long holiday sure made me feel so lazy yet bored if i just stay at home. it was on Monday when my friend, Ifa, offered me to go to Karimun Jawa with her. but i got to an accident on Thursday, my finger was got stuck in the door car so i couldn't move my finger for 4~6 days (it was my own mistakes lol). after the accident, i postponed our plan to go to Karimun Jawa and not even mention about it because i was afraid if i couldn't swim when i got there. one week passed just like that, i could move my finger normally again and another offer came from Ifa, this time was to go to Lombok. i never imagine what would i do in Lombok because i never try searching itinerary to Lombok. she offered me to go to Lombok on Sunday (it was 5 days after the offer), and i just said yes because i already got my parent permission (although it was so impulsive and sudden request hehehe). just when we're about to buy the ticket, another friend, Nia, wanted to join our trip too so we bought our ticket on Thursday (round trip Juanda Surabaya - Lombok Praya for Rp 660.000,00 ; Eka bus round trip Solo - Surabaya Rp 150.000,00 ). we decided to take the plane from Surabaya because there wasn't any direct flight from Solo - Lombok, and the nearest was from Jogja but the airfare was more expensive (round trip for Rp 1.300.000,00 at that time). we hadn't thought about who would pick up us there, staying place, and itinerary. thankfully, we had one friend that just got back from Lombok last week, so we asked him his itinerary and tips.
Day 1 and 2 : arrival and Gili Trawangan
we took the Eka bus at 10.30pm from Tirtonadi Terminal Solo and arrived at 4.45am in Purabaya Terminal Surabaya. our plane was at 9.30am, so we rest at Nia's aunt home first until 8.30am. our plane arrived at Lombok Praya at 11.30 WITA (+1hour from WIB). we got Asfa picked us up. Asfa is my junior high school friend and she's staying at Mataram. we went straight to lunch at Ayam Taliwang Dua Em Bersaudara (address: Jl. Transmigrasi 99 Mataram, Lombok, Cakranegara, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia). the original ayam taliwang (ayam = chicken) was a bit spicy for me and the chicken used was "ayam kampung muda" or kampong chick. next, we prepared to go to Gili Trawangan. we went there by Asfa's motorbike then went to the harbour to take the ferry. you can rent motorbike here.. the price to rent for a day is about Rp 70.000 ~ 100.000,00 . because we would be in Gili Trawangan for 2D1N, we must park the motorbike for one night. there were lots of places offered for parking near the harbor.. you can just choose the nearest one.
after arrived at Gili Trawangan, we went straight to the hostel to put our belongings and went to the Serene Sunset Beach by feet (it was 15~20minutes walk), if you're lazy to walk, you can rent a bike for Rp 50.000,00 a day. we searched for the famous swing and finally found it~ after enjoying the sunset, we walked to the area near harbor. the street was dark but it's ok because lots people passed the street (with bicycle, i think it's only us who walked from the sunset beach to near harbor lol). we went to the food night market and bought one medium sized grilled fish for Rp 70.000,00 (include one rice and some 'lalapan' veggies). after dinner, we went back to hostel at 9pm cause we were too tired after walking around hahahaha.
next morning, after subuh prayer, we went to the beach near harbor to see the sunrise. then we walked around again to just sight seeing and bought nasi bungkus for breakfast. finished eating, we go back to our hostel to prepare for snorkeling and check out. we put our belongings in the tour office (it's ok, it's save). before snorkeling, we bought another nasi bungkus to eat at Gili Air (the last stop for snorkeling) because the tour guide aware us that food was more expensive at Gili Air. the snorkeling tour include boat, snorkel, and fin (mineral water for bonus at second stop). if you can't swim or afraid of depth (we're snorkeling at the sea! of course it's deep..) you can consider rent life jacket for Rp 15.000,00. the boat stops 3 times: coral point, turtle point, and fish point. if this is your first time snorkeling, i recommend to search how to use snorkel and what to do when water keep coming in the pipe and blocking the breath (that's my problem when my first time snorkeling), just ask for help.. don't be shy to ask for help because it's for your own sake :)
because we already checked out, after snorkeling, we took a bath at Gili Air. but there's only one bathroom for shower (don't worry.. most of the people won't take a bath directly after snorkeling like us.. because most of them are foreigners, not Indonesian). after arrived at Gili Trawangan again, we walked to the biggest masjid there, you just need to walk to the north from the harbor, the masjid is on the left side. we pray and rest there then went back to the harbor to go home.
ps:
-if you don't have any relatives or friends live around Lombok or Mataram, you can consider stay in Mamak's home (Rumah Singgah Lombok) for free! it's really popular for backpacker. you can check it more here. they also can help you if you need motorbike rental.
-the last ferry is at 5pm.
-you can always get cheap food at gili trawangan by stopping man/ woman with a basket bicycle full of 'nasi bungkus' (nasi bungkus = rice packed in a box or food oil paper with some side-dishes) in the morning or day, but at night, it maybe sold out or you can still try to look for cheap warung (Warung = stall). one nasi bungkus cost Rp 10.000~15.000,00 and consist of rice, dried tempe, noodles, a piece of fish or shrimps or egg or chicken.
-don't forget to book the snorkeling tour at the night before because it ain't funny when you book in the morning and the tour all full.
-Gili Trawangan is full of foreigner tourist! i feel like i was being 'tourist' from another country... they kept mistaken me as Malaysian...
-Gili Air, Gili Meno, and Gili Trawangan are pretty similar.. but Gili Trawangan is the most crowded area.
Expenses List:
Day 3: Batu Payung, Tanjung Aan, Bukit Merese
we went to another beaches in the south area. there are lots of attractions just side by side: Batu Payung beach, Tanjung Aan, Bukit Merese, Kuta beach, Traditional Sasak Village (Desa Sade) where you can watch how traditional tenun being made. i recommend you to leave early from Mataram (at around 8am) because when i finished Bukit Merese (i was leaving at 11am from Mataram, the journey was 1.5 hours) it was at 6pm and the traditional sasak village was already closed.
Day 4 and 5: Narmada Temple, Gili Kondo, Gili Bidari, Gili Pasir
after went to the south area, we went to the east area. we went here by motorbike, but if you want to go with car, the parking area is wide and the street is wide too. we passed Mataram -> West Lombok -> Middle Lombok -> East Lombok. on the way, we stopped at Narmada temple. it's Hindu temple. the entrance fee is Rp 6.000,00 . if you have went to Jogja, it's pretty similar to Tamansari. inside Narmada temple, there's water that they claim can make us stay young. Narmada also the home of most famous mineral water in Lombok with the same 'Narmada' name.
after 2 hours in the temple and ate sate lilit for lunch, we continued our journey to Gili Kondo. we followed the street sign to the Lampu harbor (Gil Kondo other name is Gili Lampu). we already made appointment with pak Jefri, the boat owner, to borrow the boat to go to Gili Kondo. the cost for boat round trip, 4 snorkels and stopping Gilis was Rp 350.000,00 for my trip. we brought a camping set for staying 1 night here. you can find some 'pendopo' here if you don't bring camping set.. but you must bring your sleeping bag. autan or another anti-mosquito will be helpful because lots mosquito here :'(
before we stop at Gili Kondo, we stopped at Gili Pasir which was really beautiful and it feels like it was our own island because nobody there except us. the sea water was so low so we could walked faraway. then, we stopped at Gili Bidara to eat our lunch. you can also snorkeling at Gili Bidara. but we choosed not to snorkeling that time. we only snorkeling at Gili Kondo because we didn't want our clothes wet. then we finally moved to our final stop, Gili Kondo and built a tent for the girls to sleep in (but it's only me who sleep in the tent in the end).
ps:
-please order boat first to go to Gili Kondo the night before. the price may vary depend on how good your bargaining skills XD *good luck*
-don't forget to bring basic life thingies like foods and mineral water for staying at Gili Kondo because there won't be any stalls like in Gili Trawangan.
-there's toilet in Gili Trawangan for peeing. but the water is limited. so it will be nice if you bring wet tissue or just pee in the sea when snorkeling :p
-it will be better for females to snorkel the day you'll back to the harbor because the bathroom in Gili Kondo can't be used for taking bath. you'll be take bath in pak Jefri's house (it's in the package~ don't worry :D) the house is really near from the main street.
-don't be shy to ask for help!!
Day 6: chillin at Mataram and buying souvenirs
Mataram is the only city in Lombok province. the other are districts or kabupaten. we went to Sasaku clothing store to buy Lombok clothes and Phoenix store to buy Lombok most famous snack: dodol rumput laut. after buying souvenirs, we went to Epicentrum Mall to go to Burger King because there isn't any in my city lol. we bought nasi balap here for lunch.
after arrived at Gili Trawangan, we went straight to the hostel to put our belongings and went to the Serene Sunset Beach by feet (it was 15~20minutes walk), if you're lazy to walk, you can rent a bike for Rp 50.000,00 a day. we searched for the famous swing and finally found it~ after enjoying the sunset, we walked to the area near harbor. the street was dark but it's ok because lots people passed the street (with bicycle, i think it's only us who walked from the sunset beach to near harbor lol). we went to the food night market and bought one medium sized grilled fish for Rp 70.000,00 (include one rice and some 'lalapan' veggies). after dinner, we went back to hostel at 9pm cause we were too tired after walking around hahahaha.
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| taken by: ifa ; model: nia |
because we already checked out, after snorkeling, we took a bath at Gili Air. but there's only one bathroom for shower (don't worry.. most of the people won't take a bath directly after snorkeling like us.. because most of them are foreigners, not Indonesian). after arrived at Gili Trawangan again, we walked to the biggest masjid there, you just need to walk to the north from the harbor, the masjid is on the left side. we pray and rest there then went back to the harbor to go home.
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| hello sunrise~ |
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| otw snorkeling |
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| under the sea view photo by mas tour guide, edited by me with photoshop |
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| say hi to the camera! |
ps:
-if you don't have any relatives or friends live around Lombok or Mataram, you can consider stay in Mamak's home (Rumah Singgah Lombok) for free! it's really popular for backpacker. you can check it more here. they also can help you if you need motorbike rental.
-the last ferry is at 5pm.
-you can always get cheap food at gili trawangan by stopping man/ woman with a basket bicycle full of 'nasi bungkus' (nasi bungkus = rice packed in a box or food oil paper with some side-dishes) in the morning or day, but at night, it maybe sold out or you can still try to look for cheap warung (Warung = stall). one nasi bungkus cost Rp 10.000~15.000,00 and consist of rice, dried tempe, noodles, a piece of fish or shrimps or egg or chicken.
-don't forget to book the snorkeling tour at the night before because it ain't funny when you book in the morning and the tour all full.
-Gili Trawangan is full of foreigner tourist! i feel like i was being 'tourist' from another country... they kept mistaken me as Malaysian...
-Gili Air, Gili Meno, and Gili Trawangan are pretty similar.. but Gili Trawangan is the most crowded area.
Expenses List:
Day 3: Batu Payung, Tanjung Aan, Bukit Merese
we went to another beaches in the south area. there are lots of attractions just side by side: Batu Payung beach, Tanjung Aan, Bukit Merese, Kuta beach, Traditional Sasak Village (Desa Sade) where you can watch how traditional tenun being made. i recommend you to leave early from Mataram (at around 8am) because when i finished Bukit Merese (i was leaving at 11am from Mataram, the journey was 1.5 hours) it was at 6pm and the traditional sasak village was already closed.
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| batu payung refers to the big stone in the middle of the pic |
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ciaobella on vacation!
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after went to the south area, we went to the east area. we went here by motorbike, but if you want to go with car, the parking area is wide and the street is wide too. we passed Mataram -> West Lombok -> Middle Lombok -> East Lombok. on the way, we stopped at Narmada temple. it's Hindu temple. the entrance fee is Rp 6.000,00 . if you have went to Jogja, it's pretty similar to Tamansari. inside Narmada temple, there's water that they claim can make us stay young. Narmada also the home of most famous mineral water in Lombok with the same 'Narmada' name.
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| Narmada park inside |
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| Narmada main temple (we're not allowed to enter, this was for Hindus praying) |
before we stop at Gili Kondo, we stopped at Gili Pasir which was really beautiful and it feels like it was our own island because nobody there except us. the sea water was so low so we could walked faraway. then, we stopped at Gili Bidara to eat our lunch. you can also snorkeling at Gili Bidara. but we choosed not to snorkeling that time. we only snorkeling at Gili Kondo because we didn't want our clothes wet. then we finally moved to our final stop, Gili Kondo and built a tent for the girls to sleep in (but it's only me who sleep in the tent in the end).
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| Gili Pasir |
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| starry night of Gili Kondo |
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| sunrise at Gili Kondo |
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| giving food to the fish inside the bottle: crushed marie regal |
-please order boat first to go to Gili Kondo the night before. the price may vary depend on how good your bargaining skills XD *good luck*
-don't forget to bring basic life thingies like foods and mineral water for staying at Gili Kondo because there won't be any stalls like in Gili Trawangan.
-there's toilet in Gili Trawangan for peeing. but the water is limited. so it will be nice if you bring wet tissue or just pee in the sea when snorkeling :p
-it will be better for females to snorkel the day you'll back to the harbor because the bathroom in Gili Kondo can't be used for taking bath. you'll be take bath in pak Jefri's house (it's in the package~ don't worry :D) the house is really near from the main street.
-don't be shy to ask for help!!
Day 6: chillin at Mataram and buying souvenirs
Mataram is the only city in Lombok province. the other are districts or kabupaten. we went to Sasaku clothing store to buy Lombok clothes and Phoenix store to buy Lombok most famous snack: dodol rumput laut. after buying souvenirs, we went to Epicentrum Mall to go to Burger King because there isn't any in my city lol. we bought nasi balap here for lunch.
overall Lombok impression:
Lombok is like heaven of beaches!!! Tuman ke Lombok :') pingin balik lagiii~~
i have to go to Lombok again hahahaha, and explore other side of Nusa Tenggara~~
ps.. super thankyou to Asfa and Nia's cousin for the hospitality :) my Lombok adventure won't be so memorable and enjoyful without you guys :)
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| thankieees! |
