Planning My Trip to Lombok

If you have never traveled to South East Asia, you’re in for a real treat when you take a trip to Lombok. After contact with an agent at Pure Luxe Travel I did a little more planning my trip on my own, and now I can’t wait to get there. Lombok offers everything Bali does except the crowds and that’s what made me decide to visit there. Meeting others while on vacation is to be expected but personally, I prefer an area where privacy or an empty beach isn’t so hard to find when I need a break from people, so I’m headed to the “unspoiled Bali”.

There are group options available but I’m going solo as well as building my own package which will allow me to visit the places that interest me the most and skip those that don’t. Group travel can be lots of fun but in those cases it’s majority rule and sometimes I just need to follow my own path. It was tempting to do my own trip organizing but I don’t know that area and my travel agent does. So, since I didn’t want to miss a single detail I allowed my good sense to rule and let Pure Luxe take over.

So far, Lombok is still untouched by the mass tourism you see in Bali. Imagine being able to take pictures on its beautiful beaches or near one of the many waterfalls in the area without a single stranger popping into view and that’s Lombok. My video equipment is going in my carry-on for easy access and believe me, I will be making full use of it everyplace I go. Following are just a few examples of why you’ll want to save as much time as you can for a visit.

The Gill Islands

Snorkel around these lively islands or dive and swim in a colorful underwater world. Turtles are often spotted here and with any luck I’ll get picture proof of at least one of them.

Hindu Temples and Mosques – Lombok’s population is a mixture of Hindu and Muslim. Temples and Mosques dedicated to each are going to be worth a stop just to soak in a little culture, but I’ve heard if my room is near a mosque I should expect it to be noisy, especially during Ramadan. What’s a little noise, a few pictures of local celebrations will look good in my scrapbook.

Traditional Asian Markets

When planning my trip there is no way I’m not visiting as many of these markets as I can. Even if I won’t be doing my own cooking, these kinds of markets don’t change with time and I find them interesting. The best place for souvenirs you don’t plan on eating such as jewelry, clothing or other must have items is supposed to be the Cakranegara Market in the Mataram area, and you can bet I’ll be there too.

These three places barely begin to cover what’s waiting in Lombok for anyone lucky enough to have time for a visit. If you think you’re too busy to treat yourself, then do what I did and make the time. The world will still be there when I get back to it, for now my private tour awaits. All those beautiful beaches, waterfalls, markets, and interesting local dishes are calling my name right now so I’m out of here. Maybe we’ll see each other there.