Indonesia - Lombok

Kuta Beach - deserted in the off season

From Labuan Bajo we caught a plane to Lombok, via Bali. We arrived late expecting a 2 hour taxi journey to Kuta beach where we had planned to stay. Luckily since our lonely planet had been published, a new airport had been built and we were pleasantly surprised to find the journey was a fraction of the price and only 20 minutes! 

We checked into our homestay and went for dinner at a beach bar across the road. The food was yummy but we experienced what became a bit of a running theme throughout Lombok…at the end when they added up the bill they wrote down one of the meals as 5,000 rupiah more than it should have been. We let it slide as we were tired and 5,000 Rupiah is only about 35p but the same thing happened the next time we ate there. In fact almost every restaurant we went to either the waiter didn’t bring us back our change if it wasn’t a substantial amount or they tried to overcharge us by sneakily adding on money to our meals hoping we wouldn’t notice. One guy took a twenty percent tip and tried to convince us that the twenty percent he was taking was actually only ten percent…our maths may not be amazing but it’s better than that!

The chilli in Lombok was the hottest I have
experienced....WOW!!!

Lombok was very beautiful, Kuta beach where we stayed had white sand and clear water with idyllic surroundings. The beach was also completely empty most of the time as the tourist season had died down the previous month. The only thing that would put us off going back was the fact that you couldn’t sit in one of the beach bars or sunbathe on the beach for more than about 5 minutes before someone came and tried to sell you something. More often than not it was a persistent child from the next village selling bracelets. But like any beach seller despite you saying you don’t want whatever they’re selling they hang around for at least 20 minutes trying to persuade you, making you feel guilty as they get more and more annoying!

Moped with surf rack

We had chosen to go to Kuta because it has some good surf breaks for beginners. On our first full day we went in search of surf schools and arranged to be taken to one of the local breaks. Once again the breaks were over reef, only this time we didn’t have reef shoes on. Unfortunately the tide was also going out so although the surfing was fun I cut my knee open on some rocks and had some pretty painful coral cuts on my feet! Mike was happy to just get going on his own with the surfing, whilst I had another lesson with a young lad from the village. We were much more successful this time and were both standing up and riding the waves in no time! The following day we hired a moped and went back to the same spot when the tide was high so there was no chance of crashing on to the rocks! The rest of the week was spent mostly surfing and chilling out. Mike went out every morning and by the end was definitely starting to get more confident and building up his skills. With really good wifi in the homestay we also managed to get lots of admin bits sorted so it was a nice relaxing final week in Indonesia. I'll hand you over to Mike to hear about his surfing experiences :) 

I really enjoyed my time surfing in Lombok. Although surfing in Indonesia isn’t necessarily for beginners and some of the waves were pretty intimidating. The local lad who was acting as my guide decided to take me to a “local” surf spot. Obviously for someone growing up in Lombok surfing comes easily to him and I think he underestimated how tough it can be for an inexperienced surfer. The waves were up to 2 metres high and were breaking quickly over a shallow reef. I was using a shorter board than usual and although a little nervous I thought I may as well give it a go. The waves were fast and powerful and I didn’t manage to successfully catch a single one. At one point I was pulled into the shallow reef by a strong rip current. I tried unsuccessfully to duck under the approaching wave. It pulled me up inside the wave and pummeled me down onto the reef. In the process I managed to lose both my reef shoes, my t-shirt, almost my swimming shorts and I cut my legs. It felt like an eternity down there but was probably not more than 20 seconds. Upon surfacing I decided it was definitely enough for that day and limped onto the beach. I managed to retrieve my t-shirt and only one shoe and vowed to stick to the strictly “beginner” waves from then on. 

This snake was in our room 

Tokay gecko eating a frog