Lombok

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After a week in Bali, I headed to Lombok. Lombok is a beautiful island and a bit less developed tourist-wise than Bali. I took the local ferry early in the morning from Padang Bai, and it took three and a half hours to get to Lembar. The ferry ride provides wonderful views of Bali and the waters separating the two islands. The day I crossed, the weather was perfect—warm air with a cool breeze and sunshine throughout the crossing. In Lombok, I mostly relaxed and unwound, not doing too many things.



I stayed in Senggigi, a beach town just north of the capital, Mataram, during my stint in Lombok. Though the town didn’t offer a lot, I greatly enjoyed staying there as a jumping off point to the rest of the sights within the island. In addition, Senggigi did have great restaurants, stunning corals for snorkeling, and stunning beaches north of the town. The first week I tried as much food as I could from all of the restaurants on the main drag of town. I also got to walk the city, seeing the art market and walking the main beach. The main beach isn’t the best on the island, but the beach south of the main beach is nice and provides amazing snorkeling. In addition, there is a Hindu temple thirty minutes on foot south of the center of town. It isn't very big but the highlight is the views at sunset it provides.



I also took a day tour through the hostel I was staying. I got to see Kuta Beach, southern Lombok, some local arts & craft centers, and Mawun Beach. The trip was a bit overpriced and a bit hurried. However, finishing the tour with a swim in Mawun was perfect.



After a week in Senggigi, I headed over to the Gili islands off of Lombok in the northwest. The roundtrip shuttle and boat were inexpensive. A day in Gili Air and another in Gili Meno were very fun. The beaches are beautiful and quite desolate. Gili Air had lots of great restaurants and bars. Gili Meno was relaxing, and not many tourists were on the island. Snorkeling on the southern coast of Meno was incredible. I didn’t get a chance to visit Gili Trawangan—the biggest of the three. I heard that it was a bit livelier than the other two and has more of a party scene.



After spending those days in the Gilis, I headed back to Senggigi. The rest of my time in Lombok I spent taking advantage of the sun and beach, eating delicious food, and enjoying some of the night life and live music. Malimbu, a beach 20 minutes by car north of town, is a great day trip. The beach is fairly large and has warm waters and soft sand.



After nearly two weeks in Lombok, I took a flight to Yogyakarta to enjoy the last week and a half of my vacation.

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Photos

Sunset 1
From Pura Batu Bolong

Sunset and Bali
From Pura Batu Bolong,

Sunset 2
From Pura Batu Bolong

Sunset 3
Pura Batu Bolong

Sunset 4
From The Office, Senggigi