I've been poking around Indonesia the last couple of months, somewhere I have never visited before. I have to say that the trip certainly got better and better as it went along. I touched down in Bali at first and stayed in Kuta, well that was a big mistake. Unless you love getting wasted with projectile vomiting Australia teenagers this place is not cool. You see Kuta is where many Australians go to get away on their holidays and if you know me, I avoid those places like the plague. I should have expected it really, anyway after that I checked out Ubud which was an entire different kettle of fish. A truly beautiful and mesmorising place, somewhere to practice your zen and mindfulness.
Moving on, my next destination was Lombok and onto the Gili islands, whoops I was back on the tourist trail again. Back with the overweight Aussies frying themselves under the sun in their quick summer break. It was far better than Kuta but still not quite what I was looking for in a trip to the far east. After that was Senggigi on the mainland of Lombok, this place was pretty interesting actually, it was like a beach town that time forgot. It seems like it had real potential with luxury hotels like the Sheraton there but the tourists stopped coming. Sure, there were a few here and there but not enough to fill the many larage hotels and restuarants.
By this point I had made friends with a few other English guys and they persuaded me to come with them to hike up a volcano. This sounded pretty daunting at first, especially since I am pretty out of shape. Sure, I am not overweight but I do not exercise much and am probably one of those "skinny fat" guys. I did actually invest in one of the best rowing machines in the new year after reading about them online. That doesn't mean I had the dedication to use it each day though, I'm pretty lazy at heart so it's kind of sitting there and gathering dust which is a shame.
Anyway, onto the volcano and we had to firstly go on a very long boatride to get there, after that we settled in for the night, anticipating what was ahead tommorow. After getting up at the crack of dawn we jumped onto a bus. We knew this was going to be a real challenge but we couldn't wait to get up there and see the amazing views. Not many people can say they have climbed an active volcano. The truth is, it was every bit as touch as we imagined and more. By the end of the day we were physically exhausted but it was also one of the best experiences of my life. Not only was it amazing to get up their and see the active volcano but the views on the way up were absolutely beautiful.
Indonesia, you are a truly amazing country. I just hope I will have the time to truly explore this vast territory and give it justice.
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