The Lombok Affairs

At first...Lombok has two things against it...one is that it has the worldwide popular Bali as it's neighbour...and another one is that Lombok is famous to Malaysian for all the wrong reasons...despite that...Lombok has its own charm that might be able to persuade people to waive all the negative things and experience it by oneself...furthermore...Airasia will start their direct flight to Lombok in October...

Spent my time there in Senggigi area...which is purely tourist-oriented area...but unlike Bali...it doesn't have that wild night life...its pretty much laid back and more relaxed...Halal food is easy to come by...definitely a good point...

Accommodation ranges from the high end to the budget backpackers style that can suit anyone's need...and it doesn't cost a bomb to stay at a good and basic accommodation based on one's budget...can just easily google and find out...

As for the beach...perfect mark for the beach...incredibly beautiful...Senggigi beach is so clear that you can see the tone of the water perfectly...just didn't have the time to jump in...i took brisk walk every morning along the beach...it was definitely a good way to start the day...

There's another famous beach in Lombok...Kuta Beach...one word...magnificent...the view is breathtaking...fell in love with the picturesque view of it...only to be turned off by some of the aggressive local kids trying to sell their stuffs...in just a split second...it took away the charm of it...but the image of the beach still remained in my mind...

Also went for a cruise ride to Gilis Renjit...its not one of the popular gilis nearby which are gilis terawangan...gilis meno and there's another one but i can't remember...its about 1 hour and 45 mins away from the port in northern Lombok...beautiful clear water...perfect weather...went for one round ride around the island on a speed boat...its pretty much a small island...it also managed to get me sunburned like a grilled lobster...

Lombok is well known for its pearls...its everywhere...people are selling it by the beach...in the market...almost about anywhere...i am not good at judging pearls so i just bought one for someone...not sure whether it is a good purchase but its one of the speciality of Lombok...so i didn't give it a second thought...Lombok also have the licensed pearl retailer with certificate upon purchase...it cost a bomb...but according to some it is still affordable and a good buy...surely i am not the one who can advise people on pearls...hehehe...

Bought t-shirts after a very hard bargain...hehehe...it comes down to IDR20,000 per piece...but i managed to convince the guy to give me 6 piece for IDR100,000...not much of interesting tourist souvenir that i can buy in Lombok which are the fridge magnets and snow globe...they do have magnets...but it looks as if it was written on the magnet using liquid paper...

Lombok also has their own songket...that is something cool about it...went to Kampung Tenun to watch first hand of how they come up with the end result...according to the lady that i converse with...it can take a week to a month based on the complexity of the design...I wanted to buy for my brothers to wear on my lil bro's wedding day...but all the songket are made with the length of 2 metres...definitely not going to fit my big bro and abah...i end up just bought one for myself...for IDR250,000...and i am satisfied with the purchase...hehehe...when i was in Novotel Kuta...there were also this villager from Kampung Tenun who are doing demonstration on the weaving as well as selling their songket...I don't know why...but i end up buying another one...this time around with the accompanying selendang for IDR300,000...i felt for the person who sold the songket...there were two of them...an old lady and a guy...the guy said that he hasn't sell a piece the whole day...and they believe...the first purchase can be a 'pelaris' to enable them to get sale...i was actually touched by it...so I inadvertently bought the songket...which i believe a good purchase...and also because i think that some people are just soft-hearted...me included...hehehe...

One of the spot that worth going to is also Desa Sasak...which i was told are the original people of Lombok...with their interesting custom which explained why certain things happened the way it happened...not going to tell anything...one have to go and ask the person in the village personally to know the detail...hehehe...its a village by its own with their own architecture...some might find it appalling...but i find it to be quite unique and it is the heritage of the island...which one couldn't find in other places...

Ended my days in Lombok...fly back to Bali to take the connecting flight back to KL the very next day...just one night transit...nothing much to tell...furthermore i had been to Bali...but of course...Bali and Lombok are two entirely different entity...if one opted for developed area...Bali will satisfy you...but if one opted for much serene environment and laid back...i highly recommended Lombok as the place to be...I also happened to save up the driver's telephone number just in case I need supir to drive me around if I go there again...

I haven't had much time to explore Lombok due to work matters...this trip is not a leisure trip which explains why the majority of the pictures are the view with less me in the pics...hahaha...i can only imagined if only i came here for leisure with my friends...surely there will be more pictures of me in the picture...huhuhu...but from the limited time that i had...i am pretty convinced that i will definitely try to come again for leisure...for that very next time...i will surely swing in Mount Rinjani and island hopping to the gilis...should start planning now as it will be my next Lombok affairs...

T.Y.S