Lombok - week 3 in Indonesia -

I fully recovered from an upset stomach I had in Yogyakarta after arriving in Lombok. The clean air, beautiful beaches, and delicious food choices lifted my spirits and kept me going. Each day, we enjoyed dipping in the ocean and riding bikes to explore off-the-beaten-path spots. We stayed in Kuta, the main town, which was very convenient for finding restaurants and shops, as well as getting to the beach. It is said that Lombok could become the second Bali, and we could see tourism booming with many construction sites for resort villas and hotels. While there's still plenty of nature, the town has a touch of city life, making it an interesting mix.

TanJung Aan Beach.

This is a popular beach, and the contrast of the blue ocean and white sand was breathtaking. However, behind me in this picture was a lot of rubbish, which was shameful and spoiled the beauty of the beach. I also want to share a story about a cozy restaurant run by a local lady called Dina's Warung. Her shop used to be on the beach, but she had to relocate after a big company bought the beachfront property, forcing her to move along with other local stalls and restaurants. When we visited, there were no shops, just a kiosk offering snacks and drinks. It shocked me and reminded me of my family's shop in my small hometown, which also had to close due to a big shopping center moving in. Many local shops, including ours, simply could not compete. Why can't we maintain a peaceful coexistence?

Pink beach 2

I was fascinated by the pink hue of this beach, which only appears at sunrise and sunset due to the sun's reflection, according to our guesthouse owner. Nonetheless, he recommended visiting because of its unique beauty. Pink Beach is a collective term, as there are several beaches in the area referred to as Pink Beach. The journey took about 2 to 3 hours, and the roads were sometimes rough, just paths in some areas. We used Google Maps for navigation, but some routes didn’t have actual streets—just fields—so we had to find the closest point we could. Later, I realized that a 4WD vehicle would have been best for this kind of trip!

There was no one but us and it was very peaceful, so all I heard was the ripples. The shore was very shallow, so we could walk at least 50m from the seashore, and some sand in the ocean was volcanic soil in black, which was so gooey like clay, so I put it on my body as a natural spa treatment. My skin got smoother after leaving it for a while.

When we arrived, we found ourselves completely alone; it was incredibly peaceful. All I could hear was the sound of gentle waves. The shore was very shallow, allowing us to walk at least 50 metres from the shoreline. Some of the sand in the water was volcanic soil, black and gooey like clay. I decided to use it as a natural spa treatment, and my skin felt smoother after letting it sit for a while.

Bamboo scaffold

I was amazed to see bamboo used to support concrete structures. In my experience, steel pipes are standard for this purpose. Just look at the picture! The bamboo scaffolding was sturdy, reaching heights of at least 3 to 4 metres. Wow, bamboo is really strong!

Gerupuk   Beach

We tried to head to other beaches but gave up due to poor road conditions. However, we finally reached a quiet beach that was a bit separated from the main area, so we had it almost to ourselves with only a few other tourists around.

Bike riding to Pantani trock area.

These areas were more to my liking, surrounded by nature with palm trees and clear beaches. The view from the mountains was absolutely gorgeous. However, we encountered heavy rain and had to give up driving on a muddy road. Some streets were flooded from the rain, and we needed to cross through them, which felt like a thrilling ride of Splash Mountain at an amusement park! Local kids were enjoying themselves, splashing in the puddles.

While riding, we spotted a monkey sitting on an electrical cable.

Pantani trock

Again, we found ourselves alone in this serene area. It was raining as we drove through, but I stayed dry under my poncho.

Indonesian cuisine

Most of the food we enjoyed consisted of Nasi Goreng (fried rice), Ikan Bakar (grilled fish), grilled or fried calamari, and Chapchai(stir-fried vegetables), including vegetable or fish curry. I must highlight the grilled fish and calamari—they were incredibly fresh, and the charcoal grilling added a delicious flavour. Bintang beer became our perfect companion to enjoy all our meals. I decided to avoid meat to prevent another upset stomach, so these selections worked perfectly for me.

Kuta beach

Overall, Kuta Beach was the best because of its convenient location and cleanliness (while not perfect, it was better than many other popular shores). We chose to come here to watch our final sunset in Lombok. The sunset against the mountains was beautiful. Wild monkeys joined us for the view! There were four of them, and one monkey cleverly shook off sand to eat food from a scrap of paper. It was truly amazing to witness their intelligence!

She knows how to eat.  Amazing ape.