In Reply to: Are the Gilis boring for 2 weeks???!!! posted by Anna on Wednesday, 25. August 1999 at 20:40 Bali Time:
The Gili Islands are great just to relax and unwind, there is a bit of culture but not as much and Lombok is a very hard place to find the culture that you are use to seeing in Bali because it's really not in your face and displayed for the tourists.
Lombok isn't loved by all because of the fact that it is not that much on display like Bali and other islands.
Senggigi is the upmarketed area of Lombok which is not my cup of tea but some people do like it. There are a lot of 4 to 5 star hotels and also bottom of the range losmens and some are worth inspecting. If you head down south there are lovely areas like Bangko Bangko, Kuta beach (which is currently being exploited or already has been) but the other beaches surrounding Kuta are less exploited.
The open markets down in central Lombok are great and also if you go around the villages on the base of Mt Rinjani like Senaru and others around there they are worth the visit. The best places are in the base down south of Mt Rinjani and north of Mt Rinjani.
My advice is that you hire a reliable jeep (worth shopping around for a reliable vehicle, don't just get the first one) and get yourself a good map from one of the supermarkets/Photolabs in Mataram and I recommend you speak to the locals and about places to visit.
If you like more info on the names of villages which I thought were great in Lombok, just ask.