Little paradise on earth : Island Lombok

Lombok, one of the best kept secrets of Indonesia!

Hi everyone, how are you guys doing lately? We missed you all! Exactly two weeks ago we arrived at Schiphol Amsterdam, back from our holiday to Indonesia! Besides visiting our lovely family in Jakarta & Bandung ( West- Java), we also visited the beautiful Island Lombok, as we already mentioned in our previous post. We were already getting excited seeing pictures of this incredible island. You can’t even imagine how more beautiful it is if you are actually there and got to see this all in real life :D. Going to Lombok was an unforgettable experience for us.

Bali is NICE but if you are looking for a more quiet and relaxing holiday, Lombok will be a great alternative for you! With weather that is almost perfect all year around. Note: ‘leaving snowy Holland for 32 degrees weather was quite Ohweeee hihi!’. Powdery white sand beaches with astonishing blue corals and marine life, amazing countryside ranging from forests to mountains. This island even has a Volcano! Not to mention their culture and the lovely and friendly locals with their great hospitality. Traveling from Java or Bali to Lombok is quite easy by plane and by boat from Bali to Lombok.

We stayed in Lombok for a couple of days and we can definitely say we saw and did some pretty amazing things.

Below our must do list in Lombok:

• Visit Mataram City

Mataram, capital city of Lombok. Here you’ll get a realistic glimpse into everyday                   life. Unfortunately we could’t visit Pasar Ampenan (market) on our last day,                         ’cause we still had to do some souvenir shopping and we had to catch our flight                          back to Bandung.

• Visit the Gili Islands !

Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air!

• Learn how to snorkel

Yes we did and we failed haha. It was quite difficult people! We regret we did not practise before we actually did this snorkel thing! Worst of all..it was our life long dream to snorkel and see Nemo and his friends and swim with turtles..aarg hopefully next time! Our snorkeling guides were great though! They made pictures and recorded video of the undersea life! Many THX to Akim & Aufa for everything! If you would like to be them as your guids, let us now 😉

• Visit one of Lombok’s beautiful waterfalls : Sendang Gile and Tiu Kelep.

These 2 waterfalls are located in Senaru village (North Lombok district), aprox 2,5 hours from Mataram city with personal car. You have to buy a entrance ticket, after that you can straightly go to Sendang Gile or Tiu Kelep waterfall. Both waterfalls are WOW.  Surroundings here are gorgeous and green. It was so incredibly nice to breathe in the fresh mountain air. Sitting there while hearing the sound of rushing water and take some pics is just so relaxing. At the second waterfall you are able to swim but we have to say the water was pretty damn cold haha but really refreshing after a hike to this second waterfall. Best time to visit  10.00-15.00 WITA.

• Relax at Senggigi Beach

Senggigi is the large bay that forms the center of Senggigi most renowned and the oldest resort area of Lombok. Here you can find plenty of restaurants, shops and entertainment. Not to mention the beautiful views. Note: ‘Go to Rumah Hantu for a great view of the shoreline of Senggigi’.

• Visit the pasar Seni ( Art Market )

Located on the beach between the Santosa and Sheraton resorts. Here you will find               numerous small stalls selling handcrafts and souvenirs from around Lombok.

We stayed at the Sheraton Senggigi Beach Resort. This hotel is great near the beach and has beautiful surroundings! BIG SHOUTOUT to the LOVELY employees who work there..jeeeeshh they made our stay at this hotel SO SO much better, greater, more fun, enjoyable etc. Making us feel welcome with their kindness and friendly hospitality.

A BIG and special thank you to : Ayu ( Manager/supervisor; such a sweetheart, attentive, friendly and lovely person she is). Ketut arsana, Herman, Atul, Sahiral and Made; thank you so much for the great service! Komang ( thank you for running after us… all the way to our room and bringing our dads’ handkerchief haha). Wedia ( very interesting to hear his story about his family, Dutch background etc.). Khairul ( great talks and great service at breakfast). Last but not least…Gladys for arranging the tour and Halid; you were great haha. We’ll definitely stay in touch 🙂 Thinking about going to Lombok…we really recommend you to stay at this hotel, so go there and enjoy…!!

Some pictures we took during our holiday in Lombok

Art Market

Hotel Sheraton Senggigi Beach Resort

Sendang Gile and Tiu Kelep waterfall

Gilli Islands

Akim and Aufa, such a great and friendly guides!

Our taxi driver/guide Halid; we really had a great time with him.  

Senggigi shoreline

Food

Sate ikan!