temptation of lombok

Recommended Hotel In Gili Trawangan Lombok

2011-12-19T10:04:00.000-08:00

Villa ombak hotel

Sleeping place is the largely focal if we famine to visit gili trawangan, it’s since discovering everything within gili trawangan is not sufficient right pro a calendar day, we need on slightest 2 calendar day to try everything to facilitate gili trawangan had. At hand are many chairs to stay within Gili Trawangan, from uncomplicated beach huts to air conditioned clandestine villas with clandestine pools. Largely of the very cheapest accommodation is within the village – you’ll shell out additional pro a beachside deal with. Perhaps the up-to-the-minute real estate is the area north of the pier, wherever you can stumble off of your chalet and bomb on the beach, neutralizing persons otherwise perhaps inevitable hangovers with a morning dip. Within all but the largely expensive chairs, the tap wet is quite salt. Tariff quoted are anticyclone season prices; they slump regarding 25% off-peak. Breakfast is built-in except confirmed otherwise.

BUDGET

Pak Majid bungalows. Extent estimate is regarding Rp 100.000. Within the thick of the clash,this place has clean certain bungalows with plain furnishings. Breakfast is not built-in.
Creatif Satu cottages. Extent estimate of this bungalow is around Rp 150.000 using fans and Rp 250.000 with air conditioner. Close to the pier, the sizeable temporary housing at this juncture are clean and quite acceptable.
Trawangan Cottages. Extent estimate of this bungalow is stuck between Rp 150.000 to Rp 300.000 largely of the extent using air conditioner. Well-kept temporary housing with clandestine bathrooms and verandas with trivial seats.
Pandian Wangi Cottages. Estimate of extent on this bungalow is quite cheep it’s around Rp 85.000 to Rp 150.000. Friendly place with uncomplicated clean temporary housing with fans and mossier nets.
Pondok Sederhana. Estimate of extent is regarding Rp 120.000. Run by a house-proud and friendly Balinese female, the spotless temporary housing at this juncture countenance a neat not a lot backyard.
Lisa Homestay. Estimate of extent is regarding Rp 150.000. Very friendly not a lot place with buoyant and light smooth temporary housing to facilitate look off ended a backyard.
Pondok Lita. Estimate of extent it’s around Rp 140.000 to Rp 200.000. Nine advantageous temporary housing with smooth floors, conventional around a backyard. All temporary housing bear two beds and a clean bathroom. Moreover has a manuscript barter and laundry service.
Puri Hondje. Estimate of extent is regarding Rp 250.000. Tucked away down a serene village side of the road, these very stylish temporary housing overlook a miniature fish pond surrounded by bougainvillea and palms.
Sirwa Homestay. Estimate of extent is not to be trusted stuck between Rp 90.000 to Rp 140.000. Drudgery temporary housing – nearly bear two bend beds – with prices to suit persons on a strict finances. There’s a uncomplicated restaurant up front.
Beach Wind Bungalows. Extent prices of these bungalows it around Rp 150.000 extent with fan to Rp 300.000 extent with air conditioner. Excellent-value, stylish, drudgery temporary housing within a row right rotten the beach, all with substantial bamboo-framed beds and a porch; persons temporary housing lacking air-conditioner bear two beds. There’s moreover counter tennis, a manuscript barter and snorkelling gear free pro hire.
Flush Bungalows. Extent estimate of this bungalows is around Rp 220.000 to Rp 300.000. This miniature, pastoral place is right rotten the beach, and has individual extent with a glorious sea-facing lanai. Preliminary tariff asked are a not a lot costly, so occur clear in your mind to bargain. Emancipated wet, mossier nets and fans are provided.
Warnacottages. Extent estimate is regarding Rp 220.000. Four well-priced, attractive bungalows with sizeable beds, sense light and beautiful wooden furniture conventional rotten a gorgeous slim backyard, right rotten the beach. Tariff are dangerously slashed at some stage in serene period.
Blue Beach Cottages. Extent estimate of this bungalow is around Rp 225.000 to 400.000. Representing advantageous estimate pro money, these beautiful huts bear anticyclone ceilings, rattan furniture, kite partition hangings, boiling wet and lovely verandas conventional rotten a blossoming backyard. But most excellent rotten all; the beach is a the minority steps away.
Night Cottages. Estimate of extent regarding Rp 100.000 to Rp 200.000. Friendly place, opposite a miniature beach offering traditional-style huts with fans, and verandas to facilitate catch the afternoon breeze.
Pondok Santai. Extent estimate is around Rp 120.000 to Rp 200.000. On the south coast, yet individual a five-minute stroll from the central strip; these uncomplicated, secluded thatched huts all bear two beds and attached bathroom.
Dewi Sri. Extent estimate is around Rp 120.000 to Rp 180.000. Family-owned place with two classes of well built bungalows conventional around a beachside plot. There’s advantageous birthplace cooking free and a slim beach area with loungers opposite.

MIDRANGE

Massive Bubble. Estimate of extent is regarding Rp 300.000 to 450.000. A row of very stylish present temporary housing, built from natural equipment and all with hammocks and front terraces, countenance a beautiful slender backyard. Off the front there’s a wonderful pool and ornamented area.
Dive Indonesia. Extent pirce is regarding Rp 350.000. On the rear of the dive supermarket are seven really beautiful bungalows, all with a bath, tropical-chic rattan furniture and front patios.
Blue Marlin. This extent rate is around Rp 325.000. Decent air-con temporary housing, all with wardrobes and desks, boiling wet, bathrooms and small screen. Guests moreover bear access to a fully equipped sports hall.
Tir na Nog. Extent estimate of this inn is around Rp 350.000 and estimate of the holiday home it’s regarding 2.000.000. On the rear of the pole, these titanic temporary housing with air-con bear been meditatively designed and decorated; largely bear drudgery clandestine terraces and swanky present bathrooms. Pro real luxury manuscript the clandestine holiday home which even comes with its own pastry-cook and plunge pool.
Beach apartment. Extent estimate is regarding Rp 450.000 to 700.000. Estimate of the holiday home is regarding Rp 3.000.000. Competitive pricing and the uncomplicated elegance of these understated present temporary housing, within three estimate categories, earnings to facilitate this place is hard at it all day globular. There’s a freshwater plunge pool on the rear and an amazing four bedroom holiday home with in furnishings and its own pool, but rejection sea views.
Marta’s bungalows. Estimate of extent is regarding Rp 450.000 to Rp 700.000. Representing exceptional estimate pro money, these superb detached two-storey air-con bungalows, owned by a beneficial and welcoming English-Indonesian fasten, are grouped around a blooming backyard. Decorated predominantly within cheering creams and mushroom, the attention to delegate is superb and the beds are totally sumo-sized. If you’re within a classify, consider the super-spacious group temporary housing, which catnap four.
Advantageous affection inn. Extent estimate is around Rp 200.000 and bungalows RP 800.000. A unlimited worthy with superb-value finances temporary housing, all with sizeable beds and a fasten of very stylish thatched A-frame bungalows – these bear all the mod cons you can need, and pebble-floored open-air bathrooms.
Sama Sama Bungalows. Estimate of extent is around Rp 350.000 to 600.000. Combining natural equipment – logwood bed frames, timber carpet and coconut coppice – with mod cons counting TV/DVD players, these temporary housing do a comfortable bottom. It’s conventional back a not a lot from the beach.
Manta bungalow. Estimate of extent is regarding Rp 550.000. Eight delightful present lumbung-style bungalows, all with twin otherwise king-sized beds, polished timber floorboards, a fridge, security box, and wonderful screened out-of-doors bathrooms with volcanic pebble floor tiles. Prices are flexible at some stage in low season and at hand are discounts pro Manta Dive educate customers.
Envisage Village. Estimate of extent is regarding Rp 700.000 to Rp 900.000. A wonderful just starting out place offering a contemporary take on lumbung-style stylish, all bungalow is well finished with teak floors and rattan chairs, fridge, small screen, security box and gorgeous freshwater out-of-doors bathrooms. An Italian restaurant, spa and miniature pool are intended.Holiday home Almarik. Estimate of extent is regarding RP 700.000 to Rp 800.000. Titanic, light and buoyant, high-ceilinged bungalows with dining otherwise living extent area and present bathroom, small screen and mini pole. The swimming pool is unassumingly sized though.

TOP END

villa ombak hotel

1. Hotel Vila Ombak. Room price is Around Rp 800.000 to 1.500.000, this price already include with 21%tax. Just south of the main drag, this highly attractive resort occupies a leafy garden plot partly shaded by yuccas and palms. The faux-traditional two storey A-frame bungalows are not that large for the price, but do have real character. The stunning superior rooms are more minimalist in design. Has a great pool, spa, diving academy, restaurant and beach bar too.

2. H Rooms. This hotel price is around RP 1.000.000. Redefining the mod-Asian look that is so prevalent in Bali, these remarkable modernist villas to the rear of the Horizontal bar can sleep four comfortably, with dividing walls separating sleek interiors replete with Japanese-style tatami matting, distressed coconut-wood walls and decked floors. Home cinema equipment, huge Jacuzzis and gorgeous open-air bathrooms are all standard, while butler and personal DJ services can also be arranged.

3. Desa Dunia Beda bungalows. Price of these bungalows is around Rp 1.500.000 it already includes 21% tax. Out on their own in the north of the island, these absolutely astonishing Javanese Joglo bungalows command the biggest wow factor on the island. Each has been decorated with classy furniture and boasts a four-poster bed, writing desk, sofas and back-to-nature open-air bathrooms. Smallish pool though, and it is isolated up here.

kelapa villa

4. Kelapa Villas. Price of this villa it’s around Rp 1.700.000 to Rp 2.000.000. it’s already include 21% of tax. Between the coasts, surrounded by coconut groves, these beautifully finished luxury villas boast full catering facilities, private pools and all the comforts of home including TV or DVD and fresh-water bathrooms.

Activities and Things to Do in Gili Trawangan

2011-12-15T08:23:00.000-08:00

gili trawangan

Gili Trawangan is a very famous small island, which located in northwest of Lombok. This gili is the biggest gili from the other two gili near them. This island surrounds with with sand and a Cristal beach. Most traveler said you are never visiting Lombok unless you visiting gili trawangan. This Trawangan has a reputation as a party island, a Shangri La for backpackers and hedonistic Indonesians, awash with budget-priced digs and dive center. Shoestring raves do still flood here, but the island’s increasingly up market facilities – a mushrooming luxe-fest of lounge bars, sushi restaurants and boutique hotels – has meant that Jakartan hipsters and weekending Singaporeans are almost as common as rupiah light gap-year students. It’s the one corner of Lombok where tourism is really vibrant, and while there are still plenty of tranquil corners, the island’s main strip buzzes every night until the early hours. Unfortunately, environmental management has yet to catch up with the pace of development, and discarded garbage blots the landscape, particularly in the village just inland from the beach. Diving is so critical to the local economy that the island’s fishermen are paid by the scuba schools not to fish on Trawangan’s reefs, a pioneering initiative that has resulted in greatly increased diversity, with turtles and top predators such as reef sharks frequently spotted here. Culturally, this moratorium is not without its difficulties however, as the islanders are descended from Bogies fishermen who arrived in Trawangan 55 years ago.

Getting to gili trawangan it easy to be done, we can start from bangsal and buy the ticket on the koprasi. Boats dock on the eastern side of the island, which is also home to virtually all of Trawangan’s accommodation, restaurants, stores and facilities. The best stretch of beach is just north of the jetty. There are a few places to stay at other points around the coast (and one inland) but they’re quiet and away from the action. Several stores will change cash or travelers checks, but rates are poor. Dive shops give cash advances on credit cards for a hefty 7% commission. There is no post office, but stamps and postcards are sold in the calling center and Art Market. If you need emergencies you can contact Satgas (a community organization which controls security on the island), you can Contact this Satgas via your hotel or dive school. There is also Clinic available there. It opens at 9 am till 5 pm which located Just south of Villa Ombak Hotel.

Activities, Sites and Things to Do in Gili Trawangan

1. Turtle Hatchery

turtle hatchery

At the southern end of the beach, there’s a glass aquarium housing the hatchery, where green and hawksbill turtle hatchlings are raised until they are around nine months’ old (around 25 cm in length). It’s a small scheme set up by a local restaurant owner that releases several hundred turtles into local waters each year. The turtles are fed three times a day on chunks of fresh tuna; if you want to support this conservation project there’s a donation box beside the tank Activities.

2. Diving

Trawangan is a veritable diver’s delight with seven established scuba schools, no cowboy outfits and inexpensive price. Big Bubble; www.bigbubblediving.com. Blue Marlin Dive Center; www.diveindo.com. Dive Indonesia; www.diveindonesianonline.com. Dream Divers; www.dreamdivers.com. Manta Dive; www.manta-dive.com. Trawangan Diving; www.trawangadive.com. Villa Ombak Diving Academy;gilidive@mataram.wasantara.net.id.

3. Trips and Snorkeling

gili trawangan beach

Glass-bottomed boat trips. You will be charge for Rp 80.000 per person; including snorkeling equipment to coral reefs can be booked at many stores on the main strip. There’s fair snorkeling off the beach north of the jetty, though there’s plenty of coral damage in evidence here and strong currents further out from the shoreline. The reef is in better shape close to the lighthouse off the northwest coast, but you’ll have to scramble over some low coral to access it. Snorkeling gear can be hired for around Rp 50,000 per day from shacks near the jetty.

4. Surfing and Water Sports

Trawangan has a fast right-hand wave that breaks over a coral outcrop that is not sharp. It’s best at high tide and can be surfed all year long. You’ll find it just south of Vila Ombak. Fun Ferrari Horizontal; water sports per 15 minutes including tuition Rp 250,000, fishing per person US$50 offers water-skiing, parasailing, wakeboarding and sports fishing.

5. Walking and Cycling

Trawangan is perfect for exploring on foot or by bike. You can walk around the whole island in a couple of hours – if you finish at the hill on the southwestern corner, which has the remains of an old Japanese gun placement at sunset you’ll have terrific views of Bali’s Gunung Agung. Bikes can be hired from Rp 40.000 a day from just south of the jetty.

Hotels, Activities and Things To Do in Gili Meno lombok

2011-12-13T10:42:00.000-08:00

gili meno island

blue meno

The next gili is gili meno. This island is little bit deferent with the other two gili, because this gili have a bird park, so you can do something else other than swimming or snorkeling. This is a brief review that I can explain about this gili. Gili Meno is the quietest of the three islands, and has the best beaches. With a permanent population of just 300, it’s not hard to play Robinson Crusoe along Meno’s isolated shores should you so desire. Most of the accommodation is strung out along the eastern coast, near the widest and most picturesque beach. Inland you’ll find scattered homesteads, coconut plantations and a shallow lake that produces salt in the dry season. Information There is a couple of minimarkets by the boat landing, so you will be able to locate most basic supplies. Internet access and calling center are available near the boat landing. If you need some cash, you can exchange the money at the Gazebo Meno and Kontiki Meno hotels, as well as at others, even I don’t recommend it because they have very poor rates. For tours and boat tickets, we can find it on the travel agent like Perama travel is based at Kontiki Meno bungalows. If medical needed we can find it in the medical center near the bird park is attended by a resident nurse. Doctors are also on call in Mataram.

Activities, Sites and Things To Do in Gili Meno:

gili meno bird park

1. Bird Park. Is located Around 300 m inland from the boat landing, this bird park open at 9 am until 5 pm, With entering fee around Rp 50.000. Bird Park has an impressive and well-cared-for collection of 300 or so exotic species from Asia and Australasia, as well as three kangaroos and a baby Komodo dragon. The birds are let out of their cages for three hours a day, when they fly around a large expanse covered by a net. Interactive feeding times are also held. There’s also a bar and accommodation in bird park location.

2. Snorkeling and diving. Snorkeling trips in gili meno will charge you around Rp 80.000 per person with minimum 4 people in one trip, sometimes using glass bottomed boats, leave from the jetty. There’s good snorkeling off the northeast coast near Amber House huts, on the west coast near Good Heart and also around the former jetty of the abandoned Bounty resort – gear is available for Rp 50.000 per day from several places on the eastern strip. Always ask about the state of the currents in diving center or you can come to Blue Marlin Dive Center to get the offers fun dives and courses from Discover Scuba to Dive master.

Hotels and Cottage

The basic places are generally more expensive than equivalent lodgings on the other Gilis, and don’t usually include breakfast. Prices quoted are high-season rates – reductions of up to 10% to 20% are possible the rest of the year.

Budget hotels

some restaurant in gili meno

1. Biru Meno. Room price of this hotel is around Rp 160.000 to Rp 220.000. A very welcoming place, located in a tranquil spot south of the main strip with a selection of spacious sea-facing bungalows – the most expensive have big windows and coral walls. There’s also a simple restaurant.

2. Tao Kombo Cottage. Room price of this cottage may be the cheapest then the other. Price of room start from Rp 80.000 to Rp 180.000. About 200mm inland, this mellow place has attractive, individually decorated bungalows scattered around a large garden, and some bamboo sleeping platforms (with mattresses, mosquito nets and safety boxes). There’s 24-hour power, a chill out lounge and a bar-restaurant.

3. Kontiki Meno hotel. Room price of this hotel is around Rp 200.000 to Rp 300.000. this hotel is Clean, breeze-block bungalows, some with elaborately carved doorways. If you decide to chose this hotel I sugest to chose room number 1 or 2, because it has a direct sea view.

4. Malia’s Child hotel. Price of room on this hotel is about Rp 300.000.most of the room is Facing the sea, these attractive, orderly bamboo-and thatch bungalows with fans, nets and Western toilets sit pretty on a well-raked stretch of sandy beach.

5. Good Heart hotel. Price of this hotel is almost the same with malia’s child hotel, is around Rp 300.000. With Excellent view, friendly Balinese owned place with a row of superb, newly constructed twin-deck lumbung-like bungalows with coconut- wood roofs and beautiful open-air fresh-water bathrooms. It’s opposite a slim stretch of beach that faces Gili Trawangan and there’s also a book exchange and a good restaurant. Some time they have Discounts of around 40% are offered in low season.

6. Sunset Gecko cottage. Price of room on this hotel is around RP 300.000 to Rp 700.000. This new place, built by a multinational team to high eco standards, offers gorgeous shared bathroom, A-frame bungalows and a stunning two-bed timber house with the best views on the island from its upper deck. All accommodation has excellent ventilation and plenty of natural light. It’s in an isolated spot, but next to a tranquil beach with some snorkelling. A restaurant serving Japanese, Indonesian and Western food is planned. Rates drop substantially at quiet times.

7. Other recommendations are Amber House, Rusty’s Bungalows and Royal Reef Resort. Mostly the price of this cottage is around Rp 100.000 to Rp 250.000.

Midrange hotels

1. Taman Burung Resort. This resort offer the price of room with very wide range it’s start from Rp 100.000 to Rp 600.000. Offers four comfortable air-con rooms with TV/DVD player and basic self-catering equipment, as well as a funky dormitory with three bunk beds. Check out the restaurant and Beatles-themed bar too.

2. Hotel Gazebo Meno. This hotel is also offering price of room in dollar which is around US $ 40 to $ 65. This hotel is Classy, spacious and stylish bungalows, those with air-con adopting a distinctly colonial feel with parquet floors, desks and chaise lounges, set in a coconut grove just off the beach. There’s a small saltwater swimming pool.

High-end Hotel

1. Villa Nautilus. The price of room in this hotel is quite expensive; it’s about US $ 90. With Deluxe detached villas, beautifully finished in contemporary style with natural wood, marble and limestone. The design allows plenty of natural light to flood the lounge level, which has doors opening to a decked terrace – book No 1, 2 or 3 for sea views. Steps lead up to the bedroom/dressing room and down to the shower.

Eating and Drinking

beruga

1. The beachfront restaurants near the boat landing all offer fine views for your meal, which is just as well as service can be slow.

2. Rust Warung. Simple beruga with low tables and a menu of Indonesian and Western favourites.

3. Good Heart Café. Perfectly primed for the sunset, Good Heart has a relaxed atmosphere aided by bamboo wind chimes and shells decorating the trees. There are regular BBQs, happy hour from 6 pm to 8 pm, and the bar has a variety of cocktails.

4. Tao Kombo. Popular bar run by French Bob with a chilled vibe, lounge tunes, cocktails and a pool table. Tuck into fine Italian and Indonesian cuisine here too.

5. Villa Nautilus. Come here for breakfast, a sandwich, pasta, or a pizza from a wood-fired oven.

6. Malia’s Child. You’ll eat well here, with tasty Indonesian food and pizza served either on an upper terrace with fine views or on one of the seaside beruga.

Hotels, Activities and Things to Do in Gili Air’s Lombok

2011-12-10T09:25:00.000-08:00

gili air;s island

gili air's beach

This is little information that might important during visiting gili air’s. Some of this information may be slightly different with the reality on the gili itself, but overall I’m sure it’s still the same. The closest to the mainland is Gili Air’s easy-going appeal contrasts with party-boy Gili Trawangan and Gili Meno. The island retains a distinctly rural character, its coconut grove–filled, flat landscape juxtaposed with dramatic views of Gunung Rinjani and, on a clear day, Gunung Agung in Bali. The slim white-sand beaches, turquoise water and laid-back atmosphere are the main draw, but in high season the bar scene can get quite lively. Gili Air is the most heavily populated of the three islands, yet this still amounts to just 1800 or so inhabitants.

The easiest way to get to gili air’s is using a Boats stop at the southern end of the island, near the jetty; we can buy the ticket to the island in the Koperasi, which open at 8 am - 5.30 pm. This koperasi has a hut here with prices marked clearly outside. Virtually all accommodation and restaurants are on the east and south coasts, which have the best beaches for swimming. The network of dirt tracks that crisscrosses the island can get quite confusing at times. To explore Air its simplest to follow the coastal path around the island – it’s a lovely walk that takes about an hour and a half.

Activities that mostly we do during in gili air’s is:

1. Snorkeling and diving, you’ll find diverse marine life and great snorkeling all along the east coast. Beach access is easy and gear can be hired from Ozzy’s Shop for Rp 45.000 a day. Check with dive center first about currents, as sometimes they can be extremely strong. Ozzy’s Shop also operates glass-bottomed boat tours, which cost per person Rp 80.000, with minimum 4 people in one trip around all three islands. There are several good scuba diving sites a short boat ride away. Gili Air has two dive schools, Blue Marlin Dive Center and Dream Divers.

2. Surfing, directly off the southern tip of the island there’s a long, peeling right-hand break. To rent a board, ask around in the dive schools.

3. Cycling, ozzy’s Shop has bikes for hire, it cost Rp 40,000 a day. Exploring the island by bike is a delight, though sandy tracks can make the going a bit tough, and you’re sure to end up in someone’s back yard at times due to the unmarked trails.

While we are in Gili air’s, for sure we also need place to stay, eat, and drink and also place to hang out and enjoy the local entertainment. This is some place that you can try and I recommend a few places here:

Hotels or Cottage:

1. Gili Air Santay Cottage. The price is around Rp 100,000 to Rp 150,000. Set back from the beach in a quiet coconut grove, these spacious bamboo and- timber huts are just above the bog standard category, all coming with hammocks, fans and fairly modern bathrooms.

2. Sunrise Cottages & Restaurant. The price of room is about Rp 140.000 to Rp 200.000. A class above the real cheapies, this efficiently run place has rustic two-storey lumbung-style bungalows with bathroom and separate living area, with day bed and hammock. The accommodation is well spaced and sits at the rear of a pretty garden.

3. Coconut Cottages. The price of room is around Rp 200.000 to Rp 300.000. A delightful, welcoming Indo-Scottish–owned place with a selection of atmospheric accommodation spread around a fecund, well-tended garden. Some of the well-maintained cottages have shell-inlaid decorative detailing; all have good quality mattresses, bamboo furniture and bedside reading lights. There’s a fine restaurant here too, right, and books for sale or rent.

4. Gili Indah Hotel. This is a midrange hotel. The price of room is around Rp 350.000 to Rp 700.000. Conveniently close to the jetty, this well-run hotel has a variety of good, well-constructed bungalows, all with hot-water bathrooms. The best also have air-conditioner and huge front decks with expansive sea views.

5. Hotel Gili Air, this is also a midrange hotel with the price of room around Rp 300.000 to Rp Rp 800.000. Setting itself up as the island’s ‘proper’ hotel, this place offers four classes of digs – from rustic-but-comfy huts to international hotel-chain-style rooms with marble bathrooms, attractive wood furniture and laminate floors. The pool is small and the gardens look neglected however.

Places to Eat and Drink:

1. Abdi Fantastik Resto. Come here for some of the best Sasak food on the island at fair prices; try the pelecing kangkung or spicy water spinach. Coconut Cottages an inventively prepared menu that combines Western and Indonesian dishes, you’ll dine well in this pleasant Cottage restaurant. Try the fantastic Sasak buffet, at Rp 80,000Rp person, served every Wednesday night in high season.

2. Santay Café. Perch yourself on a beachside table, soak up the views of Gunung Rinjani and tuck into a sandwich, a good pumpkin and coconut curry, or satay.

3. Warung Sasak. Dine well here, by the waves, under pretty shell lanterns. It’s one of the best places to eat fish and seafood.

4. Blue Marlin Café. The best bet for Western food, the kitchen here serves up a mean burger as well as pasta, sandwiches, stick-to-yer-ribs breakfasts, and some Indonesian dishes.

5. Star Bar. Open at 3 pm till late. This bar is located next to the Blue Marlin; this little bar’s trump card is Azam, the resident trickster barman.

6. Chill Out Bar, open at 2 pm until 2 am, popular with visitors and locals, it has a good selection of spirits and cocktails.

7. Gita Gili Bar, open at 11am till 1 am. A friendly bar where you can request a DVD to watch while you sink a cold one.

8. And other bars like Hallelujah Bar, Legend Pub.

A few notes from me, dining out in Gili Air is a treat, with an array of simple places serving Indonesian and Western dishes, many located right by the sea – there’s nothing fancy though. Beware – service can be slow.

Best Place to Surf in Bali Part II

2011-12-08T03:49:00.000-08:00

ulu watu

continued from my previous post. this is some more recommended place to surf in bali

Nusa Lembongan

nusa lembongan

In the Nusa Penida group, this island is separated from the southeast coast of Bali by the Badung Strait. The strait is very deep and generates huge swells that break over the reefs off the northwest coast of Lembongan. Shipwreck, clearly visible from the beach, is the most popular break, a longish right that gets a good barrel at mid tide with a 5ft swell. A bit to the south, Lacerations is a very fast, hollow right breaking over a very shallow reef – hence the name. Still further south is a smaller, more user friendly left-hander called Playground. Remember that Lembongan is best with an easterly wind, as are Kuta and Ulu Watu, so it’s dry-season surfing.

Padang Padang

padang padang

Just Padang for short, this super shallow, left-hand reef break is just north of Ulu Watu towards Kuta. Again, check this place carefully before venturing out. It’s a very demanding break that only works over about 6ft from mid- to high tide – it’s a great place to watch from the cliff top. If you can’t surf tubes, backhand or forehand, don’t go out: Padang is a tube. After a ledges take-off, you power along the bottom before pulling up into the barrel. So far so good, now for the tricky part. The last section turns inside out like a washing machine on fast-forward. You have to drive high through this section, all the time while in the tube. Don’t worry if you fail to negotiate this trap, plenty of other surfers have been caught too. After this, the wave fills up and you flick off. Not a wave for the faint-hearted and definitely not a wave to surf when there’s a crowd.

Sanur

sanur

Sounds exciting! Sanur Reef has a hollow wave with excellent barrels. It’s fickle, and doesn’t even start till you get a 6ft swell, but anything over 8ft material. There are other reefs further offshore and most of them are surfable. Hyatt Reef, over 2km from shore, has a shifty right peak that can give a great ride at full tide. Closer in, opposite the Sanur Beach Market, Tanjung Sari gives long left rides at low tide with a big swell, while Tanjung Right can be a very speedy wall on a big swell. The classic right is off the Grand Bali Beach Hotel.

Serangan

serangan

The abortive development at Pulau Serangan or Turtle Island entailed huge earthworks at the southern and eastern sides of the island, and this has made the surf here much more consistent, though the landfill looks like a disaster. The causeway has made the island much more accessible, and several warung face the water, where waves break right and left in anything over a 3ft swell.

Ulu Watu

ulu watu

When Kuta Reef is 5ft to 6ft, Ulu Watu, the most famous surfing break on Bali, will be 6ft to 8ft with bigger sets. Kuta and Legian sit on a huge bay – Ulu Watu is way out on the southern extremity of the bay, and consequently picks up more swell than Kuta. It’s about a half-hour journey from downtown Kuta by private transport. Teluk Ulu Watu or Ulu Watu Bay is a great setup for surfers – local boys will wax your board, get drinks for you and carry the board down into the cave, which is the usual access to the wave. There are warung and nearby there are cheap basic accommodation. Ulu Watu has about seven different breaks. The Corner is straight in front of you to the right. It’s a fast-breaking, hollow left that holds about 6ft. The reef shelf under this break is extremely shallow, so try to avoid falling headfirst. At high tide, the Peak starts to work. This is good from 5ft to 8ft, with bigger waves occasionally right on the Peak itself. You can take off from this inside part or further down the line. It’s a great wave. At low tide, if the swell isn’t huge, go further south to the Racetrack, which is a whole series of bowls. At low tide when the swell is bigger, Outside Corner starts operating; fur their out from the Racetrack. This is a tremendous break and on a good day you can surf one wave for hundreds of maters. The wall here on a 10ft wave jacks up with a big drop and bottom turn, then the bowl section. After this it becomes a big workable face. You can usually get tubed only in the first section. When surfing this break you need a board with length, otherwise you won’t be getting down the face of any of the amazing waves. Another left runs off the cliff that forms the southern flank of the bay. It breaks outside this in bigger swells, and once it’s 7ft, a left-hander pitches right out in front of a temple on the southern extremity. Out behind the Peak, when it’s big, is a bombora or submerged reef appropriately called the Bommie. This is another big left-hander and it doesn’t start operating until the swell is about 10ft. On a normal 5ft to 8ft day there are also breaks south of the Peak. One is a very fast left, and is also very hollow, usually only ridden by goofy-footers, due to its speed. Observe where other surfers paddle out and follow them. If you are in doubt, ask someone. It is better having some knowledge than none at all. Climb down into the cave and paddle out from there. When the swell is bigger you will be swept to your right. Don’t panic, it is an easy matter to paddle around the white water from down along the cliff. Coming back in you have to aim for the cave. When the swell is bigger, come from the southern side of the cave as the current runs to the north. If you miss the cave, paddle out again and repeat the procedure.

Best Place to Surf in Bali Part I

2011-12-08T02:04:00.000-08:00

nusa dua beach

Bali is the heaven for the surfer around the world with only two seasons and beautiful beach around the cost, make people always interest to come in all years. There is a lot of international surfing championship is held by ripcurl, around 3 times in a year. No wonder there is also a lot of local surfer becomes professional surfer. Swells come from the Indian Ocean, so the surf is on the southern side of the island and, strangely, on the northwest coast of Nusa Lembongan, where the swell funnels into the strait between there and the Bali coast. In the dry season around April to September, the west coast has the best breaks, with the trade winds coming in from the southeast; this is also when Nusa Lembongan works best. In the wet season, surf the eastern side of the island, from Nusa Dua around to Padangbai. If there’s a north wind – or no wind at all – there are also a couple of breaks on the south coast of Bukit Peninsula.

Balangan

balangan beach

Go through growing Pecatu Indah resort and follow the road around to the right past Dreamland to reach the Balangan warung food stall. Balangan is a fast left over a shallow reef, unsurfable at low tide, good at mid tide with anything over a 4ft swell; with an 8ft swell, this can be one of the classic waves.

Balian

balian beach

There are a few peaks near the mouth of Sungai Balian, here is often murky because the river can carry a lot of pollution. Look for the Taman Rekreasi Indah Soka, along the main road, just west of Lalang-Linggah. The best break here is an enjoyable and consistent left-hander that works well at mid- to high tide if there’s no wind. North of Padang and accessible by road, this spot can now get crowded. It’s best at mid tide with a 6ft swell, when it manufactures short but perfect left-hand barrels.

Canggu

canggu beach

North of Kuta-Legian-Seminyak, on the northern extremity of the bay, Canggu has a nice white beach and a few surfers. The peak breaks over a ‘soft’ rock ledge well, it’s softer than coral. An optimum size for Canggu is 5ft to 6ft. There’s a good right-hander that you can really hook into, which works at full tide, and what the surf writer Peter Neely calls ‘a sucky left ledge that tubes like Ulu watu but without the coral cuts’, which works from mid tide.

Dreamland (one of my favorite beach)

dreamland

You have to go through Pecatu Indah resort and past the water-sucking golf course to reach this spot, which can also get crowded. At low 5ft swell, this solid peak offers a short, sharp right and a longer more tubular left. There’s quite a good scene here and cheap places to stay. Impossible Just north of Padang Padang/opposite, this outside reef break has three shifting peaks with fast left-hand tube sections that can join up if the conditions are perfect at low tide, 5ft swell, but don’t stay on for too long, or you’ll run out of water.

Ketewel & Lebih

ketewel beach

These two beaches are northeast of Sanur, and access is easy from the new coast road. They’re both right-hand beach breaks, which are dodgy at low tide and close out over 6ft. Most likely there are other breaks along this coast all the way to Padangbai, but they need a big swell to make them work.

Kuta Area

kuta beach

For your first plunge into the warm Indian Ocean, try the beach breaks at Kuta Beach; on full tide go out near the life-saving club at the southern end of the beach road. At low tide, try the tubes around Halfway Kuta, probably the best place in Bali for beginners to practise. Start at the beach breaks if you are a bit rusty. The sand here is fine and packed hard, so it can hurt when you hit it. Treat even these breaks with respect. They provide zippering left and right barrels over shallow banks and can be quite a lot of fun. Further north, the breaks at Legian Beach can be pretty powerful, with lefts and rights on the sand bars off Jl Melasti and Jl Padma. At Kuta and Legian you will encounter most of the local Balinese surfers. And again further north, there are more beach breaks off Seminyak, such as the Oberoi, near the hotel of the same name. The sea here is fickle and can have dangerous rip tides – take a friend. For more serious stuff, go to the reefs south of the beach breaks, about a kilometre out to sea. Kuta Reef, a vast stretch of coral, provides a variety of waves. You can paddle out in around 20 minutes, but the easiest way is by boat, for a fee. The main break is a classic left-hander, best at mid- to high tide with a 5ft to 6ft swell, when it peels across the reef and has a beautiful inside tube section; the first part is a good workable wave. Over 7ft it tends to double up and section. The reef is well suited for backhand surfing. Unfortunately it’s not surfable at dead-low tide, but you can get out there not long after the tide turns. The locals can advise you if necessary. It gets very crowded here, but if conditions are good there’s another, shorter left, 50m further south along the reef, which usually has fewer surfers.

Medewi

medewi beach

Further along the south coast of western Bali is a softer left called Medewi – it’s a point break that can give a long ride right into the river mouth. This wave has a big drop, which fills up then runs into a workable inside section. It’s worth surfing if you feel like something different, but to catch it you need to get up early, because it gets blown out as the wind picks up. It works best at mid- to high tide with a 6ft swell. There’s accommodation.

Nusa Dua

nusa dua

During the wet season you should surf on the east side of the island, where there are some very fine reef breaks. The reef off the Nusa Dua has very consistent swells. The main break is 1km off the beach to the south of Nusa Dua – go past the golf course and look for the whole row of warung and some boats to take you out. There are lefts and rights that work well on a small swell at low to mid tide. On bigger days, take a longer board and go further out, where powerful peaks offer long-rides, fat tubes and lots of variety. Further north, in front of the Club Med, is a fast, barreling right reef break called Sri Lanka, which works best at mid tide and can handle swells from 6ft to 10ft.

continued to Part II

Recommended Hotel in Senggigi Lombok

2011-12-05T06:05:00.001-08:00

jayakarta hotel

interior sheraton hotel lombok

There is a lot of hotel in senggigi and around. But this is only a few that I can found and it worth to try. I choose this hotel, because the location of this hotel is not too far. This is some of those hotel from budget to upper scale hotel.

Budget

1. Hotel Elen

This hotel offers a quadrangle of smallish, cheap, if not very cheerful rooms; those with air-con are a little better presented. Prepare yourself for a double-barreled early morning wake-up call from the two local mosques, Mesjid Mosque and New Mosque. Price of room for non-air conditioner is Rp 110.000. Room with air conditioner is about Rp 160.000 per night without breakfast.

2. Raja’s Bungalows

The price range between Rp 140.000 – Rp 180.000 per night. A welcoming, bohemian guesthouse that’s popular with travellers, Raja’s has inviting, spotless rooms with high ceilings, bamboo furniture and zany outdoor bathrooms with small bathtub and showers. There’s plenty of communal chilling space, a few books to browse and veggie meals Rp 9000 to Rp 14,000 are offered.

3. Lina Cottages

price between Rp 130.000 to Rp 170.000. this cottage have a sea view room with price Rp 300.000 per nitght. Occupying pole position right on the beach, Lina is a good choice with a variety of rooms, the cheapies on the small side and fan-only; all have verandas. There’s an adjoining Indo-Chinese restaurant. Café Wayan for a breakfast Rp 100,000 to Rp 150,000 At the rear of the café, these four stylish rooms, tastefully furnished with beautiful ikat fabrics and Balinese artifacts and with large bathtubs, enjoy a peaceful location overlooking a blossoming garden.

MIDRANGE

1. Batu Bolong Cottages

price of room including breakfast around Rp 250.000 to Rp 450.000. This place, located southof central Senggigi, has good-value, spacious rooms with fridges and Balinese artifacts facing a dawned beachfront plot, with the waves just beyond. It’s cheaper digs facing a garden on the other side of the road are looking a little tired however.

2. Hotel Jayakarta Lombok

jayakarta hotel

it’s a bit expansive than batu bolong cottage but with greater view and room. Price of hotels room between R 450.000 to Rp 600.000. This Indonesian chain hotel, 5km south of central Senggigi offers competitive rates on its comfortable air-con rooms with bathtubs, minibars and sea views. There’s a beachfront setting, extensive grounds, a spa, and a large pool.

3. Mascot Cottages

This is a very new renovated cottage, with the price of room between Rp 350.000 to Rp 475.000 and it’s already including with breakfast. this place has air-con bungalows set in a garden that extends towards the beach.

TOP END

1. Senggigi Beach Hotel

senggigi beach hotel

Room price is start from Rp 800.000 and Rp 1.200.000 to Rp 1.600.000 for a bungalows. These classy detached bungalows enjoy a beautiful setting in lush gardens set back from the beach, though only No. rooms 105 and 106 have direct sea views. There’s a large pool that’s well situated close to the shore, a spa and tennis courts in the complex.

2. Sheraton Beach Resort and Spa

sheraton lombok

It’s a quite expensive hotel but it’s worth for a world class hotel like Sheraton. Price of room starts from Rp 1.700.000. Just north of the center this fine hotel has commodious rooms, all with terraces or balconies. There’s a palm fringed swimming pool and a kids’ pool, two restaurants and a well-regarded spa and health club. If we’re lucky we can get Discounts for room per night is around Rp 800.000.

Overview Gili Islands in Lombok

2011-12-05T05:39:00.001-08:00

gili meno

gili trawangan

Just off the northwest coast of Lombok is a vision of tropical paradise – a trio of tiny coral-fringed islands, each with white sandy beaches and pellucid water teeming with a kaleidoscopic array of reef fish. For years the islands of Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan were a budget-priced stopover for travellers on the Asian trail, but recently, accommodation options have diversified and now there are luxury villas and rustic chic bungalows dotted between the simple bambooand- thatch huts for rent. Delightfully free of cars and motorcycles, the only traffic on the Gilis is the tinkling cidomo (pony cart) and the odd bicycle. All three islands have professional scuba diving centres, and the snorkelling is excellent too. Each Gili has its own character and charm: Trawangan has a big party scene and Meno is very mellow, with Gili Air falling somewhere between the two in terms of atmosphere.

There are no banks on the Gilis and moneychanger exchange rates at the shops and hotels are dire. Credit card cash advances are available through many dive operators, although a 7% commission is charged. It’s better to change money in Mataram or Senggigi or use the ATMs there. Try to bring as many small denomination notes as possible, as there’s often a problem changing the bigger notes.

There are no police on any of the Gilis, so report any theft to the island village head if you need help locating them, or need someone to help you translate, the dive schools are a good point of contact. If you are on Gili Trawangan, notify Satgas, the community organisation that runs island affairs, via your hotel or dive center. Satgas uses its community contacts to resolve problems or track down stolen property with a minimum of fuss. Touts often meet boats as they land, and they can be quick to take your luggage, plus you, to the place of their choice. If you want to stay in a particular place, don’t let a tout convince you that it’s full, expensive, closed, or doesn’t exist. Incidents are rare, but several foreign women have experienced sexual harassment and even assault while on the Gilis – it’s best to walk home in pairs to the quieter parts of the islands. Each island has a gaggle of local Kuta cowboy–style gigolos who compete to impress and seduce visiting Western women, and can get very territorial with other males that they see as competition. Jellyfish are common when strong winds blow from the mainland, and they can leave a painful rash.

Getting There to gili islands

From Bali, most people either use the Perama tourist bus and boat service via Padangbai and Senggigi; or, fly to Mataram and travel on from there. Coming from other parts of Lombok you can travel via Senggigi there are direct Perama boats to the Gilis from here; via Bangsal the cheapest route or book a shuttle bus or speed boat. Blue Marlin and Manta Dive on Gili Trawangan can arrange transfers Rp 125,000 to Rp 250,000 per person, depending on destination and passenger numbers. All the above use the idyllic harbour of Teluk Nare, south of Bangsal. Coming by public transport, catch a bus or bemo to Pemenang, from where it’s about 1km by cidomo it’s only Rp 3000 to Bangsal harbour. Boat tickets are sold at the Koperasi harbor office, where the prices are displayed – the public boats roughly 8 am to 5 pm and the boat don’t leave until full about 18 people. While it can take hours for the boat to Gili Meno to fill up, you shouldn’t have to wait more than an hour for the other two islands. The one-way fares at the time of research were Rp 10.000 to Gili Air, Rp 12.000 to Gili Meno and Rp 16.000 to Gili Trawangan, though expect steep price rises because of escalating fuel costs. Special charters can also be organized in Bangsal. All boats pull up on the beach when they get to the Gilis, so you’ll have to wade ashore with your luggage.

review about kuta and legian in bali

2011-11-27T23:39:00.000-08:00

sunset in kuta

Most of people that already visit bali or Lombok often think kuta as the first taught, yup that true because kuta is the center of life for a traveler in bali. Kuta is not really good at the view or landmark but this is the place that never die in bali. Even after bomb is happens in bali. People from many countries still come and try their beautiful beach and their white sand. This is the heaven of the surfer around the globe.

Mention Bali and people often first think of Kuta. Hot, loud, frenetic and crowded are some of the adjectives you can use to describe the place. And just north in Legian, it’s almost the same, only a little less so. South of Kuta, Tuban heaves with a huge mall but elsewhere is more subdued. But if images of tourism gone mad are what you picture with Kuta and Legian, then you also need to understand that their amazing strength – and it is singular – is the beach. The stretch of Kuta Beach, which for most people also includes Legian Beach, is one fine crescent of surf and sand. And everything here derives from it. You can cut loose in hedonistic surf bars, eat at cheap and tasty restaurants aimed at the masses, stay in back-alley losmen it’s like small, often family-run hotels that are a steal at under US$20 a night, chill out at one of the many surfside hotels, shop for beachwear and much, much more. Kuta and Legian may not be pretty but they’re not dull. And amidst the rampant commercialism, you’ll see the odd offering, a gentle smile and even the echo of a gamelan. And as frantic as the trio of neighborhoods seems, a detour down a small alley can quickly transport you to a quiet and unhurried area.

The historical of bali is start from Mads Lange, a Danish copra trader and 19 thcentury adventurer, set up a successful trading enterprise near modern-day Kuta in 1839. He mediated profitably between local rajahs and the Dutch, who were encroaching from the north. His business soured in the 1850s, and he died suddenly, just as he was about to return to Denmark. It’s thought that his death may have been the result of poisoning by potential competitors. His tomb is on his home site just west of the night market. Much to the annoyance of the Dutch Resident, Bob and Louise Koke’s Kuta Beach Hotel thrived in the 1930s. The guests, mostly from Europe and the US, were housed in thatched bungalows built in an idealized Balinese style (the Resident called them ‘filthy native huts’). After WWII, both Westerners and Balinese built their own hotels along the beach, although most visitors were still wealthy travellers who arrived from abroad on ocean liners. Kuta really began to change in the late 1960s, when it became a stop on the hippy trail between Australia and Europe. At first, most visitors stayed in Denpasar and made day trips to Kuta. But as more accommodation opened, by the early 1970s Kuta had relaxed losmen in pretty gardens, friendly places to eat and a delightfully laid-back atmosphere. Surfers also arrived, enjoying the waves at Kuta and using it as a base to explore the rest of Bali’s coastline. Enterprising Indonesians seized the opportunity to profit from the tourist trade, often in partnership with foreigners seeking a pretext to stay longer. Legian, the village to the north, sprang up as an alternative to Kuta in the mid-1970s. At first, it was a totally separate development, but these days you can’t tell where one ends and the other begins. With an economy completely dependent on mass tourism, especially from Australia, the downturn in tourism after the 2002 and 2005 bombings has been felt here more than any other part of Bali.

The Kuta region is a disorienting place. It’s flat, with few landmarks or signs, and streets and alleys that are crooked and often walled on one or both sides so it feels like a maze. Traffic is terrible and walking is often the quickest way to get around, although scooters speeding down narrow gang can cause peril. Busy Legian Road runs roughly parallel to the beach from Kuta north into Seminyak. At the southern end is Bemo Corner, a small roundabout at the junction with Kuta Beach Road. This one-way street runs west from Bemo Corner and then north along the beach to Melasti Road. Together, these are the main roads, although traffic and numerous one-way traffic restrictions will still have you tearing at your hair. Between Legian Road and the beach is a tangle of narrow streets, tracks and alleys, with a hodgepodge of tiny hotels, souvenir stalls, warung (food stalls), building construction sites and even a few coconut palms. Most of the bigger shops, restaurants and low-rent nightspots are along Legian Road and the main streets that head towards the beach. There are also tons of travel agents, souvenir shops, banks, moneychangers, motorcycle and car-rental outlets, postal agencies, public telephone office and internet cafés – all the holiday-maker needs are here. North of Melasti Road, Kuta merges into Legian, which has almost as many tourist businesses and only slightly less traffic. North of Double Six Road or Arjuna, Legian becomes Seminyak, with its cool nightspots and great shopping. Somewhere south along Kartika Plaza Road, Kuta merges with Tuban, which has several beach resorts, a huge mall and a fair amount of low-key life.

Western Lombok: Senggigi

2011-11-22T01:11:00.000-08:00

senggigi beach

Brilliantly located coupled a new expand involving mopping bays, Senggigi can be Lombok’s major beach front location. Overnight accommodation this is normally exceptional value, while high-class motels get slashed charges in an attempt to bring in travelers next numerous hard several years. If you do not pay a visit to throughout optimum time, count on tranquil dining establishments along with unfilled places, nevertheless a good amount of awareness through the block hawkers. Senggigi features okay sand beach locations, in addition to being sunshine sinks, most sight convert western side draw in your blood-red sunsets around Bali that could be liked via one of several seafront dining establishments. Mainly because it becomes darker, your sportfishing fleet collections way up overseas, your brilliant lanterns glinting as being a sailing small town resistant to the nighttime atmosphere.

senggigi beach

Senggigi area spans about 10 km of coastal road. Most of the shops and other facilities, and a fair concentration of hotels, are on the main road, Senggigi Raya Street, which starts about 6 km north of Ampenan. Street numbers are not used in Senggigi. Some place that maybe used to get more information it is easily to find around the main road of senggigi. Such as police station it is location next to Pasar seni or Sheraton Hotel. Medical Clinic which opens every day since 7 am in the morning until 7 pm in the evening. Internet cafe and telephone is also located in main road of senggigi sometime you can get a lot of hot spot area around café in senggigi. There is only a few of bank in senggigi such as Bank Central Asia and Bank National Indonesia. Both of those banks have ATMs that operate for 24 hours.

A number of places that we could pay attention to visit on a trip for you to senggigi can be Batu Bolong Temple. This can be Balinese Temple along with you will find there's smaller pagoda in the top in the gemstone incline. Price for you to going into this specific part of this Batu Bolong is definitely by simply donation. This specific temple can be wide open in 7 are - 7 pm. embrace to your rocky volcanic outcrop that will juts in the seashore with regards to only 2 kilometers southerly involving core Senggigi. Crabs scuttle around statues along with people occur below for you to goody along with cool-down with the beach front right down below. Your temple can be orientated in direction of Gunung Agung, Bali’s holiest huge batch, and is also a new desired location to observe your sundown. Your good ole' beneath temple carries a pure opening which gives the idea their brand - batu bolong practically named rock that hole.

Most of the time, all the traveler spent their time in senggigi by Snorkeling and diving. There’s reasonable snorkeling off the point in Senggigi, in the sheltered bay around the headland, and in front of Windy Cottages, a few kilometres north of the town. You can rent snorkeling gear for only Rp75.000 per day from several spots along the beach near Senggigi Beach Hotel. Diving trips from Senggigi normally visit the Gili Islands, so you may want to consider basing yourself there. Professional dive centers include the following place Blue Marlin located in Senggigi Raya Street and also in Holiday Resort Lombok. In the Galleria Mall there is Dream Divers.

Budget Hotel and Midrange Hotel in Mataram Lombok

2011-11-21T11:12:00.000-08:00

Lombok Raya Hotel

Mataram may be the first city that we will find before we continue our journey to many part of Lombok. So it is important to know where and which hotel that we can stay around Mataram. This is a few list Hotel that mostly available around Cakranegara, from minimum Budget Hotel until Midrange Hotel.

Budget Hotel:

1. Hotel Kerta Yoga

This Hotel Located in Pejanggik Street No.64 Mataram. It is already including with Breakfast. The room price without Air Conditioner Rp 80.000 to Rp 100.000. Rooms with Air Conditioner is about Rp 200.000 to Rp 250.000.Hotel Kerta Yoga is new place with pleasant, spotless rooms with air-con, good mattresses, clothes rails and private bathroom. The fan only rooms are much rougher and a last resort only. This Hotel located next to the Perama office.

2. Hotel Karthika II

Located on Subak Street No.1 Cakranegara. Price of room with fan only Rp 150.000 and with Air Conditioner Rp 200.000. all the room is already include with Breakfast. Design of this hotel is like a Balinese temple compound, this excellent-value place has squeaky clean, if slightly garishly presented tiled rooms with modern bathrooms that all have verandas. There’s a simple parking area.

3. Hotel Handika

Hotel Handika is located in Panca Usaha Street No. 3 Cakranegara. Room with fan Rp 100.000 to Rp 120.000. Price of superior room with air conditioner is Rp 150.000 to 170.000, and the price of Deluxe Room with air conditioner is Rp 200.000 to 225.000. All the room price is including breakfast already. Hotel Handika is exactly located Behind the Mataram Mall, this hotel has an array of idiosyncratic rooms, some with slightly alarming carved-eagle bed frames, in five price categories.

4. Ganesha Inn

Located on Subak Street No.2 Cakranegara. The price of room is very cheap, is around Rp 75.000 to Rp 100.000. This Guesthouse is well-presented and good value rooms and cold water bathrooms.

5. Hotel Melati Viktor

Located on Abimanyu Street No. 1 Cakranegara. The price of room is quite competitive is around Rp 90.000 to Rp 120.000. the other type of room is Rp 150.000 to Rp 200.000 (air conditioner and hot water)all rom is include breakfast. This is a smart, clean, tiled rooms and bathrooms.

Midrange Hotel:

1. Nitour Hotel fax (+62370) 625328

Located on Yos Sudarso Street No.4 Cakranegara. All the room is already include with breakfast and air conditioner. The price of room is vary, from Rp 300.000 to 400.000. this Hotel is very Welcome, but the accommodation, scattered among random patches of garden, is looking a bit jaded, with an assortment of mismatched furnishings.

2. Hotel Sahid Legi (email: sahid@mataram.wasantara.net.id)

sahid legi hotel

Hotel Sahid Legi is located on Sriwijaya Street No.81 Mataram. Price of room is around Rp 450.000 to Rp 600.000. Price of room is already including with breakfast. This Hotel is Swish hotel that marries modern and Indonesian design influences. It offers the most comfortable base in town with well-appointed rooms, three restaurants and a circular pool surrounded by lush gardens and expansive lawns.

3. Hotel Lombok Raya (email: lora@mataram.wasantara.net.id)

lombok raya hotel

This Hotel located on Panca Usaha Street No.11 Mataram. The room price is around 425.000 to Rp 550.000 and already include with breakfast. This Hotel centrally-situated hotel has spacious, comfortable rooms. Its decor is on the bland side of beige but all rooms have balconies and mod cons including multi channeled TV. Escape the city heat in the large pool or spa. This Hotel easily find behind of the Mataram Mall.

This is a few hotel that not very expensive around Mataram city and easily find using local transport or taxi.

Western Lombok Mataram and Around

2011-11-21T08:46:00.000-08:00

City of Mataram

Mataram is the first part of Lombok that Most travellers who visit spend some time in the western part of the island, not only because the airport Mataram and the main port Lembar for ferries to and from Bali are here. It’s the most populous part of Lombok, with the largest urban area centered on the Mataram conurbation, as well as the biggest tourist resort: the Senggigi beach strip. There are a number of attractive villages around Mataram, as well as some stunning coastal areas on the southwest peninsula. The capital, and main city on Lombok, is Mataram, although it’s actually a conglomeration of several separate towns – Ampenan the old port; Mataram administrative center; Cakranegara business center, which is often shortened to Cakranegara; and Bertais and Sweta to the east, home to the bus terminal. This urban area contains over a million people and stretches more than 10 km from east to west. It’s not an unattractive place, and has some broad tree-lined avenues, but as sights is slim on the ground, and as there are beaches close by at Senggigi, very few visitors choose to stay here.

Orientation of the four towns is spread along one main road – which is connecting Ampenan with Mataram and continues with Cakranegara and all the way to Sweta. We can get all the information about the town such as emergency police station in langko street if it realy urgunt you can dial 110. Public hospital which is place in Pejanggik Street Number 6 this is the best hospital in Lombok. They also have English speaking doctor and special attention for tourist service from 24 hours.

In mataram you can also find many internet café around Mataram Mall, Daddy Café and also around the school or university. In many place in Mataram you can also find ATMs center along the main road of mataram. Most of them will also change cash as well as traveller’s check. Most of Bank in Mataram they will open since 8 am to 5 pm. Monday to Friday. It is the best way to get money is while you are in the airport you can choose any ATMs that suite you.

some sightseeing place that you can visit while in Mataram is:

MUSEUM NEGERI NUSA TENGGARA BARAT

museum NTB

This is modern museum which is located in Panji Tilar Negara Street Number 6; admission charge for a person about Rp 2500 opening Museum is since 8 am – 2 pm Tuesday to Thursday and Saturday to Sunday, but in Friday they just open since 8 am to11am. This Museum has exhibits on the geology, history and culture of Lombok and Sumbawa. If you intend on buying antiques or handicrafts, take a look at the Lombok kris it is traditional daggers of indonesia, songket it is special handmade cloth from Lombok and basket ware and masks for comparison.

MAYURA WATER PALACE

mayura water palace

This palace located in Selaparang Street; admission charge it is only Rp 2000 if requested; this Palce Open early in the morning at 7 am until 7.30 pm, Mayura Water Palace was built in 1744, and once part of the Balinese kingdom’s royal court on Lombok. It’s a pleasant retreat now, popular with fishermen and families, but in 1894 it was the site of bloody battles between the Dutch and Balinese. The complex contains a large artificial lake, with a modest replica of a bale kambang or floating pavilion in its center of artificial lake, connected to the shoreline by a raised footpath. The original pavilion was a court of justice. You’ll find that at the entrance to the walled enclosure of the palace is on the western side, of Selaparang Street.

PURA MERU

pura meru

On the Opposite of the Mayura Water Palace, there is Pura Meru. We can visit this pura with admission only by donation and it is up to you. Pura Meru is always open every day at 8 am -5 pm, Pura Meru is the largest temple on Lombok. Which is built in 1720 by Balinese prince Anak Agung Made Karang of the Singosari kingdom in an attempt to unite Lombok, it’s dedicated to the Hindu trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. The outer courtyard has a hall housing the wooden drums that are beaten to call believers to ceremonies when June full moon is the most important of these Pura. The inner court has one large and 33 small shrine and as well as three Meru or multi roofed shrines, which are in a line to the central Meru, with 11 tiers, it is Shiva’s house; the Meru to the north, with 9 tiers, is Vishnu’s; and the 7 tiers Meru to the south is Brahma’s. Pura Meru are also said to represent the three great mountains, Rinjani, Agung and Bromo. The caretaker will lend you a sash and sarong if you need one.

lombok: alternative track of rinjani mountain

2011-11-16T11:16:00.000-08:00

Based on article that I post before, there are view alternative route to the top of Rinjani Mountain. Here is the few possible variations route to the top of Rinjani Mountain. They’re outlined here:

1. Compress the last 2 days into one (racking up a hefty 10 to 11 hours on the trail). On the plus side it’s downhill all the way after the hard climb to the summit.

2. Retrace your steps to Senaru after climbing to the summit, making a 5-day circuit that includes another night at the hot springs.

3. Another popular route, because the trail is well defined and (if you’re experienced) can be trekked with only a porter, is a three-day trek from Senaru to the hot springs and back. The first night is spent at Post III and the second at the hot springs. The return to Senaru on the final day takes eight to 9 hours.

4. For almost instant gratification if you travel light and climb fast you can reach the crater rim from Senaru in about six hours. You’ll gain an altitude of approximately 2040m in 10km. Armed with a torch flashlight, some moonlight and a guide, set off at midnight to arrive for sunrise. The return takes about five hours.

5. If you reach Pelawangan I early in the day, consider taking a side trip along the crater rim, following it around to the east for about 3km to Sangkareang Mountain 2919m. This point overlooks the gap in the rim where the stream that comes from the hot springs flows out of the crater and northeast towards the sea. It’s not an easy walk, however, and the track is narrow and very exposed in places – if you do decide to give it a go, allow around two hours getting there and back.

6. Start trekking from Sembalun Lawang a guide is essential, from where it takes six or seven hours to get to Pelawangan II. This is a shorter walk to the rim than from Senaru, with only a 3 hour trek up the ridge.

lombok: rinjani mountain make you closer to your creator

2011-11-16T10:54:00.000-08:00

top of rinjani

climbing rinjani mountain is make you closer to the God, because you can see all the beautiful scene around the mountain since you stepping on the enterence of mountain. you can see volcanic rinjani segar anak crater and many thing and make you feel small in the front of God.

There are two most popular ways to climb Gunung Rinjani are a five-day trek that starts at Senaru and finishes at Sembalun Lawang, or a strenuous sprinkle from Senaru to the crater rim and back. Basic steps are essential from the hot springs to Sembalun Lawang, as the path is indistinct this trek is outlined on the Gunung Rinjani map. Another good map is the one from the Rinjani Trek Centre- it is large, in color, slick and easy to understand.

It’s often not possible to climb Rinjani during the wet season, particularly after heavy rainfall when the trail around the lake is very dangerous due to the threat of rock fall.

Day One: Senaru Post I to post III (Five to Six Hours)

rinjani track

At the southern part of end of the community is the Rinjani Trek Middle (Post I, 601m), where you register and pay the park fee. Just beyond the post, the trail forks: continue straight ahead on the right shell. The trail climbs steadily through scrubby farmland relating to around 30 minutes to the sign at the entrance to Gunung Rinjani National Park. The wide trail climbs for another 2½ hours if you do not reach Post II (1500m), where there’s a shelter. Water can be found 100m down the mountains from the trail, but it must be treated or boiled. Another 1½ hours’ steady walk uphill brings you to Post III (2000m), where there are another two shelters in disrepair. Water is 100m off the trail to the right, but sometimes evaporates in the dry season. Post III is usually the place to camp at the end of the first day.

Day Two: Post III to Danau Segara Anak & Aiq Kalak (Four Hours)

From Post III, it takes about 1½ hours to reach the rim, Pelawangan I, at an altitude of 2641m. Taking tripped very early for the stunning sunrise. It’s possible to camp at Pelawangan I, but there are drawbacks: level sites are limited, there’s no water and it can be very blustery. It takes about two hours to descend to Danau Segara Anak and around to the hot springs, Aiq Kalak. The first hour is a very steep descent and involves low-grade rock climbing in parts. From the bottom of the crater wall it’s an easy 30-minute walk across undulating ground around the lake’s edge. There are several places to camp, but most locals prefer to be near the hot springs to soak their careful bodies and get better. There are also some caves nearby which are interesting, but not used for shelter. The sweetest camp sites have the lake’s edge, and fresh water can be gathered from a spring near the hot springs. Some backpackers spend two nights if not more at the lake, but most who are returning to Senaru from here head back in the mail. The climb back up the rim is certainly hectic: allow at least three hours and start early to make it back to Senaru in one day. Allow five hours from the rim down to Senaru. Instead of retracing your steps, the best option is to complete the Rinjani trek by continuing to Sembalun Lawang and arranging transport back to Senaru.

Day Three: Aiq Kalak to Pelawangan II (Three to four Hours)

volcanic river

danau segaranak

The trail starts next to the last shelter at the hot springs and heads away from the lake relating to 100m before veering right. It then traverses the northern slope of the crater, and it’s an easy one-hour walk along the grassy mountains. It’s then the steep and constant climb; from the lake it takes about three hours to reach the crater rim (2639m). At the rim, a symptom points the way back to Danau Segara Anak. Water can be found down the slope near the sign. The trail forks here: go straight on to Lawang or continue along the rim to the camp site of Pelawangan II (2700m). It’s necessarily about 10 minutes more to the camp site which is on a bare shape.

Day Four: Pelawangan II to Rinjani Peak (Five to Six Hours Return)

relaxes on the top of rinjani

Gunung Rinjani stretches in an arc above the camp site at Pelawangan II and looks deceptively close. Start the climb at 3am in order to reach the peak in time for the sunrise and before the atmosphere roll in. It takes about 45 minutes to clamber up a steep, smooth and indistinct trail to the shape that leads to Rinjani. Once on the shape it’s a relatively easy walk uphill. After about an hour heading towards what looks like the peak, the real peak of Rinjani looms behind and podiums above you. The trail then gets steeper and steeper. About 350m before the peak, the scree comprises loose, fist-sized rocks: it’s much easier to go along by struggling on all fours. This section can take about an hour. The views from the top are truly magnificent on a clear day. The descent is much easier, but again, takes it easy on the screen. In total it takes three hours or more to reach the peak, and two to get go into reverse.

Day About: Pelawangan II to Sembalun Lawang (Five to Six Hours)

rinjani track down

After fighting the peak, it’s still possible to reach Lawang the same day. After having a two-hour Descent, it’s a long and hot three-hour walk back to the community. Head off early to avoid as much of the heat of the day as possible and make sure you’ve brought along plenty of water. From the camp site, head back along the ridge-crest trail. A couple of hundred metres beyond daylight hours turnoff to Danau Segara Anak there is a sign posted right turn leading down a part shape to Pada Balong and Sembalun Lawang. Once on the trail, it’s easy to follow and takes around two hours to reach the bottom. Towards the end of the shape (where you’ll find Pada Balong shelter; 1800m) the piste levels out and last longer than undulating to flat grassland entirely to Sembalun Lawang. After about an hour you will hit the Tengengean shelter (1500m); it’s then another half-hour to Pemantuan shelter (1300m). Early in the season, long sod obscures the trail until about half-hour beyond Pemantuan. The trail last longer than many connections; at the final bridge, just before it climbs uphill to a lone tree, the trail may seem to shell; take the right shell and climb the rise. From here, the piste follows the flank of Rinjani before moving around to Lawang at the end. Basic steps are essential for this area of the trip.

the temptation of lombok that you can't deny

2011-11-15T03:17:00.000-08:00

lombok island

Lombok is definitely an isle within Lower Sunda Island destinations or even Nusa Tenggara, dissociated through Lombok Strait through Bali within Westside as well as alas Strait within eastside through Sumbawa. This particular isle globular around having a type inch “tail", within south west the island aspect that around duration 70 km's. This particular isle broad reach’s 5435 kms², locations this from position 108 associated with isle checklist depending on broadness within globe. Primary city with this isle is actually Kota Mataram.

Only a brief jump eastern associated with Bali, Lombok is definitely an extremely varied isle associated with plentiful organic as well as social curiosity. Actually, it’s centered through the great existence associated with Gunung Rinjani (Mt Rinjani), the volcano that systems within the whole north 1 / 2 of the actual isle. Streams spilling lower it's fissured inclines drinking water the actual island’s plants (primarily grain, soya coffee beans, espresso as well as cigarettes), whilst it's smt -- filled with the stunning crater river (segaranak river) -- fishing lures each trekkers as well as nearby pilgrims, with regard to who Rinjani is really a holy maximum.

gili trawangan

Lombok’s additional crucial points of interest would be the legendary Gili Island destinations -- 3 beautiful exotic islets associated with white-sand seashores, coconut hands as well as barrier reefs teeming along with sea existence. Lodging right here operates the entire range: through no-frills seaside huts in order to uber fashionable air-conditioned modern resorts; and you will banquet upon from the very humble nasi campur in order to Zen such as plans associated with sushi as well as sashimi. Some site visitors invest their own times right here scuba diving, scuba diving or just relaxing through the ocean, Gili Trawangan offers lots of after-dark motion such as the vibrant club picture as well as lively nightlife.

kuta beach lombok

Lombok’s spectacular southern coastline, seen as the string associated with headlands separating a number of fantastic exotic seashores, provides large breaks or cracks which are the magnetic with regard to viewers. Right here the actual calm town associated with Kuta (absolutely no regards to its Bali namesake) is a great bottom, along with a range of appealing resorts with no crowds of people.

As opposed to Bali, many people upon Lombok (close to 90% from the populace) tend to be Sasaks, the Muslim individuals with the lifestyle as well as vocabulary distinctive towards the isle. There’s additionally a substantial Hindu Balinese group -- the heritage of times whenever Bali managed Lombok.