Angel's travels: My Indonesian birthday

After returning from Mt Rinjani I was in need of a couple of day’s rest which started with the next day as it was my birthday . My Indonesian birthday in Senaro / Lombok started with a Happy Birthday, sang by guesthouse owner Yusuf, his wife Umi, daughter Letha (pic 8) and Teemu. A local backed a heart shaped cake at 3am in the morning including text and candles so that was my breakfast followed by pisang goring and chocolate sauce (pic 1).
It’s really strange to celebrate your birthday in another country while you’re traveling. Due to the time difference you have to wait half a day to claim your birthday wishes or speak to relatives in Europe. Due to my massive cake I treated the neighbours and local children on a piece of the cake and made instantly friends. Later that day Lim and Jen came over to share Mt Rinjani stories and experiences while we enjoyed tea and birthday cake but the real celebration was that evening when Yusuf and his friend Bruce took us to local traditional dancing. After a 15 minute motorbike ride which ended in a dark bumpy road near a local house with roughly 100 locals (adults and children), load music was playing and three ladies dressed in traditional clothing were on the ‘dance floor’ (sandy pitch). We sat down and Bruce bought a bottle of the local rice wine which they brew themselves and sell in plastic water bottles. The liquid is bitter and awful but most of all lethal as you can get really drunk after drinking a couple of shots but combined with some lemonade it tastes better and reduces the chance of getting drunk (pic 2)…. We were clearly the only ‘white’ people there and especially the children were very interested in us so I tried to have a conversation and made some pictures (pic 4). We were forced to have a dance too as that would amuse the locals so I had a go with one of the ladies (pic 3). After a couple of hours we left the party and I thought it was a great way to end my Indonesian birthday.

The next day we went with Yusuf and Bruce to a stick fight, in a nearby village. This is apparently a tradition in Lombok . On arrival I could see this is a social event for the locals; women and children sell (homemade) food and drinks, the men are sitting together eating, drinking and chatting. On a raised platform three men were playing some instruments with high pitched music that kind of agitates you and later on I understood why (pic 1). We had some drinks and food till most of the men created a circle in the middle of the field and started shouting (pic 2).The whole fight is a bit of a theatrical play with two ‘coaches’ pointing at men and pushing them into the circle to invite them to fight. If one is chosen they look at the other coach as it’s his turn to find someone in the audience to fight this person. Of course money is involved so people start shouting as it could be that this wouldn’t be a fair fight between these guys. This could go on for a long time till finally 2 men were chosen and the bets were fixed so the game could begin. Both fights didn’t last long as it all goes very quick and they hit very hard (pic 3). The stick is a wooden stick with some wire wrapped around it at the end and the shield is a plastic one with a handle at the inside. You can hit anywhere and only the referee decides who wins or if it’s a draw. The rules weren’t really clear but maybe there aren’t any. Sometimes the men run in the heat of the moment towards the audience so you have to be on the ball and get out if needed. It was fun to see and quite entertaining. When both fights were finished a guy came over to us and apologized, I asked him why and he said that the fights were a bit tame and only two of them as usually is it is a lot more exciting! I said I’ve seen enough to get an idea and was grateful to have experienced this. He told us that the next day a big fight was planned in another village so most of the key fighters were there and not here to show the real thing. I thought it was really kind and endearing of him to explain this to us.