Sapit

A 15 minute ride in a fishing boat, a 15 minute ride in a horse-drawn carriage, an hour ride in a bemo (small van overfilled with people, animals, fruit, vegetables, eggs...), a lunch break, another 15 minute ride in a bemo, a 3 hour ride in a bus, and a final 30 minute ride in yet another bemo and BAM just like that we arrived in Sapit... Written out like that it sounds horrible, but in reality our first day of public transport went by quickly and easily. The locals were helpful and good humored when we called them on their crazy tourist prices. The long rides were made pleasant by good music and beautiful scenery. And the destination -- well, that alone made up for all the hassle!

Sapit is a small village at the foot of Mount Rinjani, a sacred volcano for both the Sasak and Balinese people. It's surrounded by fields, rice terraces, a dominated by the volcano. The place is surprisingly free of tourist influence and the locals reminded me of the Filipinos of Tacloban City. The children ran after us, playing the universal game of hide-and-seek with M. and I, much to our own amusement. English was almost non-existent and we learned a fair bit of Bahasa Indonesia to be able to communicate.


We stayed at the only homestay in the area, Hati Suci. Our host, T., was one of the only locals with a good hold of English. He was enthusiastic, generous, and incredibly genuine. He invited us to join him on two outings. The first was a "hair-cutting" ceremony for a newborn baby that lived a thirty minute scooter ride away. The ride over there was a big part of the thrill! We never actually got to see the baby, but the food we were served was incredible. M. and I had our first taste of jackfruit -- in a curry! Yum! The second outing was the following day, we went to a wedding reception in Sapit. There was live music, dancing, and more food! All in all, I feel very blessed to have been given the opportunity to get a peek of "real" life here in Indonesia.

Rice cooking at the wedding reception