Senggigi, Lombok, Indonesia - Day 3
Sunday, March 23, 2025
Today began at Katamaran Resort in Senggigi, Lombok. It was another gorgeous day in Indonesia with warm temperatures in the 80’s and partly cloudy skies. Even though we’re close to the equator here, the weather doesn’t feel quite as sweltering as it did in Australia. I’m not sure why that is. Andi thinks we’re just getting used to the heat.
Breakfast is included in our hotel stay at Katamaran; this morning, the meal was served buffet-style. A large room next to the restaurant was filled with all types of foods for hotel guests to eat — fresh fruit, a salad bar, muesli, toast and pastries, Indonesian dishes, sushi, Western-style eggs & pancakes, and even a make-your-own soup station. I suppose the kitchen is catering to travelers & taste profiles from all over the world.
I think it’s kind of fun to eat buffet-style breakfasts when we’re traveling because we get to try unique, local foods we wouldn’t otherwise order. I took a few pictures of the buffet so I could go back to my table and Google what the foods were. So many foods in Indonesia are made with beautiful, bright colors. I learned that dadar gulung is a pancake roll; its green color derived from pandan leaves. The roll is filled with sweet coconut and palm sugar. The outside roll was squishy and spounge-like.
I tried the banana bread pudding, black rice pudding, and Indonesian salak fruit. Salak is sometimes called “snake fruit” because of its scaly, brown peel. Inside the fruit are three white-colored fruit pieces similar to a firm, crunchy apple. I really liked it.
One food I didn’t try was the bacon sushi — that didn’t sound appetizing at all!
Andi wasn’t feeling very well at breakfast this morning. He said he was having stomach cramps.
Tory, Aden, and I laid by the pool for a few hours late-morning, then I continued to sit outside on our covered patio after the kids tired of swimming. It was a slow, relaxing kind of day. Easy to do when staying at a gorgeous place like this. Andi laid in our air-conditioned room most of the day. He just wasn’t feeling 100% and doesn’t like being in the sun too much anyway.
Andi and I went to the fitness center around 4:00pm. I invited Aden to come with us because he looked like he needed to run off some energy. I’m not very patient or helpful when it comes to my time in the gym, so Andi showed Aden how to use all the equipment. It was so cute watching them together, Andi cheering Aden on and urging him not to give up.
The four of us had dinner at The Sail restaurant on the hotel property. Andi’s stomach was still giving him fits, so he asked the chef to prepare him a plain grilled chicken breast with white rice. The kitchen obliged. I ordered a cheeseburger, Tory had a pepperoni pizza, and Aden ordered his usual Nasi Goreng.
By bedtime, Andi was really feeling crummy. His forehead felt warm to the touch, and said he had a headache and terrible stomach cramps. I suggested he take some anti-diarrhea medication, but he was nervous to do so. I felt so bad listening to him moan in discomfort. Hopefully tomorrow is better.
