Lombok, The Quiet Bali

My first trip to Bali was in 1982 and I recall endless rice paddies, a couple of basic hotels that were considered flash if they had a pool and an endless stream of locals plying souvenirs and massages along the beach. Yet it was still a holiday resort town with the emphasis on town.

Anything out of Kuta was still a village. Even Ubud, which was a quiet artists community, up in the mountains has since become an outer suburb of the tourist mecca.

Now the only place you’ll find that is in Lombok, a speedboat ride away from Bali.

Kuta has become almost a metropolis, of motorbikes, noisy bars, and more Australians than you’ll find in downtown Sydney, many of whom live in Bali permanently and own restaurants, surf shops and bars.

On a recent family trip, after 5 days around Kuta, we caught what was supposed to be a speed-boat to Lombok. The trip was scheduled to take two hours but ended up closer to seven.  What started as five engines, soon became four, which unsurprisingly ended up as two before we were putting along with just one engine, somewhere between Bali and Lombok.

With few announcements at one point, we found ourselves floating listlessly in open ocean; no land in sight. The captain insisted that all was fine, and then randomly a second boat pulled up alongside, and we were instructed to jump across to the other boat. When we asked about our bags, we were told ‘don’t worry, we’ll sort them out.” Hardly comforting.

At this point we thought we had gotten mixed up with people smugglers and were destined for the slave trade. Thankfully it was all legitimate, but instead of going direct to Lombok, we instead stopped in at Gilli Trawangan, Gilli Meno and Gilli Air, first. Each time unloading and loading people and luggage.

On arrival in Lombok, we were so late all the taxi driver’s had gone home for the day. The complete opposite of Bali with it’s endless supply of taxis. Eventually we flagged down a car who rang his brother, who was a driver and who agreed to take us to our hotel, at triple the price the hotel had quoted us.

Sengiggi was a short ten minute drive away, but after Kuta, the first thing I noticed was the silence. Despite being January and peak school holidays, there was nobody, in the resort, apart from the occasional staff member.

Our two-story villa featured walk-in access to the snaking lagoon pool, which joined all the villas, as well as an outdoor plunge pool, big enough for three, that included shutters for privacy. Through the palms the private beach glistened and a quick inspection revealed nobody was there either. 
The resort was adjacent to Sengiggi town which had everything a tourist needed but without the chaos of Kuta.

The following morning, after a complimentary buffet breakfast, I headed to the beach to go snorkelling, to find I had the entire reef to myself and whilst it was no Moalboal (Philippines) there was lightening blue damsels and yellow sunshine butterfly fish which darted amongst silvery green baitfish, hiding within the coral.

That afternoon I wandered through town and had a massage, shopped at the markets before retiring for an afternoon dip in the lagoon pool. Only once was I asked if I wanted to buy a tee-shirt, and unlike Kuta, no-one harassed me to go into their dubious looking massage shop.

Keen to explore the island, I rented a scooter and headed off for a day trip. I was the only tourist and every village I rode through, villagers would wave and smile. I was on a photography mission and some of my favourite photos from that trip, were all taken around Lombok, including the cover-art for my podcast.

I rode up the volcano (though it was so steep, I was sure at one point I was going to have to get off and push) but it was refreshing being above the heat, amongst the cool rainforest air. The roads were sealed, though up the volcano there was a few potholes and cracked paths, but mostly it was an easy ride, with little traffic and alternating scenery between coconut palms, empty beaches and small thatched villages surrounding a central mosque. 

Like the rest of Indonesia, Lombok is Muslim so you will be woken up at 5am with the call to prayer, but like church bells, you soon become oblivious to it. 

The town of Kota Mataram is busier with a shopping centre, a McDonald’s and lots of traffic, but was still easy to manage on a scooter. You definitely notice as you near Sengiggi that all the shops and restaurants start looking more touristy. 

Being an island it’s difficult to get lost, just head to the ocean and then ride north/south to get back to Sengiggi.

A lot of the Bali crowd have now discovered the Gilli’s. Three small islands just off the North West coast of Lombok. The biggest Island, Gilli Trawangan features no cars, only donkey drawn carts for transport but caters largely to the backpacker crowd with beachfront bars, hostel accommodation and dive shops. 

Gilli Air is the least developed with simple bungalows, hand-made tables on the beach crafted from driftwood and the only music drifts from Gilli Trawangan.

There’s tourist offices in Sengiggi that can arrange a boat transfer to the Gilli’s though they often over promise and under deliver. To avoid disappointment, it’s always best to take your own snorkelling gear (plenty of Cheap but decent snorkelling gear at Decathlon)

You can easily fly between Bali and Lombok with Garuda or Lion Air. After our harrowing speedboat trip, we flew back to Denpasar to catch our return flight home. Even last minute was just over AUD100 each. However the airport in Lombok is about a one hour drive from Sengiggi. 

It may seem like a lot of effort to visit Lombok, considering Bali is always seen as a cheap destination, but what you’ll find there is what Bali was forty years ago—endless rice paddies, tiny villages and deserted beaches. Just like Bali, you’ll still find incredible satay, nasi-goreng and of course Bintang Beer, but just without the hoards of tourists. 

Recommended Reading:

• Lonely Planet Guide: Bali and Lombok
• No More Tomorrows: The True Story of Chapelle Corby
• Eat, Pray, Love.

I stayed at the Pool Villa Club in Sengiggi which was a beautiful resort, excellent ammenities and decent room service. My only complaint was the swimming pool was too hot, but the beach was perfect, so first world problems. 

Disclaimer: Last year Lombok received a number of earthquakes which caused significant damage, however the best way for local tourism businesses to recover is to receive tourists so show your support for local businesses by holidaying in Lombok. Listen to my podcast episode on earthquakes and tsunamis to know what to do and how to prepare for an earthquake. 

*The writer paid their own way for the entire trip. Check out my shop, for stunning photographs, ready to print and frame.

Click on a dot to reveal hotels in Lombok or the Gilli’s