On the 1/2 hour tender ride to the Island of Lembar, Jerry and I were seated in the first seat of the tender boat. We hit a number of large waves and the emergency exit door’s latch broke off, and we got soaked – and I mean completely soaked. Jerry had the Cannon around his neck as he was shooting photos, and it was submerged in water. Bummer. Eventually, the shutter dried out and we were able to resume taking pictures! In the meantime, the Iphone worked!
Lembar welcomed us with native music and dancing. The island is home to some 3.16 million Indonesians.
The main mode of transportation is motorcycles and taxi cabs. There are two choices, the taxi with the horse, as shown below, or a regular motorized van!
We chose, along with another couple on the ship, to hire a taxi and driver for the day for 720,000 rubles; or $80 American money!
Meet Rumba, our driver.
We were traveling to Mataram, the capitol, which is located 45 minutes from the port. Our first stop along the way was visiting the rice fields .
The rice fields fascinated us. First, they take a machete and chop down the long stalks. Then they hit/pound the stalks onto tarps (so the rice fall from the stalks).
Next, they rake out the rice on the tarps, drying it.
Then they bag it, and take it to the market.
I have to tell you a funny story. As we were out in the rice field, this lady got REALLY close to me, and kept feeling my behind. After the third time, I mentioned this to the taxi driver. He said she likes my dress and would like for me to give it to her! She was seeing how big my behind was to see if she could fit into my dress! Sorry, but I brought no other clothing with me, so I had to turn her down! She was tickled when I asked if I could take her picture with Jolly!
Our next stop was the orphanage and the homes for 26 widows. Our guide’s name was Rudy. Rudy’s father is deceased so he lives with his mother. He is working with an American to create a catalog and a website to sell the items the widows make. We were very moved and instantly bonded with him.
The adjoining block is the Abadi Weaving Project. Here, a teenage girl MUST hand weave a shawl before she can get married. It takes them 3 to 4 months to complete their shawl.
This is the hand made shawl that we purchased. This is our new friend, Rudy.
Our next stop was the capitol, Mataram. We shopped for a short time, then headed back to the ship.
Only 2% of the people in Lembar, Lombok are Christians. The majority are Hindu and Islamic. They have many, many mosques.
We left Lembar, Lombok Indonesia feeling very fortunate to have seen their culture and met such fine people. Their friendship was so pure and innocent. Many workers on the ship are from Indonesia, so they had an opportunity to connect with their families for a day. It was a bitter-sweet day for them, as at 3:30 we were all back on board and headed to Hong Kong.
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