Day 47 - Lombok Indonesia

Weather
Cloudy, 85

Map

First Impressions

What we did
This was our introduction to Indonesia. We were quite loudly and colorfully greeted with local music and dancers as we disembarked. This seemed to be how we were welcomed at every Indonesian port on our world tour. We have a new appreciation for the size of Indonesia and how diverse the peoples are. For today's excursion, we chose the included one that was essentially a bus tour so we could take pictures as a Muslim Mosque, some palace gardens and a replica of a Sasak village. It was very hot that day and when we arrived at the Islamic Center NTB - Hubbul Wathan Great Mosque. It was crowded as it was the second day of Ramadhan. In order to enter the temple, you had to remove your shoes, make sure your shoulders and knees were covered and women also had to cover their hair (not with a hat). Next, we stopped to visit the Mayura Water Palace where we enjoyed tea, local desserts and fruit while watching a short dance performance. After, we went to the Sukarara Weaving Village where we were able to watch a demonstration on how women laboriously weave intricate patterns. On our bus ride back to the ship, we caught our first glimpses of rice paddies. After they harvest the rice, they seem to burn some of the plant material to enrich the soil for future plantings. It was a good excursion although quite a bit of time on the bus. When we returned to the ship we were warmly welcomed with (American) music and it seemed like half of the Viking staff were lined up as we checked back in; smiling, dancing and welcoming us back on board.