Kuta Lombok: Rekindling Our Love of Motorbiking

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Our five day boat adventure concluded when we were taxied to the doorstep of the Segare Anak Bungalows in Kuta, a seaside community on Lombok's very scenic stretch of southern coastline, famous for its world class surf and stellar white sand beaches. Kuta, Lombok, is not to be confused with the more renowned Kuta, Bali, which is an entirely different, more commercially developed, and very busy experience. Remember what I had said in an earlier blog? Lombok is often referred to as Bali's shy but beautiful sister. That descriptor definitely applies here.

Our hotel is situated facing and maybe a hundred metres from the beach. The narrow, one lane beach road directly in front of the hotel, is used primarily by motor scooters and the occasional mini van or taxi, with rare appearances by the odd pony drawn cart. The extensive beach area, between the road and the ocean, has maintained its natural charm. This translates to mean that every morning a herd of water buffaloes pass by on the beach, as well as a few goats. A whole mess of dogs reside on the beach, but curiously never seem to bother anyone. There are also a few tail-less cats around, some offspring of the Manx, who live alongside the dogs. But most fun in proximity to "our beach" is the family of goats who reside alongside the road. They are not tethered, but someone brings them food daily, so they stay in the same shady spot under a tree, and are often seen laying around on the shady cabana beside the tree, although last night we noticed the goats had to give up the cabana to a group of neighborhood boys who were using it to hang out and play a game of chess. The goats were happily chilling beside them, albeit on the ground. This is laid back Kuta, Lombok.

We spent the first few days here just enjoying the georgeous oasis of a hotel we had lucked into, getting caught up on things - like this blog - and totally enjoying the solitude of the beautiful pool and gardens, taking full advantage of being here in low season, and of the luxury of having days to spare. But eventually we decided it was time to go exploring, which meant renting some form of transport, as everything we wanted to see is spread out, and we decided on two wheels each with which to do it.

Other than riding the little electric bikes we had rented earlier this trip in Bagan, Myanmar, it has been well over three decades since I took that motorcycle safety course back home in Canada, and applied my motorcycle license skills, so I was a bit nervous getting on a bike - even if it was just a scooter - and taking to these little narrow roads where there are no shoulders and lots of bikers, many of whom seem to be kids who look about ten years old. And of course, there was that added detail about remembering to drive on the left side of the road.

I set aside whatever anxieties I had pretty quickly though, as we soon found ourselves cruising to beaches on both good roads, as well as being challenged by some very poor, dried out, rutted roadways. The secret, of course, was to go slow, which, compared to Canada, everyone does here. Two days and ten solid hours of biking later, the exhilaration of riding again definitely trumped whatever fears I had, so I can say with certainty that I got over it. My only regret with the biking experience was that I could not take as many pictures as I would have liked, or I would surely have fallen off my bike trying. So I have shall to paint pictures with words instead.

Imagine, if you will, having to wade your bike through a herd of twenty or thirty mud covered water buffalo crossing the highway, not more than a foot between you and a few tons of long-horned, gentle, but still slightly intimidating beasts. Visualize roosters racing across your roadway as you pass through one of the many villages. Then of course, my favorites, the goats along the roadside. Add to this mixture the smell of cooking fires, or the pungent odour of fires burning garbage in the villages, then add the lush, never ending tropical greenery of cocoanut groves and rice fields, and of course the smiling faces and greetings of the local people you meet. Imagine all of this, if you can, and you may begin to see the shy, but beautiful sister to Bali, that is Lombok.

We also visited some surfing destinations, the most popular and interesting of which was Garupuk, just a few kilometres east of Kuta. Here, surfers were taken by boat - boat fees setting you back a ridiculously low $10 for three hours - to the waves of their choice, from beginner's to advanced levels. We had checked out world class surf at Ulawanga, Bali, last year, but this time we got to watch the surfers in action from very nearby, observing as well that they did not have to swim back a long distance to get back to the waves, but could just rest in their nearby boat or surf until they were ready to be escorted back to shore and a waiting beverage, meal, or accommodation if they had chosen to stay there.

We have spent a week here now, quietly observing surfer culture and getting hooked again on motorbikes, which we will soon be renting when we take up residence in Ubud later this month. We have only gotten a taste of all there is to do here - many more restaurants and a night scene of live acoustic music we never explored, and certainly more beaches to discover. However, we must go now, making our way toward Ubud, but not before we stop for another visit to Lombok's lovely Gillie Islands, those three beauties we were introduced to and fell in love with last year. We are on the move again tomorrow morning, but will surely be leaving a bit of our hearts in Kuta, Lombok, hopefully to return again next year.

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Photos

Kuta Lombok's Coastline
The area of Kuta lies in the centre of a number of beaches, most of which we have yet to discover, and many of which attract world class surfers at various times of the year. In this photo, if you look very closely, you can find Garupuk in the far distance, the beach where surfers are boated to the waves.

Lovin' My New Wheels
I look forward to rockin' a pair of fancy high heels next month when I get a few more miles under my belt and are driving one of these around Ubud every day, like I have enviously observed many women doing. How is that for a serious long term goal?

It Doesn't Have to be a Harley to be Good
In fact, having a Harley here would be a little bit like having an ocean yacht on our relatively small but beautiful Echo Lake back home - totally unnecessary and a bit ridiculous.

Goats Chillin'
How could you not fall in love with these critters? Every night, they kindly gave up their cabanas when asked, and resumed occupancy quietly but regularly every day.

My Office View
Yes, it is very difficult, but this is the view from my "office" in our hotel restaurant, where I spend some of my free time - no, actually quite a bit of my free time - writing this blog to record and share our adventures. It's a tough work environment, as you can see, but the payback is making me a wealthy woman - that is, if wealth is measured in stories, not dollars, which in my book, it always has been.

Boating to the Waves at Garupuk
Our boat driver, Joe, was a fun dude and undoubtedly a wicked surfer himself, so we learned a bit from him about the wave scene on our excursion.

Surfers Heading to the Waves
I am not a surfer, and don't know a lot bout the sport, but getting a ride out to the waves seems to me a little like taking a ski lift to the top of the mountain, so you can do more of what you really want to do, which is ride. How could this not be a good thing?

Watching Surfers
This shot was taken with no zoom, so it was nice to be up close to the action. Unfortunately, it was low tide and the waves were not very high. Our guide told us they were typically about ten feet in this area, which would have been far more of a rush to see. But we were not committed enough to being here at 6 a.m. Hey, we are not even surfers!

Tanguan Beach
This is another of many white sand beach offerings along the coast. We counted five people on this beach, us included.

Our Garden Oasis
This beautiful garden went on forever, and in it had cabanas for its guests to relax in, as well as an amazing pool that we often had all to ourselves. Hard to believe but true. Every day began with a number of staff clearing fallen leaves and watering the plants, so it was kept beautiful always. Like I said, an oasis, far enough from the road to be entirely serene. Not real hard to understand why we felt no need to stray too far from here for the first few days after arriving.

Our "Private" Pool
Not officially, of course, but for all intents and purposes, most of the time all ours. Delightfully true.

Stan Decompressing in His Hammock
Decompressing from what, you ask? Good question. While I work hours away on our blog, and plan our travels, yada, yada. Stan would say, " you are younger, and have more energy than me". But he has been saying that for forty years :) Our son would say "Personal choice, Mom." I couldn't agree more. I love my new jobs: travelling, and writing about our travels, sharing music along the way, and of course, taking care, as always, of my life partner and fellow adventurer, Stan.

Comments

[Pam Taylor]

I absolutely love your blog. It makes me envious every time I read it and look at all the wonderful photo's. Wow you guys are such wonderful travellers.