Exploring Kuta, Lombok

This series of ten posts comes from a three week trip to Indonesia. I traveled to the islands of Java, Bali and Lombok with G-adventures. Along the way, I saw incredible cultural sites, enjoyed delicious foods, met great people, and took in beautiful views. Here’s the story…

Getting to Kuta, Lombok

From Candidasa on the island of Bali, we took the slow ferry to Kuta. This ferry would take us across the straight to the island of Lombok where we would spend the next few days.

At the Harbor

From our hotel in Candidasa, we drove a half an hour to the harbor. We walked about 300 meters to the piers. Some opted for a porter to carry their bags, but my backpack was easy to manage. We waited a few minutes for the previous passengers and vehicles to disembark so we could board. 

The ferry had three levels. Cars, trucks and motorbikes parked down below. The middle level was for passengers and was filled with benches. This section even had air conditioning. The top deck was open air with a few benches, very little shade but a full view of the ocean.

I found a bench seat in the middle section. The passengers slowly filled the boat. Most travelers were Indonesian and many families were setting up to picnic for the next four hours. We waited for what felt like a long while for everyone to load up and get settled. The departure time was a bit flexible; “we go when it’s full.”

Ambulant vendors circulated around the benches while we were in port. They carried baskets on their heads with snacks, potato chips, oreos and fried rice wrapped in banana leaves. After 45 minutes, I noticed fewer vendors and heard the ferry’s motors kick starting below us. A crew member turned on the Indonesian music videos on the front TV screen. Then, we started to move. 

On the Sea

For the next three and a half hours, I enjoyed the smooth lull of the boat on the waves. I took a nap with soothing rhythm of the waves slightly rocking the boat. I finished my book and bought a cup of Instant Noodles at the snack stand. 

Late I stood on the upper deck. It was full of sunshine and endless sea. A sharp line at the horizon separated the dark blue water from the clear blue sky. Time passed quickly and soon we were approaching Lombok island.  

Arriving in Lombok

The boat docked in Lombok. In constrast with Bali, most people on Lombok island practice Islam. Here women were wearing head coverings and each village had a mosque. 

We loaded the bus and drove an hour and a half to the town of Kuta. Kuta, Lombok is not to be confused with Kuta, Bali, which is known as a party town for tourists. We spent the next two days relaxing and exploring the beautiful beaches of Kuta, Lombok. 

Hotel Puri Rinjani Bungalows

Our hotel was right on the main strip of Kuta and had a gorgeous view of the ocean. We walked through the simple lobby area and through an opening in the stone fence to the main part of the hotel. Two rows of individual bungalows faced an inner garden. In the center, a massive tree stood tall with hanging vines and travelers hung out by the curvy pool and pavilions. 

Each bungalow had its own front porch. With a stroke of luck with the numbers, I had my own room for this portion of the trip; perfect timing for the last section to relax. The beds were huge and the AC was strong. It was a top notch hotel. 

The hotel also had a restaurant and patio area out front. They had big comfy loveseats with an ocean view. Here the group dined together. I had a pesto chicken fettuccine and pisang goreng, fried bananas with cheese, for dessert. Each morning, they had a basic hotel breakfast of coffee, omelettes, toast and fruit. 

Kuta, Lombok

I strolled the beach area near our hotel. Compared to Bali, this beach had many more Indonesian visitors than Western tourists and was more family focused. The streets were lined with surf shops, convenience stores, souvenir shops and bar/restaurants. 

The streets had very few cars, mostly just motorbikes. Vendors sold a variety of street food. Bebez and I stopped for ears of grilled corn, with a choice of spicy or sweet buttery spread. At the next cart, Bebez warned against the meatballs for a traveler without a strong Indonesian belly. Although he ate them, he explained that some vendors use a red pigment for the bright colored sauce that is sketchy for human consumption. Yikes. 

Day Trip around Kuta, Lombok

We loaded up in several jeeps for a ride to another harbor area to start a busy day trip around the islands. Then we drove over an hour up and around the hilly island. We passed many small villages, tobacco fields and fishing ponds. School children hustled off to class in their white and red uniforms. Women, many with smaller children, gathered for the morning markets, arriving on motorbikes and horse and buggies. 

First Stop, the Fish Market

We pulled into the harbor area and there were so many people that vehicles could barely pass through. Before we hopped on the boats, we strolled through the harbor’s market. In the fish market, there weren’t formal stalls. Mostly, women were sitting on overturned buckets or small wooden stools. They sold parrot fish, sharks, squid, shrimp and a few other shiny fish. Two in our group bought a small shark for 30,000 rupiah, or just over $2, for a sea grill out lunch. 

Out on the Water

Our group loaded onto two wooden boats. Each was long and narrow with long rods parallel on each side for balance. The top was perfect for sunning once we were out of the harbor area. I felt fortunate not to get seasick while out in the boat all day. I definitely got a bit sunburned, but not seasick. 

We stopped at a lobster farm. The farm floated out in the ocean and had bamboo walkways forming a grid. The large holes in the grid held netting for the lobsters to grow down in the water. A few of our group picked up a kilo of lobster for grilling out. 

Snorkeling

The guides anchored the boats in an open area. I could see the bottom but it was at least three meters deep. I felt nervous but jumped into the chilly water. At first I had a hard time getting the breathing right with the snorkel tube and felt a little anxious about having my face in water with the waves coming overtop. Once I got the rhythm of the breathing correct, and I established that there were no jellyfish or sharks in the area, I quite enjoyed the views.

Below the surface of the water, there was a wide variety of beautiful coral. There were wavey finger corals, rounded ribbly corals and colorful purple, green and orange corals. I found Nemo, an angel fish, swimming around the rocks. With my face in the water, I strayed further from the boat than I intended but made it back to the boat with one of the boatmen and scrambled up to the top deck to dry off.

I decided to skip the next section of snorkeling. We rode the boats over to a small island, which was more of a crop of rocks in the middle of the water. Only the expert, most confident snorkelers jumped back into the water. Here, they hoped to see a special shark that often lives near these rocks. The strong current in this area meant that we drove the boats to the other side of the island to pick them up since they wouldn’t be able to swim back.

Pink Beach

This beach often has a beautiful pink hint to the sand. The color comes from small pieces of red coral mixing with the white sand. On first view, the sand was mostly white but when you looked closely you could see the small red flecks. There were only a few boats on an otherwise wide open beach. We parked ourselves at the small restaurant area under the shade. I ordered a large Bintang beer which just seemed right with the gorgeous beach scene. The water was crystal clear with small waves lapping the shore and the sun overhead was bright and hot. 

I took a short walk up to an amazing viewpoint on the cliffs. There were more beaches and cool rock formations on the other side.

For lunch we had a huge seafood buffet. Everyone loved the freshly grilled lobster, shark, fish, squid, shrimp and crab curry. There was also veggies, rice, tempeh, and a spicy soy sauce. Since I don’t eat fish, I brought my own cup of instant noodles which were pretty good with the extra veggies and spicy sauce. A mama cat, her two kittens and two sad-eyed but well-fed puppies waited attentively underneath the tables. 

Our next stop was a totally empty beach, except for our two boats. It was a soft white sandy beach, without any sharp coral pieces. We just laid around in the clear water in a shallow area with small waves. Afterward, I dried off on the boat’s rooftop and maybe got a bit sunburned. 

Gili Pasar

Gili Pasar is basically just a massive sandbar that only appears in the afternoon when the tide goes out. With the lower water level, hundreds of starfish also appeared in the shallow water around the sandbar. We took some silly pictures, playing with the perspective in the open area. 

Back to Kuta

We finally made it back to the harbor as the afternoon winds were picking up and the waves got bigger. We were all tired and dirty as we loaded back into the cars for the hour long trip back to the hotel.

On the way back, we passed a wedding celebration. The women lined up on one side of town, wearing traditional dresses and with fancy hair. The men stood at the other side of town with a huge band behind them with loud drums, cymbals and lively dancers. The men were dressed in  purple with yellow while the band wore red or white. As we made it through the crawling traffic, another truck of purple clad men were arriving. Lastly, we paused for a herd of buffalo slowly making their way down the single lane highway with the farmer.

Exhausted back at the hotel, I took a hot shower and had a quiet night with pizza from the closest restaurant and a good book. 

Traditional Sasak Village – Sade Rembitan

The next day we visited Sade Rembitan, a traditional weaving village, which was in the interior on Lombok, not far from Kuta. Our local guide, Mr. Embar was born and lives in the village and he spent the morning with us, proudly explaining about life in his home village. The village is comprised of about 700 inhabitants from 150 family units. 

They village is unique in that they only marry within the community. Since its foundation over 15 generations ago, the residents only marry their cousins and second cousins, no one from outside of the community. The marriage ritual includes that the boy kidnaps the girl he intends to marry until the family gives permission. 

Village Life

Eighty percent of the people in the village speak only Sasak, but more recently kids learn Indonesian in school that’s located just outside the village. As we walked along the paths through the village, Mr. Embar reminded us, “Girls, you’re safe here, no cousins.” 

The village is governed by one leader and an elders council. The leader is selected by birthright, not election. The current leader has held his position since 2007 when his brother passed away. 

Another interesting tradition in the village is that a person’s name changes they have children and grandchildren. We met Ina Sana. She is about 70 years old and has had four names as she is a great-grandmother. Ina Sana also showed us how she spins wool into yarn. While we took a try at spinning, she chewed betel nuts. She wrapped coral powder and the betel nut into a leaf and rubbed into her teeth and gums repeatedly as she wove the yarn. The betel nut is a stimulant and is similar to tobacco or caffeine in the western culture.

Village Homes

The simple bamboo homes are built in a line, all touching one another with roofs made from a specific grass. They have to replace the grass roof every six or seven years when it starts to leak; so the villagers reroof about 20 or 25 roofs a year. The floors are made of clay and rice husk. Each home has three steps as one enters to represent their three lives; inside the womb, this life and after death, which depends on how you live this life. Each door frame also has a government census sticker. 

Men and women sleep separately in the homes. Mr. Ember said the village was connected with electricity only about seven years ago. Water is stored in small cisterns outside the homes, as water dripping inside the houses would damage the floors made from natural materials. Their water comes from a series of four wells, provided by a Dutch NGO. Their diet consists mostly of rice, veggies and fish. Chicken and beef are rare and only served for special celebrations.

Work in the Village

In the village, most men are rice farmers. They only harvest rice once a year here, compared three or more times a year in areas that have irrigation systems. They also plant soya, chiles and sweet potatoes. 70% of the food that they eat in the village is grown here. They store the rice in twelve elevated rice barns. 

Women in the village are weavers. It is very tedious work and they can only produce one or two meters a day. Everything sold in the village is communal. Just as they share the rice they produce, the income from the weaving is also shared among the community. 

Religion

The people in the village practice a mix of Islam and Hindiusm based in Animism. On the census, everyone must identify as one, and only one, religion. Therefore, the statistics show the village as predominadely Muslim, although their beliefs and practices are blended.

Connected to their Animism traditions, each household does a cleansing ritual once a month. They do a wash of the floor with dung of a cow or buffalo, which are considered sacred animals. Mr. Embar said it’s only smelly for the first hour or so until it dries. With the dung wash, the floors have solid dirt or almost cement-like finish. 

Mr. Embar and Tourism 

Mr. Embar has never left the island. Since he works in tourism, he’s been invited to visit places around Indonesia but he doesn’t go. He explained, “No one leaves here, no one goes off to live anywhere else.” He is about 44 or 45 years old in the Western calendar, although he’s not exactly sure since in the village they count by the number of rice harvests. They don’t celebrate birthdays.

Many people visit the village and tourism is one of their main sources of income. Even the president of Indonesia came to visit last May. In fact, Mr. Embar finally got a cell phone for the occasion, as he needed to prepare the reception, celebration and dances. He said he’s still getting used to it.

Walking around Tetebatu

We continued our travels in Lombok driving further inland to the village of Tetebatu. Here we met Mr. Ron, a long time G-adventures associate. He and his family run a guest house and a small restaurant and he offers walking tours of the area. He handed a bamboo cone hat to each of us for the sun and he led us around his village.

In the community, the majority of the families work in farming or tourism. Some also go to Malaysia to work in the palm oil for a few years to send money back to build a nicer stone home for their families.

Rice and Other Crops

While on our walking tour, we saw the variety of crops that grow here. The altitude, about 400 meters, is perfect for growing sweet potato, corn, pumpkin, peanuts, avocado trees, garlic, jackfruit, banana, spicy chiles and onions. And, of course, rice.

Here the farmers have specific gender roles. Plowing is considered a man’s job, while planting is done by women. Both men and women work during the harvest. While we hiked between the fields, we also saw a woman with her children and she was sifting off the rice husks. A group of men hauled rocks to where they were working on an irrigation ditch. 

Most of the fields were recently harvested, but some had some baby rice sprouts started. They would continue to grow through rounds of water and draining. The drying process in between the flooded fields helps to strengthen the roots. Each rice field has a different owner. Mr. Ron told us that one hectare of rice yields about 300 kilos which is worth 3 million rupiah, or about $215 dollars. 

Monkeys in the Wild

While walking around the rice fields, we saw several playful macaw monkeys. These were the same species that we saw in Ubud. On the last stretch of the walk, we went further into the forest, away from the houses. Mr. Ron hushed the hikers and searched for the black monkey. We paused and listened, hustled to a new location and paused again. Eventually we spotted a group of six or eight black monkeys swinging in the treetops. Watch out, they pee. 

Buffet Lunch

After walking over five kilometers around the village, the rice fields and the forest, we came back to Mr. Ron’s compound for an amazing buffet lunch. I was most excited to try the jackfruit curry. Jackfruit has a unique taste that is both sweet and meaty, sort of like pulled pork. They served two types of chicken satay, one covered in coconut shavings. We also ate rice, corn fritters, pineapple, tempeh, veggies and coffee. We were full all the way to our next stop in Senggigi. 

Sunset in Senggigi

From the village of Tetebatu, we drove two and a half hours to the touristy area of Senggigi. We stayed in a nice quiet hotel with a lovely garden and pool area. The hotel was right on the coast and offered us a beautiful sunset view on the sandy beach. 

We went to dinner at the Lotus Bayview restaurant.and ate on tables set out on the beach. One section of the beach was cordoned off to protect a nest of turtle eggs. 

Next stop, Gigi Trawangan!