Gili Trawangan - Bangsal - Labuhan Lombok - Why Lombok sucks!

People i met here who contributed to, and improved my trip: Julia (Russia), Markus (Finland)

Getting from Gili Trawangan to Labuhan Lombok was one hell of a journey to say the least. Arising at 6.20am, Julia, Markus and I caught the 7am outrigger back to Bangsal, arriving completely soaked from all the spray off the choppy sea. Wet, cold and tired, it was agreed that the rental of a horse and carriage would be a good way to get to the bemo stop, but unbeknown to us, the driver decided to drop us off at the 'tourist stop', where only expensive bemo's depart from. After 45 minutes waiting in vain, a guy eventually told us that the stop we needed was several hundred metres further up the road.

Refuelling at a small cafe in Bangsal gave us some extra drive and we eventually got picked up by a bemo and taken to Mataram. When we exited the guy was shocked that we knew the price (found out from the cafe owner) and was muttering in Bahasa about us only paying local price and it been unfair. Whilst waiting for our next bemo we were set on by touts who were insisting we pay 20,000Rp to get across Lombok, even though the price was only 10,000Rp. When one driver stopped and agreed to the price, the touts attacked his bemo, kicking it and hitting it with a stick, whilst another guy was trying to get into the drivers door. Needless to say he drove off and left us with the touts, who now started saying 'No money, then don't come to Lombok'. We explained that we did have money and we had happily been spending it for the last week here, but weren't willing to pay twice the price just because we were white. Sadly, every honest bemo driver that stopped was scared off with violence, and this left us no choice but to go with the touts, who settled on 15,000Rp in the end. It was a truly disgraceful scene and it wasn't the first and wouldn't be the last time that we came across such behaviour in Lombok, not to mention the rest of Indonesia.

The bemo dropped us off at Labuhan Lombok where we were greeted by yet more touts and one of the first questions that was asked was 'Are you American', when i said no, it was greeted positively and with the response that they 'hated Americans' accompanied by slitting gestures at their throats. I was delighted to board the ferry, which took us across to Sumbawa and I can happily say that i will never be returning to Lombok.