After Christmas in Bali and disappointment of what we found headed for smaller island neighbour Lombok for New Year. Wow, what a difference. Unspoilt, undeveloped, rural, local, simplicity. Caught flight over. No real choice, for GBP53 total we swapped 5 hour ferry ride for ½ hour flight. Plane not quite Singapore Airlines’ standard; twin-propeller 56-seater built 30 or more years ago [photo]. But hey, it got us here. Even had mid-flight refreshment, Danish pastry, bun and water. We’d arranged accommodation so were met. Drive to Senggigi, main resort on the island, and our hotel, simplicity of life was everywhere: the rice paddies [photo], the bamboo-thatched huts, the horse-and-cart transport. Amazing. Refreshingly untouched by major commercial developments; as Bali was 20 or so years ago we’re told. We really like it. Been exploring with a jeep: North to a waterfall. Not the one we intended, we found out later, but fantastic all the same. Scaled down steep hillside, traversed river by makeshift bamboo-pole bridge [photo] for dip in plunge pool at bottom of falls [photo]. Also went South on mystery tour. Didn’t find a destination, just glad to find our way back after a days driving; tarmac road, to tarmac pot-holed road, to rubble road, to dirt road, to muddy track, to nothing that resembled a road. Had a map but no obvious road signs, place names or clear directions. Resorted to the sun and sea to keep us heading the right way. Highlight was stopping in remote village for local made ice-cream and having half the village come for a close look at the aliens. A unique experience, as much for them as for us. That was New Year’s Eve and after eventually getting back left any celebrations to a few beers from the fridge. Rest of the island burnt midnight oil well beyond any civilised hour. Several accounts of 5 and 6 o’clock morning bed times. And, if they’d hoped to replenish lost sleep the following night they were severely hindered by first earthquake on Lombok in recent memory. Hit 5 on Richter scale, quite violent enough for us. Left our bungalow with noticeable cracks down walls and splinters of plaster all over.