Tag Archives: Market

Day 101 – A day in Sumbawa Besar

We didn’t make a lot of plans for today just one which was to get up early and visit the market. The day was quite the burner so during breakfast we broke our first sweat. It didn’t help much that we had fried rice and egg omelettes.

People, motorbikes, wares, all zipping around

People, motorbikes, wares, all zipping around

Afterwards, walking to the market was quite the trial. The market itself is gigantic, under a roof and a complete maze to me. I followed Flo around first through the fruit and vege section and then through the clothes section. In between there was a stretch with fish and chicken which I tried to pass quickly only to find that I had entered the innards section. Ewww…the only stall with sweets was right in the middle so I had to pass on those as well.

Within a short amount of time, we were overwhelmed and ready to leave. Not without buying more, strange looking fruits though.

On the way back, we had to take breaks in the shade as the sun was just scorching us. Luckily, our room is air conditioned. It was then that we decided to take a rest day to replenish our batteries. For the rest of the day, we lounged around our room, watching episodes of a series and listening to an audiobook. Despite thinking we’re having a rest day at a beach, we ended up taking it in a city. Flo and I are simply city people and we enjoyed it muchly to walk around one corner to top up our phone credit and around another corner to great street food. Sumbawa Besar is super convenient for us, as there is even a laundry service on the opposite side of our hotel. All our clothes now smell like flowers which hasn’t happened in a while.

Day 71 – First world problems and an enchanting city

Flo woke me up at 7am after a good night’s sleep. I had been very tired the evening before as the 3.30am start into the day did not go down well with me.

Herman was already up and back from his morning run (shame on me) so we had breakfast together before he headed off for work. Breakfast was delicious but I started to feel really unwell. Most of the morning saw me in bed with stomach pains. I am unsure if it was a reaction to the malaria prophylaxis in the morning, the local food yesterday or the crushed ice (aka tap water) in my juice last dinner. Whatever it was, it was most definitely a reaction of my body to something new.

Pretty and convincing for fake flowers.

Pretty and convincing for fake flowers.

So Flo had to go out without me to procure lunch which he did while I took a nap. He made it to a Vietnamese bakery close by where he bought some kind of sweet treat for me. When the lady at the counter asked for $1, he was sure that he was being ripped off because he’s malae but then he came home with a whole plastic bag full of the treats! More than enough for both of us for lunch. It turned out to be several quartered bananas wrapped in dough and then deep fried in oil. There was probably some honey put on it as well. Sweet, fatty and quite delicious.

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Day 68 – The Fault in our Stars

The plan for this weekend was to lay low and relax and gather as much calm ans strength as we could before what ever would expect us from here on out in the developing world. That, and the thought of the $60 it would cost, was the reason for denying the invitation to tag along to a rodeo that Celia ans some friends were going to.

Celia did manage to break us out of our sloth-like state for a while though: First, we went out to another local market for lunch. Nina and I had Lebanese food and a nice tropical smoothie. Nina got her falafel wrap freshly done just before they closed up, much to the dismay of the stall owners daughter, who was put to work.

After that, we extend our little excursion for some sight seeing to east point. Once again, Celia has proven to be an amazing host. This time as a patient tour guide putting up with my “sign fetish”.

That night we were alone in the house and thought to make use of the large flat screen and watch one of the movies we have been carrying around since day 1. We ended up going for two in the end, because The Fault in our Stars left us so sad that it needed some Brave to get us ready for bed without sobbing in a fetal position.

The Fault in our Stars is the first movie based on a book of the same name by John Green. We have been following and thoroughly enjoying the youtube work of John and Hank Green for a while now.  I especially enjoyed the Crash Course series, and by now we consider ourselves Nerdfighter. The movie was great, but so different that it is almost hard to believe it is of American make. Have a look at the trailer, but be warned: This is some seriously sad stuff.

The Hobbit Artisan Market

entrance

Entrance to the Hobbit artisan market

As preparation for the Hobbit premiere (today! YAY!) there is an Hobbit Artisan Market in Waitangi park. It’s been on since last Sunday and will close today. Flo and I managed to go there twice which is enough as it is really quite small. =)

The entrance is a wooden Hobbit hole. On Sunday, there was a lot going on there with many people taking their pictures with that sign. When we were back on Monday, it was less busy and we also took a picture. The cute thing about this photo opportunity is that the city council of Wellington has hired some people to stand around the entrance to take picture of people/couples who always have the problem that they need to ask strangers to get a picture of both. So cute! =) Continue reading