Lombok, Indonesia

We're in Lombok. Lombok is the island to the east of Bali.

Lombok and Bali are similar in size and have a similar population size (around 4 million people). However, whereas Bali is predominantly Hindu, Lombok is predominantly Muslim.

Ken and I have been to Lombok before. It's less developed than Bali and less tourist-y. One of our favourite beach hotel resorts is called Tugu Lombok, and is here, in the north of Lombok, so we've come back to it — this time with the family: https://tuguhotels.com/hotels/lombok/

The owner of the Tugu hotel group is the biggest antique art collector in Indonesia. The art and antiques he collects are on display in the (various) hotel grounds. These old art and sculpture pieces create a real sense of history and place — you couldn't be anywhere but Indonesia.

Lombok's history, like that of the Polynesian islands, includes local tribal/cultural aspects as well as the impact of colonialism — and the consequences of being along one of the most desirable trade routes in history.

The largest ethnic group on Lombok is the Sasak people, who spent centuries feuding with the neighbouring Balinese people. Chinese, Malay and Arab people had settled in Lombok, but it was the Sasak/Balinese conflict that led to the Sasak chiefs inviting the Dutch in Bali to rule Lombok in 1894. In 1895 Lombok became part of the Dutch East Indies.

Things continued in this (apparently settled) colonial vein until the Japanese invaded Lombok and the surrounding islands during World War 2. When the war ended in 1945, Indonesia declared independence — to the Netherlands' horror. It took four years of rebellion and armed conflict before indepence was settled in 1949. Lombok has had its fair share of challenges and tensions since then, including food shortages, an earthquake and political instability across Indonesia.

Tourism is a key driver for the local economy. Millions of tourists go to Bali every year; far fewer go to other Indonesian islands. The north of Lombok targets high-end tourism, which means it's lovely and peaceful, and not a plastic straw in sight.

The food is authentic Indonesian: a lot of fresh (very fresh) seafood, rice, satay, noodles and spicy sauces.

At 4 pm there's afternoon tea on the beach, with an assortment of traditional drinks, coffees and teas, savoury and sweet treats.

In the late afternoon, the chef/fishermen show the catch of the day and we select which fish we're having for dinner. Today we have chosen red snapper and trevally, and enjoy them we do.

Ken and I cycled about 8 km in a loop around the local area, in the Sire peninsula. The villages surrounding the resorts are rural and under-developed, but the people are friendly and we're greeted everywhere we cycle. The small children shout Hello! Hello! excitedly as we pass. The cows and the horses restrain any excitement and keep chewing.

Whatever your feelings are about tourism, it does provide a huge amount of employment and skills training. It's difficult to imagine anything else that would provide similar benefits to an area like this.

Back at the resort, the coconut palms were being trimmed and coconuts harvested, and one of the staff asked if I'd like a fresh coconut water. It was duly delivered to the pool.

Mount Rinjani towers over (the north of) Lombok. It's the 8th highest island in the world. It last erupted in October 2016, about one month after we were last here. I've circled Hotel Tugu Lombok in red on the map below.

You'll see that we're really, really close to the Gili Islands off the coast.

There are three Gili Islands in this area — Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air. (Actually,the word 'gili' means small island, so to call them the Gili Islands is tautology. Whatevs.) The Gilis are a popular tourist destination; they were 'discovered' by backpackers in the 1980s and now each island has a number of resorts.

This is a great aerial photo of the Gilis: Gili Trawangan in the foreground, then Gili Meno, then Gili Air. You can see how close Gili Air is to the Lombok mainland, and really close to where we're staying. We're in that small cove, just off the last island.

By Kok Leng Yeo from Singapore, Singapore - Gili Islands & Gunung Rinjiani, Lombok, Indonesia, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9755810

The Gilis have some super-popular diving spots, as there is lots of marine life on the reefs. We took a Tugu resort boat to the islands for some snorkelling.

One area off Gili Meno is called Turtle Alley, because (surprise!) there are so many turtles. While I was taking these pics from the boat, a large turtle popped up a metre away. I managed to get this photo, but missed a second pic of him/her taking a large breath out of the water. Stunning.

After a few days, the family routine has settled: pool, sea, sand, pool, sea, food, drinks, pool, sea ... Not a bad way to take a break from cold winter days.

Tugu Lombok is a very special place. I hope we'll pay another visit soon.