March 21 – April 18,2018
Back to Indonesia but this time to the island called Lombok.
We had an amazing week in an area called Green Valley, it’s next to a gray sand beach called Batu Bolong just south of Senggigi. We made some local friends who had 3 young daughters (Tiera age 1, Cynthia age 4 and Fabre age 8) and we spent every day with them playing at their house and on the beach. John loved running around and exploring with all of them but the youngest stole the show. Tiera was a fearless, outgoing, adorable little girl who drank coffee already and might take over the world some day. Even though the waves were so much bigger than her, she would run into the ocean while I was nervously thinking about jumping in.
While the kids were playing John and I were talking to their parents (Yuli and Mensi) translating words between English and Indonesian. Sometimes I would get up to see where John was and they reassured me he was ok. Within their community, everybody looks after the kids and the kids look after each other. Next door was a restaurant where their friends and family worked so if the kids ventured over there then one of them would look after them. In the evenings we visited them out in front of their house where they were selling their delicious homemade fried, sweet cassava covered with a simple syrup and shredded cheese. We would buy a box, have some coffee, let the kids play more and enjoy each other’s company. They were so friendly and generous to openly share their home with us, they even invited us to a barbecue with some of their other friends. Yuli made the best fresh, barbecued fish and we got to try the real Lombok sambal which is very spicy! This is a perfect example of the type of experiences we want and are so grateful to have met them.
Reluctantly we said our goodbyes, got a free ride to the harbor from the apartment owner, and jumped on a boat to a small island called Gili Trawangan. It is so small that there’s no vehicles and you can bike around the whole island in 1 hour, and we accomplished that one day. The water is so warm, calm and clear with different shades of turquoise and green and depending on what side of the island you are on you can see Lombok, Bali, Gili Meno or open ocean. We found an awesome beach spot that we went to 5 days in a row and saw turtles every time. The water was shallow enough that we could walk out with the baby and show him too. The turtles were not shy and let people get close to them, even touch them. Some of them were larger than the baby! After swimming we would grab lunch at Warung Dewi where we made friends with the owner Dewi, she loved the baby and he really liked her too. She let him play with her calculator at her desk where they practiced finding numbers and she literally fed him a couple of times. She made the best beef rendang along with so many other dishes like shredded coconut, egg curry, and sweet tempe. Although we loved the water and Dewi, there is a downside to Lombok and the Gili Islands. The people living there are primarily Muslim so 5 times a day around 5am, 11:30am, 3:30 pm, 6:30 pm, and 8:30 pm there is the call to prayer which lasts at least 20 minutes. Our hotel was next to a speaker that was so loud that every morning and nap was always interrupted. I understand that every religion is different with their own unique traits and this is part of visiting a Muslim country. Experiencing this is also part of our journey, to see how other people live and adapt.
After spending a week on Gili T we got back on a boat to go to a near by island called Gili Air which is even smaller! Our friends with their 3 year old daughter (Brian, Nina and Aletta) were meeting us there and we would spend the next 14 days together. We got a really good deal at Ombak Paradise which is the largest hotel and largest pool on the island. It really was a huge pool with 4 different depths and the kiddie pool was the perfect height for the kids. It was the best pool I ever swam in and we all actually spent 3 days swimming at the pool instead of the beach! The baby loved it and was able to to get comfortable jumping into the water, going under and actually swimming! He progressed so much in just those 3 days, I was so proud of him. One day the guys went on a snorkel trip and the baby and I met Nina and Aletta at a beautiful white sand beach. There were no waves, soft sand and it was just like swimming in a pool.
We spent 6 days on Gili Air then we all got on another boat to head back to Lombok and go to Kuta in the south. We were a bit of a scene getting off the boat with all of our bags then having 7 men help carry them out to the parking lot while we were negotiating a price to Kuta with a taxi driver.
The drive to Kuta was beautiful. It was a windy road over a mountain pass where we saw some monkeys on the side of the road, passed rice paddy fields and mosques. We all stayed together in a 2 bedroom house with a small yard and pool. Kuta is the perfect location to take day trips to other beaches. Selong Belanak was my favorite beach and is one of the best beaches I have been to. It is about a 40 minute hilly, windy ride from Kuta and is known to be a good surf spot with a beautiful, soft, white powder sand beach surrounded by green mountains in what seems to be the middle of nowhere. While we were there a farmer even walked his herd of buffalo down the beach along the water. The water was beautiful turquoise color and warm with tons of sand dollars. It seemed that almost every step you took you would step on one. When we were there the waves were not so big so we spent most of the time in the water and John went surfing. The baby even sat on John’s board and caught his first wave! He has surfed more than I have.
Aside from going to beaches, we hung out at the house, went swimming, let the kids play in the yard and went out to eat. A memorable dinner was when we went to a restaurant that was on a mountain with beautiful views overlooking Kuta. We could see the jagged coastline, jungle and waves breaking in the distance.
Our beach filled time in Lombok came to an end and we said our good byes to each other until we met again in a couple of days in Bangkok. One would think that all of the Indonesian islands are the same but they are not. Lombok is not as busy as Bali with less tourists but there is a lot of construction and land for sale so in the near future I think this will change. It was a fantastic experience to spend a month in a less touristy island and I am very happy we went back to Indonesia, especially since we made new friends there.