Lombok, Indonesia – A small island with a big heart

As our plane landed on the tiny runway, lush greenery, locals tending their fields, and a border of steep mountains surrounded us. Airport workers wheeled the wobbly stairs to our plane so that we could deplane onto the tarmac, and I knew this would be an adventure. Lucky for us, on this adventure we had two new explorers, Sarah and Justin all the way from Chicago!!

A driver met us and took us on a 20-minute journey to our hotel. Pulling out of the airport my first impression of Lombok was Thailand meets India as people in small shelters, cows and dogs lined the narrow roads. The roads w

ere a flurry of activity with many motorcycles weaving in and out of the dirt roads. Our driver expertly avoided the other vehicles as well as small carts pulled by horses, which a later driver referred to as the “Lombok Mercedes”.

As we awoke the first morning I couldn’t wait to see how property looked in the light of day and I wasn’t disappointed. Lush greenery and flowers decorated the grounds and a simple path lead to the infinity pool, the edge of which snuggled right up to the beach.

The beach was virtually empty our entire trip, apart from some locals selling goods. That is what makes Lombok such a gem - it’s the most “untouched” place we’ve visited. Though many visitors have taken the same path, you feel like you’re one of the first to explore what the island has to offer.

The first day we just relaxed by the pool and enjoyed the great food served by very friendly staff. Sarah and I also enjoyed a massage at the on site spa. The hotel had about 80% occupancy when we were there, but there were only about 30ish rooms and it never felt crowded. Breakfast and dinner on the beach? No problem, they had a lovely set up just feet form the crashing waves. The hotel food was great 95% of the time and the menu offered a good variety at much more reasonable prices than we’ve seen at other beach resorts.

The next day we booked a snorkeling trip through the hotel to the Gili Islands. We gathered our things and headed to the reception desk first thing in the morning as I thought we’d get into a car and head to the marina. The staff led us back through the resort to the beach where we met our guide who walked us down the beach where a few wooden boats were lined up…one boat that was about 3 feet wide and supported by wooden poles sticking out of both sides was being carried into the water by about 8 men. GULP!! This is our “fast boat”?? I was thinking more the speedboat route. It took everything I had not to sit on the sand right under my feet and say, “NO WAY!”

I have a long history with motion sickness. Most cars will give me a good bout of nausea so this tiny boat on a rocky ocean was intimidating to say the least. I had taken a preventative motion sickness pill, but I didn’t think it would overcome this ride. Adam has Sarah and Justin to thank for the adventure that followed because the only reason I got into that boat was because I didn’t want to ruin their day.

I hear there were some lovely views on the hour long journey to the Gili Islands, but that’s just hear-say as I spent the journey with my head in Adam’s lap…trying not to toss my cookies.

The rough journey proved to be more that worth it. On our first snorkeling spot we saw a sea turtle having a snack on the ocean floor. It was a beautiful sight to see! Coral lined the seabed and we made our way to the shore for a quick snack.

We then headed to another island for lunch where we enjoyed grilled barracuda, caught from the ocean a few hours prior. A short ride around the island and we did one more snorkeling stop right off of the shore. We jumped in the water and had an amazing time. There were so many beautiful fish! We could have stayed there and watched all day. Since the boat was tiny and almost everything was wet we didn't get any pictures snorkeling (trying to keep the cameras safe).

We'll leave this entry "to be continued" but there is a great trek to a waterfall to come...

Here's some pictures and video.