We wanted to do a bit of travelling before Christmas and before the kids started school so they had some tales to tell their friends and experiences under their Bali belts.
First stop was Lombok! A 40 minute propeller plane from Dempesar across the waters. The air hostess didn’t even get out of her seat she just sat there strapped in enjoying the views out of the windows of the beautiful islands with their turquoise waters white sandy edges.
(Dom hates small planes so was white knuckling most of it.)
We arrived to a flurry of taxi drivers grabbling to get to us to offer the best price, luckily the cheapest was still via the GRAB app so we stood sheltering from the monsoon of rain until it arrived.
The drive down to Selong Belanak was such a difference to Canggu, no cars or honking bikes just open fields with lush palms and coconuts. Very basic houses with kids playing on the street, Lombok black buffalos walking along with their herder just calm and green.
Perfect.
I had found us an incredible Airbnb Villa called Villa Sakura close to the beach and surrounded by fields with two floors and a beautiful shimmering pool and funky bamboo decor. The top floor was all open plan with a rope net hammock bed, big ceiling fans and stunning bamboo decor and a view over the buffalos grazing.
We were graced with two amazing staff who made us a breakfast of fresh papaya, pineapple and dragonfruit every morning with either pancakes or omelette and fresh Lombok Coffee. Which is much like a dark brown powder soil you add boiling water to. Then add milk if you wish ‘Kopi dengan Susu’.
Dewi a young slim chap would greet us every day with the most glorious beaming white smile and a naughty laugh. There is something to be said about Indonesians, they are so happy and helpful in everyway and their features hold so much warmth. You immediately feel after a few days that they're family.
As the Lombok roads were empty apart from a few Buffalo and monkeys I decided to give riding a moped a try. Dewi managed to find me a hilarious helmet that was white with blue polka dots and a yellow visor, I felt like a Flum Flu Fruit from Julia Donaldson's book Jack and the Fumflum tree. Once my right wrist got used to the jerking accelerator and awful potholes in our drive I was off!
We took the kids to the main beach where there was a medley of Surf Schools, but a short very muscular man named Jay and his friend ran Harry’s Surf School and took Jake and Nula off into the 4 foot waves to try their first Lombok surf.
We were so proud of their intense listening and watching of their teachers and overall patience, and both were up and hanging ten within the hour, big smiles and a new found confidence. I then showed Jay all the photos and videos I had taken and helped him upload them to instagram, adding trending hashtags and stories to push his businesss for family tourists. It was then I noticed all the pictures of him as a body builder on the instagram page from last year (Quite a feat for a 4foot tall man) extraordinary and definitely worth keeping on the gram as a thirst trap for the older single ladies!
Just down the road was Club Kembali owned by an American guy called Daniel who proudly had a vast range of Indonesian spirits to make cocktails and gorgeous food, our favourite was the mixed rice in banana leaves. The restaurant had a Western saloon style about it, all wood with unusual photos on the walls and collected memorabilia.
He also had a great game the kids played where they had to throw bean bags into a hole in some wood - it kept them occupied long enough for another Whiskey sour.
The next day we decided to take a trip up the coast to explore some of the hidden beaches. One named ‘Lancing’ was definitely not like the Lancing we love and know. The beach was a scattering of beautiful white and red coral with the tiniest most stunning little shells. A few fishing boats lay on the beach and one tiny bar serving large Bintangs and fresh coconuts - paradise.
Our next abode was further East in Kuta called Mana, an eco retreat that yogis came to for its big bamboo shell shaped studio that doubled up as a cinema screen room at night. The grounds were beautiful, planted with lush green banana trees, birds of paradise, frangipani trees and stepping stones to get between the pools and your huts. The sweet smell of the flowers and sound of humming bees and birds trilling was so special. Their breakfast the kids loved as you could choose from a collection of bespoke smoothie bowls - frozen yoghurts with granola, coconut, fresh fruit and raw cocoa on top beautifully presented in a circular curve like a work of art.
More beach exploring led us to Mawun Beach (Pantai Mawun), a blinding white sanded beach with local children who rushed up to us to practise their English and sell us their hand made flour weaved bracelets that were horizontally presented on a big board.
A Tiger marked puppy was chasing Nula and she fell in love with him instantly, managing to negotiate with Dean the Warung’s owner that she’ll ship him back to the UK no problem. We ate freshly caught Barracuda BBQed with sambal on old floral plastic plates and drunk Bintang out of pink and green cups it was perfect.
We got back at dusk in time for the kids to watch a bizarre Kiwi film called BOY written and directed by Taika Waititi - it was hilarious. The boy was obsessed with Michael Jackson and the script and actors were fantastic, we were howling with laughter. However as we lay on the beanbags in the big open hot and humid bamboo shelter we saw shadows of creatures running along the floor and we all got bitten alive by mosquitos! And this was when we discovered Indonesian mosquitos turn their tiny middle fingers up at our European repellent - the only thing that deters them is the local pink label spray or lotion called Soffell - make a note if you venture out here.
Lombok Part 2 coming soon….
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