Wild goose chase, no guesthouse...
Well, it's been a while tramping around the streets of Bima in search of something that even remotely resembles a guesthouse. Quite clearly this chap hasn't much of a clue, but his English is near perfect so if nothing else he's able to make enquiries more successfully than me - English is definitely not widely spoken around here.
In concluding there are no guesthouses with striking distance of downtown I insist on heading back towards town and calling an end to this wild goose chase. A hotel it has to be as we grab a ride with one of those horse and carts that frequent the place. 10 minutes and 50p later we arrive outside a hotel Lila Graha on Jalan Lombok right in downtown I would say. Just under £10 per night for a double bed in a reasonably good sized room. Air con, TV, wifi and breakfast included. Better pay this chap something for his trouble, which actually for once proved quite useful, if only to discover there are no Guesthouses in Bima, but I'm sure someone will now prove me wrong!
A couple of nights here then before onwards by bus and ferry to Labuan Bajo, the next main landmass heading towards the east. Time for a stomp around this place and make some observations. First noteworthy aspect is that this town is uninspiring architecturally. Rough around the edges with piles of rubble here and there. Next, there appear to be only 3 hotels and definitely no guesthouses or lodges. Perhaps the most striking feature about his town is it's people - without exception, everyone is extremely friendly, perhaps over friendly at times. Wandering down little lanes is attracting plenty of attention from locals as they gather round demanding photos, all smiling, laughing and the girls withdraw giggling. This Is definitely the way to see Indonesians in the raw without that pretentious drive of tourism.
Bima is not a tourist town, well, I haven't seen a single white tourist in the few hours I've been here. There maybe a few Indonesian tourists but like me probably stopping over before onwards to Labuan Bajo. No beaches here with the town situated on a rather long estuary into which flows all the stale water looking at some of the rivers flowing around here. But in general the town is tidy with some garbage here and there, quite isolated incidents of fly tipping I would think. Plenty of street food of dubious origins I might add, definitely a case for avoiding Delhi belly here. There is at least one cafe here, with food stacked up in the window. Good Indonesian food as I tuck into a good plate of rice, flat potato cakes and various other bits and pieces for 70p including coffee.
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