They currently only get 5% of the tourists Bali gets. and are trying to build the tourism industry up. Lombok is famous for its pearls.
The government now spends 20% of national budget on education as they believe its the key to progress. We saw a lot of schools and school children. The schools buildings were very modern and very clean. No litter anywhere which stood out as there is so much rubbish in the streets. The school children were all in brightly coloured uniforms, very well dressed. It obvious the value they place on education here and lots of the kids were waving and calling out to us as we drove past.
There were a lot of these little carts in the streets. Many had vegetables or goods stacked up on top of the roof. Most people rode motorbikes.
This lovely lady was sitting making rugs. I wanted to buy some fabrics in this market stall and once I started looking I got swamped by the sellers and bartered the price down. I really didn’t like the whole atmosphere in the market stalls once you want to buy something. The minute you ask a price they just don’t leave you alone so you can’t browse, compare prices, actually enjoy looking at the fabrics. I had planned to buy quite a bit of fabric as there is some beautiful work there, but is just wasn’t enjoyable getting hassled by the sellers.
There was a group of men and teenage boys performing music and traditional fighting with sticks. They really didn’t hold back with the fighting and they were having a lot of fun. They were great to watch.
