuesday 4th of August 2009

Today we are waiting for breakfast before 7 o’clock. Tom has to be at Lombok Dive at eight and we are going to the elementary school of Senggigi. But again it doesn’t work, at 7.30 Dani takes the order for the drinks. This way is going to be too late, so Peter gets into the kitchen and starts to look for everything. 8 slices of bread, some butter and jam. We order tea because the water is already boiled and much quicker then juice. We skip the fresh fruit on the end, because we are not going to make it. Then we almost run to Senggigi. We drop of Tom a few minutes before 8 at Lombok Dive and quickly we go on to the school. The school is some metres away from the main road. We have been there before but that was 2 years ago. We just follow the sound of many children and find the school. This is a nice part of Senggigi, more green then kampung Loco, only the houses are spread more. The school looks good, painted in blue-yellow. We walk into the schoolyard and immediately we get surrounded by a lot of children. All wearing the same red an white uniform. How to find Khaerul between al of them? But it works,  he came to see all the noice and found us. It is great to see him warring an uniform. But he still looks naughty. We ask him were his class is, but we don’t understand. Then is teacher comes, a small little lady. She hardly speaks English. An other lady in uniform however does. She asks in perfect English how we like Lombok and were we come from. We explain who we are and that we are sponsoring Khaerul and just wanted to take a look at his school. She invites us to the teachers room, but the children are so loud seeing us, that we decide to leave, so the school can start. On the program are the preperations for the 17th of August, Hari Merdeka (day of liberty). Khaerul likes it because the complete school is going to march. He told us about it, but he him self doesn’t like it so much. A few days ago he fall down with his bike and now his knee has a thick crust. He thinks he cannot march now, because that is no good for his knee. Mohni advised him to fall down from his bike every year before Hari Merdeka, then he never has to march again. We eve think Khaerul would do that! As we leave at 8.30 still children are coming to school. We don’t understand much of the school hours. The lessons suppose to start at 8 o’clock and in the kampung the children already leave for school at 6.30 by the project bemo. Other children walk or bike between 6.30 and 7.45 to school. We walk to the main road and see the car from Lombok Dive. But Tom is not there. He already left with a taxi. The car is waiting for customers who don’t show up. Still annoying, because of this later on everybody on board has to wait and the complete day program is getting more late. We just leave them waiting there and go the Mario’s for a wonderful ice-cappuccino. From here we check mail with the laptop and after we walk to the new surfshop a little further. Eful and Kartini invited us to Gilangs birthday next week Monday. He will be 13 years old. We are invited for diner, together with Nick, Elise and Jeffrey at 18.30 hours. At 8 o’clock he has his own party. We don’t know if it is custom but we want to buy a present for him. As Gilang is now crazy about surfing, we buy him a surfing shirt. The smallest they have. Gilang is for an Indonesian child quit long, but very skinny. So we think it will fit. Then we walk the small road to Sennggigi Beach Hotel and the beach. We go into Anna’s gift shop. I remember, from a few years ago, that the shop is owned by a Dutch women and her Lombok man. At that time her husband was in the shop, now we meet her Dianne. It is a nice shop, full of Lombok souvenirs. Many beautiful handicrafts and jewelry. Everything has his own price so we don’t need to negotiate. I like this way of shopping. You see the price and when you think it is to much, you just look some where else. In the back of the shop there is a table full of flyers with information about all kind of projects. Of course we take a look and then we start talking to Dianne. She likes to talk to Dutch people and we really want to know how she feels about Lombok. She is now a member of a Sasak family. That is different then coming to Lombok as a Dutch family. She agrees that we leave some flyers behind next week of our project. As we are here, we ask her about the property, because last week we were looking with Mohni to rent something over here. The building is oke and clean and the street is very quit. But Dianne tells about another problem. In the end of the street is now a big disco/karaoke bar. That’s oke, but the service is more then a drink an the music. Every evening the street if filled with prostitutes. Some thin we didn’t notice, but another tourist who comes to Lombok every year was complaining about this too. As we later on start looking for it, we saw they were right. Not in the main street, but in the side roads and squires just out of the centre. There you see more and more karaoke bars and “sexy dancers” places. It spoils the atmosphere of Senggigi, because it gets the wrong tourists over here. It is a sad story, especially for the young girls who work here. We hope it is only temporary, but we are afraid it is not. Given the number of new disco’s and bars they must get some money. Any way now we can tell Mohni that this street is really no good to start a Diving school. The people a walk around in the night don’t want to dive and during day time you hardly see any tourists.
After Anique and I bought a nice bracelet and made an appointment for coming back next week with the flyers, we go one. We walk to the beach and eat a real popmie on the corner of Senggigi beach and talk a little with the sellers. After that we walk back to the questhouse. It is very hot and Peter and I want to take a dive in the sea. How ever, dive I just want to cool down a little. Anique stays at home reading a book, so Peter and I go together. The new shoppingroad pasar seni 2 is empty like always. Only the warungs are open. It is no use for the small shops to open, because there are no tourists over here. Even on the beach it is very quit. We don’t even see any sellers. We go for a swim and sit on the beach, but it is also a little boring. Some times you hate the selles, but if they are not around, it is strange too. We dry by the sun and walk back. A short shopping stop at the small supermarket next to Berry’s café, which is opened day and night. It seamed to me a strange place to start a shop and also Mohni has here a small office together with Lombok Smile, a tourist office. But all busses coming from the airport or the harbour stop over here. So a few times a day, you get a new load of tourists. This is the first supermarket and tourist office on the way to Senggigi, so the spot is oke, also for Mohni. But he is not the owner. The place belongs to an Australian man. Mohni is here just temporary and thinks he has to leave soon. As we come back at the quest house, Dani and another women are cleaning our room. At the room of Tom and Anique they even clean the spider webs. I don’t want to sit down and just look so we invite the ladies for a cool drink, which we just bought. They look surprised but they like it. This place is a mess, everything goes wrong, but Dani tries very hard. Other comparing questhouses would have a staff of 10 people. She does (because here boss has no money) everything on her own. The garden (although the grass is often cut by Daan’s mother to feed to the cows), the kitchen, the reception, the rooms, shopping, laundry etc. Her husband walks around a lot, but does nothing. Now and then a women of the kampung is helping. But we think they made a little money these last weeks. This morning at breakfast we got some new knives, with the price still on it! Now we get new towels with the price still on it. Very nice, only new towels don’t take any water! But they try so hard. Last night we got a big watermelon from Mohni. Very nice but too much for 4 people and leaving an open melon in the room is not a good idea. If the ants wont eat it, our mouse will. So we decide to take it to Adi, to thank them for al the cookies, kroepoek and cups of tea we always get. Adi is just back from Masbagik, were he visit his family. Nick and Elise are there to. We join them. Adi has a bag of Salak. Normally not my favourite fruit, but these are very nice. Probably I had the wrong ones before. The water melon is for another time. Mariam makes a nice cup of tea and with some cookies we talk all together for hours. As Tom comes back in the evening he is very tired, so we don’t stay up late. We eat our meal at warung Bu Reny and walk back to Loco. At Graha we give some Dutch lessons to Herman, with todays special the character “P” This one is really a problem for the Indonesian people. They mix it alwas with the “F”. A room with a fan, is for the Indonesian people “a room with a pen”. It took some time for me to understand. So Herman keeps saying Joef instead of Joep. But now he can almost say without any trouble: Joep.
 

Monday 3th of August 2009

We think that we are out of bed early, but as we arrive at the restaurant, already a few people are waiting for breakfast. With just a half an hour left before Tom and Anique leave to go to Monkey Forest by bemo, we think breakfast is not going to be served in time. The kitchen is not really efficient and after 10 minutes we give up. We go to the little shop from Cuk and June and buy some bottles of Teh Botol (Ice tea) and a few sandwiches, filled with chocolate.
Better then nothing. Also we buy some water bottles for on their walk, because they are going to need that. Monkey Forest, is far away in the mountains, It is one of the favourite trekkings from Boung, but we just cannot find out how far it is from Monkey forest until the kampung. According to Boung about 3 hours walk, according to Adi, 5 hours, Eful says only 2 hours. I remember a shore mountain walk from few years ago. Beautiful, great few, but very tiring and hot, especially with a lot of locals on bear feet who jump up and down the mountain, like it is so easy.
So I skip today. Peter doubts, but actually we want to start the administration for Mohni. As Tom and Aniqye leaves with their cheerful guidance, we slowly start up the administration. First we are going to have breakfast. Now we have some more time, but it takes quit long before you get something on the table. Everything goes one by one. First you order drink, than they make the drinks and serve them. Then order the food, make the food and serve it. After that they make a fresh plate with fruit and serve that again. Al together half an hour, shure when all tables are occupied. But now it doesn’t matter, because we have the time and while waiting we help Dani to clean the other tables. Dani is very busy and with a boss who is almost “bankrupt” bankruptcy, there is no money for extra staff. It doesn’t matter, we always wanted to see an hotel kitchen from the inside, this is our chance. What a chaos, what a mess. There is no kitchen. The reception is used for everything, Plates are washed outside and there is also a little stove to make pancakes and eggs. Boiled water is in a thermos can. On the reception desk is an antic shaker to make the fruit shakes. Is they want to make toast, they have to take out the plug of the shaker, with the danger of electrocution and put in the plug for the toaster. Everywhere you look you see used plates, glasses and cutlery. They have an old refrigerator. Outside is an rickety rack with the stock crockery.  That rack is empty now, so the dishes have to be washed before we can have breakfast. The last few weeks it is very very busy. So busy that they have sometimes real problems. To make matters worse, the little dogs who walk around over here, just stole a whole bread. You could write a book about this questhouse. And then our room, we still have the mouse who comes every day to brush his teeth with our soap, to keep a fresh breath. I leave it that way, because the mouse leaves our other things alone. After breakfast we start with the administration of Lombok Dive. This takes some hours. They have some administration done by hand, but we want to put it in a excel program. After a little practise they should be able to do it and send the information to Holland, were I can finish it for them. As every thin over here is paid by cash, the cash book is the most important part of the bookkeeping. From the start from 2009 they have this on paper, so now it just needs some time to put in into the computer. As we do the first 2 months, we hope they can take over in the next few weeks. We really believe that this is going to work. As we are working, Mohni comes along from the printing office, were he gave them the files to make the new folders for Lombok Dive and Impian Anak. But they couldn’t read the paint-files made by Tom, so we just had to send them the pictures and text on a memory stick they would make something with their own program. We don’t agree. Tom took a long time to find the right colours and everything to make it perfect. You never get it this way by another program. According to Mohni they always work like this. That is way his flyers are always in such a bad condition. We talk by mobile to Tom (who already walked a long way). The program Tom used can be download by internet for free. If the printing office downloads the program, they can read the files to. With this story Mohni goes back to the office and he calls some time later. They got the program and in a week the flyers will be ready. We wonder? Then it is enough, we do have holiday. We walk to Senggigi, to the beach and we drink a cup of coffee at the warung at the top at Senggigi Beach hotel. We talk a little to the sellers and enjoy the unsuspecting tourist who are really attacked by the sellers. The most of the selles know us by now and leave us alone. Of course they all want to know, were Tom and Anique are now, with whom, why, when they left etc. As I explaned before, the people over here are not curious, they just want to know everything about you. But you get used to that. Halfway the afternoon, Tom and Anique gets back. They are tired but it was really worthwhile. As they were gone, Sareah was in the kitchen all morning and later on we are all expected for a bowl of here soup called Sop Sareah, a soup filled with a lot of vegetables, meat and noodles. As we visite them we also take some candy and nuts for them. They do so much for us. But the beruga is filled with many nice goodies. The soup is almost ready and the tea is perfect again. A little later Nick, Elise and Jeffrey join us. Time flies and then it is dark again. We thank Boung and Sareah and we wak to Senggigi. Check the mail and sea if Mohni has some news. Tom wants to know if he can come along tomorrow for diving. In Senggig we see Adi again. Now a days he walks more with DVD’s than watches. Problem with the watches is that they are very expensive to buy and he doesn’t get a lot of profit. DVD’s are more simple. Maybe he is lucky tonight. Jeffrey came along to give him company. We sit at the terras of Warung bu Reny. From there we have a good connection with internet. As we just sit down Khaerul is coming. I don’t like that, is he now going back to street selling? He says he is looking for Mohni. As I ask why, he says he needs money to buy books for school tomorrow. Strange, normally the elementary school children don’t have to buy their own books, they get them from school. So I ask him, what kind of a book he needs and were in Senggigi he think to find one. He starts to explain, a book like I had yesterday, They sell it in the supermarket. Oh, now I understand, he means an exercise book. This afternoon he couldn’t find Mohni, because it was very busy. We thinking about giving him the money, but it is better when Mohni handles this. In the meanwhile Tom started up the computer and I see that Joep and Marijke were on-line just a moment ago. A reasonably chance they are at home now. I sms to Holland and indeed they are at home and they start up the computer. A few meters away there is Adi, suspecting nothing. For some time we are trying to get him to an internet café to chat with Joep and Marijke, but he is to shy to go. Now at the terrace of a normal warung, it maybe works. Jeffrey is there to support him. The children get Adi, who comes along without a problem. We tell him how it works to chat, but that is to difficult for him. To look at an computer oke, but using it is too much for an ordinary seller. Adi says. We try to get a view by webcam, but than find out Joep and Marijke don’t have a webcam. Then we use the phone connection. Adi is looking desperate and nervous. Suddenly he hears Marijke’s voice coming out of the computer. He is really all perplexed. Unfortunately the sound is very bad. Just as bad as the loud music out of the speakers from the next to located Papya café. We take the PC and Adi and move inside. There it is a little more quit. Adi is not so afraid anymore and starts talking to Joep and Marijke. We just get parts of the sound but it doesn’t matter for Adi, he thinks it is great. As we see his face, we are happy too. Jeffrey and also Mohni talk to Joep and Marijke, The sound is getting more and more worse, so we start to chat by writing. That is the hard way for Adi, because now he has to do his own writing. I expect him to give up, but he sits down behind the computer and start typing very, very slowly. He looks very happy when he gets an answer, but then it is enough. In the mean while Mohni gave Khaerul the money to buy some exercise books. He comes back to show the books and the leftover money and bon. Then we send him home, children’s sleeping time, but not without the promise that we are going to visit his school tomorrow at eight o’clock in the morning. Yes, we really want to see Khaerul in his school uniform.  We close the chat session, pay the bill and go home. Tomorrow Tom is going to dive with Lombok Dive, so we have to be in bed early.
 

Sunday 2nd of August 2009

Around 7 o’clock I hear Tom coming cab. As a take a look, he is deep a sleep. The only news Anique heard is that the complete group didn’t catch only one fish. So no fresh fisch today. We go for breakfast. We are not waiting for Tom, because he didn’t sleep at all last night. After breakfast we go to Senggigi, Mohni is going to try to get in touch with Hamdun, our Senggigi-sponsor child of Impian Anak. Today he doesn’t have to go to school, so probably he is walking around with his sale stuff. As we sit at Mario’s whit a cup of cappuccino and checking our mail and internet (easy if you don’t have to go the an internet café) Mohni drives by. Yesterday he went to Hamdun’s house and his mother thinks he will be home around lunch time. So that would be around now. Mohni is going to look for him and Anique goes with him. A little later Mohni calls us to say that they are having some tea with Hamdun’s mother, but Hamdun is gone again. Making an appointment around here is not easy, but Hamdun is walking around some where so we will find him. As Anique and Mohni get back, I sea an older brother from Hamdun. As Mohni checks it seams to be a friend in stead of his brother. Well if Hamdun calls me mother, he can call his friend his brother, why not. Any way this friend/brother knows were Hamdun is and he will pick him up. Mohni hands over his keys from his motorbike to the boy and off he goes to find Hamdun. Just a moment later they come back together. It looks like Hamdun schrunk in stead of growing. But he still has that naughty face. He shakes our hand (after Mohni told him to do so). Hamdun and his friend join us and order a drink. Hamdun, who’s name is actually Khaerul Amin (don’t ask me why) is still as funny as always. His English is very well for a boy of 13 years old. He is very happy he can go to school now (so he says?) but he was a bit disappointed when the teacher told him he should go the 4 class. He was hoping to start in the 5th or 6th. But after a few years of truancy this was the best he could get. We talk with him and Mohni about a special course in Montong a few kilometres South of Senggigi. These courses of about 3 months, you can learn English or computer science. The lessons start at 4 o’clock in the afternoon, so he could combine it with shool in the daytime. But we decide that Khaerul first has to get used to school and home work again. If he now already starts with the course it would be too much. We give him his presents and he looks very happy. Some exercise books and some glitter pens, some ordinary pens and a T-shirt. All pens are tried immediately and his friend has to look. His friend starts to look a little bit sad. When I ask if Khaerul has some brothers or sister, we hear a complicated story. Mohni translates: his brother, who is a lot older, has been arrested some time ago. He sold a laptop for his friend. This laptop was stolen, but his brother didn’t now. They arrested another 3 boys, who are now in prison for 2 months. They have to stay for another 3 months. That is not really a good example for his younger brother. We hope that Khaerul is going to do better……….
As we say goodbye we give his friend some extra for finding Khaerul. We walk back to the kampung and find Tom at the beruga from Boung and Sareah. Sareah was going to make him some food, but a big catering order came in. She is now very busy in the kitchen. Boung, who has to work later on, serves coffee and tea. A unique thing in the kampung, because that is ladies work. Boung is a real family man and helps his wife and daughters a lot, also with housekeeping.
In between Sareah makes us some fried bananas and she serves a plate with water-melon. As Boung goes to work, we leave Sareah alone and go to Bumi Aditya. Anique made an appointment with the girls to go to the beach and the end of the afternoon. We go already so Tom and Peter can snorkel a bit. I take the laptop again, but it is no use. Tidak apa apa (it doesn’t mind) I like to talk. As the girls from the kampung arrives, Anique has to give them swimming lessons. Although they live very close to the sea, none of them can swim. Daan wants to learn very badly. But it doesn’t really works. Most of the days she comes home at 5 o’clock and sun goes down at 6. De free Friday- and Saturday afternoon she needs to do her homework. So only the Sunday is left. So not a lot of time to teach them and without us the girls hardly leave the kampung. Inconceivable! Only the doughters from Boung (the familyman) have learned how to swim. As it gets dark we walk back with all the girls, over an empty pasar Seni 2, to the kampung. For diner we go to Angels, because Cak Poer is closed on Sunday. But at Angels the food is also exellent and it is cosy. After diner we see a familiar face, Khaerul. Nice to see him, but not really. As he has to go to school tomorrow, I don’t like him to hang around in Senggigi tonight. But we didn’t see him al week, so maybe he just goes around on Sunday. I hope so. Now we call him to join us. The waiter from the restaurant looks a bit questionable, but that is his problem. I think they don’t want sellers to come in. As Tom rises, Khaerul is really chocked. How can he be so big!!! Yes, Tiom is 2 years older, but a lot bigger. We just finished our meal and we go to the internet to see Mohni. Another spot were sellers never go in alone. Khaerul looks at all the computer. He sits down on a empty chair next to Mohni’s office. That is the chair for the tourist-information. So I’m going to sit opposite of him and ask him if he knows a nice trip on Lombok. In the beginning he doesn’t understand but then he really starts acting. He has been to the waterfalls, that should be something for me. I ask if I can go to East-Lombok. No madame, Senggigi is  much more nice that the east. So we play a little and Khaerul is playing a good sales men. As he sees a small globe, he want to know were Holland is. Small country he says, Indonesia is much bigger. Then he wants to know, were is France, Germany, Australia. That’s were most of the tourist come from. This morning we asked him if he wants to join Mohni and us next weekend to gili Lampu. He likes that, but had to ask home first. His parents said no. Mohni is going to his parents and will try again. It looks like Mohni and Khaerul fee food together. We understand because it is a wonderful kid. As we show him the site of Impian Anak, he is very surprised to see a picture of himself. He even gets very quiet. A moment later Mohni starts laughing very loud. Khaerul asked him what Tom eats every day, because he is so big now…..
Now it is 9.30 and we ask Khaerul if he doesn’t have to get home. No he said, nobody cares. It should be more easy if somebody controlled him. Anyway we send him home, because of school tomorrow. We hope he really goed home. We do go home and to sleep, because tomorrow Tom and Anique are going to take a long walk to Monkey forest, together with Boung, Adi, Nick, Elise and Jeffrey and they have to get up early.
 

Saterday 1st of August 2009

The first thing we check after waking up, is the water. They just shut the water down to fix the  tap, but they forgot to put the water on again. Can happen. After testing which tap we have to use, we get (cold) water from the tap. We now are going to investigate were the warm water has to come from (or not)? A bit further is a big boiler, with below a kind of burner. The burner is filled with a thin pipe . This pipe comes from a jerry can with fuel, which is hanging in a tree not far from there. As the boiler is filled, they turn on the burner and after 10 minutes we have warm water. By the time the water reaches our room it already cools down a lot. And the idea to go to the staff and ask for hot water every time is like to much, so for now we use cold (or no) water. In the restaurant is quit busy. One table is used, we take the other table and all the quest who comes after us, have to use the low table with some small stools. Who comes even more later, just has to wait. Our neighbours eat pancakes. That looks good. Dani’s husband has pickes some nangka (jack-fruit) and Dani is cleaning it. We get a part to taste, but we don’t know if we like it. It just doesn’t has a lot of taste. Dani makes us a mixed drink. Jack-fruit with milk and ice cubes. Strange combination, but we cannot refuse. We order a pancake with syrup to go with it. The pancake is better then the drink. Tomorrow it is going to be orange juice again. Dewa is become friends with Bayu, the little son of Dani. We don’t get one word out of him, only far a way he will say “Hello”. But also Dewa cannot talk to him. We think he can only speak Sasak. But if we ask later, we hear he only speaks Balinees, because his parents come from Bali. If Dewa new this before, he is from Bali too! Bayu has asthma, something a lot of people have. It is hard to find out which medicine they use. I don’t know but I think a lot of people in Holland use an inhalator. From Sareah I understand she get’s medicine now from Proyek Kampung Loco. Now she doesn’t have to go to the hospital in the middle of the night, like she did before. But still she complains of breathing problems. Also Dita, the oldest child of Mohni and Sofie, has a lot of problems with asthma and has very often a cold or fever. If they go to the hospital they get medicine, but if it really helps? The people here think it has something to do with bad houses and they think when they move the problem is solved. But moving if often not possible and I wonder if the problem is solved that way. Also ice cream and cookies often get the blame of the asthma attacks. But if you see how much dust and smoke they inhale every day, you just understand how they get sick. Maybe there is an easy solution for this problems, but unfortunately  we don’t have the medical knowledge or language knowledge to find out really. But it is something we want to find out in Holland. Wouldn’t it be great if we could help the people here. After breakfast Dewa wants to see the house of Joep and Marijke. So yes we give him a complete kampung-tour, including rumah Joep dan Marijke dari Belanda. When Mariam, Adi’s wife sees us, we get some tea and cookies. Nice but the cookies are quit hard on a base of rice oak which is used a lot in Bali for ceremonies. Adi is not at home. As we sit there and have some tea, Nick, Elise and Jeffrey are coming back from the gili’s. Glad to be ‘home’ again. They come and join us and we talk a little. Then we leave again, but there is not much we can do, because Dewa has to catch the boat at 15.30.  Mohni promised to take him to the harbour. Around 14.30 the car from Lombok Dive will pick him up. Tom goes with them to the harbour were the GiliCat arrives and after that to the harbour of Teluk Nare, to wait for the boat with divers and help to clean the boat and everything. So we go and have lunch in a real hotel. We go to Graha were we always had a good meal. Nice to be there again and to see everybody. After a good meal we go to the swimming gpool were Odjong, the happy lifeguard from Loco is working. We take a short walk on the beach and Dewa buys a nice present for Kaded, a souvenir for her from Lombok. Then it is time to go back to the guesthouse. We have a small drink until the car comes to pick up Dewa and Tom. Dewa enjoyed to stay but is worried about the way back on the boat, but on the other hand he is also afraid to fly. We think it was great to have Dewa here as our guest. On Bali he is always our guide. As Tom will stay away some time, we decide to go to the beach again. On the point near Senggigi beach Hotel you can have a good snorkel . I’m not such a water person, so I take my book and the laptop. So I can put in the story or read a little. As we walk the beach we meet a seller we know, Achim or Kim. The nice wood carve seller. He speaks Dutch very well, but now we are able to talk  language a bit. He shows us the picture which we made last year from him with Peter and Anique. He carries the picture around every day. Last November Peter wanted to give him the picture but he didn’t meet him. Later on Adi gave it. It is nice to see how happy they are with just a picuture. Also mister Flores, the batik sales man, came a few days ago to tell that he had a nice picture of Tom in his house. His daughter is looking at it every day and loves to meet Tom. We just told him that we have a lot to do this holiday, because if we do al the visits they invite us for, we would need some extra months over here. (Maybe not such a bad idea). Mister Flores has become much more easy to handle. For some years I had a problem with him. He was kind but pathetic and persistent. Now he knows I am going to buy some postcards from him before we go back to Holland. But it is no use to ask me every day. This makes live for him and me a lot easier to handle. Now we can just talk a little. The same thing with Kim, so no problems. Kim already heard from the other sellers, that we are around. To make sure he showed them the picture. So it is quit useful to have a picture archive. Now we just have a short talk and we tell him were Tom is at the moment. We go on to the nice snorkel spot. Peter and Anique go into the water and I tak my laptop. After a few minutes, somebody sits behind me looking what I’m doing. I pretend not to see him and just go on typing, but that doesn’t work. The seller starts talking to me. As some minutes later Kim joins us, to tell the new seller who we are and that he knows us already long time, I put down the laptop and join the conversation. That the way live goes around here. There is no privacy, and the people here think this is oke. Every thing happens outside, so everybody sees what happens. Somebody who sits alone is pathetic so they will always come and talk to you. If you just want to sit and read a book, it doesn’t always work, but it is just the Lombok-culture and following that is not so bad. So we talk a little as suddenly Tom is standing behind me. So quickly? After they put Dewa on the boat, they came back to Senggigi, because the Lombok Dive boat was not yet back in the harbour. Tom called me, put the mobile was in my bag and I didn’t hear a thing. But long live the curiosity of the Lombok people, ever body knew that   we went to the beach to snorkel, They asked us on the way to this spot about 20 times “Mau ke mana” (were are you going). “ke pantai” (to the beach), so every body could tell Tom were we are. Good system. As Peter and Anique come out of the water they are enthusiastic about the snorkel spot. No impressive fishes but the coral was more nice then they expected. We decide to have a drink at the mini warung of a family out of kampung Loco. They sell coffee, tea, soda, noedelsup and some small snacks. Peter and I’ll have a Indo-cappuccino coffee. The children take a The Botol, a kind of ice-tea, nice cold out of the cooling box. As we talk with the man about their and our children, the women comes with pisang goreng (fried bananas) Mhh great… It is a cosy spot, with more locals then tourist. An English lady is looking from some distance and later on she asks me, want I’m drinking. She askes if it is expensive. I have no idea, but it will be much more cheap then in a restaurant, that’s for sure. She looks dubious, but then walks on. Probably frighten by al the stories about not drink or eat at the local stalls or warungs. But we know they use water from bottles and we are getting more and more easy about this way of living. I think you have to get used to it. A few years ago always one of us was sick for one day, maybe eat something wrong, but the last years it didn’t happen again, wile now we eat everywhere. As we paid a ridiculously small amount and a small talk to a Dutch man who comes here every day for his coffee. We walk on to pasar Seni (art market) in the north of Senggigi. Today pasar Seni 2 is opened, a new project opposite the track to kampung Loco. There about 10 shops. They were there last year but the official opening is today. Opposite of the shops are some party tents, were people sell food and drinks. Original it was mend to put all the stalls of the street in here, to clean up the main street a little. But lucky wise it didn’t work. It is a part of the life here and we enjoy looking at the stalls when we walk the street. We think pasar Seni 2 is going to be a failure, even before opening. It looks nice, with some small shops, but unfortunately no tourist over here. There are only some locals walking around and they don’t buy. Pasar Seni 1 who already exist for a long time has hardly any customers, so why they made another pasar on a location were hardly any tourist come, we don’t know. We walk cross an empty pasar Seni 1 back to the centre. Now it is dark and getting more dark when the electric is off again. Only the restaurants, hotels and shops with a generator have some light. The first power failure since we arrived so good for us. Cak Poer always work with a generator, so we go there for our meal. The waiter asks if we want fish again, but no thank you, not today.  Just a plain nasi goreng, because maybe we get fish tomorrow. Tom is going to fish tonight. Together with Boung, Eful, Cud, Adi and Jeffrey and some other men of the kampung. The are going to fish and sleep on the beach. So tomorrow we get a lot of fish (or not). As we walk back to the kampung after a while, electricity is back again. At the beruga of Boung the fishermen come together. All men wear thick coats and hats. For Tom they arranged a fishing rod. Everybody is worried that Tom is joining them wearing only short trousers and a T-shirt. He is not going to take a coat and doesn’t except it to be cold at all. If it gets cold, he will run back to the kampung to get a coat. We walk back to the guesthouse and promise him that we are coming to have a look later on. As we got to the beach around 12 it is a nice lot. De fishing rods are in the sea and the fishes are swimming gently arount them. The locals are sitting around a kamp fire, being very cold. Tom and Jeffrey are walking around in their T-shirt, not cold at all. The rest doesn’t understand, they even built a little tent so they can take a nap now and then. In between they get some hot coffee at pasar Seni 2. After one hour, in which we see only small fishes which they put on the hook, we go back to our guesthouse to sleep in a very warm room. Sleeping on the beach isn’t such a bad idea!
 

Friday 31st of July 2009

As we wake up, I first take a salty shower. Here also no hot water and no sweet water. Al the sweet water has to be taken from Lombok by boat, so is used only when necessary. But it doesn’t matter, this works to. Yesterday they promised us, when we get back from gili Meno, we will have hot water in Bumi Aditya. Then I will wash my hair. With salt water it has now use and on the other hand we are still one day at sea. As everybody wakes up, we go to the beach for breakfast. It takes a while for everybody has his breakfast, but that doesn’t matter, our pick-up service is at 9.30 and can be a little bit later. To be sure that we are ready, we start packing after breakfast and we check out. The bill for food and drinks is very low. That the good thing about Indonesia! The boat is indeed a little more late. Mohni called us to tell, he had more divers and stuff to take this time. The boat is full, but from Meno we sail to gili Trawangan, were some people get of the boat and some get in. I get of the boat in Trawangan too, because if everything works out, Dewa is coming with the GiliCat (the fast boat from Bali to Lombok and the Gili’s). The Lombok Dive boat leaves and I walk to the pier of the GiliCat. It is very busy on Trawangan. A very different live then on Lombok. Many young tourists, diving schools, the modern beachlife, but still a bit Lombok-style. Messy, dusty and no motorized traffic. All tourist who arrives ath the pier can get a cidomo. A small horse-car. It is nice to see, very full cidomo’s and tourist worrying when they have to get in too. At a quarter to eleven the GiliCat comes in sight. A few people are waiting. They get this boat later on. As the boat is on the pier, the people slowly get of, I am looking for Dewa, but I just don’t see him. Tourist keep coming from the boat. I’m surprised how many people are in that small boat. Just no Dewa. How strange?? I try to call him but he doesn’t answer. What to do now? Maybe he arrived whit an earlier boat, sow I start walking around and looking. When I’m on the beach, I see another boat coming. The GiliCat II. Because it’s so busy, they have 2 boats now. So I go back to the pier to look for him. And yes after a while I see him coming. Big sunglasses, hat, black trousers and black coat. When I look at him, I notice some thing strange, I just don’t know what?? He is surprised and looking around. The last time he visited Trawangan was in 2003, but then it looked a lot less crowdie than now. Now it almost looks like Kuta in Bali. As we walk along the beach, I ask him, if he isn’t hot, with his coat on and closed to the top. Yes, but he is afraid to open it, he wares a lifejacket under his coat!! Dewa is afraid on the boat, crossing the sea, so he bought himself a lifejacket with a big coat. So not everybody can see that he is afraid. Now I know what was strange about him. He looked a lot more fat, then before. I persuade him to take of his coat and lifejacket. Pfff that more like it. He was really scared to dead on the boat, but it also very happy to be in Trawangan again. To relax I take him to a restaurant and we have a juice. On that moment somebody taps my shoulder. It is Elise. Yesterday she left with Nick and Jeffrey to stay for 2 nights on Trawangan, but as they left they didn’t had a place to stay, so they thought that they had to go back in the evening to Lombok. But they managed to find a room for 2 nights, so they are still here. They join us and I have a warm smile as they tell me they already feel homesick to the peace and cosines of kampung Loco. It is so busy here. I recognise that feeling. It bit after 12 Peter phones, that they are back on the beach. We say goodbye to Nick and Elise and go to the beach. All in the back we find the boat from Lombok Dive. Then they tell us that we still staying I while on Trawangan. In the lunch break again some people are going for a dive. They were to late this morning. It is the same story every day. Dewa keeps looking at Tom. He doesn’t understand that Tom is so big now, even bigger than Peter. We follow Mohni to a small warung, were we go for lunch. A very small restaurant full of people. A very old grandmother is filling the plates. In front of her on the table there is all kind of food and you just point whatever you like to have. The drinks you pick your self out of the fridge. You also pay the old lady for the food. A lot of divers sitting together in groups, I wonder how she knows who is with who and what to pay. Probably a matter of trust. Anyway the food is so cheap that we can not imaging that the tourist will abuse the situation. We have a great lunch. Rendang, sate, urab and kangkung, the famous water spinach with coconut milk.  During the meal we have a talk. The diving this morning was very nice, only Anique had a little problem with her ears, so she came up more early with Mohni. After lunch we go and sit on the beach and eat the nice apples and pears Mohhni gave us yesterday. A healthy dessert. As the boat with the divers returns, we go on board. Dewa puts on his lifejacket again, but this time without the coat. Between Meno and Trawangan the divers and snorkelers go back into the water. Anique, Dewa and I stay aboard with the crew and enjoy the peace and a watermelon. Service from Lombok Dive. In between they clean the boat a little bit, because when the divers come back with all there stuff, we should have some room a board. Anyway it is very busy with divers in this part of the sea. Some diving schools drop 20 divers with only one dive master. Lombok Dive prefers smaller groups. After half an hour the first groups come up again. Then you have to look carefully, which group belongs to which boat. “Our” group has a kind of long balloon, so the captain can see very easy which group is ours. As we collected everyone we go back to Trawangan to leaf some people there and to pick up some other people. Then back to Meno were one of the diving masters lives. After that full speed to Lombok. Dewa enjoys, but still in his lifejacket. We go and sit on the top of the boat, because below you get a lot of water drops at the end of the afternoon. As we enter the harbour at Teluk Nare, the tourist leaf by car. Peter and Tom help Mohni to get the stuff from the boat and cleaning everything. Before putting the diving suits away, they have to be cleaned with sweet water . After that they have to fill all the diving cylinders again. The captain will take care of that the next few hours. We get in to Mohni’s car and go back to Senggigi. Again Dewa is looking and looking. Many things are gone, many things are new. As we reach our guesthouse it is dark already. We are happy that we  made a reservation for Dewa, because the guesthouse is full again. Before we left they promised us hot water. So we will see. But warm or cold I just want to wash my hear now. At least we have a new water tap in the bathroom. It looks very impressive with a kind of pipes. As I turn on the tap, there is a pity full small water coming out. The showerhead is on top of the toilet. Very handy. Not really so I use the old one again in the corner. So no hot water. But now I don’t get any water at all. I already shampooed my hair, so I need some water to clean! I use the little bit of water from the other shower. After that Peter takes a shower and he even gets warm water. Just a little bit keeps coming out. As he tries to turn the tap open, he has the tap in his hand and the water syringe out every were. He cannot get the tap back. This is humour!!!  He dries, dresses and gets help. The only thing they now can do is shut the water down again. Now, everbody in the guesthouse has no water. We learned already to keep the mandibak full of water, so we still have some water left to clean the toilet. Even Dewa has freshen up a little and we sit together. He brought some nice presents from Bali. A beautiful piggy bank for Tom and Anique. For Peter a photo list and for me some placemats with nice napkins. We have some nice Dutch waffles for him and some puzzles with real traditional Dutch pictures on it. For his girlfriend Kadek, who could not come, a nice watch made of wood and coconut (I think made in Indonesia, but bought in Holland!) Dewa wants to see the kampung, so in the dark we go around the kampung. We leaf the key at the reception, because it would be nice if they repair the tap. No water is not easy. As we walk by the kampung, Daan invites us on the beruga. There is tea and cookies. The hospitality of these people is overwhelming. It is easy to have Dewa with us, for he speaks Dutch and bahasa Indonesia. Now we find out that Daan’s father works at a furniture business. Eful joins us and talks with Dewa too. Then we become hungry again. Dewa can choose were we go this time. He preferred Cak Poer, whick he knows from long ago. We think this is a very good choice. On the way, Dewa meets a lot of our other Lombok friends, like Adi. At Cak Poer we order a fish, but none of use can finish the meal. We want to go somewhere else to have a drink an a dessert. This time we choose Wira, a new restaurant opposite the internet café. When you order there, you can get a laptop with internet on your table. Nice, but we have our own laptop, with internet, so no thank you. We order an ice cappuccino and the rest wants also a pancake. Not for me, I had enough. The coffee is no good, a little bit of coffee and a lot of water and waterice. No tast at all. Also the pancakes are not nice. The bill is shocking too. Almost as much as we had to pay at Cak Poer for al the fish and juices we had. Here we are not coming back! It’s late already so we go back home. Tom and Anique go to sleep and we invite Dewa to have a drink at our place. Unfortunately we only have half a bottle of water. Peter and Dewa decide to walk to the 24 hour store in front at the main road. But on the way they see Dani, the staff from Bumi. She will bring some drinks. Oke, no problem. Quit some time later (Peter and Dewa could have walked to the main road more then 4 times) she comes with 3 glazes of juice. We talk a little but are tired, so we go to sleep. Tomorrow is another day. As we are just in bed I hear all kind of thing. I put on the small light an see the soap sliding into the sink??? Strange, I keep hearing things and few moments later I see a mouse coming out of the sink. In the morning you can see the print of the mouse teeth in the soap. Nice questhouse, cold water, nog water, broken taps, soap eating mousse. It is a pity we cannot give the mouse some water to get the taste of the soap out, because we got a new tap, but still no water is coming. You get used to everything, even the kampung life!!
 

Thursday 30th of July 2009

Today  around 8.15 somebody from Lombok Dive is coming to pick us up, so we have breakfast at 7 o’clock. It takes some time to make a breakfast so we have to be early. But it works oke this time and in time we are ready for our trip to the gili’s.
At 8.10 hours the little van from Lombok Dive drives in. Bayu, the little son from the staff is standing around to rule the traffic. He is always there, if the plants need water, or something has to been cleaned, or ruling the traffic. He runs around the car, telling the driver what to do. Very dangerous, but everything goes well. We go to Graha Hotel were the family Mantel gets in. They are also going to dive. After half an hour and many curves and mountains we reach Teluk Nara were the boat from Lombok Dive lies. De stuff for diving are located in a former hotel nearby, so they don’t have to take al the things back to Senggigi every day. Also they have the compressor for filling the diving cylinders over here. Before it was in Senggigi, but it was to noisy for the neighbours, because often they were filling the cylinders in the middle of the night, because the next day they had to be used again.
We get a warm welcome from the dive masters and boat crew, Good to see that a lot of them are the same as last year. Not many changing’s in staff. The boat has been painted a few weeks ago. The yellow colour needed a new boost, but now everything looks fine again. A boat over here needs a lot of maintenance, it is used almost every day and also the climate is due to that. The biggest problem is when to take the boat out for repair. It has to be a quit moment when there are not to much customers. The good thing is that last year was very busy.
When all the stuff is on board, we are leaving for the Gili’s. First we go to Trawangan. There we have to pick up some people who want to go for diving. These are the people who were on the wrong spot yesterday and they missed one dive. Now again they are not they not there…
The waiting time is used to get a watermelon. Good for after the diving. And now we sit and wait… They don’t answer the phone. Mohni doesn’t want to miss them again, but the other customers are waiting. What to do? Just a moment later 2 of 3 are, slowly walking coming to the boat. Number 3 is coming in a moment. It should be time and after quit a while number 3 is coming. Nice to have customers like that. But at last we can go to the first diving spot. Anique is also going to try now. Very exciting here first dive in open sea. But everything goes well and after one hour they all come up, satisfied. After the dive we go to gili Meno, were we are going to stay tonight. We get a drop of at the beach in front of the hotel. Easy by boat. The complete group can have lunch at the hotel. We first going to check if our rooms are reserved. We reserved from Holland to a small agency in Bali. The staff is looking worried. How much did we pay in advance? About 50 euro and we brought all the papers. There same to  be a problem. But after reading everything very well, it is oke. They thought we  were going to stay for 2 nights and then 50 euro wouldn’t be enough, but for one night it is no problem. They show us the rooms. It looks good, small bamboe houses, with below a bathroom and on the first floor the bedroom with a balcony. Not direct on the beach, but we can see the sea. We leave our luggage behind and go back to the restarant, cosy tables en beruga’s on the beach. And what kind of beach, beautiful white sand and blue sea. I order a gado-gado. You have to wait some while but the food is excellent, a bit spicey but that doesn’t matter. Mohni is so kind to give the divers (who missed one dive yesterday) an extra dive during the lunch break. Because of that the rest has to wait a little, but who cares, we sit fine. As the other divers leave again I stay there together with Nanda Mantel. We pass the time by a nice chat about travelling. After one hour they bring back Peter, Tom and Anique. They refresh a little and we go for a walk. We walk over the beach to the other side of the island, which isn’t very big. It prity quit, Near the landing spot for the boats, are some hotels, shops and a few houses. In the inland there is a real bird park, a mosque and a puskesmas (healthcentre). Near the harbour we drink a juice. After that we hurry up across the island  because we want to see the sunset and make a picture. Whit just one millimetre to go, we are just in time. One picture and the sun is gone. Then is getting dark very quickly. We go on to our hotel and first we walk into the kitchen to look for our diner. A nice big fish that they will put on the barbeque. We order some French frites and fresh vegetables and 4 small spring rolls  as a starter. Soon 2 spring rolls are coming. Then the French frites and after hals an hour the fish and the vegetables. It is a little bit difficult to eat, because the fish has a lot of fish bones and it is quit dark . But, lucky for us, we have to small flash lights in our bag, We hang them at our parasol and thanks to that we can see what we eat. As we are almost finished they bring us the 2 last spring rolls. Nice in time….
After diner we don’t want to go to sleep, so we take a sit on a beruga. With a drink, book, laptop, good life. Some music which stops several times because of the power failure, just like the light. But we still have our flashlights. As everybody around us is heading for bed, we are going to, so the staff can to sleep too. In our room we see a new house pet, a big salamander (gecko) is sitting on the wall. Quickly I make a picture before he disappears. Then we crawl under our mosquito net and go to sleep.
 

Wednesday 29th of July 2009

After a good night sleep, we wake up in time. At breakfast Dani knows exactly what we ordered yesterday. So that is what we get today again. Easy, but I think this is going to be it for the rest of our stay. Juice, toast, the children an omelette and Peter en me jam with a plate of fruit.
After breakfast we walk to Senggigi again, not over the track next to the river, but we cross the new bridge to the other side of the kampung. The houses over here are more poor then the other side. A lot of water wells. We don’t know if the people from this side use the water tank at the other side.
Today we are going to look around with Mohni to se some empty properties in Senggigi. He has his divingschool located at an internet café. His own location would be better.
Mohni is not at the office, he has an appointment with some people at an hotel, who want to have a diving course.
But we do meet Adi, a nice talk. He doesn’t seem to sell much. Next to watches, he is now selling DVD’s According to him, it is good business, cheaper, but its sells easier then watches. We invite him for a cup of coffee, but as he sees that warung Bu Reny is closed he calls of the invitation. The other restaurant are not so sellers minded, so he doesn’t like to go there.
No problem, we go with the 4 of us. At Mario’s they have a great iced cappuccino. That is what it’s going to be.
We see Mohni flash over on a motorbike. Just a moment later he joins us.
His customers at the hotel didn’t show up. We order another drink and talk about the possibilities of some properties. There is a lot empty, but not everything is for sale or rent.
In the mean while Mohni mobil is ringing all the time, customers from Malaysia, who are waiting for the boat at gili Trawangan. Unfortunately Mohni cannot that reach the skipper from the boat. Big problem. After a lot of calls, sames that the customers are not on the place they should be. Instead of the normal place, on the beacht next to the pier, they are waiting at the pier for the speedboat to Bali. The boat from Lombok Dive is not allowed to stop there. As Mohni has contact with his skipper, he hears that they waited for a long time, but they didn’t want the other divers to wait, so the left.
As we finished our drink, we go and see the first propertie near to Pasar Sini, in the north of Senggigi. About 10 small spaces. From 2 spaces they made 1 big office, which is now for rent.  A big place. A friend of Mohni now rente a smaller office. Looks good, but as a divingschool/office to small. Some body has a key to the dubbe room, which is empty already for a long time. There was a photo shop before. The room needs a lot of extra work, cracks in the wall, leaks in the seiling and a broken seiling. An arico which doesn’t function and a front made of glass, with a small door. In the summertime it must be very hot. Actually is very big and you have to pay 3 years rent in advance.
Also you have to pay the facelift of the office yourself. Not ideal. We drink a juice at a friend of Mohni, who use to be a divingmaster, but now runs an tourist office.
We go back to the centre. All kinds of small shops are empty for many years. Close to the main raod, but a little in the back. It looks nice with some shops already opened now. Mohni calls one of the office numbers which we see at the window. But the price is very high.
As we walk back Mohni has a chat with some customers from a few days agoo. It is a Dutch couple, Mr. and Mrs. Mantel. Nanda Mantel is de director of an elementary school in Holland, called the Koempoelan. They had a special action in school to collect money for the good purpose. A part of this money went to Proyek Kampung Loco. Nanda Mantel is now here to see the project herself.
We still on property hunting. So one more option, a office at a side road of the mainroad to the beach, were hotel Senggigi Beach is located. Also some nice shops, build long time ago and now are slowly starting up. Not so good for Mohni, not many tourist over there.
So we are not really successful. And Mohni is still not sure to get a new location or wait a little bit. We want to help him, but only if we feel like the building is oke and also Mohni must feel 100% allright.
In the mean time it is time for lunch.
Mohni says thank you, becau he just had a phone call from the people from the hotel, he missed this morning. Yes, the customer goes first, so Mohni goes to the hotel again, friendly like always.
In the mean while Bu Reny had opened again, so we go there for lunch and check our mails and send some reports.
Bu (misses) Reny is a young girl, who can cook real good, but doesn’t have a lot of customers. It is a shame, because she tries very hard and the food is excellent and of good quality. The only bad thing is that there are only a few choices of food. I don’t care, you can give me nasi or mie goreng every day, surely when it is made so well with a lot of fresh vegetables. On the website we see that Nick also send hes travel reports, but Marijke cannot put them on the site. Tom hustles a bit and gets the stories on the right place. Yes he is even webmaster on his holiday.
As we walk back to the kampung, we meet the chauffeur from Graha hotel. Whit him we had many nice chats last year (and he cleaned our car last year, several times). He is surprised to see us, he didn’t see our car in the front. We explain to him that we are staying in the kampung this time. Yes he understands. At Graha is very quit, just today there is a big company. For him there is not much to do. Only one other couple from Holland (fam. Mantel) who have their own rental car. Right we just met them.
We go on to the kampung and end up at the beruga from Boung and Sareah. It’s always great to stay there, with a cup of tea and a piece of watermelon.
We want to go to the beach and ask Nurul if she wants to come with us. First she has to ask mum and dad, but then it’s oke. Boung wants to go to the beach to, but he has to go to work, but maybe we want to take the youngest daughter Ana. Sure no problem, the more people, the more fun. We go back to our rooms to get some stuff and see 7 children waiting for us to go.
Nurul got some peanuts from Sareah to eat at the beacht.
This is ideal, because the children don’t speak English, onlu Nurul a few words, so I can practice my bahasa Indonesia. It is just a simple conversation, but together with hand and feet we manage to understand each other.
We look for a nice spot under a tree (di bawah pohon).
Peter, Anique and our Lombok-children run into the sea. Tom is trying a flier and I brought my laptop to work at my story. Even before I start the laptop, a salesman sitting next to me, with the famous “chaines with dead cows”. Laces with a kind of amulet made out of cow bones. We don’t need anything but the seller looks nice and I am going to speak only bahasa Indonesia. It works! The seller, a young men who I haven’t seen before, is doing his very best to speak slow and clear. So we have a complete conversation about the children, Tom and Anique off course and about the other children. Why do we know these children? Were do you come from? He tells me he is living in Ampanan (or did he say Mataram?) but now  has a room here in Senggigi. He has a son of 8 years and soon his wife is going to give birth to number 2. So we talk a while and I learn a lot. Tom joins us and tells the seller that he has a collection of salamanders at home from all kinds of materials or sizes. That business, because the seller has one at a lace.
Tom already has one like that, but a little more bright colour. After such a nice talk we have to buy something. Now the hard part comes, tawarren (negotiate). I hate it, but it is a part of the live here. Nothing (accept supermarket stuff and cars) has a fixed price, so first we look how many necklace we want. I want to know the price, but he says, it depends on how many you take. He thinks around 10, I don’t think so, 3 should do. After some talk we have our price. I don’t have small money and he  has no exchange. But ndee kombee kombee (it doesn’t matter in Sasak). He will change. To make sure he is fair, he leaves his stuff with me, without me asking. A bit later he comes back and very slowly he is counting the money back, looking at me. Oke just leave the last note. 3 necklace and half an hour training bahasa Indonesia is to worth 3 euro for me.
The seller is looking at Tom’s flier, a model which ones was a gift at the supermarket in Holland. We saw a lot of them for only 60 cents, so we bought some and bring them to Indonesia.
We decide to give this flyer to the seller for his son. But not only his son, he is enjoying the flyer to.
We walk back to the kampung with all the children. They are all wet, because they swim with their clothes on. What can be more fun then playing in the sand with wet clothes?
Back in our rooms we start to pack some things, because tomorrow we are going to Gili Meno.
In the evening again a meal at warung Bu Reny. Good and cheap and meanwhile we are the best (and only) customers, what gives us an extra part of chicken with the nasi goreng.  Unfortunately they have no dessert, so we go on looking, but every where it is very busy. We go to café Berry, near the kampung. We heard some stories about this place, but we have never been there. It is also not our favourite type of restaurant, apart kind of people and very loud music. Unfortunately no pisang goreng on the menu, but when I ask for it, the owner tell us he can make some. You want with cheese? Mmm, strange combination?

After coffee and pisang goreng, the owner comes for a talk, were, when, how long, were you stay etc. Holland, Monday evening, 25 days, Bumi Aditya.

So now he knows. He has some names from familiar Dutch people, but we don’t know them. Than we say Joep and Marijke. O yes he knows them, then he says something like coffee Himalaya or something like that, coffee with a lot of cream on top. We cannot order the same because the machine is broken.
We think it is enough for today, because tomorrow we are going to have a long day at the gili’s
One more good sleep in Loco!

 

Tuesday 28th of July

I wake up at 8 o’clock. I had a real good night. I decide to take a fresh shower, literally fresh, there seems to be no hot water. According to Eful there are a lot of problems with the water. On the moment all rooms at Bumi Aditya are full, but there have been months without hardly any guests. After some payment delay, the water has been disconnected. Now they get water from another source or pumping op the water. As I’m standing under a cold shower, I realise it is not so bad at all. You really get more fresh. In Holland the warm water is great, surely when it is cold, but over here it’s always warm… As Peter want to take a shower after me, there is no water at all. Bad luck, maybe I used to much water? No problem, we have breakfast first. At the reception/dining room they put down some tables, you have to if you have more customers. We can choose out of juice, coffee, tea and toast with egg or jam. Including a plate with fruit. Good breakfast.
After breakfast, it’s 10 o’clock already, we walk into the kampung again. At Boung and Sareah’s place everything is closed. Nobody at home. We go one and meet the mother of Nurul, our first sponsor child of kampung Loco. She speaks only bahasa Indonesia but I find out that Nurul will be home around 1 o’clock from school. We go on again and we meet the mother of Daan, our 2 sponsor child. She, together with her youngest doughter Zarah 14 months old, is putting the cow in the field. Now again we have to talk bahasa Indonesia. Zarah is now a nice little girl. Big curious eyes and a chubby child, or like Daan described her a few months ago: a big fat baby. Mariam, Adi’s wife joins us. It’s lovely to see al those familiar faces again. Then we see some another familiar faces, but not from Lombok. Nick and Elise, whom we met in Holland, are now staying in the house of Joep and Marijke, together with Nick’s son Jeffrey. I’m sorry Joep and Marijke, I know it hurts, but I have to write everything…………
We go to their place and sit on the terrace. It feels good in the shadow behind the new sunscreen. Nice with a little bit wind and exchange stories. We enjoying hearing the story about Sareah: Boung, Jeffrey and Eful had decided, after a cosy evening, to sleep outside on the beruga. Boung and Eful woke up in time, but Jeffrey was still a sleep, with his head under the sarong, but his feet outside. When Sareah got outside, she thought Boung was still sleeping and she want to wake him up, with a big slap on his feet, saying something in Sasak, like: Get up you!!! We don’t know who had the biggest shock, Sareah or Jeffrey, who knows?
Sareah is going to hear this story probably until the end of days.
As we want to walk back, Mansur and his wife, the father and mother of Nurul invites us for a
drink. We sit down on the beruga. Then also Sareah and her daughter Nur are coming to say
hello. Nurul’s mother is making the tea and Sareah brings the kroepoek, because she knows,
Tom likes so much. She didn’t forget. In part English (Mansur knows, because he has often
tourist in his chidomo (hoursecar) and part bahasa Indonesia we talk. Sareah is still impressed
that she could see me some weeks ago by internet. She was at home, but the girls got a phone
and with Mohni´s laptop they made webcam contact. Sareah couldn’t understand how it
worked. But now sitting together is much more better. Odjong the lifquard from Graha comes
along and also Suherman. With Suherman we talked a lot last year, He is the first  (bigger)
child that found a job after sponsoring by Proyek Kampung Loco. We are very happy to hear
that he is still working as security at Graha hotel. He can still stay `good night´in perfect
Dutch what we learned him last year, he teaches us Sasak. After a wile we walk back to our
guesthouse . We pick up our stuff and go to Senggigi to see if Mohni is around and to hand
him some things. The PPPK, first aid kit and some diving tools. Mohni is not around so we
leaf the stuff in his office. Again we meet Adi and we invite him for lunch. He doesn´t want
any lunch but joins us for a drink. On his advice we try a little warung called Warung Reny,
next to the internet café. The nasi goreng is outstanding and has Cak Poer prices. This means
we are going to eat here more often next weeks. As we are sitting here together with Adi we
show him some pictures from Holland and Singapore. He likes our little laptop. We tell him
that we can get in touch with Joep and Marijke in Holland. This way we try to get him to use
the laptop also. We are going to try to use our laptop wireless, without using the pc´s of
internet café. The first time Tom used the usb stick on those pc´s he had a virus on the stick.
Just like last year. If Peter askes later on, it is no problem, we get an inlog code and use their
wireless network, We pay later, This feels good, because now we can use the warung next
door and maybe this is more easy for Adi, because he is to shy to use internet.  So Joep and
Marijke we have hope that it is going to work this holiday. After lunch we continue our walk
in Senggigi. Not much has changed, some restaurants gone, some new came. We go on to
pasar Seni (art market) were we enjoy a fruit juice. For this drink we pay almost as much s for
the complete lunch, one hour ago, but still very cheap comparing Dutch prices.
We go to the supermarket, because we have to do some shopping. We want to clean our
rooms a little bit. It wasn’t really clean so we buy a bucket and some detergent. Always useful
for somebody when we leave. We get some popmie, coffee, tea and look for something to boil
water inside. We have a cooking spiral, but all the plastic is not really convenient. We will see
if it works. We go back to the guesthouse and start cleaning. After a while Tom and Anique´s
new room is free and the staff starts to clean that room very well. Maybe they follow my
model. We still haven’t met our sponsor children, so we take our presents and walk back into
the kampung again. Nurul already sees us and shows her big smile. Hardly got any bigger  last
year, considering she goes to junior highschool this year. We got her a Jip and Janneke book
in English (these books are very well known in Holland). But it must be very hard for her.
There will surely be somebody in the kampung to help her. Anique also made her an beautiful
bracelet and she gets a pink watch. She is very, very happy and sits next to Anique on the
beruga. Then Nur is coming, he is our newest Proyek Kampung Loco child. He has no
parents, but 3 half brothers, Cuk, Boung and Mami and 1 half sister, who are much older, but
live in the kampung. He lives with al of them, chancing as often as he wants. For him we have
an English book of Roald Dahl and a shirt. He is to shy to show that he is pleased. Daan who
is coming along is not shy at all. But really pleased to see us and we love to see her. She gets
another book of Roald Dahl and also a bracelet and a watch, but this time in green. Pink is no
colour for a cool girl like Daan.
In the mean time Sareah puts again a lot of small bites on the beruga, although we protest. It
gets very cosy, also with the little sister of Daan, Zarah. She laughs, enjoys and doesn’t start
 screaming when she sees the white people. Boung joining us and whit him, who we consider
a big child, times passes quickly and enjoyable. Time flies. We decide to go for diner to Cak
Poer again. After that we see Mohni. He has been very busy. His daughter Dita has very
quickly a cold, probably she has asthma. Something you hear a lot around here. She is now a
little bit better and together with Mohni we walk to his house in kampung Loco. The children
are sleeping already, but his wife Sofie makes some tea and Santi brings some cookies. Santi
is Sofie´s sister and she also lives in kampung Loco. She studying to be a teacher and also
helps Mohni with our Project Imipan Anak.
We give the presents and have to get used again of the Indonesian way to accept. They don’t
look at the present but put it away. Already some years ago we were surprised that the
children didn’t open their present as long as we were around. This is an Indonesian rule, so
when you are a bit disappointed by the present you get, the person who gave the present will
not know. So all the gifts and clothes for Dita are put away, only the special waffles we
brought for Mohni, shows his face with a big smile. He loved them last year so much!
We discus some things with Mohni about his diving school. He asked us to help him with his
Administration. He knows everything about diving, but bookkeeping and financial
administration is not really his thing, but also a part of his company. We often offered to help
him, but until now he wanted to try on his own. The next weeks we are going to help him with
this. Also we talk about the location of the diving school. He is now using a part of the
internet café. Not bad, but his own office should be better. It is hard to find a good location
and payable. We make an appointment for tomorrow to look around. We say goodbye to
Sofie. Mohni has to go to the harbour to put everything ready for tomorrow. We cross the
bridge to the other side of the kampung, were our questhouse is located. The new bridge if
 great. Last year we still had to cross the river. At Cuk´s house there is still light. He is
painting the new part of his house. It is almost midnight, but that is a great time for a job like
this, not so warm any more. We think it’s enough for today and go home.
In the questhouse Peter wants to take a short shower, but again no drup of water, no cold, no
hot water.
A few German tourists are walking around, but have no idea were to complain. Peter goes
with them to ask Cuk were the staff of the questhouse is on the moment. They must be in bed.
On the way he sees Suherman, who just finished his work at Graha. He finds somebody from
the staff. Together they try to get the water pomp functioning again. It takes some while, but
then we have water and everyboding can take a shower.
After getting an ant nest out of Tom and Aniques room, we can go to sleep. Yeah, the
 Kampung life is not always easy……………
 

Monday 27th of July

We are now 14.00 hours Singapore time, on Changi Airport in Singapore. Last night I just had a few short  naps. But the flight was all right. It was quit in the plane, good service and the food was fine. Even an apple in the middle of the night. So some how we missed one night. 6.30 in the morning (0.30 hours Dutch time) we got of the plane. We crossed the customs and took the bus to the centre at 8.00 hours. Over there we walked around and saw a lot in a few hours. A peculiar city. Very modern, very clean, almost sterile. We went to China-town and even there it was very neatly. We visited a beautiful Chinese and Hindu temple. Very different, both impressive. It made us think back and almost desire for Malaysia again, some thing like Georgetown on the island Penang, where you can see al kinds of temples of all kinds of religions together. After that we wanted to take a walk through the colonial district, but don’t start laughing you over there in Holland,…..it started to rain and a lot. So we took a cab to the Raffles hotel, which can be considered as the top of the colonial life. Beautiful to see, great to walk around and so we eat a sandwich over there. It was still raining like crazy. Oké it is hot rain, but you still get wet. So after lunch we took the metro back to the airport. There we used a business lounge to get a nice shower and refresh a little. We needed that one. Now we are waiting for the flight to Lombok. In 1,30 hour we leave. We try to stay awake, so we will sleep in the plane. About 27 hours after we got out of bed at home, we are getting tired. ….and as we land in Mataram in het evening at 18.30 hours it will take some time before we can go to sleep. Mohni will pick us up and I think that Daan is sitting in the kampung counting the hours until we get there. Now we have an hotel in the middle of the kampung, it will be impossible to sneak inside. It doesn’t matter, I bet the moment we see Lombok that we all wake up again. Here I stop for a moment. Maybe that Peter and Tom can put the story until here on internet, because I think some people in Holland are waiting desperate to hear some thing. Just a little patience Joep and Marijke, the next part is about Lombok.

The flight from Singapore to Lombok went well. Everything was on time. The plane was just half full. En route we got a mail again. We slept a little and after 2,30 hours we saw Lombok. A beautiful moment! Perfect view, the volcano on Bali and on the other side mountain Rinjani on Lombok, with in front the 3 gili’s (islands). A few minutes later we land. In the twilight, we walk into the arrivals hall. There we have some administration business. First we have to buy a visa and than join the row to get our stamps in the passport. After that, and that was very special, we go to the “health-department” We have to stand under a small gate, were they spray a cloud of steam. Must be for the Mexican flew, we guess. Together with all the travel forms we had, there was also a form with information about our health and were we have been lately and were we are going to stay in Indonesia. Everything is recorded. After that we can take our suitcases and walk outside. Mohni is already waiting for us. He welcomes us and together we walk to his little van. After 6 months the car still looks like new with nice advertising of Lombok Diving on both sides. Our luggage’s gets loaded and we go to Senggigi. It’s a pity that it is complete dark now. We cannot see a thing and miss everything that is going on on the road. While driving Mohni tells us all the big and small news about what is going on. 15 minutes later we enter Senggigi and then the small track to the kampung. Very fearful, the very small track, with on one side the dry (but very deep) river. But Mohni brings us safe to the kampung. It feels strange to come here by car in the dark. A very different feeling from walking in by daytime. Without seeing any of our friends we drive up to Bumi Aditya guesthouse. The staff brings us to our rooms. Tom and Anique get a room for one night a little further away, but tomorrow they get the room next to us. We put our stuff away and think what to do next. We still want to go for a quick bite. If we go into the kampung we won’t get out the next few hours, so we decide to go to Senggigi together with Mohni. We go directly to Cak Poer, our favourite restaurant in Senggigi, Literally a tent. In day-time there is nothing, but in the evening they put a big blue canvas across the road, they put down some plastic tables and chairs and together with a small mobile kitchen the restaurant is ready. Than we can not stop ourselves by sending an sms to Joep and Marijke: “We are just arrived and sitting with Mohni at Cak Poer” Soon a sms gets back: “We also just got home”. What should they mean by that? The food is simple but great. The prices are comparing to Holland, ridiculous low. For a diner with 4 persons and 5 drinks (Mohni didn’t wanted to eat) we pay about 4 euro. No problem. After diner we go with Mohni to the office of his diving school, that he shares with an internet café. Before we go in we see a well-known face: Adi!! Great to see him again. We talk a bit and also his brother comes to shake our hands. Also a lot of others sellers still know us. Adi is very impressed by Tom. Tom has grown a lot last year and is now much bigger than Adi. We promise him to see him tomorrow and follow Mohni inside the internet café . Over there again we have to shake hands with everyone. In the few times that we came her, we got a lot of  acquaintances. A few moments later we start walking back to the kampung. Mohni still wants to work a bit. He is very busy in the evening because that is when he makes new appointments. On the way to the kampung we see many well-known faces, but it is hard for us in the dark. Every body knows us but we still have to look carefully and litlle to recognize them by voice. Odjong we recognize immediately, the happy lifequard of Hotel Graha. He is a bit surprised by the fact that we stay at Bumi Aditiya now, but he understands that we want to be in the middle of the kampung. As we enter the kampung it gets cosy again. We see Cuk, Eful and June sitting outside. So we cannot pass them. We join them and have a cup of tea. Many cups will follow the next few weeks. As if we have never left, we start talking again about the children, Lombok, Holland, the weather, the project. Great and a few minutes later the happiest of them all Boung is joining us to. So time flies and we are exhausted, but cannot get away. As we almost fall down sleeping, we go to our rooms. There will be more days any way. In my room I sleep immediately, but around 2.30 I wake up and cannot sleep again until the call for praying from the mosque turns up, whick is very clear, because it is only a few meters away. After that, I think it is around 5 o’clock, I fall a sleep again.

 

Sunday 26th of July 2009

Finally we are on the road. After a few very busy days of packing and cleaning, we are now already a few hours in the air, heading for Singapore. Easy, such a little laptop! Friday started with some very good messages. In the morning a mail from Dewa; he is going to visit us next Friday in Lombok. He wanted to come by slow-boat to Lombok. But at Thursday and Friday we will be on gili Meno/Trawangan/Air. So we think it would be better for him to come with the speed-boat, which has a stop at Gili Trawangan. So we can spend the day together on the islands and in the evening Mohni can pick us up with his boat  to go to Lombok. On Saturday late in the afternoon, Dewa can go back to Bali, again by speedboat. Dewa thought also that this was a good idea, so he spends less time with travelling and we can spend more time together. We pay for his crossing, so the money doesn’t matter. Great that we are going to meet him now. Just a pity his girlfriend couldn’t come along.
After that another good message. Agnes and Peter, who already sponsor a child at Impian Anak, decided to sponsor one more child. Great. So we can make another child happy in Lombok! After that I try to check in via internet. That should be possible within 48 hours before the flight, Friday around the afternoon. But it took until Saturday before it worked. After booking the flight I got a new passport and I thought it would be better to change the number, which appears to be possible on the site. A flight on a wrong passport number should not be possible I guess. But after we checked if our seats were booked, it looked like I disappeared on this flight. Strange, then back to the in checking program. It didn’t work , then change places. Unfortunately I couldn’t book myself anywhere. After a lot of clicking it worked, but we doubt if it worked. By printing the boarding cards, Anique had 2 seats and I had none. The following flight, Singapore – Mataram was disappeared on the screen. It seams that there was a big problem. So we just printed what we had, in the hope that they can solve the problems at the airport in a few clicks. The rest of the Saturday past by with packing. Oh my god, what a lot of stuff we collected. Much more than the allowed 80 kilo’s. So put out some thing and but some other things with the hand luggage. After a last weighting with 4 times a bit over 20 kilo’s we thought this should do. Halfway the afternoon we went to the neighbours to say goodbye and hand over the keys. However …..after a few drinks, some cosy hours and a take-a-way Chinese meal (to get the taste of Asia) we came home late in the evening. Still with the 4 of us, we start working, a quick lawn mowing, cleaning, last washing, shower etc. In between we got some telephone calls from friends and family to wish us a good journey. Around 24.30 hours we were in bed for a short night. Because of the holiday time, traffic jam and our problems with checking in, we wanted to leave early at 6.00 o’clock. Well we were great in time. After a last hugh for Beppie (the cat), who has to survive 3,5 weeks without us, we left, with a last wave of Jacqueline, who came out of here bed very early for us. The traffic on the road was oké, so without any delay we came in Frankfurt. Over there we just wanted to park our car at the parking of Holiday Parkplatz. According to internet, it was still there and quit cheap. Because we had enough time it was no problem to park a bit further away from the terminal. But arriving at the parking, there was something missing: the complete parking was gone. Oké so we went on to the terminal. Found another parking closer, but much more expensive. What a waste, you do what internet says and than the parking is gone. But however, we had enough time to check in. We thought…. The counter was not jet opened, but there were already some people waiting. We line in the row and waited. It was agonizingly slow. It turned out to be more people with problems. As it was our turn, problems were still there. We stood at the counter for more than half an hour. Al the staff from the company looked at our papers. I was in the system, but if they wanted to print my boarding cart it was on Tom’s name. After a few High-Singapore- staff members, we got our boarding cards for the flight. Also for the second flight, but not for me. That should be a lot of extra time, because they told us that I put my passport number at Peter’s name. The strange thing is Peter and I filled it in together and checked everything several times. But however the problem is solved. There was no more time for a snack or a drink. Quickly we went to the gate for the boarding. Bur first custom control. Again a long row. The bags from Anique and me had to be controlled. So wait again, No dangerous stuff inside, so we could go on to gate B42. Again a long row of problems and with us in the back again. But in the end, it was oké, I even got my boarding card for the second flight. The funny thing is that Tom and me had the same seats in the plane. After some thinking and checking they changed the card by hand. At last now we can relax for half an hour, but no.. again a madame comes and she needed our passports again. In our group of 4 people, they found 2 people with the same passport number. Very strange because half an hour ago everything was fine. After again a lot of staff members looking at our passports, the problem was solved again. This time Tom and Anique had the same number??? Lucky for us, there was no time left to find another problem and 30 minutes too late we entered the plane. Who cares. Later in Singapore we have 9 hours to wait, so this half an hour doesn’t matter. For the rest only good things about Singapore airlines (until now), we just had a good lunch, whit an ice-cream as dessert. I’m just thinking how many problems we are going to have again with our passports. If we just get to Mataram. The way back doesn’t matter. We don’t mind if we have to stay some extra weeks on Lombok. For now I’m going to fill in the disembarkation forms for Singapore, because with 9 hours we want to look around in Singapore later on. Now I’m going to try to get some sleep. It is going to be a long, long day.
 

Wednesday 15th of July 2009

We are still at home but here is part 1 of our travel report. This way we can find out what will be the easiest way to get our report published on several websites. And this way Marijke can practice her translation and publishing from the English version to the site of Proyek Kampung Loco. Because later from Lombok it will be very important to get the story on the site with minimal actions, knowing the internet speed is not so great in Lombok. 

Another 2 weeks to go and then we leave again for Lombok.

Every year I am looking more and more forward to this trip. On one hand it is like we just left Lombok, on the other hand it is like years ago we have been there. But really it is again one year ago that we enjoying our stay in Kampung Loco and Senggigi.

With exception of Peter, who was there also in November last year for a few days. He had to go to India for a course and because that was almost halfway Lombok, he decided to travel extra for a few days in Lombok. 

The last year we spend a lot of time in Holland with Lombok, because of contacts with other projects but also because of our more intensive contact with Lombok (and Bali).

Tom is webmaster of the websites from a Dutch talking guide named Dewa from Bali and also from Mohni’s diving school. Because of that we have a lot of contact with them via mail, chat and sms. This way you stay a little bit more involved with life over there and you get to most important news. 

This year we fully concentrate on Lombok and the small islands around there. Bali is beautiful, actually more beautiful than Lombok, but in a way Lombok is our first love. But this way we are going to miss Dewa our dear friend and Dutch guide from Bali. But he will try to visit us in Lombok. Any way he will try but he is very busy with Dutch tourist the next few months. 

In Lombok we are starting to feel at home more and more. In the last few years we start to know a lot of people, off course in Kampung Loco, where we are sponsoring 3 children via Proyek Kampung Loco, but also by Mohni Haliman, who we helped to start his own diving school, the first diving school in Lombok which is completely run by local people. His diving school existence now for one year and he is very, very busy.  He is doing very well. Despite he is always busy, he offered us to help with a new project in Lombok. Yes, we were (and still are) very impressed by the great things done by Proyek Kampung Loco (the project from Joep and Marijke from The Netherlands and Boung, Cuk, Adi and Eful from Lombok) are doing for the people of Kampung Loco, that we decided to start a similar project. 

Not quite the same, but the purpose is the same: give children the possibility to get good education.

The big difference is the location of the project. Proyek Kampung Loco is only for the residents of Kampung Loco. Out project Impian Anak (children’s dream), is not connected with one location. In consultation with Mohni we decided to help disadvantaged children from Lombok, irrespective of their domicile. Our preference is for children out of less touristic areas, because in those areas it is much harder to get any help. You often see and hear that parents who work in the touristic area (sellers, waiters etc.) get help from the tourist for the education of their children. For the families who live far a way from the tourism there no possibility to get this support. That is the reason why we are going to try to help those families. Now Mohni has together with his sister in law Santi and friend and colleague Hamdi selected a few children for the project.

We in Holland already have found 1 sponsor who is going to sponsor a child and we ourselves have saved and got some money for the project. We started now with 5 children in the project. One of the children, Hamdun, we already met last year.

He is a special case. He works in tourism. Hamdun is a street seller in Senggigi. He sells simple jewellery to tourists. He never finished elementary school. That is a waist because we think he is very cleaver. With 14 years he talks very well English. We want to try to get him back to school. A difficult project, because he to old to go back to elementary school and he also misses the discipline. But he needs a good basic to go on.

Mohni looked at the possibilities and talked with Hamdun and his parents. He can follow a special course to get the basic education he needs. After that he can do a special training to learn a good job. Now he is registered for a special course, but they will start only if they have enough students. Mohni informed last week and it looks like the course is going to start in July, so that would be this month. That would be perfect, so we can see him go to school. 

For the other children the story is more simple. That are all children going to elementary school. But until now we don’t know much about this children. Communication with Lombok is not always perfect. No problem, next holiday we are going to visit the children and we will tell all about them on our site (www.impian-anak.com).  

So the holiday will be a part holiday but also a part project work. But that doesn’t matter because we enjoy both the same. And off course in 3,5 weeks we can do a lot. But we also are going to have a great holiday. We arranged a “hotel” in Kampung Loco, called Bumi Aditya. Last years we stayed in Graha hotel which was fine for us, but after spending an unexpected night in Bumi Aditya, we liked that also very much.

You cannot compare Bumi Adytia with Graha. It is very simple, no luxury, but a beautiful swimming pool, which is empty for a long time. A little bit like past glory. Before the tourism in Lombok went down it was a good hotel. Now not any more. But for us it has a lot of benefits. Graha is very close to Loco, but for the citizens of Loco it is a complete different world. They don’t walk in just like that. At Bumi Aditya that is no problem, because it is in the middle of the kampung. Because of the children of the kampung we like that very much. So the girlfriends from Anique can visit her when ever they want, instead of us always going to visit them. Also Bumi Aditya is a lot cheaper and because of that we can use the money we save for other things in Lombok. After a few luxury holidays in Indonesia, you realize that you don’t need al this luxury. We never watched TV. Swimming is nice, but swimming in the sea is perfect. More than a bed, shower and toilet, we don’t need. The only luxury we asked is airco and hot water. Airco is not really necessary but hot water I really love, specially washing my hair.  

We also want to visit some small islands around Lombok. They are really perfect , white beach, blue sea and palm trees, but also perfect diving locations. If you want to dive. Peter and Tom really love to dive, but about Anique I’m not so sure. Maybe she is going to try this year. Mohni really hopes so. Last year Anique made a dive in the swimming pool of Graha together with Mohni. She did very well and also practised before in the Netherlands in a swimming pool. If it was up to Mohni she can go to the sea, but she still is a little bit scared. Maybe this time she will go. Mohni hopes so. 

We already made a reservation for some nights on the gili’s (islands) north west of Lombok, one night at gili Meno and one night at gili Air. Also we want to spend a night on gili Lampu or gili Bidara in the east of Lombok. Diving over there should be great, hardly any tourist is going there and it seams that  there are some wonderful shells on the beach and that is some thing I like very much! Only a pity I am not aloud to bring them to Holland. Were we are going to stay in the east of Lombok, I don’t know but according to Mohni there is not a real hotel, but you can stay overnight. Sleeping bag on the beach or something like that? We will see… 

Now our guestroom is full off all kinds of thing we have to take to Lombok. Until now a lot of presents for our friends over there. It is hard, it becomes more and more, friends and presents! Then also 3 diving suits and snorkels. A beautiful first aid box for Mohni, which he can use in the boat. Last year I saw he didn’t have one, but we think this is a part of the standard equipment of a boat. So we went to Mataram looking for something like that. A big problem. The only thing we found was a small bag with a strange content of some powders and bandage packed in newspapers so surely not sterile. A few weeks ago I found a good first aid kit and we put some extra in this kit, things he maybe needs on board. 

Off course we ourselves also travel with a complete first aid kit. And I even found some mouth caps, which we got in Mai during our trip in Egypt, to protect us from the Mexican flue. We didn’t use them. Maybe they are oke for Lombok. But I cannot imagine they will use them. I heard that the Indonesian government suggested that all tourist who enter Indonesia get a mount cap, whit the request to wear it for 3 days. But they don’t want to obligate to people, because how should they control? And not easy to swim with the cap. My idea! 

When we are lucky (and push hard) our clothes also fit in the bags and off course a lot of books, a mini laptop, photo camera and a lot more. What we cannot take we just leave at home. Shops are also in Lombok, only I have this annoying habit that I want to be prepared for everything and always want to take to much. 

Some other things we special want to do in Lombok. Like getting some flyers print for Impian Anak. We can spread them in the Netherlands but also easy for Mohni to give them to his customers. Printing the flyers in Lombok is much cheaper, so we print them over there and take them to Holland. 

In Lombok they are looking forward to see us. Sponsor daughter Daan sends an sms every week, asking us when we arrive. Sareah, Boung’s wife, is looking forward to cook together with me. She is very specialised in Kangkung, a kind of water spinach. I’m really curious what she is going to make. Mohni is also waiting for us. It will be  much easier to talk instead of using Yahoo chat. His English is not so well and my bahasa Indonesia also. Little talks are no problem, but with really serious talk, you need to see each other. While I am writing this story, Mohni is coming in on the chat starting like always with: apakhbar bu? He has some good news. Hari Senin, on Monday, Hamdun will go to school. This is going to be exciting, because he has to go to school for 6 days a week. Will he hang on. Mohni says he really wants to learn something now. Mohni is going to watch him carefully and in a few weeks we can see for our selves.  

In 2 weeks I also are going to find out if the lessons bahasa Indonesia Marijke and I trying to learn, are going to be useful. Chatting with Mohni already helped me writing bahasa Indonesa, but talking will be much more difficult. Maybe if they talk slowly and don’t use the Sasak talk (Lombok dialect) it will work. 

In 2 weeks we will know. Before that we have a lot of things to do. Our yearly painting of the house is in progress and the garden needs a lot of cleaning after all the rain of last week. But is doesn’t matter, then we really need our holiday. 

With a bit of luck I also find some time to write and put some stories on internet. Now we are counting the days to leave and probably the next message comes from Lombok.