It was time to say good-bye to Bali …

We left Bali on the slow ferry heading for Lombok (takes around five hours). We were lucky with the ship, a relatively new one – even with a sun deck and deck chairs.

Interestingly those were only used by the tourists (it would probably be fair to call that deck the Westerner meeting point), while the locals remained inside or in the shade. For me inside was not really an option – due to the scent of durian hanging in the room (check my previous comments on durians … or take brie/ camembert add some onions and garlic and put it into the sun for some days and you get a feeling of what I am talking about).

On arrival on Lombok we were picked up by yet another van – we still had some hours drive ahead of us … all the way to Tetebatu at the lower slopes of Mt. Rinjani.

On the way we were lucky enough to witness traditional wedding parades; we stopped (the vans had to pass-by anyhow) and had a closer look. The parade is basically the bride being walked to the home of her to-be husband – the moment in her life, where she gets separated from her family (after years together under one roof) .. so if you see someone looking sad … it’s probably the bride.