Sumbawa – Bima

Bima

Either they have cleaned their act up, or the comments we have heard regarding Bima’s cleanliness are a bit harsh. The photograph below, taken from the back of the boat, illustrates three things: the water shows no obvious signs of sewage, the fishermen work hard for their catch, and they are standing on a reef. That reef is almost invisible in the afternoon sun. Charting is not accurate on Navionics here, and satellite images don’t see this area as being particularly shallow. But a word of warning – it’s only half a fisherman deep.

This is the welcome reception from the local kids as we went ashore:

There aren’t many restaurants in Bima, and those that were open served the Indonesian equivalent of Pot Noodle that I first came across at the airport in Tual – so that’s what we had. While we waited for our lunch, Raymond Lesmana, the rally agent and the de facto rally organiser for Indonesia, came to say hello. He’s my hair-brother.

The beach was a hive of activity; if you wanted, you could hire a duck, flamingo, unicorn, swan or an inner tube to float around for the day.

A welcome dance was scheduled for 4 pm near the restaurant where we met Raymond. Like all the shows put together in Indonesia, this was a good one.

Day Trip

We stumped up a very reasonable IDR 150,000 to go on a day trip around Bima, which first took us past the unfortunate guy sweating in the bear suit, then on to the Ntobo Weaving Village.

People in this weaving village have manufactured fabrics since the 15th century and have seen the gradual transition away from cotton to man-made fabrics and synthetic dyes. They are now trying to return to basics by re-introducing dyes made from plants and other natural materials. It’s a valiant effort.

Before we went, we had a photo with the local people; then, it was off to Uma Lengge, where we were treated to a display of traditional fighting styles. These guys might look innocent enough, but you wouldn’t want one coming at you with a knife.

And they demonstrated their headbutting skills in the video below.

Rice dehusking used to be done by placing the rice in a trough and using large poles to beat the trough. It’s hard to visualise, so here’s a video. The process has a mesmerising rhythm to it.

Our final stop was at the old Sultan’s palace, Asi Mbojo, which had been turned into a museum.

That evening, we were treated to a retrospective opening ceremony. This was a brilliantly well-put-together event with free food, great music and dance. We were blown away. Thank you, people of Bima.

And then we were off towards Rakiet Island, where we had arranged to be picked up to swim with the whale sharks.