R. Doug Wicker — Author

Our next stop after Komodo (series begins here) was the island of Lombok in the Indonesian province of West Nusa Tenggara. As with all the destinations we hit in Indonesia, blue water and lush tropical jungles were in evidence as we sailed into port:

As you can see, boat travel between the islands of Indonesia thrives here as well:

Disembarking our vessel, Holland America’s MS Volendam, we joined up with a tour group and headed out to observe weavers plying their artistic and colorful trade. I believe this particular village was Sukarara, which lies about thirty minutes east of the cruise terminal.

Before moving on to a museum we visited in Mataram (more on that in a moment) here are some views of this village, its artisans, and a tour group member who tried her hand at the handloom:

After our visit here we headed northwest, back toward the coast, and into the city of Mataram. Here we made a brief stop at the State Museum of West Nusa Tenggara (Museum Negeri Nusa Tenggara Barat):

Here you may find a few things of cultural interest, but I didn’t really find much in the way of good photo subjects:

On Wednesday I’ll take you to a garden fit for a king… and built by one.

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