BEER ME SOME NEW BONES

HEY SO, IM MOVING OUT TO: die-ruimtevaarder.tumblr.com

less reblogged posts, more original posts by *cough* me *cough*

not that i abandon this one

just gonna post more there, and less here. so the right time to hit the unfollow button is… NOW.

go see me on the other blog.

until then…….

Love always,

Tika

Anonymous asked: Pretty sure you've always wanted to see me naked.. Well.. I'm feeling pretty adventurous today so go to datelink2(dot)com (switch [dot] with .) then sign up and find my profile under the username 'lolsummer69'. I hid my face in the pictures. but I want you to guess who I am and then hit me up on Facebook lol. Good luck.

thanks but no thanks, anon.

Paradise Found

Lombok & 3 Gili Islands: Fun even if you don’t like spicy foods.

by Kartika Dwi Baswara

Summer evenings in Senggigi Beach, Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara tend to be pleasantly cool, and this one finds me roaming the quiet streets with newfound acquaintances. One was our tour guide, Dayat. He tells me the story of a recent robbery in the village from which the culprit had ridden off on a yellow bike on certain sticker on it–this proving to be his fatal flaw since there is, Dayat says, only one exact bike in Senggigi. He then summarizes Senggigi’s life quite simply: “it’s impossible to lie in this place. And you can’t drive away, there are no roads”. To be fair, there are actually three traffic lights on the village, but he is correct in that there are no decent roads, in which I meant to say that most of the roads are made up of sands. Neighbor to all time tourists favorite island, Bali; nestled between Flores Sea and Timor Sea; Lombok is the one place you would like to visit if you want a perfect summer time to either fishing, surfing, or even just to lie on the beach peacefully.

The island, famous for its beaches and Rinjani Mountain, has always been popular with people seeking to escape the daily stressful work life. Rinjani, the runner up for the highest volcano mountain in Indonesia has the most beautiful view ever. With its Segara Anak Lake, which actually was a cauldron covered with rain water for about hundreds of years, make even the Roman forum seem young. Visiting Rinjani mountain rage is a surefire way to gain a sense of the vastness of this planet, and how relatively short time we have inhabited it.

There’s more on offer than just hiking, of course. Sekarbela village is overrun with gem pearls shops, Banyumulek village with its rattan craft, and last but not least Sukarere village with its beautifully weaving cloth.

The accepted wisdom about Lombok island is that its beaches are little more than gateways to spectacular natural sights. And while those natural sights are indeed spectacular, this is unfair to the undiscovered beaches. Senggigi, the most hip beach there and is the tourist destination, is warm and busy at day and has everything a popular beach should, except a restaurant that remains open past 10 p.m. While on the other hand, Kuta beach (not to be confused with Kuta beach in Bali) is unfortunately haven’t been discovered by tourist thus the facilities are not enough. Even though so, Kuta beach has such spectacular views which you can’t have in Senggigi.

That night I dine at Puyung village , a small restaurant specializing, uncompromisingly, in local fare such as nasi mercon (nasi = rice, mercon = fireworks). This is the kind of food that after it burns out your tongue; it explodes in your digestion system. This food contains rice and spiced chicken. Conflicted as I may be, I gave it a try and am mildly disturbed to find that it makes for good comfort food in the chillier night temperature of my last day in Lombok.

Even though I feel sad to leave Lombok, perhaps Gili is the place more likely to have a vacation into than Lombok itself, a treasure of west Indonesia which I reach by way of a mini boat. It’s July, peak tourist season, and Gili perfectly meets the mental picture of it I’d held in my mind. Later on my arrival on Gili island, I grab  a delicious ice cream called Gili Gelato at the mini shop in the main road (or should I say the only road they had?), so named after Italian ice cream, gelato, which tastes really delicious and available in so many flavors. What so special about this mini shop is they actually have 5 minutes guarantee for the ice cream, so just in case you spill it over or you drop your one scoop of ice cream, just ask the waitress to have a new one, for free.

After checking into cheap local home stay, which has a decent bathroom with showers and bedroom with fan, I had to recess. Later on, my friends and I take it upon us to give ourselves a tour of the local nightlife. We peek into various under-populated bars until we find the requisite amount of rowdiness at Suka-suka, local reggae bar which opens until 3 AM and have reggae party every Tuesday night. There, a mix of local and tourists dance jubilantly to Bob Marley’s songs provided by a local cover band.

But, no need to worry, travelers. Because not only having party all night long, you can also try to snorkeling and see the beauty of the underwater life. The locals help you to rent the mask, fins, and everything you need to snorkel. And the snorkeling was actually that much fun, you can discover not only one spot, but four spots, which could be reached by boat. The boat will get you to the other Gili island, only smaller. I warn you to be careful because of the ocean waves were very sick.  But all of them are worth it, because the under the sea views are spectacular. There are even more fishes, turtles, and corals down there.

On my last night in Gili Trawangan, I went out to Vila Ombak Café, sitting on a small couch jutting out over the end of the beach, I gaze at the deep dark blue ocean waves dancing on clear night sky, with zillions of stars shining above them. It’s quite funny how you look to the same moon every night, but at the same time feels the same difference by the perspective on how and when and where do you see it.  It feels like the moon I saw at Gili is different from the moon I saw from Jakarta. At that moment, I consider that Lombok and the 3 Gili Islands, with its differences and specialties, may not be a destination for the faint of stomach. But its upholding of longstanding local customs and the stark largesse of the scenery provide a perspective unavailable in any other place I have ever been.

The next morning, I went to turtle conservations first before heading back to Lombok. As Mr. Zainuddin tells me the story behind this conservation; I take a look inside of the pools.  There lies baby turtles with age less than 3 months, was not completely ready to face the wild sea. Mr. Zainuddin said that the turtles are set up to the sea every twice a year. I’ve watched other kind of conservations several times, admiring the crew’s spirit to save the turtles without getting anything in return. This time, as I donate to the local conservation I felt a surge of love energy coming out. Being part of the team is better than only watching these turtles swimming around helplessly, indeed.

All of this 8 days long journey adds up to make one feel, unshakably, like a member of mankind, and, for that reason, it’s a trip I’d recommend to everyone.