Lombok (August 28-29)

Lombok Background information

Lombok is quite different from Bali when it comes to religion. Bali is 90 per Hindu, whereas Lombok is majority Muslim. This religious difference causes Lombok to have a more conservative culture compared to Bali. However, in my opinion the natural beauty of Lombok is even more amazing than Bali. The other big difference is that Lombok only gets about 10 percent of the number of tourists that Bali receives, so you are able to enjoy the incredible landscapes and beaches with fewer people. 

Friday, August 28

I woke up to Iwan knocking on the door around 8:30 am. We had a big day planned. Iwan, my third Couchsurfing host of my trip, is a high school teacher at a school in Matarm, the capital of Lombok. In Indonesia, they have high schools where you prepare for university, but they also have vocational high schools that prepare students for the workforce upon graduation. Iwan is a teacher in a vocational high school that focuses on tourism. So I really was in luck to stay with him because he knows pretty much everything there is to know about Lombok and wants to show it off. Before we left we had a traditional Indonesian breakfast of fried noodles and then headed to Iwan’s school. Iwan showed me around, and I met some of his coworkers as well as a newly arrived American, Abby, who will be working at his school for the next 10 months because of Fullbright. Abby, Iwan, and I met up with 2 other of his coworkers and started the grand tour of the island. Iwan first took us down south to Kuta beach, which was amazing. Lombok is much less developed compared to Bali and has much more beautiful landscapes. Kuta is surrounded by cliffs with white sandy beaches and virtually no people. There may have been 30 people on this massive beach. I could not understand how it was possible. I went swimming for a while and just sat there reflecting on how lucky I was to see such a beautiful place. We later went further along the south and east to Bangungaan Beach. It was absolutely breathtaking. Even less people and there were cliffs you could climb up on to have a great view of the bay. This one has great surfing although you have to paddle pretty far out. After the beaches we went to see a place that makes traditional pottery and then a traditional village. They are the Sasak people and they have lived in this village for 15 generations. There are about 700 people that still live there today. Our guide told us that it is cheaper to buy a bride from inside this village, but if a man were to buy a bride from outside this village it would cost 2 goats. Then we headed back to Iwan’s house where his wife prepared delicious dinner for us and I met Iwan’s daughters. After we had some coffee and compared Lombok and Indonesian culture versus the United States. After almost falling asleep on the couch Iwan says to me do I want to go play cards with some of his neighbors. Iwan really seems to know everyone in his town. I say sure. We walk down the road to this small sitting area that is covered in front of a small convenience type store. There are 5 men playing Lombok style Rummy there. I watch for a few games as Iwan explains the rules. It is similar to Gin Rummy, but with a few more cards and a slight variation to the rules. I just had flashbacks to playing Rummy with my grandma and all her friends when I would visit her in Boca, Florida. However, this was different, since we were all men out at midnight with the freedom to do what we want. Women are a lot less likely to be able to do this. Women normally should get permission to do basic things outside the house. We play for a while and I meet some of the neighbors. Many are teachers and one is a professor at the Islamic University. I am invited to speak at a high school in the coming days to share any wisdom I have at an Islamic high school. I like this game because if you are losing after each round there is some punishment you have to wear a tiny bottle with string around your ears depending on what place are you in. These guys were really welcoming and I appreciated their hospitality!

Saturday, August 29

I woke up and hung out on the couch for the morning. It was nice to relax and not do anything for a bit.  After a leisurely morning, I took the motorbike that Iwan lended to me and traveled back down south to Kuta. You can rent surfboards down there for the entire day for 50,000 Rupiah or $3.50. After enjoying the surf for a few hours with almost no other people fighting to ride the waves, I rode my motorbike to other beaches along the sound and found a new one that I hadn’t been to yet. I climbed some rock and I’m standing about 200 feet up and could fall pretty easily, but the view made it very worth it. At a different beach, I met a group of 7 Indonesians from Jakarta on vacation. One of whom was a guy who works for the United Nations dealing with refugees. I learned that the most refugees that come to Indonesia are from Afghanistan trying to make their way to Australia. After a great day in the south, I headed back towards Mataram, the capital of Lombok, because Abby invited me to meet another Fulbright person that was working in Indonesia in Lombok. He works at a Muslim boarding school and a person who works there prepared dinner for all of us. We spent many hours talking about the uniqueness of Indonesia and sharing traveling stories. I eventually made  my way back to Iwan’s house and we talked for a while, but I fell asleep very fast on the chair.