On Friday 13th we rode to Labuhan Pandan, where we found the first 2 guesthouses closed. Both had European owners who had returned to Europe. Lombok not as good as expected???  We stayed in a very basic but OK bungalow a bit further, directly on the sea again. The next day we continued and crossed by ferry to the next island of Sumbawa. The crossing took 2 hours. We rode another 25 kms to the town of Alas, where we found a room in a local hotel. The room had AC, so alright.  In the afternoon we made a small extra tour and found ourselves in a small village. where a crowd was gathered. It appeared that a big pole was being erected (10 meters high), with in top a large wheel with a lot of items hanging off it. We stopped to watch and were immediately surrounded by a crowd of children and among them a young man who explained in fine Enlish (exeption here!) what was going on: the next day it was Mohammed’s birthday and traditionally after the noon prayers they would try to climb the pole and grab an item. It didn’t seem to be an easy job, such a slippery young shining tree stem. He was going to do his best and win the best item. Fot the moment it was a party with us in the centre. Talking, shouting, asking questions, just looking, and laughing a lot. We have more of these encounters and we enjoy them as much as the locals themselves.