Lombok is an Indonesian island east of Bali and west of Sumbawa, part of the Lesser Sunda Island chain. It’s known for beaches and surfing spots, particularly at Kuta and Banko Banko (in south Lombok). The motor-vehicle-free Gili Islands (Gili Trawangan, Gili Air and Gili Meno), off Lombok’s west coast, offer more beaches, reefs for diving and snorkeling, and a sea turtle hatchery. ― Google
At the end of April, over the local holiday called Idul Fitri, Jackson and I flew to the island of Lombok, in Indonesia. It is about a 1.5-hour flight from Jakarta.
We stayed at the Oberoi Beach Resort for 3 nights, using the resident discount, and it was really lovely.
It was about a 1.5-hour drive, with the option of taking the oceanside route, or the monkey forest route. We chose the monkey forest route on the way to the hotel, and we saw lots of monkeys along the way. The drivers on the road would slow down and feed the monkeys, but they were not aggressive, like I hear the monkeys in Bali are. Tip: Consider taking the monkey forest route back to the airport and bring some of the fruit from your room to feed the monkeys.
When we arrived at the hotel, we were greeted by a line of hotel staff whisking open the car doors and donning us with flower leis. It was such an amazing welcome!
We quickly checked in and were then shown to our room. Sweeping ocean views, high ceilings, massive windows, and frangipane flowers placed throughout the room, the shower, the bathtub…everywhere! We had a bowl of fresh fruit, and a cookie jar filled with cookies.
That afternoon, we signed up for a few activities like snorkeling the Gili islands, visiting a wildlife park, and junior bartending. We explored the place – with Jackson on a borrowed bicycle, we learned to play congklak, which is similar to mancala, and then we had a lovely dinner under the stars. It was very late (for us), but Jackson had to try out the AMAZING bathtub before he hopped into bed.
The next morning was a bit of a scramble. I assumed the breakfast was a buffet (as it was included in the room rate). Fortunately/Unfortunately – it was just as luxurious as everything else. There was no buffet. I asked our waiter to notify the boathouse that we would miss our snorkeling adventure. I understood that it was completely my fault for not allowing enough time for breakfast. The snorkeling outfit agreed to wait 20 minutes for us! The waiter rushed our order, and Jackson and I wolfed down our breakfast (and my cappuccino!) and ran off to the boat house to join our trip.
Another family must have also miscalculated as they missed the trip entirely. There was one other couple, and when I apologized for being late, they said they had also just arrived, so it really all worked out perfectly. It ended up just being me, Jackson, and the couple – who happened to be from the U.S. They were lovely and made the trip enjoyable. We boarded the boat and headed off to the Gili Islands with two boat hands – one captain, the other was the snorkeling guide. Once we arrived at the snorkeling spot, they expected us to actually GET OFF THE BOAT. The other three hopped right into the water…but I was not as keen. I got myself on the edge, and unwillingly thrust myself into the water. I struggled with the flippers on my feet – I couldn’t tread water like I’m used to, and just wanted them off. The guy on the boat kept offering to give me a life vest. By the time I got the flippers off, the others had swam away. I tried to catch up to Jackson, but we were going against the tide. I did some snorkeling but didn’t see anything. I was trying not to panic. The guy on the boat told me to hold on to the ladder on the side of the boat, and he would drag me to the group. It was slow going. I tried my best not to get flung into the propeller. We picked up Jackson and the other lady along the way. But the guy eventually stopped the boat and told us to hop back on – he would have to speed up to catch the guide. Using the ladder I had been clinging to, I got on the boat, and wasn’t planning to get out again. HA! We had to get off the boat at the first Gili island called Gili Meno. Here, we backed in, and were able to use the back of the boat as a step. We saw a baby turtle sanctuary. The baby turtles were adorable but were not ready for release. Getting back on the boat was easy enough, using that back step. The others did some more snorkeling along the way to the next Gili island called Gili Air, and they got to swim with a turtle! At Gili Air, they drove the boat in frontways, and we had to jump off onto the sand – no step, no ladder. The boat man did his best to catch me before we tumbled onto the sand together. We enjoyed lunch with our travel companions, and then it was time to head back to Lombok. Surprisingly, they expected me to climb back into the boat without a ladder or a step. I tried, but it was not going to happen. Eventually, they turned the boat around, so that we could all use the step. I was done getting off and on the boat by now. The others were tired, and we were all ready to get back to shore. It was a lovely, peaceful return journey, and I have no desire to go snorkeling again. 😊
After making our way back to our room to change, we went off to find the junior bartending class that Jackson signed up for. He had so much fun making a Shirley Temple and a ‘Mojito’. He tasted them both, and actually liked them. We poked around the resort for a bit, stopped for afternoon tea, and then a tropical coconut drink for me while watching the sunset. (And even bumped into colleagues from the office!) We signed up for the 6:30 (early) dinner. It was lovely – this time with live music. Another soak in the tub and then off to bed.
Our second full day, we had a more leisurely breakfast of pancakes, croissants, yogurt, fresh tropical fruits, cappuccino, before heading to the local wildlife sanctuary. After purchasing our tickets and paying for baskets of fruit to feed the animals, we met our guide. He shared information about the animals, carried our fruit baskets, and even took loads of pictures of us with my camera. (This was especially nice, as we don’t have many pictures of the two of us together on these adventures!) It was a hot and steamy day, but full of fun. Jackson held a python! We had an orangutan interaction with Kiki the baby orangutan. He got to pet an owl. I’ll let the pictures do the talking here.
On our way out, we stopped for ‘tea’. What a lovely set up. It was too hot for traditional tea, so we each had a ‘sweet lime soda’ otherwise known as a ‘lime squash’. (Fresh lime juice, soda water, and some simple syrup.) I tried a bite of everything, but Jackson was not feeling so adventurous.
We headed back to the resort and hopped into the infinity pool to cool off. Ha! The water was warm! We had fun splashing about – with the palm trees swaying and the gorgeous views of the Indian Ocean. We lounged in one of the pavilions, sharing a massive burger and some fries for a late lunch. We poked around some more – playing lawn games and swinging on the massive tree swing. Then, Jackson found the “Business Lounge”. There was another family of boys his age going in and out. He discovered that they were in there playing video games!! He joined them, and I sat next door at the outdoor tearoom and enjoyed some spicy ginger tea and the gorgeous views. By dinner, Jackson was exhausted. We found our table and discovered that there was a buffet dinner instead of the ‘normal’ menu offerings that we had started to grow accustomed to. He was thrown off by the buffet dinner, as he was looking forward to having pizza for dinner. Luckily, they allowed him to order the pizza from the regular menu. I enjoyed a few items on the buffet – they had a whole roast pig, a Soto Ayam buffet: Soto Ayam is a traditional chicken (ayam) soup which is based on flavorsome broth and incorporates shredded chicken, rice noodles, turmeric (hence the rich yellow color), lemongrass, ginger, chili, and kafir lime leaf, shredded vegetables and it is traditionally served with half a boiled egg and segments of lime on the side, and then we called it an early night.
On our last day, we packed our bags, enjoyed one last amazing oceanfront breakfast and checked out. The kids were back in the ‘business lounge’, so Jackson hung out with them for a bit while we waited for our time to head to the airport. We were prepared for the monkeys with the leftover fruit from our room, but the driver took us along the ocean road this time. The views were so amazing – we were not disappointed. We bumped into more colleagues at the airport – all heading back to Jakarta from a lovely stay on Lombok Island.
