Diverse Indonesia – Part 2

1. Lombok

White sandy beaches and turquoise water can't keep us in one place for too long. So, we hopped on a local boat to Lombok. The two main tourist hubs are Senggigi on the west and Kuta in the south. We chose Kuta because we were told that beaches were nicer there (which turned out to be true) and with more options for surfers. We enjoyed beautiful sunsets, the waves were just the right size for our surfing skills and the food was superb. But we wanted to climb the next volcano. In the north of Lombok there is Rinjani, a 3,726-metre high volcano. Its peak is currently closed due to the earthquake in 2018. So, we cancelled our hiking plans, but we still went to the north side of the island. We were based in the village of Senaru, surrounded by beautiful rice fields. We also visited two waterfalls, both of them extremely beautiful (Sendang Gile, Tiu Kelep).

2. Flores

The main reason we decided to visit Flores was the Komodo national park – truth be told, we heard rumours about authorities planning on shutting it down, so we wanted to visit before that happened (which apparently is not). The national park is known for the Komodo dragons, the biggest monitor lizards on Earth which live only on these islands. We visited Komodo and its neighbour Rinca (both with Komodo dragons), but we must admit we preferred Rinca. An unforgettable experience was the sunrise on Padar island and the cherry on top of it all was diving in the national park. We have never seen such huge manta rays. The marine life is very rich: manta rays, sharks… But beware, the currents here are extreme and the dive spots are not suited for beginners.

Because we wanted to see more of Flores we flew to its central part – Bajawa. We hired a private driver who took us around for the next three days. Our first stop was the traditional village of Bena. That was where we saw the traditional Flores architecture for the first time. After a short visit to the driver’s family we moved north. The next morning, we explored the national park’s 17 islands. We were amazed by the fact that there were still such hidden treasures. In the evening we continued eastwards, spent a night along the way and woke up on »Blue stone beach«. Another natural marvel, the stones were actually blue, some were purple. We didn't stay long because the last volcano of our Indonesian trip was waiting for us. Once we got to the parking lot, it took us around 30 minutes of gentle hiking to the first viewing platform of Mount Kelimutu’s crater. From a bird's eye view Kelimutu has three craters all filled with water creating lakes in different colours. After another 15-minute hike we were on the second viewing platform. On the way back we stopped at some rice terraces (we just couldn't get enough of them). We ended our Flores exploration in Ende and from there we flew to…

3. Bali

As mentioned before, we already visited Bali three years ago, but during our 21-day visit we had 18 days of rain and four days of waiting for our lost luggage to arrive. Not really the best memories. This time it was completely different. Although we went to the same restaurants, same spas, said hello at the guesthouse we stayed at, everything was different this time – it was sunny. We rented a scooter, rode through the rice terraces, enjoyed amazing food and we could sit outside and enjoy the sun. We even got to enjoy amazing sunsets. We were not interested in famous Instagram spots, or the beaches (first time we spent a week in Seminyak). Definitely worth a visit are: Uluwatu temple, Tanah Lot, Ulun Danu Temple Bedugul, Lake Beratan, Tirta Empul tepmle, Taman Ayul temple.

We will definitely go back to Indonesia; we also want to return to Lombok and Bali. We enjoy the local food, beaches, rice terraces, but most importantly, the people are genuinely friendly and welcoming. Indonesia is beautiful and fairly easy to travel, just beware of the rainy season as we learnt about that the hard way.

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