Lombok Off The Beaten Path

Gili Air, Gili Meno and Trawangan Islands:
A short ride north of Senggigi, a cluster of tiny coral islands offer the perfect destination for snorkeling, scuba diving or picnics on pristine stretches of white sand beaches. Hire a boat to take you out to discover a magical marine world of blue coral, brightly coloured fish and delicate shells, Good dive locations.

I have been to off-tracked Kuta beach in Lombok. Even tough it is least popular than Sengigi here but it offer more than what to expect. The beach is 5 time fresher than Sengigi and the most magnificient here is the type of sand here.

I stepped into the beach and to find out quarter of my leg thrusted into the sand. I look at the sand and to find out it is a granule sand rather than a powdery type sand.

Less people come here but the scenery is superb. Few small resort and motel are also available here.

Kuta is connected with Tanjung Aan.

LOMBOK. - Kuta beach. - The fist time I was in Kuta it was full moon. Kuta is a fishermen village and when is full moon people go to fish at night with special lamps. At about 7,00 in the evening everybody is at the beach: Men preparing the lamps and going to fish, children swimming and playing and women watching their men going to work.

Latin name: Ceiba pentandra
Common name: Kapok tree, Silk cotton tree, Java Cotton, Java Kapok, Ceiba de lana, Bois coton, Kapokier, Pacae, Sumauma & Kankantri
Family: Malvaceae

A very large majestic tree, with a conspicuously buttressed trunk. The Kapok tree grows more than 60-70 feets' tall: with widely spreading branches. The trunk can become more than 9' in diameter. The silk cotton tree is deciduous and all the leaves are shed during the dry season. While still on the tree, the fruits (pods) burst open exposing the cotton-like substance, harvested as kapok (heavily cultivated in Java for it) - a fluffy, yellowish fibre that is a mix of lignin and cellulose. The fibre is light, very buoyant, resilient, highly flammable and resistant to water. It cannot be spun but is used as a filling for bedding and upholstery, and for insulation. It was previously much used in life jackets and similar devices. The fibre has been largely replaced by man-made materials. The small, brown seeds, inbetted within the fluffy kapok, are blown away in the wind for many miles. The seeds produce an oil used in soap and that can be used as fertilizer.

It is a sacred symbol in Maya mythology.

You can find this fascinating tree along the main beach front on Gili Trawangan.

You really ought to have a go at this if the chance arises.

As my hotel (Puri Saron) is sited on the beach itself, but fenced off from the beach, there were plenty of vendors hanging around the back-door leading to the beach. The pool was located here as well. Well, to cut to the chase, me & my mate came down for a swim and saw these 3 British ladies getting massages from some grandmothers by the pool whom they had called into the hotel. We decided to have a go too. It turned out to be one of the best massages I ever had.

There I was, lying comfortably on a pool deck chair and having this grandmother (who probably kneaded things for a living) expelled every aches and pains from my body for the next 2 hours. Decadently blissful. I could hardly walk properly after the 2 hours as my body felt as light as a feather.

Anyway, for 2 hours, it was a mere S$10 (50000 Rupiahs). Of course, this being circa 2001, the prices may have changed.

Banyumulek is a pottery village, all the people live here is doing the pottery. And they make it without help by machine, just use hand till finish! And one woman can make 25 pottery in a day! Really awesome!

Just a boat hop away
from Gili Trawangan,
of even Lombok is Gili Meno.

On this isolated island,
the Gili Meno Bird Park is
open daily from 8 am – 5 pm.

A ticket costs 50,000 RP
and entitles you to a one hour guided tour
and chance to feed the birds.

This park is dedicated to conserving
and breeding rare species so to prevent extinction.

Most of the birds live freely amongst the park’s 2500 sq. m.

Backpacker accommodations are available
at the park for only 10,000 Rp the night
and fully furnished rooms with showers
are available at 400,000 Rp.

Sasak tribe is Lombok's local tribe. You can visit one of the villages. I think there are one or two villages that are open for 'outsider' to visit. You can see the traditional silo where they keep harvested rice inside, traditional handycrafts such as hair accessories, necklaces, bracelets, belts

Sasak house

A Sasak house has no window. It is because of the local tradition of kidnapping young women to be married. To avoid a daughter from being kidnapped by a man, the house has no window.