Watching the weather: Senggigi

My final stop on Lombok was Senggigi, on the west coast.

It doesn't have a terribly good reputation these days ("promises a lot but is mostly a bit of a dump," according to Travelfish). The beaches are no great shakes, and the "town" is mostly just a sprawl of tourist-themed development along a few bays, without ever feeling like there's a there there.

But there are patches of bright sky among the clouds.

There are some very good value places to stay (mine had big shady balconies, and a terrace and restaurant built overlooking the sea). There's a decent posh grocery store with a good selection of imported food (for when you've been missing cheese, wine, and strawberries). And there's also a nice seaside temple (Pura Batu Bolong), and half-decent sunsets.

And sometimes, that's all you need for a couple of days.

Pura Batu Bolong, as a storm rolls in

After the earthquake: Senaru

On 5 August 2018, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck North Lombok. 

More than 500 people were killed, and hundreds of thousands were displaced as the shallow earthquake damaged or destroyed an estimated 80% of buildings in the worst affected areas.

When I visited Lombok in September 2019, most areas had been repaired and rebuilt, but I noticed there were still a handful of abandoned and collapsed buildings in northern areas, including on the Gilis. You probably remember the Western news media focusing heavily on the Gilis in reporting the story, all the young tourists trying to get off the island and complaining about waiting for rescue.

But other areas in northern Lombok were hit much worse, and one of those areas was the backpacker hub of Senaru.

A village built along one of the ridges immediately north of Mount Rinjani, it had become a popular base for tourists wanting to climb the mountain or go hiking or treking in some beautiful scenery. 

The earthquake flattened large parts of the town, and that put the tourist industry on hold, depriving many locals of their livelihoods at the same time it damaged their homes and property - a double whammy.

So I knew I was going to try and visit, to put some money into the local area. And I'm really glad I did.

Quite a few hotels, guesthouses and restaurants were open for guests, having repaired or rebuilt quickly. And the scenery is spectacular.

I stayed at the newly rebuilt Pondok Guru Batki, which like most accommodation is built on the eastern side of the ridge, offering fabulous views across the steep valley towards Mt Rinjani. I spent several happy hours sitting in the garden, enjoying the views and watching the monkeys scamper through the trees in search of fruit.

View from my guesthouse towards the various peaks of Mt Rinjani

Looking along the ridge from my guesthouse

My guesthouse organised a guide to take me on a tour of the area. We hiked through the jungle and alongside a stream, scrambling at a few points across large broken boulders and clambering over fallen trees (the path had been badly damaged in several places during the quake, and as a middle-aged woman with crap balance I was quite glad to have a strong young man to offer me a steadying hand in a few places) until we reached the magnificence that is Tiu Kelep waterfall. 

Tiu Kelep waterfall - simply magnificent (but tricky to reach on your own)

There was almost no one else there (just one other Western couple, who were leaving as we arrived). You could swim in the hole at the base of the falls, but I didn't (I knew we had a lot of hiking still to do, and I didn't want to have to do it in damp clothes) but I can easily envision spending an hour relaxing there, if you're of a mind.

We then hiked back to Sedang Gile, a smaller waterfall nearer the road, which has been developed for visitors. It's easy to reach along a paved path and stairway, and near the base of the falls they've built a selection of picnic tables and small stalls selling drinks and snacks (like yummy fried bananas!). There's also toilets here, FYI.

Sedang Gile waterfall - smaller but still an attractive place to relax

After the waterfalls, we hiked to a traditional village, which welcomes tourists in exchange for donations. You can sit and chat, via your guide as a translator, with some of the village elders, and drink tea or coffee, while chickens run about your feet.

Finally, we went for a long walk through rice paddies and fields, while my guide talked about growing up in the village. We ended up outside the guide's house, where he introduced me to his wife and sweet-as-a-pea six year old daughter, and proudly showed me around his small orchard and vegetable patch. 

It was a great half day, and stretched until out for about 6 hours (as he could see I was interested).

When you're travelling on a budget, it can be tempting to try and skip the additional cost of a guide (I accepted the requested fee without any haggling, and at the end added a generous tip as I knew the village's economy was struggling, plus my guide was great). But often, it really pays off to hire a local.

Although I could have visited Sedang Gile and the traditional village on my own (they're both easy to reach by road), I really doubt I would have made it to Tiu Kelep on my own (I would probably have either gotten lost, or assumed I was going the wrong way when I got to the scrambly bits, and turned back). Plus I never would have learned as much about local life, without someone to talk to. Best 350,000 rupiah I spent on the entire Lombok leg of my trip.

After all that walking, it was time for a (very) late lunch. Or (very) early dinner. Lunner, I guess.

I stopped in at a little restaurant my guide had recommended, with extensive views over the valley and farmland, and ate lalapan ayam, a dish of assorted raw vegetables with sambal terasi (a tomato and chili sauce, here made "not spicy" with only one chili for the wimpy westerner) and ayam bakar (grilled chicken).

And my new friend, who sat at my feet, meowing and watching me eat the entire time, until I finally ran out of will power and shared my chicken with her.

Views from Warung Dedi Tioq Angen

Tasty lalapan ayam

My demanding dining companion

Sunset over Mt Agung

 

Pictures taken from Rinjani Beach Eco Resort, on Lombok's Sire Peninsula.

Staying safe and sane on the Gilis

The Gilis (meaning Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan, off the NW coast of Lombok) have been firmly on the banana pancake trail for yonks.

Each has their own vibe: Gili T is the party island and the most developed of the three, Gili Meno is the quietest of the three, and Gili Air is somewhere in between (although large parts of the western coast and interior of Air are still barely developed). I spent a few nights on both Meno and Air. Meno is definitely more my style and I found it a bit prettier than Air, but Air had better swimming and snorkeling in my opinion (especially around the southern half of the east coast).

The lack of motorised traffic, the happy and relaxed other tourists, the plethora of restaurants, cafes and accommodation at all price points: all of it lulls you into an idyll.

This will do nicely (SE of Gili Meno)

But there are a few things to be mindful of -- to ensure your holiday stays idyllic.

First, the currents around the islands are very strong. I noticed this especially around Gili Meno. For most of the north and west coasts there is a fringing reef, which can only be swum over at high tide, resulting in quite shallow water on the inside of the reef at lower tides. But once you're over the reef into the deeper water, there are very fast-moving currents running parallel to the beach. I noticed quite a few people get into trouble along the north shore, fighting against the currents not to be swept off, shouting for help from the snorkel trip boats. 

I also noticed the boats would throw a life preserver to, or turn on the engine and go chasing after, tourists who were from their boat and got swept away. But they ignored the cries for help from tourists who weren't from their boat. Luckily everyone I saw get into trouble managed to either get rescued by their boat, or reach the fringing reef and get over it into the safer, shallower water. But it must have been a scary experience for many -- I saw one woman burst into tears as soon as she was safely in the shallows.

Snorkel boats crowding around Nest (a collection of underwater
statues) on the west coast of Meno

Even on the west shore of Meno, which is very popular with snorkel boats due to underwater statues, the current is quite strong pulling you south, and the reef has few boat channels allowing you to exit the water at low tide. I ended up swimming quite a long way further down the island than I'd intended, just trying to find a way to get back to shore.

So my advice is this -- pay very close attention to the conditions, check where the boats runs are down current from your desired snorkeling or swimming location (as you'll need these to get past the fringing reef at low tide), and be especially careful when you're on your own. Oh, and wear swimshoes as you'll need to walk over lots of broken coral to get to deeper water -- these are not soft, sandy bottoms in the main.

The next piece of advice concerns how you get to the Gilis. Most people visit by speedboat from Bali, but the speedboat operators have a reputation for being cowboys -- we're talking overcrowded boats, going out in bad weather. I personally wouldn't feel safe going that way. The slow ferries to Lombok, being larger, are considered safer.

Bangsal, the main port on mainland Lombok for the Gilis has a reputation for being a hole, filled with hustlers, but I actually didn't find it any worse than any other transport hub in SE Asia, so you don't need to try and avoid it, despite what Lonely Planet says.

Sunset from the west coast of Gili Meno, looking at Gili T in the
foreground, and Bali's Mount Agung in the background

Marketing Mataram

Mataram has an image problem. 

I mostly used Travelfish when researching this trip. Travelfish does not mention Mataram at all. Trying to find some information on the area, I also checked my old Indonesia Lonely Planet from 2007 (which gives it exactly 3 pages, plus a map). I ended up relying on the information I could find on Google searches -- which wasn't much!

So no one knows anything about Mataram, so tourists don't go there. Shame.

Well, this is nice....

I know it's not idyllic, like the islands can be.

I know it's not beautiful, like the scenery in the mountains.

And, to be honest, it's a very small and low-key capital city, without the kind of grand boulevards, big museums, and thriving nightlife the words "capital city" normally bring to mind. 

But there is plenty of nice places to eat, for when you're getting bored of tourist-oriented restaurants with identikit menus. There is a wide range of shops, for when you need to replace your shoelaces, repair your sunglasses, or stock up on tampax, granola bars and Listerine in a large grocery store. 

Beyond the food and the convenience, and best of all, just east of the centre and easily reachable by taxi or ojek, is the Narmada area. 

The main attraction in the area is Taman Narmada (Narmada Park), a large garden complex build around a sacred spring. There's a large swimming pool on site, which you can access for an additional fee. I also spotted quite a few locals bathing where the spring flows into the main pond (although having earlier spotted a dead rat floating in the sacred waters, I didn't partake myself).

Overlooking the main central pond

I visited on a Tuesday, and the park was very quiet, with few other people there (as you can see from the photos). But there were a large number of closed food stalls on the hill overlooking the main pond, so I'm guessing this becomes a very popular eating and relaxing spot on weekends.

Just east of the park is Pura Kaweri Narmada, a Hindu temple known for beautiful grounds, and just north is the new Narmada Botanic Garden (which I didn't know was there on my visit, so unfortunately missed out).

So if you ever get to spend a month touring Lombok, like I did, you could do worse than taking a mini break from the coast and the volcano to slot in a day or two exploring Mataram!

2 more pics of the garden:

Getting away from it all on Gili Gede

Gili Gede is one of the so-called "secret Gilis" in the southwest side of Lombok. Tourism to this area has been growing over the past few years, driven by people trying to avoid the crowds of the more popular northwest Gilis, but it's still a long way from "developed."

Gili Gede itself is a fairly small island, with a few tiny villages, and a handful of guesthouses and resorts. You can walk all the way around the island in a couple of hours (there's a small paved path that covers most of the island, suitable for walking or motorbiking, although quite broken up in places so watch your footing). 

The scenery on Gili Gede

The central part of the east coast has some nice enough beaches, with white sand and shallow water suitable for swimming with the family, although don't expect the beaches to be completely pristine and swept clean of all flotsam, as these are still predominantly fishing islands, not tourist islands. The southern part of the east coast is mostly mudflats and seagrass, but good for wildlife spotting (a large heron kept wandering into the open air restaurant at my guesthouse, looking for handouts, and the sea outside was filled with starfish).

The beach on the central section of Gili Gede

Although the reefs off Gede are mostly broken up and dead, the neighbouring islands of Gili Layar and Gili Rengit are known snorkel spots and your accommodation should be able to book you a boat to take you out for a day or half day. TBH, the reefs weren't anything really special to my eyes (perhaps I've just been spoiled after Lang Tengah), however they are very quiet, so you can snorkel away from the crowds. And I did spot a giant sea turtle at the drop off on Layar.

Your throne awaits.... (Gili Layar)

It's a fairly chilled out place to relax for a few days, although TBH I was a little bit uncomfortable at just how obviously poor the village near my guesthouse was. The white liberal guilt kicked in, as it doesn't look like any of the revenue from us tourists was ending up in that particular village. Meanwhile, the island's tourism infrastructure continues to grow, with a large new resort and marina under construction on the southwest coast of the island. Hopefully all the development will spread some of that increased prosperity around.

Rush hour (the main cross-island road on Gili Gede)