Tuesday, December 30, 2014

A Local Lombok Experience

On our last day, we took a Cidomo(horse drawn carriage) from the hotel into town.


It started off smooth on the street.  Then, we took a shortcut through a very bumpy, hilly dirt road.
We then got back on the road with all the daily traffic including motor bikes, large trucks....
.....and buses.
Whitney wanted to "drive" so she sat up front after a bit.
Our first stop was a local market with many fruits, veggies and meats for sale.
The second stop was to a "village" where 33 families live together.
The girls learned how to use coconut palms to make segments of a thatched roof.

These woman were making coconut oil.


One of the many rice paddy fields we saw in Lombok.
Fun Fact:  The word "paddy" is derived from the Malay word padi, rice plant.





Seeing the local village was very interesting.  Everyone was very friendly and welcoming.  The whole morning, I felt like we could have been in an episode of The Amazing Race.....Cidomo ride, navigating through a local produce market and learning how to use coconuts for roofs and oil. 

We got back to the hotel right before lunch.  We continued with our lunches of pizza by the pool.


Another treat during afternoon tea.

The last swim before our final dinner on the island.
We had some time to waste before our flight home:



We had a great time swimming and exploring Lombok.

Life is Good when G and G can have an Asian Adventure with us!

Snorkeling, Swimming and Smiling...Oh My!!!

 Since the beach we were on wasn't the greatest, we decided to take a boat to a snorkeling spot and better beach.  





 Hannah was the only kids that actually got in the water!!!



 We stopped at the Gili Meno beach


 The girls enjoyed a quick stop at the turtle sanctuary before we played in the sand.





 Not sure who enjoyed the sand more...the girls or the boat guides!
They taught us a new sand castle technique: "sand drizzle."  It is a mixture of sand and water...mostly water.  It makes neat formations on top of a sand castle.




 In the afternoon, it was time for the pool!
A perk of a private pool is you can try and touch the tree and no one will yell at you!
 Sassy as Ever!!!



 The girls are obsessed with the Bean Boozle Challenge with jelly beans.  You spin to get a color and it will either be something nice or nasty..... Barf or Carmel Corn...I tried it and it is gross!
 Before dinner, we all showered and got dressed in non athletic clothes for a family picture.
Hannah decided to be a typical 9 year old and wanted no part of pictures.
1st Attempt:  No Smile
 2nd Attempt:  Over Eager Smile
3rd Attempt:  Nice smile because she was trying to earn her Shirley Temple back!
 A little Indonesian music and dancing during dinner:



Life is Good in Lombok!