Holiday Here We Come!

After working a week it was "absolutely" necessary to take a holiday. We left Cirebon at 1:10 a.m. to avoid the traffic on our five hour ride to the Jakarta airport. We had a nine a.m. flight, but traffic and roads being what they are here, we couldn't leave much to chance. The flight itself is only 1 1/2 hours from Jakarta to the island of Lombok. Lombok is an island to the east of Bali and is often considered the "ugly sister" of Bali. I however was charmed by its lush evergreen landscape , less glitz and less crowded atmosphere.The first night we stayed at Sengiggi Beach Resort. The compound was huge, yet warm and friendly. The hawkers were allowed on the beach but the security made sure that they did not invade the hotel’s space. That didn’t stop Regina and I from bargaining however. I’m slowly learning the art of bargaining Indonesian style, but I’ve got to tell you it’s exhausting. The back and forth, the walking away the saying “Mahal” (too expensive) makes your head spin.