Lombok, Indonesia- May, 25, 2018
Two years ago Andy and I embarked on an Indonesian adventure to Bali and the very popular Gili islands. Currently we sit at Cairns International Airport awaiting to embark on yet another South-East Asian adventure….Bali/Lombok. Teaming up with us are our friends Mel and Tom. This time we four hope to explore the untouched destinations of these lovely islands.
After landing at 2am in Denpasar we stayed one night at the lovely Samsara hotel. This was a great, friendly accommodation recommended by Mel. The following day we spent half of it getting cheap $9.00(aus) full-body massages, facials and later browsed the shops. Trying to get use to the intensity of deal making, Balinese sales people, and barter masters. That evening we caught a domestic $40.00(aus) round-trip to Lombok. Lombok, unlike Bali, has a smaller population, is less Hindu, more Muslim and is absolutely breathtaking. Being not a very popular tourist destination has kept it untouched and looking like what Bali did 15-20 years ago. We four hope to spend 4 days here exploring it’s secrets.
We booked a stay at Mike and Yulie’s which was recommended by a friend. Mike(from Australia) and Yulie(from Lombok) are a lovely couple with a beautiful villa located in the heart of Kuta, Lombok. We four spent that evening eating HUGE seafood platters at El Bazzar and bar hoping through the village. Later that night at Mom’s Bar we were greeted by 8 young girls. They walk 8km into town just to walk all night selling bracelets to tourists to help them get through school. We bought quite a few bracelets and Mel bought the girls each a fresh juice of their liking, they seemed very grateful.
The following day Mel, Tom and I hired mopeds while Andy (the sensible one) hired his own personal private driver. I have no experience driving a motor bike or driving in general so you can imagine I was a nervous wreck. The driver brought us to a small village called, Sade (traditional weaving village) where we got dressed in traditional ceremonial attire and learned to loom our own sarongs. The local woman take one month to weave a standard sarong, I can only imagine it would take myself a year to get through half of the length of fabric. We continued travelling almost 70km, up and down mountains, circling roundabouts, dodging traffic and conquering highways before we finally made it to a town called, Sengigi. In Sengigi we booked only one night at Sendok Hotel for $15.00(aus) per night. Arriving late we didn’t get up to much. We cruised along the beach, had a massage and later happened to find a bar owned by a Canadian expat who served a real Canadian Caesar drink.
Mel had bought an entire luggage case full of children’s school supplies that she intended to donate to a small school not funded by the state. Through a friend she arranged in meeting the principal of the school, his name is Zans. Zans picked Andy up, as the rest of us followed by motorbike. We drove up and down winding roads that hugged the edge of cliffs. It was nail biting to ride by moped but it was also the only way I recommend to really see the SPECTACULAR, million dollar costal views. Driving at our own pace made it easy to experience the glorious dense jungle, white sandy beaches hidden by cliff hanging coves, fringed by palm trees. Such an exhilarating experience.
Zans eventually brought us to his home where we met his wife and children. Behind his home is a very small school of about 100 children where he works. The school is old and slightly rundown so it was nice to give back and do what we can for these kids that range in age from 5-18 years old. Being in such a Muslim school community was interesting. The kids seemed so interested in us and equally as nervous to meet us. I know extremists, mostly the news and other mainstream media have had an impact on painting the Muslim culture black. Causing the world to fear the hijab but these kids were scared of us too. All 20 kids moved their desks to one corner of the room when we entered the classroom. I took the first step in introducing myself, my name, age and occupation. I told them, “wow so much space on this floor to dance (dance-slides across the floor) everyone don’t be scared move closer!” Eventually we four split up amongst the children and had them practise their English through conversation. It was so enlightening hearing their stories, one wants to be a pilot, another a doctor. Teachers make &15.00(aus) per month, some kids are orphaned, some have as many as 8-9 siblings. Many different broken-english conversations went on. Eventually we handed out backpacks, pencils, crayons and pencil-cases to each of the kids before saying goodbye. Half of the class later added us each to Facebook as a friends, a great way to stay connected.
That afternoon Zans took us up to Monkey Forest where we saw families of spider monkeys and fed peanuts to brown tail monkeys. It’s currently Ramadan in Indonesia so every Muslim including Zans is fasting. That being the case it was slim pickings for lunch due to the fasting but Zans was ever so kind to bring us back to his home for lunch. Him and his beautiful wife couldn’t eat but cooked food for us and we all sat and ate in front of them. Mel, Tom, Andy and I all came to an agreement of how we can help Zans in developing his school and support his family since the Lombok government doesn’t support small private schools. The four of us just chipped in $25.00 each, so $100.00(aus) to Zans and his wife. We basically gave him half a years salary, he was very happy and his wife cried. It really opened our eyes to how a small sum of money equivalent to a night out of drinking in Canada or a McDonald’s meal in Australia would essentially get a child through school for almost a year. I hope to return one day soon and maybe this time come more prepared to help the students in different ways.
That evening after we road another 70km back to Mike and Yulie’s in Kuta, Lombok we had a lazy night. We road our bikes at dusk down empty highways. We later ate food at small local Indonesian restaurants at the side of the road before calling it a night. Our last full day on Lombok we split up. Mel and Tom took off on bikes chasing sun and surf whilst Andy and I went on our own adventure. We hired a driver and a skipper of a small boat for the day for $100.00(aus) or $1,000,000 rupiah. After the driver drove us down small dirt roads, through undeveloped villages surrounded by rice paddie fields, we eventually ended up at a small harbour. We planned on going to Pink Beach however because no one spoke english these local Lombok men took us on a tour of their own, no complaints. We had a private boat that took us around islands and we got to see some beautiful coastlines. We snorkelled two separate reefs, both filled with schools of fish and vivid coloured reef. We ate lunch on a small island and visited a fishing village where we got to see how these villagers lived off the sea.
We spent our last night on Lombok together having dinner at a warung(authentic Indonesian restaurant) before saying goodbye. The next day we flew back to Bali where Andy and I will continue to travel for 10 days, while Mel and Tom finish their last couple days back at Samsara hotel. Lombok is an undiscovered, undeveloped hidden gem that’s currently in the midst of being discovered. I’m so happy to have met the wonderful people, learn more about the Muslim community and experience Lombok as a whole. Visiting this place once has tripled my bucket list for when I return to Lombok. Thank you Zans!
