Hello again, Lombok!

(China Travel Blogger trip, November 27 – December 5, 2013)


November 27th, 2013.

“Hello, I’m Yoyo”, said one of the travel bloggers from
China introducing herself to me. She had a bun on her head, just like a
ballerina and wore a jeans jacket and black boots with a mini skirt. Pretty
funky!

I introduced myself to her and also to the rest of the gang:
Pan Pan – a cute girl with her bob hairstyle that has a smiling eyes, Fan –
the best English speaker among the four Chinese travel bloggers in the group,
and Tjang – a professional photographer from China that looked very shy and the
quietest among all.

The trip to Lombok Praya took about 2 hours by plane with
direct flight and there was a time difference between Jakarta and Lombok.
Lombok was one hour ahead of Jakarta time. When we landed in the Lombok Praya
international airport at 1pm, we were greeted by the local organizer than they
gave each of us a woven shawl from Lombok. What a nice gesture. Everybody looked
happy! (of course, who doesn’t like getting a little present?)

We drove to the restaurant by a private bus and the tour
guide explained about all the little details of Lombok. He even told us about
the land price! Ha! I thought it was funny. And on the way, we passed a group of a traditional wedding ritual!

The island of Lombok shaped up at about 80 km from East to
West and about the same from the North to the South, with beautiful landscapes
and some parts of the islands were pretty dry. Droughts, particularly in the
South and East could last for months, causing crop failure, even though there
have been some improvements in the water management system recently that have
made life in Lombok less precarious.

Majority of the people in Lombok were farmers and the
indigenous Sasak (around 90% of the population) were Moslems. But, there was
also a significant Hindu Balinese minority – a legacy of the time when Bali
controlled this area.

We stopped at “Lesehan Taliwang Irama”, a restaurant that was famous for its “ayam
taliwang”, a delicacy dish from Lombok. The food was great, according to the
Chinese travel bloggers. Too bad I couldn’t taste the special ayam taliwang
because I was vegetarian. But I did love the fresh young coconut with honey! It
was very refreshing!! And oh.. Lombok was also famous as a producer of honey.
So, don’t forget to drink fresh young coconut with honey from Lombok ya! I’m
sure you’d love it, too!

Our stomach was still full when we arrived at Qunci Villa, a
five star boutique hotel & villa, one of the nicest hotels in Lombok. The
villa was very green and located by the beach. From the balcony of my room, I
could see the ocean! Very niceeeee… 🙂

I managed to have an afternoon nap in my room and when I
woke up, I took a peek of the scenery outside my balcony and here’s what I
saw..

That night, we had dinner at Menega, a seafood restaurant
that was very famous in Jimbaran, Bali and now opened its branch on Lombok
Island. The travel bloggers enjoyed the seafood so much and to my surprise,
they really had a good appetite. At the porch of the restaurant by the beach,
there were some souvenir vendors selling local items ranging from I Love Lombok
t-shirts, pearls, to gem stones bracelets. While the guys bought some t-shirts,
the ladies couldn’t resist of buying some rings and necklaces made of pearls
and the colorful gem stones bracelets. We ended the night with a full stomach
and some little gifts for our family and friends back home.

Good night, Lombok!

More info on travel destinations in Indonesia, visit www.indonesia.travel.

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