In Reply to: Lombok info please including hotels ?? posted by Tuberose on Tuesday, 17. January 2006 at 13:52 Bali Time:
I really enjoyed Lombok. It's a lot quieter than Bali but the people are as nice. The hawkers are probably more desperate as there are far less tourists, but once you get chatting to them you'll find that their lives are not that different from those living on Bali. We stayed at Villa Qunci - fantastic place right on a small beach, about 10 minutes from the centre of town. Not a great beach but you can snorkel off it when the tide's right. The hotel is amazing - fantastic Balinese design outside but beautiful Zen interior with the best outdoor bathroom I've seen yet! Their food prices are reasonable and it's a quick and cheap ride into Sengiggi where there are many wonderful, cheap restaurants. We hired a motorbike for a day or two and drove around the island. We saw people living in poverty, but still amazingly happy. We stopped off at the boat launching site for the Gilis and spent a wonderful day on Gili Meno and Trawangan - amazing snorkelling. I preferred Meno - a lot more secluded and peaceful. Be warned that the boat ride back in the afternoon gets a bit hairy with quite large waves - you're guaranteed a soaking. We didn't get to Kuta but I believe it's worth the trip. Sengiggi is pretty busy - if you prefer to be in the centre where the action is there are a number of reasonably priced hotels right on Sengiggi beach. Go to Lombok - you won't be sorry!