Lombok travel guide

Located just east of Bali, Lombok in many ways lives up to or exceeds the promotional term, "an unspoiled Bali". With beautiful beaches, enchanting waterfalls, the large, looming volcano of Mount Rinjani combined with relatively few tourists, Lombok is indeed the paradisaical tropical island that many people still mistakenly imagine Bali to be now.

Lombok and Bali are separated by the Lombok Strait. It is also part of the biogeographical boundary between the fauna of Indo-Malaysia and the distinctly different fauna of Australasia. The boundary is known as the Wallacean Line, after Alfred Russel Wallace who first remarked upon the striking difference between animals of Indo-Malaysia and those of Australasia and how abrupt the boundary was between the two biomes. Calling Lombok paradise does not mean it is all things for all people.

With a few exceptions, the natural landscape and the traditional way of life have remained unchanged for hundreds of years. Virtually all small to medium size businesses are run by local families. Many of these businesses sell a wide variety of merchandise, where villagers can find food, hardware, and toys all in a single small store. While it is possible to find five-star hotels run by global corporations this is the exception not the rule. The ubiquitous global fast food franchises are restricted to two outlets in the precincts of Mataram Mall in the main City of Lombok and are well sign-posted.

History of TourismThe dominant Sasak culture in Lombok and the very restrained and quiet nature its people may help explain why Lombok is less popular in terms of shopping, cuisine, and nightlife than Bali. Lombok is however becoming increasingly popular with tourists and honeymooners who want to relax in an inexpensive, tropical, uncrowded atmosphere, with many natural treasures and majestic scenery. Nothing happens quickly in Lombok and visitors who are stressed from their daily lives find Lombok a delightful getaway. The anticipated tourism boom has been halted on several occasions.

In 2000, mobs of the ethnic Sasak people, ostensibly provoked by fundamentalist Muslim agitators from Maluku, looted and burned churches as well as homes and businesses owned by Hindus and ethnic Chinese. The bombing of nightclubs in Bali in 2002 and the further explosions in 2005 further exacerbated the fears held by foreign tourists. For many years many Embassies issued advisory travel warnings against travel to Indonesia. The ensuing years have been peaceful, but tourists have yet to regain confidence that travel to Lombok is safe. Currently a large tourism project sited in Tanjung Aan (Aan Bay), Southern Lombok is in the planning and development stages. A new international airport (Bandara Udara Internasional Lombok Baru) and associated infrastructure is currently being built in central southern Lombok.

The new airport is planned to be in operation 2010. CultureLombok's people are 85% Sasak: around 2.6 million of a total population 2.95 million in 2005. They are culturally and linguistically closely related to the Balinese, but unlike the Hindu Balinese, the majority are Muslim. The Islamic religion first arrived in Lombok in the early half of the 16th century. A notable non-orthodox Islamic group found only on Lombok are the Wektu Telu ("Three Prayers"), who as the name suggests pray only three times daily, instead of the five times stipulated in the Quran. Many of the Waktu Telu beliefs are entwined with animism. Waktu Telu has influences not only of Islam, but also Hinduism and pantheistic beliefs. There are also remnants of Boda (people without a religion) who maintain Pagan Sasak beliefs.

Before the arrival of Islam Lombok experienced a long period of Hindu and Buddhist influence that reached the island through Java. To this day a minority Balinese Hindu culture remains strong in Lombok. "The Nagarakertagama, the 14th century palm leaf poem that was found on Lombok, places the island as one of the vassals of the Majapahit empire". The Hindu minority religion is also practised in Lombok alongside the majority Muslim religion. Hinduism is followed by the many ethnic Balinese who have travelled across the Lombok Straight from Bali as well as some people of indigenous Sasak origin. All the main Hindu religious ceremonies are celebrated in Lombok and there are many villages throughout Lombok that have a Hindu majority population.

Lombok experienced a period of Balinese occupation until the Dutch colonial government reinstated the Sasak rulers in the early 1890's following a direct appeal from the deposed Sasak rulers to the Dutch colonialists asking them to assist in driving out the Balinese occupiers. After a protracted, costly and destructive military campaign the Dutch eventually overwhelmed the Balinese with a bloody battle fought around Ampernan and Mataram. The people of Lombok however remained under Dutch colonial control of the Netherlands East Indies until the Japanese occupied Lombok in the 1940s.

The Christian minority religion is actively practised in Lombok by some of Chinese ethnicity and other Indonesians especially those from East Nusa Tenggara. There is also a small Arab community in Lombok whose history dates back to early settlement by traders from Yemen. The small community is still evident mainly in Ampenan, the old port of Mataram and retain many of their own traditions.

Due to the siting of an UNHCR refugee centre in Lombok some refugees from middle eastern countries have intermarried with Lombok people adding a further subtle middle eastern cultural influence to Lombok. Recently people of Iraqi origin have arrived in Lombok and many remain in Lombok in a state of limbo for an extended time whilst trying to seek immigration to nearby Australia or elsewhere.

There is also a small number of people predominantly from Europe, Australia and New Zealand who are resident or semi permanent residents of Lombok. Some are retirees. Some have business activities in Lombok or nearby or work in the mining industries of Nusa Tenggara Barat. Most are living in the coastal areas of West Lombok.

Lombok has individual settlers and small communities of Indonesian people from other areas including Bali, Jawa Sumbaya, Bima and Timor as well as other areas of Indonesia but the prevailing culture remains that of the Sasak people. Many influences of animist belief still prevail within the Sasak community.

Traditional magic is widely practised to ward off evil and illness, to seek good fortune or to assist with the resolution of disputations and personal antipathy. There are a range of outcomes sought ranging from love spells to death. Thieves will often have magic used upon them so that their bodies will become 'hot' leading to a confession, a frequent trespasser may become disoriented and become 'lost' or a boy may fall under a girls spell of desire and fall in love with her. Magic may be practised by an individual alone but normally a person experienced in such things is sought out to render a service.

Normally money or gifts are made to this person and the most powerful practitioners are treated with considerable respect. ClimateWhile tropical, hot and humid, Lombok is drier than neighboring Bali, which makes it a particularly attractive option during the October-December rainy season (it rains on Lombok too, but rarely for more than an hour). The peak of the tourist season, though, is May through August.

TalkThe main local language is Bahasa Sasak - the language of the Sasak people of Lombok. Bahasa Sasak is spoken throughout Lombok and has dialectal variations across the island. Bahasa Indonesia is also spoken or at least understood by many local people and will normally used in government offices, larger shops and businesses. In the more remote and undeveloped areas of Lombok however, Bahasa Indonesia is not frequently used and often cannot be understood by the local people, especially the elderly and those who have missed out on formal schooling. English is common in the resort areas and occasionally some other European languages are spoken by people involved in the tourism sector.

Great care must be exercised at all times when riding a bike anywhere in Lombok as the roads are sometimes in very bad repair and large potholes, loose sand, gravel and other road damage can cause serious accidents and injury. The greater majority of drivers in Lombok have either no knowledge or no regard for common road rules, are normally seriously undisciplined and engage in highly dangerous and erratic road behaviour. Riding a bicycle after dusk should most certainly be avoided throughout Lombok due to the hazardous road conditions.