Blogs from Kuta, Lombok, Indonesia, Asia
April 12th 2012
2 weeks surfing in Lombok started with a few nights in Kuta with Ben Rawling before heading to Gerupuk for nothing but surfing at a surf camp. Waves were really fun on the 1st week. Got some nice photos.... read more
January 23rd 2012
The other Kuta Beach…. I’m spending the weekend in Kuta! Not the big, famous beach in Bali, but the small quiet beach on the neighboring island of Lombok. It has rained this whole weekend, which is a bummer, but that has given me a lot of time to reminisce, to think about tourist development, and to make some comparisons. This is what I’m musing about as I walk around this small village…. I made my first trip to Bali somewhere around the year 2000. I spent the better part of the three weeks wandering through the smaller villages and less developed areas. I don’t know why, with so many famed tourist destinations, I spent my first trip to a new place on the road less traveled – but, it was the right choice. I found Bali ... read more
Final days in Indonesia - Sumbawa - Lombok - Bali
Published: November 10th 2011Asia » Indonesia » Lombok » Kuta
October 29th 2011
From Flores we made our way back westward, over six days, through Sumbawa and Lombok, to Bali, for our flight to Darwin, Australia. The most notable aspect of our short time in Sumbawa was Ben riding on the roof of a mini-bus for two hours, with about 15 locals, none of whom seemed to speak any English. Sadly, no photos are available. Only the mental scars. After an arduous 27 hour journey that took in two ferries, the aforementioned minibus, a comfortable coach and a bemo (a mini-mini bus - often found providing transport to the Indonesian public), we arrived in the chilled out coastal village of Kuta, Lombok. Some of you will know Kuta, Bali. The Lombok namesake could not be much more different. It is wonderfully traffic and trouble free. Whether this will change ... read more
October 28th 2011
Queue for the bathroom and order breakfast to the room (it's included); pancakes and tea/coffee. At the same time the local in the red and white t-shirt that wanted to sell us bikes/tours/rooms yesterday re-appears (still wearing his red and white t-shirt). I rent an automatic bike from him for the price of a manual (because he doesn't have a manual and I wont pay the automatic price). Natalie haggled a price for surfing from the guys we drank with last nigh, but when we go back the price has doubled, and all the staff have hangovers. All my clothes are being washed so I wear ripped board-shorts, a sarong as a shirt and both my sandals are broken. The restaurant owner we spoke to last night offered to give us a tour of a Sasak ... read more
October 27th 2011
Natalie's in the shower and I'm checking my e-mail when the alarm goes off. Kai and Netta knock while I'm checking the room for anything we've forgotten and we head to the ferry port. 10,000R each for a ticket on the ferry to that'll leave as soon as there's 25 passengers. We wait two minutes. At Bangsal port we get jumped by taxi drivers and we have no idea where we are going, that's Finnish planning for you. A local walks us up the road to his shop While we (read: Netta) decide to go to Kuta, Lombok. The shop charges too much so I walk back to the port and start to haggle. I get a taxi down to 250,00Rp and walk back to tell the others. He drops to 200,00Rp on the way. At ... read more
July 31st 2011
I spent a total of 6 days in Senggigi just relaxing and not doing very much at all. It is quite touristy compared to the other places I have been to in Lombok, with many hotels, restaurants, bars, and the usual touts. It has some nice but not great beaches and a little snorkeling which I didn't try because the current was too strong. A lot of the restaurants had bands playing in the evening and I found them to be very good. I finally bought a mask and snorkel which I should have done a couple of months before to save me money every time I rented one. I stayed in a nice little hotel with a nice clean room for $9 a night without breakfast just 100 metres from the main area. Senggigi beach ... read more
July 16th 2011
Avec Catherine, on décide de s'éloigner de la folie estivale de Bali pour partir vers l'île de Lombok. Après la longue traversée en ferry, on passe la nuit a Mataram puis nous dirigeons vers Kuta Lombok, au sud de l'île. Kuta Lombok est aux antipodes de Kuta Bali. Ou plutôt, c'est Kuta Bali il y a une vingtaine d'années. Une grande plage de sable blanc donnant sur une mer turquoise, des paillottes pour se restaurer et profiter du paysage, le long d'une petite rue en terre. L'endroit est principalement fréquenté par les surfeurs ou par les touristes en quête de tranquilité. Nous on est dans le coin car j'ai entendu dire qu'il y aurait une colonie de requins marteaux sur un spot appelé "Magnet". Le lendemain matin, je parcourt la route sinueuse qui se rend sur ... read more
Photo Collection 20: Lombok Island of Indonesia
Published: April 20th 2011Asia » Indonesia » Lombok » Kuta
April 20th 2011
The best thing in Lombok is everything is cheap. We spent only about US$ 300 for our 3-day & 2-night trip except the airplane tickets. We ate a lot, drank a lot, took a snorkeling tour, had spa massage, bought some souvenirs,,, what else??? Maybe that’s about it. Actually you don’t have to spend a lot as long as you stay inside of the hotel facility, because you don’t have many things to spend on. Eating, drinking, swimming, and sleeping are probably the activities you do at the hotel. Yes, the place is definitely for relaxing to enjoy the slow time of Indonesia. But I don’t think you have to worry about using a lot of money to have extra enjoyment on the island. Everything is definitely cheap outside of the hotel as well. I can ... read more
Photo Collection 19: Lombok Island of Indonesia
Published: April 14th 2011Asia » Indonesia » Lombok » Kuta
April 14th 2011
We just stayed inside the hotel, Qunci Pool Villas Hotel (http://www.quncivillas.com/index.html) without heading our anywhere, because we didn’t have much enough time to explore the island. But we still had a great time out there. Lombok Island has many interesting spots such as Gili Island (http://www.gili-paradise.com/). You should visit those places, if your itinerary isn’t tight and allows you to take some adventures. ... read more
Is it strictly still traveling if I don't really go anywhere?
Published: April 10th 2011Asia » Indonesia » Lombok » KutaApril 10th 2011
Hello, and welcome to another blog! The observant readers will have already noticed that this one comes from the same island as the last one - namely, Lombok. This is because I have really slowed down over the last week, settling in a small town called Kuta. Pretty much every traveler who comes here comes to surf...I've been no exception, getting out once or twice a day every day for the last week. My days have started taking on a familiar, but not boring, routine. Up at around 8am for a banana pancake and Lombok coffee (unfiltered, so slightly chewy...still excellent though). Then jump on a motorbike and head to a surf spot at around 9am, spending around 3 hours trying to catch some waves before paddling or taking the boat back to shore. I'm normally ... read more
