Lombok Trip Day 2

Cloudy morning didn’t stop us to stick on our plan. First we went to Tanjung Aan beach. Actually, Tanjung Aan is beside Bukit Merese. When we were there, the light rain started to fall. Thanks God the rain only last for 15 mins so we could enjoy the beach! :D

Tanjung Aan beach must be one of your lists if you are planning to have a vacation in Lombok. The white sands and its cleanliness surrounded by turquoise water surely can steal your heart. There is also a swing on the beach. The beach was still not crowded. Even there were only 5 families who also visiting this beach. Unfortunately, there were so many wild dogs here. Some may follow you for food, please be kind and don’t harm them. They were not fierce or grumpy, so you can just shoo them with your voice or simply walk away from them if you don’t like them J While I was there, there was an old western couple who brought a big pack of dog food and feed the dogs. So cute! <3

Then we had lunch at Warung Drifters. We had no idea at all because none of us 4 have ever been to Lombok, so we got this venue from Trip Advisor and thanks to Google. The menu was burger. Since there are so many “bule” (western tourists) in Lombok, then you can find western food here easily.

I ordered crispy burger for lunch. The price is standard, just like the most burgers in Jakarta. There are 2 sizes of the burger: half and full. The full size fits for 2 people and half is for a personal burger. It is also a delicious meal and worth it.

We continued our trip to Kuta Mandalika beach. The sands are bigger than usual and have unique texture. Local people call it "pasir merica".

Kuta Mandalika

There were so many craft seller in Kuta Mandalika. They offered lower price than in souvenir shop, so you may want to buy some here. But when you buy from a woman, the other women will also come to you. I couldn't stand because they were so noisy. You have to be assertive.

Our next destination was Mawun Beach. At first we wanted to go to Mawi beach since the view is very amazing on photo, plus, there was also a beautiful beach near Mawi, named Semeti. But the road also bumpy and poor so our driver didn’t recommend it and he said that we better go to Mawun instead.

To get to Mawun beach, you have to drive to a mountain. The beach is not so clean, you may see trashes along side of the beach. But the water still clear. There are few hills sit which clamp the beach.

Mawun Beach

Not far from Mawun, there was Selong Belanak beach. This place is the heaven for surfers because of the waves, and the coral reefs are rare, so it is safe for surfers or a new one who wants to learn surfing. They provide local surf teacher if you want to learn. As the sun sets, you will see a group of buffaloes across the beach returning to their home. 

Buffaloes in Selong Belanak

a western woman pose on the small boat

We had dinner Sate Rembiga in Mataram. Sate rembiga is chicken satay. There is no sauce like satay manado, instead, the spice already cooked together with the satay. I love this satay. It is delicious and the spice seep into the meat.

Tonight we were sleeping in Senggigi because tomorrow we were going to Gili Trawangan.

The inn we were staying was Semilir Senggigi Inn. It is a cheap inn. You may not expect the cleanliness and staffs’ friendliness if you see the price. Well I can say the room is clean and tidy.

The bedroom

At first, a receptionist offered to book taxi for our trip tomorrow morning to Teluk Nara. I was surprised since I didn’t expect it. Of course I accepted her offer. But on the next morning, they hadn’t book any taxi for us so I called taxi by myself. The security felt guilty and he stopped a taxi passed on the street. Another incident was my friend’s towel which was hang on the clothesline gone. It turned out the house keeping washed it because they thought it was the inn’s towel. Eventually, they returned the towel on the next morning.

Lombok Trip Day 1

Hi guys!
I had searched about my next vacation destination, and since I love beach, on 17-20 August 2017 I and 3 of my friends decided to have fun in Lombok!

We took flight on 5 am, so we went to the airport at 2.30 am. Sleepy head but also excited for our holiday! Yey! We already did web check-in yesterday so the check-in process in counter didn’t take long time since we only dropped our baggage.

It took 1 hour and 40 mins flight from Jakarta to Lombok, and time zone in Lombok is GMT+8, an hour faster than Jakarta’s. The aircon on plane was so freezing, perhaps because it was early morning and we passed mountains. After this freezing journey, we were safely arrived in Lombok International Airport.

Soon after we walked out of the arrival hall, the driver whom we already booked came toward us. With a friendly smile and pitch, we expected that he was a good guy. And he was. His name was Dayat. We rent the driver and car from Bagus Travel Lombok. The service was great. Mr. Dayat didn’t speak too much but he always answered our questions and sometimes recommended us to the dining places or where we were going.

Near the airport, there was a local dining place called Nasi Balap Puyung. We already heard about it before. It was famous because their food was great! We took away Nasi Balap Special for our lunch on the beach. Indeed, it was delicious and the price was very affordable. It was steamed rice with chilly shredded chicken, fried chicken, bean, and fried anchovy. You may request with or without additional chilly. We highly recommend this food as it will not disappoint you, trust me ;)

There are 2 options to go to Pink Beach: by road and by boat. We didn’t know that we could be there by boat so we did the first option, which was a hell. The road was very bumpy and so far away. And because of this, we were charged additional rent car fee for another IDR 100k. If you want to go to Pink Beach, you better go there by boat from Tanjung Luar.

It took us 2 hours from airport to Pink Beach. After we arrived there, we were disappoint because the sands were not pink. Really?! I saw on google and everyone said it was pink, but in fact it’s not L so sad. But the view was good and it was deserted. There was a small hill on the left side of the beach which provided breath-taking view.

Not so - Pink Beach

After we finished taking photos and enjoying the beach, we went to hotel in Kuta. We took one night in Origin Lombok Hotel. The trip to the hotel took 2-3 hours. Longer than we expected.

This hotel was located in an alley in Kuta, the road was also poor. Most of the infrastructures in Loombok are inadequate. No street lamps, and many roads still dirt not asphalt.

Origin Lombok has a nice architecture and ambience. The staffs were also friendly. Room was big enough, but the towels were dirty so we didn’t use it.

We relaxed for a moment in the hotel before we continued our trip to Bukit Merese to see sun set. Bukit Merese was located near our hotel. Here, don’t forget to wear your sneakers to climb. The view was amazing! Unfortunately, when the sun set, the weather was cloudy. The sun hid beyond the gloomy clouds.

Sunset in Bukit Merese

 For dinner, we were about to go to KRNK café. Again, we knew it from Trip Advisor. Lol. But Mr. Dayat didn’t know where it was, he even never had heard it. So he suggested us to dine in Warung Bucu. The signature dish here is Grilled Mahi-mahi. It was a grilled Mahi-mahi fish. Here I just knew that “Mahi-mahi” was a kind of fish! Hahaha. It was served with a yellow-sour-sauce. I didn’t know the name of sauce but I am not a fan of sour dish so I didn’t like it. :p

Overall, the dish is not so delicious. Just average. But the price here is really affordable. You can get grilled mahi-mahi for just IDR 50k. Wines and another alcohol drinks here are also cheap. A glass of red wine only IDR 70k. But wine was not cold.