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Lombok's new exotic haven
It was still early in the morning when we arrived at Lombok's Selaparang Airport
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It was still early in the morning when we arrived at Lombok's Selaparang Airport. As we set foot on the airport's tarmac, our eyes were greeted by Lombok's mountains and scenic lush forest. A postcard view it was.
Indeed, Lombok has become the new, upcoming tourist destination in Indonesia. It seems that the gods from Bali decided to move away from that island, due to its ever-growing population, and migrate to Lombok instead. At least, that's what we thought when we saw Lombok for the very first time. It really deserves the title of the new haven of the gods.
Development on this island has not been as rapid as on its neighboring island; but it has started and more world exposure is planned. One of the hottest spots on Lombok to have caught international attention is the opening of the Tugu Lombok - the latest creation of Anhar Setjadibrata.
The Tugu group has again revealed the richness of our cultural heritage. Starting with the Tugu Blitar - their first boutique hotel dedicated to our first president, Sukarno - their expansion continued to Malang and Bali and was followed by their latest hotel in Lombok.
Owner Anhar and his family decided to build the Tugu Lombok hotel on Sire Beach having owned the land there for more than two decades. This time he focused on the forgotten history of Lombok from the ancient Hindu era.
In 1894, a Dutch historian by the name of Brandes, found priceless volumes of an ancient manuscript at the Puri Cakranegara in Lombok. This manuscript was identified as the only surviving, and most important record of the ancient Hindu era of Majapahit, the vast, prosperous kingdom that reigned throughout most of the archipelago. The manuscript is known as the Negara Krtagama.
The manuscript recorded years of oral history; told of 100-year-old archeological discoveries; of discoveries among villages in Lombok, sequentially Buddhist, Hindu, and Bayanist among a predominantly Muslim community; of the Chinese Peranakan community in the town of Ampenan.
In the following 35 years, there were discoveries among small communities that were deemed "unimportant", although they actually proved a strong cultural pluralism in Lombok in the past.
In bringing back to life these ancient Hindu times in Lombok, before the occupation of the Dutch and the Balinese, Hotel Tugu Lombok surrounds itself with chapters from the romantic epic of the Mahabharata.
In the lobby you feel greeted by a 100-year-old building that used to be a reception house during Dutch colonial times, reminding us of the houses in the old capital Ampenan before the war in 1894.
This reception house, now reconstructed at Hotel Tugu Lombok, belonged to a Malay gentleman, Tuan Haji Abdul Kadir from Sumatra, in the early 19th century who rented it to a Chinese businessman. This is the reason the house incorporates Malay, Arabic, Chinese and European influences.
During the Dutch occupation, the colonial government reorganized the island based on each individual ethnicity.
It was in one of these years that this reception house was knocked down; the originally plan was for it to be reconstructed where the Malay population was to be relocated.
However, for some reason this never happened, the house was never reconstructed and it became a part of the forgotten history of Lombok.
The resort has also adopted the rich Hindu tales and they are featured in the design. Like the story about Dewi Sri (Goddess Sri) and her older brother - who were turned into a snake and a rooster under the powerful spell of their father, King Purwacarita, because they refused to live in the palace - which is being incorporated as the bridge and the Bale Kokok Pletok restaurant (photos). The bridge from the old Ampenan-style house to the main restaurant is being decorated by a giant snake with a crown representing Dewi Sri in the story.
The restaurant, called Bale Kokok Pletok meaning the cockerel's crow at the break of dawn, represents Dewi Sri's brother. However, this is not just any cockerel but a gigantic rooster that stands proudly on the roof of the restaurant. It is a very impressive restaurant, with a soaring ceiling, pillars in the form of Dewi Sri statues, a serene infinity pool and stunning beach views.
On our last visit there, we stayed at the Bhagavat Gita Suites. It is reminiscent of a colonial-style house with high ceilings, an enormous wooden four-poster bed, a swimming pool and semi au naturel bathroom. The tub in the semi-outdoor bathroom is carved out of a boulder where you can have your flower shower every day (on request); a big shower with a little wooden chair under it so you can take shower while sitting, like a little princess in olden times; and a little shower with a giant bathtub made from terracotta.
Lombok Island possesses beautiful tropical forests that are still pretty much preserved. If you decide to hike up Mount Rinjani, you will find not only some of Lombok's best flora but spectacular vistas of the sea.
Due to our short period of time in Lombok, we decided to use the Tugu's private boat and snorkel around the coral garden near Gili Meno. Oh, we also tried fishing, but forgot that fish do not feed at noon like us mere mortals.
A trip on the Tugu private boat is exciting and quite adventurous. With it, you can explore all three Gili Islands, starting with the smallest one, Gili Air, up to the notorious party island, Gili Trawangan. We chose to stop at Gili Meno, as it has started to get more attention from international tourists recently.
Indeed, the view from Gili Meno is stunning, but perhaps our expectations are slightly too high.
Besides its breathtaking view, Gili Meno has several (non-AC) bungalows for tourists, some modest restaurants with not-so-modest price (especially for beer), imported water since they have none, a sea turtle sanctuary, a so-called zoo where they used to have a kangaroo (misplaced and now deceased), one very expensive warnet (Internet caf*) and a black swamp-like lagoon that produces the island's infamous mosquitoes.
