Lovely Lombok

Clearly, we didn't know what to expect from Lombok. I've been to Hawaii more times than I can count so I guess my idea of Lombok was based on that--huge, deep white sand beaches, tourists at every corner, and hotels so high they touch the sky. But boy oh boy, was I wrong! After a brief 40-minute flight, we landed at Lombok's International Airport (think Kenya's Wilson Airport only with Bali-esque style buildings) and began to toss out our pre-conceived notions.

Moments after claiming our bag and catching a taxi, we were on our way to our beach hotel. Though the island of Lombok is different than the island of Java in many ways: size, population, clean air, etc... one thing wasn't different--the crazy Indonesian driving. We sped through the small streets going far too fast, dodging mopeds, delivery trucks, chickens, and horse-pulled carts. I think the only change was the number of animals that were added into the mix.

When we got to our small villa on Windy Beach we realized that we were certainly not there for the room! The villa was fine, but the views and ambiance were priceless! 30 steps from the ocean, we couldn't get away from it. Every night we fell asleep to the lulling pattern of the crashing waves and woke up to the same peace every morning. Unfortunately, the rainy season brought treacherous waves to our part of Windy Beach so putting our suits on and kicking around the waves was the extent of our beach experience at the hotel.

Day 2 we were bound for snorkeling at a private island called Gili Nanggu. This is where the difference between our expectations and our reality became very clear. Some of the beaches had tan/gray sand while others had gray/black sand. Because of the variant colors of the sand, snorkeling was a bit of a challenge. Some of the darker colored fish blend in with the dark coral and the dark sand. That said, our snorkeling experience was amazing. It took awhile for the kids (read: Anouk) to downsize the gear and pick the most essential snorkeling pieces necessary (mask ONLY!) and feel comfortable enough to explore without being a monkey on our backs, but once the kids found their groove... snorkeling was easy. One of Anouk's most memorable experiences was coming across a live bright blue starfish who had washed ashore. She picked up the starfish, asked to be photographed, and then took it back out to the reef for safety.

The island of Nanggu has a small hotel (sans hot water and electricity) and a restaurant. We had a late lunch and by the time we returned for one last afternoon snorkel, the 15 or so other visitors to the islands had gone. The only boat at the dock was ours, and we had the warm waters to ourselves one last time. It was an amazing experience and has the kids ferociously excited about snorkeling in the Azores this summer!

Instead of spending our pre-last day resting and relaxing by the pool or ocean, I insisted on taking the fam on a tour of the island. On our drive to the south beach, we were mesmerized by the sheer number and incredible beauty of rice paddies. Xavier was particularly impressed as he and his classmates got to plant in a rice paddy at school (in our grade 2 garden) and on a field trip this year. Our first stop of the day was to Mayura Water Palace. The Water Temple is the temple of the former King of Lombok and Hindus pilgrimage there on Christmas Eve every year. Though it was built in 1744, much of the temple has been rebuilt as it was the sight of a bloody battle between the Balinese and the Dutch in 1894.

On our tour, we stopped at pottery village [Mental note for next time: don't listen to the driver and take candy to the kids--crayons, pencils, and paper would have been a far smarter gift! The minute the bag of candy was opened, the kids from the village flocked to Xavi and Anouk to the point where we were REALLY uncomfortable and couldn't wait to get out of there.] and a weaving village. We watched young girls weave on traditional Lombok looms as they tried to explain the steps in their art. We were gently forced to dress in traditional weavings as if we were to attend a wedding. Only Rob rejected the offer... I think he just wanted to get back to our pool. Before we left though... I got to pick out my Christmas present-- a gorgeous, silk intensely colored wall hanging.  It adorns a special place in our front hall.

After hours of touring the countryside, the kids were done. So we made our last stop at Kuta beach on Lombok's south shore. We realized quickly that this is where we want to come back next time. Kuta is more along the lines of what we expected--warm turquoise water, light tan sand, and sheer cliffs in every direction. The tranquility of the villages and beaches of Kuta will soon be changing. The villagers will become less reliant on the seaweed and tobacco harvesting industry and more-focused on tourism as the new international airport is being built just 20 minutes away. The peace is coming to an end in Kuta, but for us... it truly was a heavenly stay and we hope to visit there once more before the school year ends.

To see more pictures of lovely Lombok... click here.

Now... time to have more fun with Grandma and Grandpa.