We took a bechak from Freddie's to the island's western horn. So steep was the road through the forested island that I had to walk alongside the bechak at one point. But after endless climbing came the freewheel descent to Iboih. The settlement comprised just a little cluster of bungalows, shops and cafes, although development [...]
The fast ferry took us off the northern tip of Sumatra, cutting a smooth course through the waters between the mainland and Pulau ("island") Weh. We haggled with pushy bechak drivers for a ride over to Freddie's, a place recommended by Lonely Planet. Good quality roads took us through a hilly land ravaged by fecund [...]
We allowed three hours to get from Friendship Guesthouse, in the jungle village of Ketambe, to the airport at Kutacane, 35km to the the southeast. We were a few minutes late starting and the next bus took longer than expected but such delays were accounted for in our schedule. The bus was typical of the [...]
The flight from Labuan Bajo was in a propellor-driven plane. We turned in a wide arc after leaving the runway, to look down on the town and the islands and reefs splodged throughout the coastal water. We then flew straight back across the island chain, retracing the route we had taken by boat over the [...]
Our boat departed from Bangsal in northwestern Lombok around 13:00. We were 23 passengers, mostly german, six spanish, two irish plus Maeve, one danish, one swiss, and me, plus four crew. When ordering the trip in Gili Air we'd seen a photo of the boat and I'd asked if that was the actual boat. The [...]
A smooth twenty-minute water taxi ride landed us on the Gili's big neighbour island, Lombok. By horse-and-trap then taxi, we finally saw Indonesian life in the daylight, lurching through overtaking manoeuvres past rice paddies dappled with the little sandy peaks of farmers' straw hats. To one side, glittering gun metal grey beaches hinted at the [...]
We staggered like refugees onto the beach at Gili Trawangan, the largest of the three tiny islands just off the northwest coast of Lombok. Dogs and motorised vehicles are banned on the islands and the infrastucture is nascent, making them peaceful idylls for sunseeking travellers. The lack of dogs might also contribute to the prevalence [...]
It was a Friday at the start of Autumn. Besides a few excited text messages between Maeve and I, it felt like any other Friday. We were working hard, me at my home desk, Maeve in the hospital a mile to the east. I rushed to get my work finished but it was never going [...]