Lombok

The locals said Lombok was Bali but 30 years ago and we could see what they meant. Coming in on the ferry we could see deserted beaches and behind that lush green rain forest. Our first stop was Sengiggi, a small town with a decent beach. Although it was nice, we had heard there were a lot better deserted white sand beaches, and so after chatting with some locals, hired a scooter and went on the search.

Our first drive was north along the new coastal road which they hadn't even finished yet. Off road on a scooter was pretty tricky. The view around every corner was amazing, small bays with deserted beaches lined with palms and a mountain landscape behind.

Our second drive we headed south to a place called Kuta (totally different from the Bali one). We drove two hours through the capital of Lombok, Mataram which was ok, through many small villages with their markets and ladies carrying all sorts on their head and rice fields. The rice paddy fields were so so green. Its the end of the rainy season here so we saw the direct effect of having so much rain in such a warm climate the plants love it! I am sure there was enough rice to feed the entire population of Indonesia! (225 million if you were wondering).

Eventually we arrived and Kuta was like paradise! The whitest sand, bluest water, interesting rock formations and all this was deserted!! We had heard investors had bought all the land for development and so I guess if we go back in years to come it will all be ruined (hopefully not).