A (nearly) Perfect Day

The selfie is back! (Kuta Beach)

As it was my last full day in Lombok, I decided I should finally pry my butt out of the hut and go check out some other things. In my gut I knew that if I didn’t, I would seriously regret it later. As it turns out, I regret it now that I didn’t do it sooner. While sitting on the beach here was exactly what I wanted to do this week, it turns out that perhaps I should have saved that for upcoming Bali (which I hear is way touristy and I have a feeling may annoy me) and done my exploring on this island, which is still natural and pure. But better late than never, eh?



Downtown Kuta

Part of the issue was that I had been told that renting motorbikes from the hotel was super expensive so I hadn’t bothered checking into it sooner. But I figured I’d at least ask and was shocked to learn that I could take one out for the whole day for only 90,000 Rupiah (about $8). For the whole day! So, yeah, I jumped all over it and took off in the morning. The second I rode it out of the gate of the hotel, I just started smiling broadly to myself. I love that feeling, total independence and being on my own and figuring things out by instinct. The hotel had given me a map but, frankly, it was pretty useless. It showed the whole island and did point out the different beaches and villages, but it only showed one road. For the whole island. So I immediately knew I was going to have to wing it. Fortunately, winging it is one of my better life skills.

As soon as I got on the road, I started seeing the REAL Lombok, and I fell in love. I went by beaches and through tiny little villages and up and down mountains. Everywhere I turned was another breathtaking view. I had no idea where I was going or how I would get back, but I didn’t care in the slightest. I saw groups of schoolchildren in their sweet little school uniforms and locals selling their wares and farmers working the fields and little kids playing soccer on muddy fields and chickens crossing the road and, more than once, traffic had to stop to allow a slowly meandering herd of cows to cross the road.

The "gas station". Here you buy gas by the
bottle, and it may just be a vodka bottle!

I saw some different beaches off in the distance, the color of the water beyond belief, but I finally stopped at one called Mawun Beach. As soon as I walked onto it, I literally just stood there in awe. Never in my life have I seen water so green/blue and brilliant. Once I came out of my stupor, I realized that I didn’t have my bathing suit with me (I hadn’t planned to park myself on a beach today) and could have cried. I decided I would just have to settle for a walk along its shores but I didn’t get too far before I realized that that wouldn’t do. I walked a little farther to a part where there were no people too close (it was shockingly empty) and took advantage of the fact that I had a pretty long tank top on which, come on, is practically just like wearing a bathing suit. It was divine, truly divine. A nearly empty beach, the bluest water I’d ever seen, bathwater warm and a brilliant blue sky. Why, WHY didn’t I find this place earlier?

I almost killed myself for this picture; when I tried to pull over
I ran off the road and flipped off the bike!

After quite some time, I was about to get out of the water when I noticed a group of 4 boys on the shore, looking at me and laughing and taking pictures. So I hung out in the water a bit longer. I finally got out, got redressed and started walking back the long stretch when I saw a perfectly lovely tree offering some shade and decided to plunk myself down and enjoy the view for a while. What I loved most about this beach, in addition to simply how unbelievably gorgeous it was, was that it was just a regular beach frequented by locals. No hotels, no restaurants, no one trying to sell you anything, just real locals hanging out and enjoying the day.  

This picture from a mountaintop does the blue/green-ness
of the water absolutely NO justice.

But, as is common here, the locals take a keen interest in white people. Although, I do think perhaps it’s more extreme in my case since I’m by myself. That seems to be some sort of inconceivable fact here as every single person I’ve had more than a passing chat with has asked me about it. Every single one. So it didn’t take long (less than 2 minutes) before a youngish boy came up and asked me what I was doing here by myself. He plunked himself down and sat and talked with me for a long time, inviting me to go with he and his friends to another beach down the road. I declined very politely as I really just wanted to hang there for a bit. Not another 5 minutes went by before the 4 boys who had been taking pictures of me in the water came up and plunked themselves down. The funny part was that between the 4 of them, they spoke about 10 words of English so the conversation was preeeetty limited, to say the least, but they were happy just to sit by me and talk and laugh. And shamelessly take picture after picture of me, as if I weren’t sitting just 3 feet from them and didn’t notice. But they were cute and good-natured so I didn’t mind.

Mawun Beach... heaven on earth

Not another 5 minutes later, yet another group approached, one boy who spoke English and some of his friends who did not. The girls just kept covering their mouths and giggling any time I would try to say something to them. The boy is studying English in university and was SUPER excited to get to speak to me so they were around quite a while. At one point they had left and gone back to their tree but then asked me to join them, which I did. I think here, somehow, the idea of someone being on their own is some sort of tragedy so when they see someone by themself, it’s inherent in them to want to include them. It’s extremely nice, actually.

I finally tore myself away from there, ready to head to another beach they had recommended but I wasn’t on the road a full minute before it started to rain. And then it started to pour. As in hard, pelting rain, which is only amplified when riding a motorbike in a tank top. It got so bad I couldn’t see and had to pull over and hang out under a tree for a while. I decided to keep trying to motor on but after about 20 minutes, I started to realize that, even if I did make it to the next beach, what was the point in the pouring rain? Dejected and defeated, I turned back. Sad, sad times.

Group Two of random boys that came and sat down with me

But at least the day up until that point had been glorious and will leave me with the best memories of Lombok possible. I love this little island.
 
 





 
 
 
 

Group Three of random people... at least this guy spoke English!

Just ignore the raindrop in the middle of the picture; take
note of the little boys playing soccer naked. When it rains,
apparently all of the little boys get naked... I saw them
running around all over the place, happy as clams.