Fact About Lombok (Stop Your Imagination Now)

 Now, perhaps I’ve stimulated your imagination. Before it runs wild and become unmanageable, I want to give you some facts of the island. First, Lombok is not a kind of Bora-Bora Island thing or Polynesia’s tropical island. Yes, it has some very beautiful tiny island offshore but 98% consists of a single land mass, almost the size of Bali. Second, I guess no less than 1 million people lives there but it is very sparsely populated compared to Bali or….Java (I must be kidding, you thought. Yes, Java is the most populous island in the world with more than 120 million people lives there. But the chance is you know what Java looks like, so I use it as comparison). Third, it takes some the adventurous of you to visit some beaches.

 And before you conclude that beaches are the only thing Lombok has to offer, let me inform you that the island also has very beautiful mountain scenery. The only mountain perched on the island, Mt Rinjani, is the third highest mountain (not peak) in the archipelago. Mt Rinjani is also the most beautiful mountain in Indonesia (based from my experience). The extraordinarily snowy capped Jayawijaya range in Papua beat it but please note that we live in equator where snow is uncommon, thus making it very special. Many people come to Lombok to climb the mountain. What makes this mountain exceptional is the caldera lake in the 2,000 m plus altitude where a new mountain, “the child” grows up from the middle of the lake. After enjoying the breathtaking vista, the hikers usually indulge themselves in the famous island escape, the three Gilis. People used to stay a month or so there.

Although the southern part is mostly dry throughout the year, Lombok also has paddy rice field, like in Bali & Java and also Hindu temple. Some of the old ones that can still be seen now came from the Balinese Hindu Kingdom era. The Lingsar temple was built in the 16^th Century and still in service today.

Though most of  Sasak (native people) is Moslem, Lombok once was part of Hindu Kingdom of Bali, including the Karangasem Kingdom (see Karangasem Royal Palace of Taman Ujung). Its distinctive culture developed with some influence from the Balinese culture. We can see the influence from the music instruments, some dances and traditional clothing. Other influences like China, Arab and Melayu are also apparent.

The culture is not as vibrant as Bali, yet very interesting. They have many music, dances, topeng (mask),  wayang (puppet) and other performing arts, folks and sport (you can see the peresean or rattan fighting in the photo gallery). These are the most extensive work of  art in Nusatenggara (eastern island). In short, you can’t see the entire island completely in only 10 days.

The Tourism Industry Perspective

In the early to mid 90s Lombok Island was a “hot” destination of Indonesia. Favored by the people who want to get away from the “too crowded” Bali, its big brother in the west, tourist started flocking the island. Lombok offers what Bali couldn’t afford to: unspoiled white sandy beaches, tropical islands (including uninhabited ones), beautiful mountain scenery, very relaxing if not lazy atmosphere, plus access to the famous komodo dragon island, one of the oldest living thing in the planet and the further eastern islands of East Nusatenggara that waits to be explored and discovered by the adventurous ones.

With those portfolios on hands, Lombok began to attract tourist from its neighbor and quickly replacing the Tana Toraja in South Sulawesi and Lake Toba in North Sumatra as the second most visited destination. We could feel that to some extent the growing figure started to frighten some people in the island of God. The three Gilis and Mt. Rinjani, along with Senggigi and Kuta beach in the south was the pioneer and the moving force behind the growth.

But sadly, Lombok couldn’t maintain its position, let alone gaining more visitors. Concurrently with the economic crisis that swept the country, tourists disappeared. The number of visitors who come to the island is never back to the same level again. Many things are blamed for the declining of Lombok as a favorable tourist destination in Indonesia. From the “bad PR” by his jealous big brother, the unsafe impression (crime rate, frequent political and racial riot), lack of international airport, to economic crisis that hit the country. Some five-star hotels that has been closed down now or handed over from the international brand to the local one are the witness of the too optimistic belief. Now Lombok becomes a backwater again in Indonesian tourism industry.

Certainly what Lombok needs is a better promotion and good PR to overcome the negative issues (which almost none is true). The belief that a larger and international airport will draw visitors automatically is fallacious. Of course it’s good to have a better airport and connection to the world. But people won’t come because of the airport. Promotion and good PR will make people come. So if the government really serious about developing the tourism industry and genuinely committed to the investors who have been invited to invest their money and time, they should develop a clear strategy to promote their land. Closed down and abandoned hotels and restaurants are a very bad PR, let alone the sprouting dirty warungs, the ubiquitous cell phone tower (BTS) and private villas that block the once spectacular vistas. Many homework need to be done. But I firmly believe that Lombok as a tourist destination will gain a better position IF the government develop the right strategy and do what they should do. It’s very clear that the fail or the success of Lombok tourism is on the hands of their own local government.

Just recently we paid a visit to Lombok to shoot for an assignment and some stock shooting. Actually I’ve been visiting this island since 1989, before most hotels in the three Gilis, Senggigi, or Kuta put up (as a matter of fact, I was among the first one who popularize the three Gilis locally through my articles and photos back to that early time). Ever since then, I’ve been visiting this island for maybe 18 times, and I have to admit that Lombok is still one of the most beautiful place in Indonesia.

Poor you, if all you know about Indonesia is Bali or Java only. Lombok is a very beautiful and lovely country. And one prominent aspect of the island is its beaches. The beach rules in Lombok. I believe it has the most beautiful beaches in the country (I have yet to explore the Southeast Maluku and some offshore islands of Papua). But the beaches in Lombok are truly beautiful. Not only for their dazzlingly white sand (and some beaches like Tanjung Aan boast some of the best powdery sand that hard to find anywhere else) but also for their clear and shallow water along with their tranquility (no, most of them have no warungs, no cark park, or even no human being). All of these are the quality that is very difficult to achieve nowadays. How many beaches match this quality in Bali, the so-called “paradise”? Hmmm, sorry I can’t think of one. And Lombok, it has many beaches of this quality.  I doubt if any of those places I haven’t explored has many beaches of this quality.

Our adventure began in Selaparang Airport. We landed when the Jacob and George hurricane hit the northern Australia at midnight. It took our pilot almost half an hour to land the airplane in the middle of a lightning storm. It was very frightening. Clearly in our memory some fatal airplane accidents occurred in the last two months.  No one spoke and everyone prayed, including me. After all, the thick cloud cleared and we could see the sparkling Mataram below us. The plane landed safely. Thanks God. Alhamdulillah. But in the next morning the office sent me a short message informing me that a plane just crashed in Yogyakarta, taking 21 lives. I know, my job is not in the kind of safety of comfort zone. I travel quite often. And it is risky. Hopefully our clientele realize this.

Normally I check for the weather on planning and before embarking. But the information came too late that I couldn’t cancel it.

I and Acong, my helpful assistant, headed directly to Kuta in the south using public transport. Things are very different now than in 18 years ago. The transports are easier to find and only too packed occasionally. The people are able to speak Bahasa Indonesia now. I remember no one could answer my question 18 years ago and most of them were illiterate so they hold my map desperately upside down. Now they have got more confident, willing to make conversation with stranger (after all I’m not so strange to them) and become more open.

Reaching Kuta is easy now. In three hours we checked in the hotel we booked and immediately shoot for the rattan fighting (peresean). This is a kind of traditional sport performed by two men each holding a stick of rattan and a bamboo shield. The winner is the one who shows bravery and not afraid of his enemy’s rattan shot and never collapse to the ground. Very interesting. But the first problem arouse on our side. Acong found our digital image storage casing broken. Maybe due to the stress and pressure I put to my bag (as the norm we brought all of our electronic stuff including chargers, adapter, laptop, stabilizer, wire, cords, dvds and anything that will make us not able to accomplish our job if we loose them to the cabin). Clearly, the overhead bin of the MD 90 or 82, I’m not sure, is too small for such massive equipment though I’ve separated them into two bags.

Fortunately, the storage was still in service. The plastic covering the LCD nearly touched the liquid display. If it did, I think it would be collapse forever. So we had to improvise, attaching a hard plastic to protect the LCD. And pray. Without it, we would have to use the laptop directly in the field which is not an effective way to do our work.

Often the supporters become intense. The heat was radiated. And finally what I was afraid of happen. The event becomes chaotic. Supporters jumped to the arena throwing some punch to the contestant. And as predictable as the lightning in a thunder storm, hundred of men fist fighting each other. We were trapped right in the middle of the turmoil. Acong, was slightly injured and I almost fell trampled with my camera almost broke in the fight. The police fired their pistols to disperse them almost immediately, saving us and many others. Everyone started to run blindly. Luckily we managed to escape the chaos and hide in the backyard of a police station. Nothing was lost or damaged but we’ve got some slight wounds in the knees, legs and stomach. And I said to myself, that’s the art of the travel photography! I enjoyed it ! I love it!

In the following days we explore the area for the best beaches. The hidden secret of Lombok must be revealed. Many of them are not easily accessible.

We used motorbike and a jeep (four-wheel will be better) to explore them. Most of the beaches are hidden and quite far from the road. So chartering motorized outrigger is also a good idea. This is a kind for the adventurous only. We experienced some back tracking and detour in pitch dark night accompanied only by the Milky Way. What an experience. No other human being, no other light. We even used our flashlight to help the dim light our motorbike had. Certainly we did some off-road activity here.

In exploring, we occasionally came across buffalo herd and their herdsman (usually in the morning). Buffalo here, like in other places of Indonesia is a valuable asset. They are mainly used as the traditional tractor: for plowing the rice field, the main source of income for most people here. The buffalo are very big and as dirty as they can with their typical smell. Huh! But they are lovely animal indeed. And what a country! Mix this with the grassy land, empty roads, small hills and sea vistas peeping here and there and you get what the rustic Indonesia had several decades ago. No power lines, no cell phone tower of course.

We enjoyed very much this type of shooting. Discovering secluded coves by ourselves, following your instinct and working with your own pace and rhythm. Waiting for the cloud to break, clear or to have a better arrangement and watching the sun setting.

Some of the beaches are inhabited and we made some friends there and along the trip. Honestly, the Sasak people, the native of Lombok are very sincere people, reminiscent of West Sumatran and Acehnese. We were invited to chat with them in their berugaq or hut almost every time (in West Sumatra we often invited to have lunch together with the farmer in thier paddy field or in their house). For them, we were a guess. Surely they also curious to know what kind of job we were doing. To them cameras, tripod and some devices are all unfamiliar things. Let alone reflector and umbrella. But what made me most happy was when I saw them smile shyly to see their images on the camera LCD. I knew they would love to have the print, but too polite to ask for it.

Most Sasak are very poor people. The soil of Lombok is not as fertile as its neighboring island to the west (Bali, Java and Sumatra). They have sawah (rice field), but mostly produce harvest once a year only and not all region suitable for the paddy. The other part of the population is fisherman and we all know in Indonesia, fishermen are among the most unfortunate in terms of income.

For this reason, some people say the crime rate in this land is a bit high. Tourist sometimes becomes the victim of stealing and threatening. Actually this kind of accident is not happening often but the bad news travels fast doesn’t it? So we often hear that Lombok is not safe. To some extent it’s true. For example, you can’t leave your motorbike unattended in some area or occasion (not like in West Sumatra and Aceh which are among the safest country in Indonesia IMO). But my experience shows that I’ve never had terrible incident in Lombok and I also never heard it happened during my trip in the past. If you careful, use common sense and courtesy, know what you are doing and be nice with your host, I believe we can minimize it. (the kind of story about Lombok is unsafe especially when you hear it in Bali is resembling the story we hear about Aceh in Medan... please read the Tourism Industry Perspective after this article).

We also made an arrangement to shoot a group of local young surfer from their preparation to their action. The waves in Lombok have built up some enviable reputation. Surfers start flocking the island. Obviously half of the visitors in the southern part are surfers. They mostly surf in the remote corner of the island. Mostly are accessible by chartered motorboat or jeep only.

We also joined tens thousand of Sasak catching the sea worm at 4 am during the Nyale ritual, the most fantastic ritual I’ve ever experienced. In the following days we experienced other trouble with the storage. Perhaps due to the intensive work put in. But in the next day it ran flawlessly again.

At night, as usual, we examined what we got that day though not every night we were able to do that. Electricity could be a problem in some remote areas. It was like setting up a small office in our room and very time consuming and also exhausting after a long day of shooting. But that’s part of our commitment to produce satisfying work for our clientele. We also made evaluation of what have been done and plan what to do on the next or the following days. Sometimes we had to re-shoot. Weather also was a problem. Often we visited the same place more than once and need to time it with the angle of the sun.

Spending eleven days, we didn’t complete all the beaches. Not wonder. Lombok has too many beaches and they are scattered geographically. Like usual, I have to remind you that photographing is entirely different with just visiting a place. To get one place in one day on your portfolio is considered a good outcome especially when we talk about landscape photography.

So we will make other inroad again in the future. But for you, we include other photos of Lombok (not just the beach) to get the idea of what the island looks like. Including "Surfing Lombok" and "Lombok's Ikat" Photo Gallery. Enjoy it.