Lombok, Indonesia - June 2012

It’s a short flight, 22 minutes, from Bali to Lombok.  We had heard that Lombok is a nice quiet change from Bali – less traffic, less people.  This is true although there are still traffic jams and the roads constantly busy.

We began our stay on Lombok in the town of Senggigi, on the northwest coast of the island.  I had booked us a room at a small hotel right on the beach.  In fact, the beach was just a stone’s throw away so we could enjoy morning breakfast watching the fishing boats return from their night at sea and our evenings enjoying a beautiful sunset.  The return of the fishing boats is quite the sight.  About 8am every morning, way out on the horizon, colourful sails begin to appear.  As these boats, actually outrigger canoes, get closer to shore they look like giant spiders inching their way inland.

Our first day we spent exploring the town and beaches of Senggigi.  There are numerous inlets, each with a beach and often the ‘parking lot’ for the fishing boats during the day.  We have been told that the area is packed with tourists during July and August (same as Bali) but so far it seems relatively quiet.

Having checked the area out, it was time for a massage.  Gilbert decided on the ‘purple palace’ (the place is all lavender and purple, including the girls’ uniforms) and what an interesting choice it was.  The owner, an Indonesian, is married to a Canadian chef – her husband grew up in Toronto.  She met him when she was visiting the city, they fell in love and the rest is history.  Well almost – as his work in the hotel industry has taken them to some interesting places in the world.  This includes 2 years in Islamabad, Pakistan living and working in an exclusive hotel which catered to diplomats.  They also lived in Jordan for a brief time (6 months?) working in some capacity for the King and Queen of Jordan – I am guessing food preparation/cooking for the royalty.  They have now settled in Senggigi, she with her esthetics salon and he as a chef at a restaurant.

We did give that restaurant a try one evening but unfortunately we were disappointed in the meal.  It just didn’t live up to our expectations especially given the Canadian chef’s background.  However, his wife’s salon has been wonderful.  We have tried almost the entire menu of their massages; Balinese, Thai, hot rocks and aromatherapy. 

We really find the massage an ideal remedy for a sore and stiff body after being on a motorcycle for a couple hours.  That’s right, we rented a motorcycle for 5 days as our preferred mode of transportation.  At $6/day, you can hardly go wrong, especially since the bike was new and not some old beater.

We had been told that there was a wonderful drive to the north of the island to see some waterfalls so we decided to ride out there.  The views of the coastline are beautiful, with numerous bays and sparkling turquoise/blue waters.  But it is also the daily life that caught our attention.  At one of the bays, there were numerous women selling grilled fish along the road.  I was shown a styrofoam cooler with fish on ice and was told they had a special fish for me if I came back the following day.  At another turn in the road, there were a few male goats along the road, jumping up and butting horns, a hard crack each time they hit.  And what about the 2 motorcycles we passed, the drivers carrying 3 foot tunas as passengers.  What I will call the ‘coconut graveyard’ was also an interesting site.  These are coconut husks piled up in huge mounds which trucks will come by and collect later.  And school children are everywhere although not as innocent as we sometimes would prefer as they yell ‘Money, Money’ or ‘Cigarettes’ as we ride by.  And the horse and cart are still in use to transport people around.  That may not seem like progress but the ‘tractor’ in the rice field is certainly an improvement over the water buffalo.  I do wish we had pictures of all we saw but it wasn’t possible while on the motorcycle, so we will just have to rely on our memory.

Filling up the motorcycle with gasoline was a unique experience in itself.  We couldn’t seem to find a gasoline station anywhere so Gilbert finally decided to stop at a roadside stand, taking our chances the gasoline would be ok.  The lady took out her sieve and a jar of gas and filled us to the top.  Then she refilled the jar from a bucket of gasoline.  Of course, we drive away and around the bend is a gas station.  However, we never had any problem with the gas and filled up at this ‘station’ another time, supporting the local economy who live on practically nothing each day.

It took us 4 hours to reach the waterfall site with us thinking we would never get there.  There were no other tourists to speak of that we could see so we really wondered what we were doing out in the countryside, somewhere on Lombok.  OK, I was beginning to think we were nuts to be out there and looked at my watch and decided that at 2pm we would turn around and head back– at 1:55pm we reached our destination.  Thank goodness as we hadn’t eaten lunch and also were quite saddle sore from the motorcycle so we needed the break.

We ate a late lunch while admiring the falls from a distance.  Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time to hike to the falls as I wasn’t keen on driving back on unlit roads (being at the equator it gets dark close to 6pm).  But I don’t think we missed much as we asked someone who was leaving and her response was mediocre.  However, the drive through the villages near the waterfall was interesting enough.  The villages are located on the side of a mountain and there is a long concrete irrigation ditch which runs downhill along the side of the road, providing water for the people.  The children laugh and play in the water which was such a delight to see.

Another day we decided to drive to the city of Mataram, the capital of Lombok.  The Chinese cemeteries along the way were quite colourful and well maintained.  And the bird cages hanging high up on the wires were something a bit different.  I am not sure how the birds would be fed but someone ‘up there’ must be taking care of them.  Other than a field of rice being harvested, I’d say there was not much else in town to capture our fancy.

We had read that Lombok has two golf courses so we did check one out as Gilbert thought he might play another round.  It was around noon when we arrived and the heat and humidity were taking over so Gilbert decided he would postpone the opportunity.  Nearby was a hotel so we stopped in for lunch, having no idea this was quite an exclusive resort.  Apparently the owner is one of Java’s greatest antique collectors, with artifacts embellishing the impressive lobby which is a rebuilt 500 year old home.  The beach was also beautiful white sand, something we had expected from all of Indonesia.  We moseyed around a bit on the grounds after lunch before heading back to town.

I will say we did find a restaurant in Senggigi that had the best Indonesian food to date.  We even had a rijsttafel (rice table) one evening which was delicious.  Once we discovered this gem we ate dinner there every evening.

After spending time in the north of Lombok, I booked us a 3 night stay in the south.  Little did I know we would be staying in such a remote and rural location, unaffected by tourism.  I had read that the beaches were suppose to be fabulous and there are the nearby southern Gili Islands which are easily accessible by boat so that seemed a good enough reason to go.

We found out the hotel has only been open for 2 years and was known more as a place to go diving.  It is supposedly the only luxury accommodation in the area so we were hardly roughing it.  There was a sandy beach which spread further along the coastline so we enjoyed a walk to another point of land, offering us wonderful views of small islands and a beautiful inlet.  A couple villagers were on the beach, collecting washed up coral which is used in their building material.  Then it was back to the resort to enjoy complimentary afternoon tea – a daily routine which seemed so out of place considering our location.  However, instead of scones and finger sandwiches, we snacked on local Indonesian sweets.

We took a boat over to Gili Nanggu, the closest island to the resort.  It is small enough that we could walk around the perimeter in about 30 minutes.  Then we put on snorkeling gear and had a look at the fish and coral underwater.  Our stay on ‘Gilligan’s Island’ lasted 3 hours, any longer and we would have baked and burned in the sun.

Offshore, we did notice a large boat park itself between 2 of the smaller islands.  We thought it was most likely a small cruise ship, given its shape and different levels.  Were we ever wrong – it was actually someone’s private yacht.

The resort had a dock which was built out into the water.  Of course we took a nice leisurely stroll to the end, spying the crabs which live around the concrete base and watching 5 angel fish which seem to have a permanent residence just under the dock (we confirmed this was their ‘home’).  But the most amazing sight was when a large school of silver fish went jumping out of the water, being chased by a much larger fish.  We only saw this once but I insisted we visit the dock a few times in the hope of seeing it again.

The reason the dock was even built?  Apparently the tide will go out so far that the dive boats, or any boats for that matter, cannot get close to shore.  The only option for access is to tie up close to the end of the dock.  It’s a good thing we didn’t see the tide out that far as Gilbert and I might have mistaken it for a tsunami and headed for the hills behind the resort.

We decided to spend our last days in Indonesia back on Bali.  Trying to get a last minute flight didn’t work as seats were all sold out.  Next option was to take the ferry, certainly an economical decision as it only costs about $5/person for the 4 hour sailing.  We found a couple seats on the lower deck – perfect for us since upstairs it was crowded with little ventilation.  The ride went without incident until we reached the port at Bali.  We had to wait for about 30 minutes offshore for a spot to dock.  Just enough time for someone on the upper deck to get seasick – and yes, the lunch was ‘spilling’ over the edge into the sea almost in front of us.  This isn’t the first time we have been on public transport while on vacation when someone has been sick – just not sure why we were so ‘lucky’ again but I can only hope this will be the last time.

Back in Bali (the land of flip flops, motorcycles and aussies) we are staying at a hotel near the beach, spending our last 3 days soaking up a bit of warmth and sunshine, having a last massage, swimming at the hotel pool and even watching the Wimbledon tennis championships later in the evening.  Although not originally planned this way, it has definitely been a trip with plenty of R&R.  We begin our journey to home soon, stopping off in Seoul for a few days along the way.