DAY 1
EXPENSES (Rupiah)
Car and boat pick up from airport 950,000 (for 3 pax)
Fresh Juice at Taliwang Raya 15,000
It's a 4-hour flight to Lombok from Singapore. Direct flight by Silkair!Fresh Juice at Taliwang Raya 15,000
As we reached at 6.30pm, the public boats are all not in operation. We arranged for the hotel to pick us up at the airport and we had the speedboat all to ourselves.
6.30pm pick up
7.20pm dinner
8pm continue to the private 'harbour' called Little Egg by Vila Ombak.
8.30pm reached Vila Ombak!
The view you see above is the jetty we walked onto. It's floating so we had a jolly unstable walk to the resort :)
The room was really spacious. We had the Deluxe Family Bungalow. Although the water from the taps are salt water, there's a small jar of fresh water for patrons to have a last rinse after using the salt water for a bath. I think this is a great idea. There's no need to disturb the seabed to build massive pipes to transport water to the island.
DAY 2
EXPENSES (Rupiah)
Chartered a boat trip for 10.15am to three islands 800,000 (for 3 pax)
a horse cart to Sunset Ombak 15,000
batik bag 125,000
two cocktail and a beer 15,000
dinner 30,000
The breakfast selection was great. It was wonderful to hear the waves fall on one another like muffed music in the background. The restaurant plays traditional Indonesian music so the sound of the sea is really in the background. After breakfast we had a walk in the alley next to our hotel. And our experience of this seemingly sleepy island changed.
There were restaurants, hotels, boat trip agencies and shops. There was one particular shop that had 'Gili Trawangan' beautifully labelled on their items like a museum shop. This was where I bought the batik bags that could be folded to look like a little pouch.
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| unfolded into a light-weight shoulder bag |
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| foldable into a little pouch |
At night, the music can be quite loud but the moment we step into Vila Ombak, we couldn't hear those sounds anymore. Really love the quietude in our own resort and the close proximity of a different world here. Oh! And I love it that there's no motor vehicles on this island. Take a horse cart and dust flew in our faces. I'm not complaining; I feel good that I'm not contributing to the carbon output of a city folk level.
I love Sunset Ombak. The view out at sea is romantic because of two swings.
We had a little surprise when a lady on a horse past us on the beach. This is 'Gone with the Wind' indeed. At night, we bought ticket to watch movies along the beach in front of Vila Ombak. The ticket includes a soft drink. That was a good time thinking about responsible men, coming-of-age and American youths as we watched '500 Summers' (I think that's what I watched)
Day 3 
EXPENSES （Rupiah)
Boat and Car to Living Asia Resort and Spa 750,000 (for 3 pax)
After a good look at the beachfront at Gili Trawangan, we took the boat to go back to Lombok at 11.30am. The boat didn't depart on time as we apparently were waiting for another 5 passengers.
We reached the private jetty before 12,30pm. The driver suggested that we do some shopping at a local craft shop and we did! The drivers always talk to us about looking at pearls but when we reached the craft centre (between Little Egg jetty and Living Asia resort), there were bags, table runners, polo T-shirts and cutleries. Pearl jewelry designs were limited so none of us bought any of them. I spent a total of SGD 103 buying cloth with silver and gold threads woven in. I also purchased some shirts! I got some pants at IDR59,000. The pants were the cheapest stuff in the shop.
The necklace on my wrist cost IDR40,000 because I bought 3 necklaces in Gili Meno while having lunch. All these pedlars are very friendly. They may be persistent but they are not aggressive. I hope they will always keep the charms of gentle and warm Indonesians when they try to sell their goods. The way to do buisiness is really interesting. If I like a sarong of a certain colour, they'll ask the other pedlars if they have the goods. They'll then show me the goods of the other pedlars! There is no aggressive protection of their own 'turf'.
We reached the private jetty before 12,30pm. The driver suggested that we do some shopping at a local craft shop and we did! The drivers always talk to us about looking at pearls but when we reached the craft centre (between Little Egg jetty and Living Asia resort), there were bags, table runners, polo T-shirts and cutleries. Pearl jewelry designs were limited so none of us bought any of them. I spent a total of SGD 103 buying cloth with silver and gold threads woven in. I also purchased some shirts! I got some pants at IDR59,000. The pants were the cheapest stuff in the shop.
The necklace on my wrist cost IDR40,000 because I bought 3 necklaces in Gili Meno while having lunch. All these pedlars are very friendly. They may be persistent but they are not aggressive. I hope they will always keep the charms of gentle and warm Indonesians when they try to sell their goods. The way to do buisiness is really interesting. If I like a sarong of a certain colour, they'll ask the other pedlars if they have the goods. They'll then show me the goods of the other pedlars! There is no aggressive protection of their own 'turf'.
LIVING ASIA RESORT AND SPA
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| Room toiletries |
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| Stayed on the second floor of the Ocean View Room |
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| From the balcomy of my room |
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| Sunset at the poolside |
Living Asia Resort and Spa is not near any shops or any other hotels. This means that the whole beach belongs to the hotel patrons! Yippeeee!
I love the room, the shower room, the view from my balcony (slightly blocked but still able to hear and see the ocean), the free high tea at 4pm, the sunset and the massage! Indonesian massage is really good - there is no unintentional glide of any fingers on my skin in Indonesia. I'm a little tickled when fingers glide unintentionally on my skin. Indonesian masseurs have never done that to me.
Lunch and Dinner menu are different. And as a Gado-gado lover, I must say the gado-gado here is great too. The only thing I miss is the Sasak chilli. There's no spicy food for the chilli lover in this resort.
DAY 4
EXPENSES (Rupiah)
taxi to airport 275,000
This is the last day in Lombok, Indonesia. And we'll be leaving the resort at 4pm to take the 1.5 hour ride to the airport by the blue taxi. After check-out at 12 noon, we lazed at the deck chairs in front of the beach. And at 1.30pm, we proceeded to have a spa! I took the Deluxe Room package which included a relaxing massage and a milk bath. The time taken was 90 minutes. It cost a total of IDR430,000.
That concludes the very refreshing 4D3N trip I had in Lombok, Indonesia. I love everything from the beautiful sea to the (yes, even the non-spicy food) delicious food.
