[ travel ] lombok in 9 days

   eat, swim, snorkel, eat,…repeat

The last time I was on Lombok Island was a very long time ago, before marriage and kids. This is the first time I have returned to the island for more than a decade, now with two kids in tow. Oh and a husband, of course! 🙂

Lombok Island hasn’t changed a lot. The island is still quiet and no traffic…yay! The only change perhaps more hotels and villas, both budget and flash ones. We flew with Jetstar which flies direct from Perth. It’s rainy season in Lombok so almost every day rains. Usually during the afternoon. But we love the temperature as its not that hot and humid.

Day 1
Landed safe and sound at Lombok International Airport around 13.30pm local time. A taxi took us to our home for another 8 days, Sheraton Senggigi. My husband and I stayed at Sheraton when we first went to Lombok almost 15 years ago. And the hotel has not changed a lot. Room looks a bit old but still very comfortable, every thing works properly, bathroom is very clean. We had adjoining room for the boys. The garden is very lush, very nice pool for kids and adults, and the beach is just at the back yard of the hotel.

Sheraton Hotel Senggigi

Day 2
Didn’t do much today. We slept in, then had a very nice breakfast at the hotel. DH and twin 2 went for snorkeling at the beach in front of  our hotel. We went to Mataram for little groceries and on the way back went to check out Qunci Villa which is only about 1 km from our hotel.

I had a bit of a bad experience at Qunci. I went to its restaurant and was going to order a drink while DH and the boys body surfing at the beach. The waiter came and first told me that the table was reserved for 7pm and it was only 4.30pm. I told him I won’t be long, we would be gone before 6pm. Then when I was studying the menu, he came back again asking if I stay at the hotel. I said no. And he told me that the table now was reserved for 6pm and that I had to leave. I just had enough. I stormed out of the restaurant, fuming. Then I asked to speak to the manager. They told me the manager was not around (typical!). I finally managed to speak to one of the staff and explained the situation. He apologized. Qunci villa, you maybe good but you are a bit arrogant in my opinion.

Day 3
We visited Sukarara village, a weaving village, known for their pretty beautiful tenun ikat. Sukarara or Sukarela in Indonesia language, which means volunteer. Men in Sukarara are mostly farmers and women are weavers. The weavers spend 8 hours a day weaving. One tenun ikat takes about a month or two to finish.

Sukarara Village

After Sukarara, we went to some waterfall where my boys jumped off the water fall! It’s about 10 meters high and 7 meters deep. The father of my children watched from the top and I was taking pictures at the bottom. We should win the worse parents of the year award!!

I was in love with the Lombok pottery! I felt like I wanted to buy them all, I was in heaven! My son and I made our own pottery as well

Day 4
Went to Gili Nanggu, small quiet little island south of Lombok. Gili Nanggu is much quieter than the other well known Gilis such as Gili Terawangan, Gili Air, and Gili Meno. It only has one restaurant that belongs to the small villas. Gili Nanggu is good for snorkeling, the water is clear and there are heaps of colorful fish. Unlucky, after the first snorkeling we got hit by rain. On our way back from Gili Nanggu, some of the roads were flooded pretty bad and our car couldn’t get through. Thank Lord, the driver new another way and made our detour back to Senggigi safe and sound.

Gili Nanggu

Day 5
Selong Belanak is about 1.5 hour drive from Senggigi. The beach is beautiful, good for learning to surf for beginners. We found a nice secluded little corner and spent some time splashing around. The Boys went for surf with a guide. The cost for 2 boards are Rp.125.000 ( more less AUD$12.50 ) for 1 hour.
We had lunch at a little cafe called Laut Biru only about 200 meters from the beach. The ambiance in Laut Biru is pleasant but I personally think the food is average. My fried noodles was too oily and very sweet, but the spring rolls are ok. Laut Biru also has villa/rooms to rent.  There are few little warung along the beach that you can order food too.  Not sure about the cleanliness but I reckon the food will taste more authentic!

Selong Belanak Beach

Day 6
Just lazying around the hotel. I went to have a full body aromatherapy massage and body scrub for two hours and only paid AUS$ 18.50! How bloody good is that! DH went snorkeling again out on the reef on the south end of the Sengiggi. We had dinner at Square restaurant. The food is average, the ayam taliwang is actually more like gulai ayam/chicken curry. Again, more to western taste. But the ice-cream is delicious 🙂

Day 7
We hired a boat, that we shared with another family, and went to Gili Terawangan, Gili Meno, and Gili Air. Left Sheraton Senggigi around 9am, right after breakfast. It took about an hour to our first stop Gili T, short for Terawangan. Gili T is more vibrant and busy than Senggigi. More restaurants/cafes and shops which I like 🙂 We had ice cream before a dip at the sea. We spent about an hour exploring Gili T. If you are young at heart, childless, like noise and to party  I think Gili T will suit you.

 Gili Terawangan

Second stop is Gili Meno. We didn’t go to the island, instead spent time snorkeling off the boat on Gili Meno. I love love snorkeling at Gili Meno! The water is calm, clean, and so many colorful fish. I feel like want to just stay in the water all the time.

Gili Meno

After Meno, we headed out to Gili Air for lunch and a bit rest and relax before going back to Senggigi. Gili Air is not as crowded as Gili T but still nice with a few  restaurants, suitable for family with young kids I think. The beach is so gorgeous! Calm with shades of light and deep blue. It’s just so pretty. I could live here!

Gili Air

Day 8
Sindang Gile Waterfall is about 2 hours driving from Senggigi. Sindang means nyanyian in Indonesia or serenade in English. Gile means crazy…the sounds of the waterfall is like a crazy serenade, non-stop. There were hundreds of steep stairs to reach to the bottom of the waterfall. It is believed if you can stand still under the waterfall for 5 minutes, in 5 days your hair will grow a lot. To prove if this theory is right or not, I persuaded my DH to go under the waterfall……myth busted ….fail 😦
The second waterfall is about 30 minutes walk from Sindang Gile, cross a river, called Tiu Kelep. I didn’t go up to this one but my DH and twin 1 did. According to the myth the water circulation will give you an eternal youth, believe it or not. They swam there and I can report…………myth busted ….fail again. Well at least its looking that way.

Sindang Gile Waterfall

Day 9
Last day on the island. So far I am enjoying this holiday life 🙂 It makes me relax, calm, and put every thing in perspective. I like that I can escape from the monotony of  life. After a mini earthquake last night, I could not really sleep. I am a worried person, so I am worried that tsunami is about to happen on this beautiful island. Spent the rest of the night praying and praying and was glad when morning eventually came. It was raining continuously since about noon, after spending time with my kids in the pool, we went for lunch at the cafe nearby the hotel. Followed by window shopping. DH hired a boat and went north a few bays and went snorkeling again.

Thank you Lombok, you are beautiful and still mostly unspoilt and I hope you’ll be forever like that. Please don’t get sucked in by those investors who will make you too crowd with too many villas etc and trashy shops, like your neighbor :p

Stay gorgeous and til later!

xx