After Bandung and Yogyakarta, we finally reached Lombok - a beach paradise that is a little less popular than Bali. We arrived noontime which is super timely for us to have our lunch. I can hear my stomach growling already but my mind says I would want to check in at our hotel to rest for a while. We only got 2 nights to spare at this island located in West Nusa Tenggara so I know everything is going to be fast – paced. My first impression of Lombok is that this is a quaint town where you see locals as they are. Sightings of white foreigners riding on a scooter and holding their surfboard at the beach happens every day but not as much compared to Bali. We are so lucky to have a great weather while there – sunny and that means wearing a sunglass and applying a sunscreen are required, if not you’ll suffer the consequence.
El Bazar, the best Moroccan restaurant in Lombok that offers Mediterranean and Western cuisine
It’s not because I was dead hungry while eating at El Bazar that all the food that we ate seemed to be outrageously delicious. For the past days we were gobbling Indonesian food and this time our palate tasted different stuff. Their chicken cooked a la tagine style was so heavenly, along with fried French fries and squid. You can check El Bazar’s recent Tripadvisor reviews here.
Address: Jl. Raya Kuta No. 5, Kuta, Pujut, Kabupaten Lombok Tengah, Nusa Tenggara Bar. 83573, Indonesia
Phone: +62 819-9911-3026
Hours: Open today · 7:30AM–11PM
Address: Jl. Raya Kuta No. 5, Kuta, Pujut, Kabupaten Lombok Tengah, Nusa Tenggara Bar. 83573, Indonesia
Phone: +62 819-9911-3026
Hours: Open today · 7:30AM–11PM
The Sasak Sade Village
There’s a local community in Lombok that’s worth visiting called Sasak tribe. In these days that the entire humanity has been influenced by the modern world, Sasak Sade is still worth a tale. Their traditions and customs are quite unique that gave me goose bump. A man in his 50’s who entertains guests of their village shared how they start a family of their own takes place. It is usually between a girl and a boy who are cousins. They have to elope and run away from their respective parents (siblings to each other). When their anger fade, that is the time they return back to the village for the wedding.
They still leave in a house with a roof made of alang-alang and wall, combination of clay and cow feces. Sasak Sade is a great place to shop for souvenirs at an affordable price compared to the rest. Batik dress, bracelets and local jewelry are the ones that I highly recommend.
Gili Trawangan for snorkeling
Of course, our trip in Lombok isn’t complete without checking out Gili Trawangan. This party island reminds me of Boracay here in my country and is the biggest and most visited of the 3 Gili islands. Both have turquoise water and a beach vibe you’d love to be for as long as you want. It is a great diving and snorkeling spot but unfortunately yours truly wasn’t able to do that because of a finger infection I am trying to heal. I stayed on the boat during the hours that my buddies from #tripofwonders are having a great time. Gili Trawangan island is also perfect to those who want to be on the paddle board, glass kayak and just bum around the beach. To those who want to stay dry, biking and riding on a horse – drawn carriage are the answers. I did the last one on our way to see this iconic wooden swing that every traveler visiting Lombok has a photo on their Instagram. We were already half – way when we thought we found it and ate all of our time only to find out this isn’t the original Lombok signature wooden swing. It is way farther for us to find it and our time is running fast. Anyway, it wasn’t a waste though because this newly -added wooden swing is just as lovely as the first one minus the caption of Lombok.
Golden Tulip Hotel – a luxurious stay in Lombok
Golden Tulip Hotel is a five – star accommodation. If you have more money to spend, I suggest staying here. It is located at the outskirts of the city surrounded by rice fields and mosques nearby. Check out Tripadvisor’s review of Golden Tulip Hotel here.To the north you can see the Mount Rinjani, one of the iconic tourist spots in Lombok. My room was super spacious, clean and I can see the rice paddies from the glass wall. I wish I have all day and night to just rest and do nothing inside but we were out most of the time.
Note: This is part 3 of Ministry of Tourism of Indonesia’s Trip of Wonders series. This trip is sponsored but all views and opinions are mine.
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