In Bali I met a cool Irish girl called Shelly. She approached Karol and me at a fire dancing party in Ubud’s Monkey Forest. Having not heard any Irish accents for a while, she was keen to chat to us. I hung out with her a few times in that town and she told me a lot about her meditation, yoga and sweat-house experiences. Following Bali she was to return to India for a meditation retreat in the mountains. When I returned to Korea, I sent her an email to catch up. And I received the following auto-reply, which I think is pretty damn cool:
Thanks for your message, however I am currently undertaking a 4 month course where I will have no access to the Internet. If you feel like sending a letter, my address is:
Tonight at the boxing gym I was in the ring stretching. There was only a handful of people training on this icy Friday night. The professional boxer, who doesn't speak English, seems (seemed) to like me a lot, came into the ring with me. He pointed at me sitting on the ring floor stretching and said "Ma-ku (Mark), you". He then pointed to his iPhone. The English dictionary was open and a bunch of results related to alone, lonesome, solitude, etc were shown. I must have looked confused because he pointed at one specific definition and then touched the audio icon. iPhone's robotic, but attractive female voice dictated, "LEADS A SOLITARY LIFE", as my coach pointed at me once again and said "Ma-ku". We both burst out laughing, though I'm not sure that I get it. He then climbed out of the ring, came back a minute later and give me a bottle of orange juice. Thanks, I think.
Following each trip I take, I always make a few notes about mistakes I made or things that would've made the trip better so that I can use that on my next trip. Here's what I jotted down after Indonesia.
-Pack many business cards. Much easier and more reliable than scribbling email addresses on paper -Bring my phone charger. I thought USB charger would be best, but was wrong. Checking the country's voltage and socket shape would be much more sensible. Finding computers and having enough time to fully charge my phone was a hassle. -Have a phone that can be used with a local sim card. The 'getting away from it all' doesn't have to be so inconvenient I think. On a month trip I met a lot of people that I saw, or tried to see, regularly. Without phone contact it's much harder to arrange meet-ups, or very expensive to call from internet cafes/hotels. -Keep a daily journal. The best and busiest days are those on which you forget to write. -Prepare MUCH better. I've always been pro free-travel, but an itinerary would have helped maximise Ronan's short time there as well as keeping me busy enough to not get lonely. -If possible, travel alone first and meet friends for second part of trip to prevent loneliness. Actually I knew this already, but because of climate I asked the lads to come out at the start of September. Next time I'll be more selfish. -Learn some of the local language BEFORE going. Specifically: greetings, thanks, numbers and price negotiating, as well as one funny phrase like 'oh my god'.
At the end of my trip, I wrote a seven page letter to my mum summarising the last month. I’ve laboriously typed it out here and hope Ma doesn't mind me posting it.
26 September 2011 Dear mother, How are you? Hopefully well and rested after your vacation. I’m currently at the end of my own vacation. Another four days in Bali and then I’ll fly to Hong Kong for one night before returning to busy, cold Seoul. Right now I’m in the northeast of Bali in a village called Amed. It’s very beautiful, peaceful and has great scuba diving and snorkeling. But a bit lonesome for the solo traveler. I spent four days here. Did two dives at a shipwreck, which was amazing. I also rented a motorcycle and explored the coast. And I hiked to a temple which was on a mountain at 1400 metres. 1800 steps I’ve been told, so that was good for sweating out any Jameson whisky that was left in me from Karol and Ronan’s time here. I’m at a little restaurant right now waiting for a shuttle bus to Ubud, a wonderful town in the middle of Bali. This restaurant is right on the water, as they all are here. In front of me is the beach with little fishing boats and then the blue sea. Over to the right about 150 metres is Jemeluk Bay where I went snorkeling early this morning and above that a ridge where people go to watch the sunset. I went there two nights ago. The sunset wasn’t amazing, but it’s cool because it sets behind Bali’s three volcanoes, which are directly west of here. Snorkeling at the bay this morning was amazing. I got up at seven, had breakfast, and swam out there. It was a little cold and a bit scary since there were no other snorkelers out. But the tide was high so it was the perfect time to be out at the coral. Out at the bay is a coral garden and snorkeling there was like being in a BBC documentary. Literaly thousands of fish and dozens and dozens of species. Whole schools of silver, fluorescent blue, yellow/black, and every other imaginable colour-combination of fish were swimming there. The coral was lovely too. Large, unusually shaped with various colours. Proabably the best snorking I’ve ever done, though seeing large turtles two weeks ago on the Gili Islands was also exceptional. I’ve been on Bali island for the last two weeks. And before that when Ronan was here, we were on the next island east, Lombok. That’s the home to Rinjani mountain, Indonesias’s second largest volcano and supposedly most beautiful. The three-day hike we did there was the highlight of our trip. I’m glad we trained for it because it was no joke. Very difficult indeed. There were seven in our hiking group; us three and four Germans. We camped in tents each night but meals were provided for us. There was a guide and porters to carry the food, tents, etc as there are no buildings on the route. We hiked about seven to nine hours each day except on the last day when we started at two thirty a.m. and didn't finish until late in the afternoon. Only Karol, Ronan and myself made it to the summit as the last stretch was so tough. The air was a bit thin plus it was dark and cold and the last three or four hundred metres were volcanic rubble. Walking was tiring and frustrating, as it was one step up, half a step back. We made it to the top just in time for sunrise, which was nice and brought a great feeling of accomplishment. Oh, and on the second day of hiking we stopped at the crater lake for lunch. But before eating, our guide took us further into the wild and off the path. There are natural hot springs in there, and even a hot spring waterfall where we soaked and swam with a view over a deep green valley. I sat behind the waterfall, on warm moss, looking out over the valley. The noise of the water drowned out all other sounds. It was like one of those “happy places” you mentally visit during yoga or meditation, but even better because it was real. After hiking, the three of us caught a boat to the Gili Islands for some rest and celebration. We spent five days there partying and snorkeling. And Karol and Ronan did some introduction scuba dives, which Ronan took to very naturally. Then Ronan set off on his own to make his way back to Bali for the long flights home. Karol and I headed south to a surfing/beach town but it was too quiet for us there, especially as the high season had ended. But it would be a lovely place for couples. Beautiful scenery, empty beaches, all that. Anyway, my arm is nearly broken from all this writing, so I:ll finish up here. Hope all is well at home. Miss you all.
Love, Mark
p.s. I’ve included some handmade pineapple paper I bought in my favourite town in Bali; Ubud.
On a day hike around the paddi fields outside Ubud in Bali I stopped to ask directions. While a young local lad helped me, Karol popped into an internet cafe for some seemingly urgent task. So I chatted with the local for a while and introduced him to the German girls we were with. Both the Germans are studying to be teachers and of course, I also 'work' in the education field. So of course that came up in our conversation. Learning of my interest in education and Balinese schools, the young guy told us his old elementary school was just a minute away and invited us to check it out. Actually it was less than a minute away. We'd been unknowingly sitting right on the school's doorstep. Classes were in session when we popped in, but that didn't stop the teachers, principal and students from giving us a warm welcome and tour of the small and basic, but beautiful place. The principal told me that there used to be about twenty students in each class. But now, just six to eight. He said it's because tourism has brought more money to families so now they can send their kids to private schools instead of village public schools like this one. He said this is a good thing. The kids were cute and friendly as all Asian kids seem to be. And the school seemed to be well harmonised with the tropical nature around it. One classroom, built separately from the others even was wall-less and surrounding rice fields and palm trees were visible just metres away. A wonderful environment to learn in (excuse the pun).
This is a video from the end of the trip. As you can see I’m pretty skinny and blue after a month on the road. Also I was feeling very lonely following the departure of Karol and Ronan and the end of my holiday romance. Travelling alone isn’t fun at times. The last few days of the trip were pretty miserable. I was burnt out and the places I chose to go (for diving) were so quiet and boring and the other travellers all seemed to be couples. So I became pretty emotional and even cried a couple of times like a little girl. I guess physical exhaustion and loneliness caught up with me, though I tried to moderate my drinking on this trip to prevent such a crash. But I guess it wasn’t to be.
I had to debate with myself about whether to post my holiday romance here. Fears of losing opportunities with perspective girlfriends down the line make me reluctant to talk of past encounters. And I'm aware that writing about such things may only give enjoyment to me, not to the readers, so I’m afraid I may just be indulging myself. However, as I’m aiming for honesty and openness on this blog, and since this experience was such a big part of my trip, perhaps the best part of my trip, I’ll share my experience and some videos which don't really relate to what I've written, but give you a feel for the place. A couple of nights before Karol was scheduled to return to London, he and I were having another of our fast-becoming famous "convenience store parties". Oh, and for your information, a convenience store party is one in which you simply buy your booze from the convenience store and hang around outside. Talking to any people that visit or pass the store is the goal. I play music from my smartphone, Karol does his funny dance, and we both use tons of Irish charm to get a fun party started with other fun people. Convenient store parties are great because A. They're super cheap B. It's much easier to talk to people because there's no loud pub music. C. And, uh, they’re cheap. Anyway I digress... So, we were having a convenience store party in Ubud, Bali and the party was really happening. We’d a few people drinking cheap beers with us, mostly Europeans. The convenience store workers loved us (I think) because we were strongly promoting their special 2 Bintang Beers for 33,000 rupiah. We were also sharing our hip flasks of Jameson whisky, so the following meeting I describe is based on hearsay and flashbacks. A young Asian girl walked past us with a yoga mat. I started chatting to her and found out that she, Sujin, lives just a few blocks from me in Seoul. Quite a coincidence considering the size of Seoul and that she was the only Korean I had met in Indonesia. After seducing Sujin with my seven Korean phrases, including “you’re pretty” and “more rice please sir”, she joined our convenience store party. Success! Actually Sujin turned out to be awesome. She had been studying art at Hongik University (Korea’s best), but got sick of it, dropped out (almost unheard of to do that in Korea) and moved to Bali. She was renting a beautiful bungalow just outside Ubud, spending her days studying yoga, painting, creating new types of art (using sea salt!) and hanging out with friends in funky cafes. We all drunk together that night and although Karol seemed to hate her (I suspect jealousy), I really took a liking to her. By the time Karol left for London two days later, we’d become close and Sujin let me stay in her countryside bungalow for the next week. Following three weeks of cheap guesthouses, home-stays, Karol’s snoring and Ronan’s tickling, it was heaven to move in with a girl. The next week was one of the best I’ve ever spent “on the road”. The place she lives is so peaceful and relaxing; with a natural green backdrop as you can see in the video.
It’s rare for me to feel relaxed in the company of a person or people without taking time to myself or finding “my space”. But with Sujin I was totally content without it. Even the simplest things like having a healthy, organic breakfast and Bali coffee on the veranda were so enjoyable. My usual attitude of eat quickly and “let’s do something!”, dissipated to the point where I might’ve even seemed lazy. We had no routine to our days, but always managed to do something fun. Yoga class, meditation class, hiking in the rice fields, visiting the great cafes and restaurants she’d discovered in the last four months, or meeting her friends. We often spent evenings alone on her veranda drinking hot whiskies made with lemon, sugar, cloves, cinnamon and the final bottle of the Jameson. Relaxing to chilled beats like The XX or Gotan Project, we watched fireflies dance around the palm trees below us.
I struck up a friendship with the owner of a new, but cheap arung (family-run restaurant) in ‘our’ neighborhood. A passionate artist, like many Balinese, he had decorated his restaurant so that it was like a living room and the atmosphere was very cozy and welcoming. We dined there several times and he always came to chat with us, showing genuine interested in both Ireland and Korea. Despite being only twenty-three, Sujin was contemplating opening a Korean restaurant/bar. Her plan also includes making her own makgeolli (korean fermented rice wine). Anyone that knows about my life in Korea will know that I am absolutely crazy about makgeolli. I drink it almost every day. It’s so cheap and healthy and tastes great. She had a meeting scheduled in the south of Bali with a Korean businessman to get some advice. Upon learning of my interest in makgeolli, she invited me to join. I gladly accepted and we took an overnight trip to Seminyak, a popular beach-town. The meeting was very interesting and I might write about it later. Following that we walked along the beach and promenade keen to do the beach bungee jump. But at over one hundred dollars, we decided not to. We visited a trendy Spanish bar/restaurant on the beach, and I mean literally on the beach, with funky big cushion-chairs to sit/lie/melt on while drinking beers and eating tapas to house music and the sound of waves. After a few beers we found a cheap and nasty room and then headed out in even more nasty Kuta, the famous beach and party place of Bali. I’d been here at the start of my trip, but hadn’t experienced the infamous nightlife. For all the beauty, tranquility and warmth Bali has to offer, Kuta has none of it. Drunken people everywhere, horrible-looking bar-girls (of the prostitute type), drugs sold openly and lots and lots of dodgy-looking characters walking up and down the strip, seemingly looking for prey. We hit a few clubs and Sujin enjoyed the dancing, but I found it hard to relax or drink in that atmosphere. We spent the next afternoon haggling for cheap sandals, enjoying lunch beers on the beach and swimming in the big waves. And then shared a “transport”- private taxi with a German family, the father of which had envious haggling skills and got us all a great price. The great thing about Sujin was that although we basically spent twenty-four hours a day together for that week, I never saw a bad side to her. She never got annoyed, and there are plenty of things to get annoyed at in Bali, not least the ogling eyes of locals and their comments. I never heard her complain, show any negativity or put anyone down. It was very refreshing and naturally had a similar effect on me.
And she was a wonderful, caring host. Always good beer in the fridge, nice organic food; plenty of cheese and vegetables. And generous too, often picking up the bill in restaurants, including in our most expensive eatery (the Korean restaurant in Seminyak). And although Sujin will live her life in Bali and I in many other places, I’ll always keep those fond memories.
Here is a video I made of a day trip I took just outside Amed in northeast Bali. They video and audio quality are not great as I recorded it on my phone. But hopefully you can get a feel for the place and the experience.
Karol, my best mate, is also my original travel partner. Our first trip together was twelve years ago on summer break from our first year at university. We worked all summer in part-time jobs and scraped enough money together to inter-rail around five countries in Europe. We were on such a tight budget we usually took night trains to save the price of hostels and lunch was often supermarket bread and canned tuna on a park-bench. But we’ve both been seriously bitten by the travel bug (and many other types of bugs) and have continuously and often independently traveled different parts of the globe. It was great he flew all the way out to Indonesia from London to travel with me. Lots of good times, though Karol doesn’t show it on camera. And plenty more of trips together to come no doubt. Sorry future wives. Here’s a couple of random vids from my phone. The first is me and Karol on a motorcycle getting a taxi ride to our home-stay. This was hilarious. We were both so hungover and exhausted that we couldn’t think. Some guy on a motorcycle kept bugging Karol to buy trinkets. He was so exhausted that he was in fits of laughter as this serious-looking peddler tried to sell his wares. But forever the wheeler-dealer himself, Karol managed his exhaustion and negotiated seriously with him. After twenty minutes or so of this, I started walking home. Another ten minutes later and I heard a little horn beeping. Then “Mark, Mark”. I could see a motorcycle with an helmeted Indonesian rider. And from behind that body I could see a big white arm flailling about in an attempted wave to get my attention. Karol had not only got an amzing price on the hand carved whatevers he’d just bought, but also negotiated a taxi ride home for us. We all made it back in one piece, but the driver didn’t look one bit happy. Nor did the suspension on his bike when we got off.
The second vid is simply an empty beach in southern Lombok where we spent a couple of days. Pretty boring unless you’re a surfer. But we had one special experience when Karol called in a public taxi to take us to another town as all the private operators were rip-off artists. We learned the hard way why none of the local hospitality workers would call us a taxi or even give us the phone number. The whole system is run by gangsters. We had experienced this before on Lombok at the ports. Really dodgy places and even dodgier gangsters trying to scam travelers through monopolising the taxi system, lying about boat departure times and other petty, but effective methods. Here however, it nearly got bloody as the local gangsters all ganged up on the one public taxi driver we had arranged to pick us up. Luckily Karol was able to sort it all out before it got violent. And I, even more luckily, enjoyed a long shower oblivious to the whole ordeal until it was over.
And this last video is self-explanatory. A cool cafe we found while hiking the rice fields around Ubud with the German girls from out Rinjani hike.
I did two scuba dives in northeast Bali at a place called Tulamben. There is an American shipwreck there. It was an army transport ship that was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in 1942 and now lies just 40 meters from the beach about 20 meters under water. It was a spectacular dive, but unfortunately I don't have an underwater camera. However I made before and after videos. The highlight of the dives was the huge school of jackfish, about 400 in number, swimming in a bright silver spiral next to the wreck. About 15 meters high, this huge living tornado was magnificent to see. Continuously circling together like in Finding Nemo and totally unafraid of us divers. My Dutch diving buddy and I even swam down under the school, turned on to our backs and looked up through them. Amazing! Literally tons of these big fish swimming right over and around us as we gazed up at the surface 20 meters away where the sunlight refracted as it hit the water. A very memorable experience. The company I dove with was called Adventure Divers. It's run by and English-Dutch gentleman called Ian and I was very happy with their service and equipment. I've included one of their videos that show the wreck dive if you are interested. And you can see the silver jackfish I mentioned at the start of the vid.
I made a couple of videos in Bali to show the types of accommodation available and the cost. High season is July and August. I was there in September so the prices are lower then if you negotiate.
We stayed at a friendly place called Bukit Bungalows on Gili Trawangan. As we were there for several days we got pretty chatty with the young guy running the place. One day he and I were talking in the garden after the usual omelet and Lombok coffee breakfast. I had heard people in Indonesia get married quite young and asked about his situation. He got married in his early twenties. His wife was seventeen at that time. This was interesting, but not surprising. However, what he told me next was very surprising. He used to be a rice farmer in his home town. He earned 25,000 Rupiah for 8 hours work. That's less than 3 US dollars. But when he came to Gili Island and started working in tourism his earnings greatly increased. He was able to pay off his small house in just a couple of years. And, according to him, this caused one of the other farmers in his hometown to become jealous and start using voodoo on his wife. His wife, who lives alone in their hometown is now having mental problems because of this voodoo. Sometimes she just starts screaming or freaking out for no apparent reason. So every time he visits his hometown, he searches his land for voodoo related items. He told me in voodoo to make the spells stronger, the person who is cursing the other often hides a magical item close to the home of those he is attacking to increase the strength of the spell. I asked about the possibility of visiting the village elder for help because I'd heard of that being done. But he seemed reluctant to do so and said he would just keep searching his land. I'm not sure what I think about all this and I'd love to learn more about Indonesian believes, but I'm certainly flattered that he spoke to me so openly. And for the following weeks in Indonesia I experienced a lot of this openness and willingness to share personal stories with strangers from Indonesians.
Following our tough hike at Rinjani, we all fancied a bit of R&R on the beach so we caught the boat over to the Gili Islands. Getting around Lombok is an absolute hassle despite the island being so small. There's no organized public transportation between towns and always people are trying to overcharge and rip off travelers to use the private means of transport. And of course it's never on time and often involves stops or changes that were unexpected. So the idea of being on an island small enough to walk around for five days really appealed. The Gili Islands are three and we stayed on the largest, Gili Trawangan, which has nice beaches and a decent nightlife.
It was a great place to chill. The beaches are nice and there are enough people to create a good vibe, but still with a peaceful atmosphere and not too many vendors hassling. The water was beautiful and clear with mediocre snorkeling right on the main beach. We had heard big sea turtles were often visible there, but didn't spot any when we rented gear and snorkeled by ourselves. However a couple of days later we went on an organized snorkeling trip which stopped at three different sites for snorkeling. Despite major hangovers (obvious from the above video) and a shortage of sleep, we all enjoyed that. And at the second site we were lucky enough to see two huge turtles with shells as big as my torso. We even got within three feet of one of them.
Brothers forever. I think. Best friends forever.Gay. We like snorkeling. But the deep water is scary.
If you do yoga or meditate or get tortured sometimes then you'll know what a 'happy place' is. It's a place you invent in your head. It doesn't have to be real. It's just somewhere that you feel very comfortable, safe and relaxed. And of course it's usually somewhere beautiful in nature. Well for years my happy place has been behind a waterfall. I had never been to anywhere that resembled my mental happy place. I had just made it up from snippets of movies, things I'd read and my own imagination. But, unbelievably, two days into our Rinjani hike I visited somewhere even better than my happy place. When we arrived at the crater lake of the volcano I told the lads I fancied a swim. But before we had a chance to jump in, one of the porters beckoned us to follow him. About a twenty minute hike later we came across some natural,but mediocre undeveloped hot springs with a handful of other hikers sitting, looking at them or dipping their feet in. "Not here", said the porter, "walk more", and he pointed further down a slope. We followed him and as we rounded a corner we could see a beautiful, green, steaming, hot waterfall. Lovely mossy rocks lined a natural bath at the base of the little waterfall. And just a handful of other bathers serenely basked in the perfect warm water. Following two days sweaty, dusty hiking and a night's cold camping, we were in dire need of any form of bath, so this was like heaven to us. We all had big smiles as we scrambled over the slippy rocks into the liquid paradise in nothing but our underwear and layer of dirt/sweat. I'll always remember that feeling of being surrounded by warmth in a place of true beauty. After bathing a while, I spotted a little cave behind the flowing water of the waterfall. Although it seemed a little dangerous because the rocks were slippy and water blocked visibility, I decided to try to climb up and into the cave in pursuit of a real happy place. Wow! It was even better than I'd imagined. Once I got inside, I was wet and would have got cold quickly, but for the warmth of the water and rocks. It was also much more comfortable than I imagined because moss lined the rocks on which I was sitting. And because the waterfall was not too heavy or big, I could still see the view well and wasn't deafened by the roar of water. AND the view through the water was down to a deep, lush valley with not a single sign of development or even a hiking path to be seen. I wished I had a waterproof camera to capture that image. It was so much better than the happy place I'd been imagining for years. Added to the fact that this was a real place, with hardly anyone there and needing a two day tough hike to reach it, I was totally elated to be there. I wish I had taken better pictures to capture the place, but I guess I was too busy enjoying it.
Ronan and Karol in the water. Happy place is top center.
Drinking tea and warming up after swimming in the hot springs. View of our goal for the following morning; Rinjani's summit. The porters carrying all the tents, food and water. 20kg each on bamboo poles. The porters navigated even the trickiest parts in simple cheap flip-flops. Ascending further above sea level. We begin our descent to the lake. To the right you can see a new cone of the volcano formed from a recent eruption. Taking a welcome break for a photo and catching our breath. Very fashionable locals fishing/hanging out at the lake. Ditto. Argument because Ronan thinks I like him more than Karol and vice versa. Calm down lads! I like you both. Sunset dinner. My hair's not really that ginger; it's just the light.Sleeping in the tents was so cold even fully dressed and with two sleeping bags. But Ronan still wouldn't let me cuddle. Damn that stubbornness!
In the pickup truck on the way to the base of Rinjani. Happy and energetic. Some porters cooking lunch. Food was always very good. First part of the hike on Day 1 was through forest. Misty and lots of monkeys running around. Little bro leading the way with a stick for ankle support and monkey defense. My gaff. Camping above the clouds. Irish whisky nightcaps for everyone! Look at those German smiles.
I just spent a month in Indonesia. Well, actually just the islands of Lombok, Gili and Bali. It was my first time properly backpacking in three years. Little brother Ronan flew over for a couple of weeks and my mate Karol came for three.
The highlight of our trip was a three day hike to the summit of Rinjani Mountain. Rinjani, on the island of Lombok, is Indonesia’s second largest mountain and said to be the most beautiful in the country. It also happens to be an active volcano. But the last eruption was over a year ago, so things were pretty safe. The hike is notoriously difficult with reports of lots of people crying, puking and quitting. So of course, this is just the kind of “holiday” that calls out to me. The summit is just over 3700 meters and the volcano has a crater-lake on top as well as natural hot-springs. It’s a three-day hike with the goal being to reach the summit for sunrise on day three (which requires a 2:30am start).
I felt pretty confident about the hike to be honest because I’ve done longer and higher hikes before. But my confidence quickly dissipated after receiving a link to a tripadvisor page from Ronan. Reading the experiences/complaints of the other hikers, I reassessed the situation. I spent August hiking every weekend to get in decent shape, even hiking up to three times a week when possible. Unfortunately, most of the mountains around me in Seoul are about 600 or 700 meters high, so it certainly wasn’t perfect preparation.
The holiday plan was for us to climb the mountain as early into the trip as possible before the hedonism took tole on our bodies. But it took a couple of days to get orientated and travel from Kuta Bali, our meeting point, to Rinjani by public transport. And by the time we were ready to go, there was already a considerable dent in our four litres of duty-free Jameson whisky.
We intentionally didn’t book in advance as I’d learned from past experience that we could get it much cheaper if we haggled on arrival. It worked out perfectly well. We paid only 700,000 Indonesian Rupiah each. Much cheaper than anyone we met and half of the 1,400,000 the guidebook cited as the going rate.
Our group consisted of us three, four Germans, our guide and five porters. Everyone was real cool. The Germans were all university students and surprisingly well-traveled and worldly. The porters were nice, hardworking and friendly. And the guide, seemingly a teenager, was a cool kid, but appeared to be in the worst shape of the whole group. Perhaps due to his incessant cigarette smoking. In fact, we felt so bad for him on the first leg of the trip, Karol offered to carry his backpack for him.
I brought my phone on the hike and made a couple of short videos. It was my first time to ever try this so I apologise for both the video and narration quality.
And here in this second video you can see Ronan and me at the top of Rinjani, tired, but elated to have achieved our goal.
And this third video is kind of pointless I guess, but I hoped to show the view a little better from a different angle.
