Just a small note; because not too much happened in these few days, I've condensed them into one page.
10th February - A close shave
I had a wonderful lie-in until 10am as my friend Elva was coming round, although it became 11am. I wasn’t too angry though as she brought some delicious egg noodles with her. She’d cooked them up herself and was kind enough to share with me. Once we’d munched our brunch, we headed out to her university as she needed to drop some work off. We zoomed through the streets on her scooter and soon reached the Mataram University. After a short wait it turned out her instructor wasn’t in. In light of this information, we decided to leave and get a few snacks from the supermarket. We also tried to find a spot in town to just chill out for a while. Perhaps we’ll go to the beach in Mataram, or maybe another day.
After chilling out for quite some time, we popped over to the laundry woman and picked up my clothes. I’ll never take fresh smelling clothes for granted when travelling, you feel like a new person! For the first time since beginning my trip, almost 5 months, I decided to take the plunge. I decided to have a haircut, quite a stretch I know! The barber across the road was closed, so we took a slightly longer walk through the streets to get to another one.
The barber didn’t speak much English, and my descriptions to Elva to translate were of little help. Luckily, I had a photo of my hair from before so I showed him and he cracked on. I watched him like a hawk to make sure he didn’t touch the beard at all, but he did a pretty good job. In fact, not only did he wash it with shampoo afterwards, I got a short head, neck, and shoulder massage. All for the price of about £2.50! I had to tip him because I was thoroughly impressed.
After my trim, Elva and I walked back to my hotel and chatted until it got on the late side and she decided to return home for the night. I sure felt like a new man, fresh clothes and a fresh trim, what a day!
Tip!
Just a small tip here; if you go travelling for long enough to warrant a hair cut/beard trim, I’d always advise to have a photo of a previous hair cut. In my experience most barbers outside of native speaking countries don’t have the best English skills. Your descriptions or interpretive dance may just confuse them.
11th February - A chilled day
I had another lie-in, I could get used to this. However, I must say I’m not keen on hotel rooms without any daylight, you lose all sense of timing and don’t have many options for ventilation. Elva popped round again with breakfast, some noodles and an assortment of fried street snacks. Super tasty and diverse, I really like them. After breakfast, we found a place to just chill out again. It was nice because after travelling non-stop for several months I felt like I needed to take a breather to regain my energy for further travelling.
God knows where the time goes because before we knew it, it was dark outside. If you’re from Europe, or somewhere far from the equator, it may seem strange because in the countries close to the equator, the sunrise and sunset times are fairly consistent and don’t change much throughout the year. For this reason, even if summer was in full swing in Indonesia, the sunset is still close to the same time as the colder months.
The sunset was just after 6pm and once it was dark we decided to grab some dinner at a small shack a short walk away. To be honest, I prefer these small shacks with proper homemade fresh food, and you see them cooking it up right in front of you. Restaurants are okay, but it doesn’t feel as homely or authentic, especially if you’re wanting local food, plus they’re more expensive. Once I’d polished my mee goreng (fried noodles) and chicken off, we popped to the supermarket for a few bits and bobs, and I returned to the hotel for the night. I swept the floor and emptied the bin as apparently not a lot of housekeeping takes place. Perhaps we’ll finally go to the Mataram beach tomorrow.
12th February - Mataram beach day
As per usual, I slept in until 11am until Elva came round with breakfast. As usual, this was in the form of street snacks that she picks up on the way, such a treat. Also as per usual, we went and chilled for most of the daylight hours, only making a move when sunset was approaching. At this time we decided to scoot on over to the beach in Mataram and watch the sunset out at sea. We thought it’d be nice and the sky was clear. Once we’d arrived, Ekutt, Elva’s cousin, called to say that she and another cousin, Ewick, were also heading over to join us. We waited around for them, and when they arrived we walked along the sea front for a bit. After a while, we found a small hut in which we took many funny photos and had a great laugh.
The beach wasn’t quite up to scratch compared to this beach in Cambodia.
After this photoshoot, we headed back to the main area where there were loads of food stalls and places to sit. We chose somewhere close to the sea and then pitched up. The 4 of us enjoyed some sweet drinks, chicken satays, and some rice, which I first thought was cucumber. Once we’d eaten, Elva and I headed to a small pier of sorts made out of rocks. From here, we watched the sunset descend beyond the horizon. It sure gets chilly once the Sun goes down!
Our next stop after Mataram beach was the nearby mosque. Everyone had to pray whilst I waited outside, then I returned to the hotel for a short time. Some time later, I was informed we needed to deliver Ewick’s luggage to her at the bus station. She was headed back to Sumbawa island for her university break. So Elva and I popped down on a scooter with her stuff, waited with her until she got her bus. Once she’d left, we headed back on home where we went our separate ways.
