The Baduy: The First People

“The mountains may not be destroyed, the valleys may not be damaged,

What is long may not be cut short, what is short may not be lengthened,

We must remain faithful to the ways of our ancestors.” – Traditional Baduy verse

For tourists, journalists, and anthropologists alike, the very idea of a people who live deep in the forest, excluding all outsiders, has a powerful fascination. A ‘Keep Out’ sign exerts an allure as powerful as the locked cupboard at the end of Bluebeard’s corridor, and for no better reason than that outsiders are not welcome. In our hearts, perhaps, each of us secretly believes we are special, and will be welcome at spectacles and events closed to ordinary mortals.

It was this fantasy that had led me, clambering up and down steep, slippery footpaths, past dry rice fields and through light secondary forest and bamboo glades, to a rickety looking bamboo bridge that creaked and swayed gently in the breeze. I sat, scowling and biting my nails, and wiping the sweat from my face with a hand filthy with mud.

I couldn’t cross this bridge, and not because it looked too rotten and fragile to bear my weight. At any rate, a fall would not have been the catastrophe in might have been elsewhere. The water in the stream was clean and pure, unsullied by the household waste that turns the banks of rivers elsewhere in Indonesia into fly-infested eyesores. But I scowled at the babbling brook, in no mood to be impressed by its song. For me, the river was just the boundary that separated the territory of the Inner Baduy from the outside world. On the other side, where I couldn’t go, lived a community whose members are required to maintain a stringent degree of ritual purity. And they didn’t want me anywhere near them.

It was nothing personal, nothing that I’d done. It was what I was, a foreigner, a city dweller, a luxury lover. For the Baduy, outsiders in general and foreigners in particular are a polluting influence, and are permitted to enter only rarely, by the grace of the custodians. Unsullied by the presence of outsiders, the sacred forest is protected by the ritually pure guardians of the sacred forest, at the centre of which lies the Arca Domas, an ancient megalithic site about which little is known.

Precisely because the Baduy turn their back on the world, refusing to explain or justify themselves, they exert a powerful attraction. Peering in through the cracks in the forest, outsiders strain to make sense of the incomprehensible by projecting their own fantasies and fears. For believers in magic, the Baduy are powerful wizards; for environmentalists, they are noble savages; for the religious, they are unrepentant pagans. Confused observers variously describe them as a lost tribe, aristocratic Hindu refugees, or the Amish of the East. Meanwhile, the Baduy continue to live their lives, entirely indifferent to whatever outsiders choose to believe.

While much remains a matter for conjecture, some facts are known for certain. Members of the innermost community live in one of three villages, Cikartawana, Cibeo, and Cikeusik, located on the forested foothills around Mt. Kendang, southeast of Rangkasbitung, in the province of Banten.

The beliefs of the Baduy require villagers to cultivate subsistence crops without hoe, plough, or irrigation, practicing slash and burn agriculture and rotating the use of land. The Inner Baduy may not alter the course of a stream or level land for any purpose. While the men fish, hunt and gather fruit and honey from the forest, they do so in the least intrusive and destructive fashion possible. Also, the Inner Baduy refrain from the use of manufactured goods of any sort. They produce all their own household and personal items, their own tools and agricultural equipment, using materials they gather or grow. They dress in plain cloth that the women spin and fashion into clothes. Men wear a white headdress and shirt and a black sarong with vertical white stripes, while women wear a black sarong and bodice. Only certain basic materials, such as raw iron used for fashioning knives and raw cotton used for weaving, are imported from the outside world. The inner Baduy do not ride horses or vehicles of any sort. When they travel abroad, they walk, always, no matter how far.

According to those who have made friends with them, the Baduy believe that they are the direct lineal descendents of the first people to occupy the earth. As the home of the first people, the land they are born from is a living mandala, a representation of the entire universe. In order to prevent devastation and calamity throughout the world, they strive to live here in harmony with the earth and in conformity with the laws prescribed by their ancestors. There are no schools, no medical facilities, and no government officials of any kind.

Surrounding the holy sanctum is a buffer zone where members of the outer Baduy community live. Comprising almost eight thousand individuals living in sixty-seven villages, members of the outer community speak the same archaic dialect of Sundanese as do the insiders, to whom they are related by ties of blood, marriage, and ritual. The taboos and rules that govern this group are considerably less rigorous than those regulating the inner group, although the use of vehicles, machinery, electricity and chemicals within their territory is still forbidden, as is the cultivation of commercial crops. Members of this group may travel in motorized vehicles when journeying outside the area, however, and have far more frequent interactions with the outside world. While some outer Baduy wear a few items of mass-produced clothing, such items are always plain black or dark blue.

***

On my walk to the river’s edge, I had been accompanied by Katamsi Nurrasa, my guide from Jakarta, and Sarmin, a member of the outer Baduy community. For the last several days, I had been staying at Sarmin’s hut in the village of Cijengkol. Like all Outer Baduy dwellings, his home consisted of a raised platform with a slatted floor and walls made of woven bamboo, divided into five sections: the veranda, the guestroom, the storeroom, the storage space above the fireplace, and the main area, which also functioned as a bedroom. The roof was made of sago palm leaves and thatch palm. The sparse furniture was made from bamboo, cut from the forests. All kitchen utensils were also hand-made, with the exception of a few basic cooking implements. There was no electricity, no running water, and no bathroom.

Katamsi went across the bridge to Cibeo, to ask the representative of the Pu’un, the spiritual head of the community, if I might visit. While Katamsi was also an outsider, he was Indonesian and had been visiting the Baduy for more than five years. Over time, he had made many friends in both the inner and the outer community. A retired marine engineer with decades of experience of traveling the world, he had a deep respect and affection for the Baduy. To a large extent, the community had accepted him.

Without a good guide to explain the taboos and mores of Baduy society, it is virtually impossible to visit this area. At best, the unprepared traveler can visit the tourist gateway at Ciboleger, where Jaro Daina, a member of the Outer Baduy appointed as the official mediator between the community and the outside world, holds office. From there, accompanied by one of the many aggressive local guides, you can walk to Gajebo, a frequently visited Outer Baduy village located far from the inner community. I shuddered slightly at the memory of the paths littered by the frequent school groups and the slightly furtive offers of coca-cola from villagers who may or may not have been genuine members of the Baduy community.

Seated by the side of the river, Sarmin, my Baduy host, began to talk. Like most members of the Baduy community, he was reserved and sparing with his speech. While not appearing to be disturbed by the presence of outsiders, neither are the Baduy particularly welcoming. On my trip in, when I had passed through outer villages, the inhabitants barely glanced up from weaving, fashioning knives, and other tasks unless I approached them directly, when they answered my questions shortly and without fuss. While Sarmin was hardly loquacious, this was the second time that I had stayed with him for several days. He was beginning to open up a little.

I told Sarmin that I’d heard that the Baduy were forbidden to use cash. When he replied, he spoke simply, and looked me straight in the eye. Unlike people in the cities, the Baduy are not shy about eye contact, even with people they barely know. “No,” he corrected me, “There are lots of rich Baduy. We sell knives, cloth, honey, fruit, and other things from the forest to outsiders. There isn’t much to spend our money on. We just save it.” He looked away, and added nothing further. It is not in the nature of the Baduy to volunteer information about themselves, and they are not embarrassed by silence.

I prodded a little. With little on which to spend their cash, Sarmin admitted that some villagers accumulate significant savings. He added that outsiders in the surrounding areas often borrowed money from members of the Baduy community to fund their consumeristic lifestyles, offering up plots of land as security. “A brother of mine lent a man near here fifty million rupiah to hold a wedding for his daughter. He couldn’t pay it back.” The Baduy celebrate weddings with the simplest ceremony imaginable, a shared meal and a few words. In the villages outside their community, poor farmers mark the same rite of passage by hiring a band, staging puppet performances, holding a feast. When the villager couldn’t repay the loan, he surrendered a block of land to the brother. Members of the Outer Baduy often grow some cash crops on these newly acquired lands outside their traditional territory, although most maintain their simple lifestyles.

There are exceptions, however. Sarmin talked of a former member of the Outer Baduy community, Haji Kasmin, who had a driving ambition to attain a formal education, something forbidden by customary law. “He was a rebel. He had to leave,” said Sarmin. Curious about the ‘rebel Baduy,’ I later asked people in the nearby villages, outside the community, for more information. They laughed: everybody knew Haji Kasmin. After leaving the community, he had converted to Islam and gone on to achieve considerable success in the business world, eventually being appointed as a member of the national parliament. In fact, there was little shame or disapprobation attached to his departure – Kasmin remained a frequent visitor to the Baduy territory, and played a valuable role as a defender of Baduy interests at the national level. While the most prominent of those who leave the community, Kasmin is hardly unique, and a significant number of others have also left to assimilate into the surrounding villages. “Life here doesn’t suit everyone,” Sarmin said, adding with some understatement: “It’s very simple.”

Katamsi returned from his walk to the inner villages, puffing slightly with exertion. Katamsi is softly spoken and polite to a fault, but he shook his head and spoke without mincing his words. “No, I’m sorry. You won’t be able to cross the bridge.” I was crestfallen, but there was no point in arguing or pleading. It was the law.

Apparently, it was a particularly sensitive time. It appeared that the annual Kawalu festival and the ceremonies that accompany it had just ended, several days earlier. As is customary at this time, members of the inner community were busy preparing to walk to Serang to offer forest produce as tribute to the Governor of Banten. Katamsi explained that Kawalu was a village cleansing ceremony held at harvest time. During this time, Katamsi said, the inner area is completely closed to outsiders. “The Pu’un set up a band to go around the Baduy villages, house by house. They check that people don’t have things they shouldn’t have. Stuff like plates and crockery with patterns on them, or battery operated torches,” Sarmin chimed in. “If they find stuff like that, they take it away. They give the family a warning or some kind of punishment. Depends on what they find.”

In the inner Baduy community, infringements of the law often mean expulsion to the outer community. Sarmin told a story of one inner Baduy member who had seen a bus pass by in the area outside his territory. On an impulse, he had succumbed to temptation, and taken a ride. “He just wanted to see what it was like. Then he went straight to the Pu’un and told him. The Pu’un said he and his family would have to move to the outer community.” He was not shamed or shunned, and he retained friendly relationships with his old community – but they felt he had forfeited the right to live with them. His conduct had placed him outside the inner circle.

The three Pu’un, one each from Cikartawana, Cibeo, and Cikeusik, are the spiritual leaders of the entire Baduy community. Their word on matters of taboo and ritual is law. While the position of Pu’un is usually hereditary, they are leaders in matters of ritual only. While they have many special responsibilities, they have few extra priveliges, and no extra luxuries. After ensuring the purity of the community during the Kawalu ritual, the Pu’un conduct the annual pilgrimage to the Arca Domas, the primordial megalithic site deep in the sacred forest. As the three Pu’un and their assistants are the only people ever permitted to set foot in this forest, and only at this time of the year, practically nothing is known about the site and the rituals conducted there. When I pushed Sarmin for details, he just looked away, not even bothering to shrug.

On Katamsi’s visit to the inner zone, he met an old friend, Naniek, a member of the Inner Baduy and the son of a former Pu’un. Naniek joined us on the walk back to Sarmin’s village. On the way, he asked me where I lived. I told him my address in Jakarta, certain it would mean nothing to him. To my astonishment, he said: “Oh, yes. Near the Hilton Hotel, isn’t it?” I stared at him, this man of the forest in his home-spun rags, holding a bamboo staff. I couldn’t believe that he could possibly know anything about Jakarta’s premier five-star hotel, but he nodded in a positively blasé fashion. “I often go to Jakarta,” he said, then grinned widely for no apparent reason, displaying teeth that had obviously not benefited from modern dentistry. When I asked why he made these trips, he just shrugged. Katamsi chuckled. “He just visits for the fun of it.” Still not quite believing, I asked how he got there. “I walk,” he said, as though it was the most obvious thing to do. Pushed, he said that he made the 120-kilometer journey on foot in two days or three days, following the railway track and sleeping in public places or the houses of acquaintances. Katamsi backed him up. “One day I came to work. My office is on the 25th level of the Menara Batavia building. Naniek was sitting on the floor of the lobby. The receptionist was having a fit. Naniek wouldn’t use the lift, so he walked up the stairs. He didn’t want anything in particular, he’d just come to say hello.” Katamsi and Naniek laughed at the memory of the flustered receptionist, and at Katamsi’s valiant insistence that he would walk down the stairs to accompany Naniek back to the street.

As we wound our way through the hilly terrain, Naniek and Katamsi found further sources of amusement, laughing at stories of outsiders who come to the inner community in search of spiritual advice or magical solutions to their problems. Again, Naniek shocked me with his blasé manner. “President Soekarno used to come here quite often. He walked in,” he said casually. He seemed to find it perfectly natural that the head of state should find the time for these ventures into the forest. There is a historical precedent – Javanese nobles would often boast of their special relationship with the men of the forest, which they felt was a source of magical power and potency.

In the modern era, the attempt of some powerful individuals to fit the Baduy into their own world view has backfired hilariously. Naniek spoke of one particular case: “When Soeharto came, he flew into the region by helicopter, but it couldn’t land in the forest. He wanted the Pu’un to meet him, but they wouldn’t come out. The Pu’un don’t go out of the forest.” Remembering the almost fawning respect nearly every Indonesian showed the former strong man, it struck me as amazing to meet people who declined an invitation to meet him. “The Baduy aren’t rebellious. We showed respect. The Pu’un sent a member of the outer Baduy to meet the president. But the Pu’un didn’t go,” Naniek said. Then he grinned broadly again.

Smiling, Katamsi added his story of a distraught teenage girl who had asked him to take her to Cibeo only several weeks previously to seek the solution to some adolescent love crisis. “She was looking for a potion or charm. She wanted something to make her boyfriend take her back,” he said. Many of the visitors, it seems, seek charms, potions, or other instant cures for their problems. If anything, the Baduy seem slightly embarrassed by this insistence that they possess powerful magic and sorcery. Instead, they insist that they merely live simply and modestly, in the forest, the way their ancestors did.

We arrived at Sarmin’s village before dusk. Naniek continued on his way, unperturbed by the impending darkness. As night fell, the shrill screech of cicadas, the wind rustling in the bamboo leaves, and the dogs’ howling prevailed. I thought about Naniek’s stories and the irony of the frustrated, the ambitious and the broken-hearted turning up here and begging for help. It may have been misguided, but I understood why outsiders – kings and presidents, artists and back-packers – have been drawn to this refuge for centuries. There is magic here, but I wondered if outsiders could walk in, wrap it up and take it away in their pockets.

At the bridge, earlier in the day, I had been disappointed that I hadn’t been allowed to visit the Baduy’s inner sanctuary. By the end of the day, I’d realized that I shouldn’t have even tried. After all, their villages and the forest they guard remain sacred only because they are undisturbed. Living according to their stern and austere code, the Baduy guard the secret glades well. A consecrated community rather than an isolated tribe, they are not ignorant of modern civilization. Rather, they deliberately reject it. That is their gift to us. We have much to learn.

Am Flughafen in Bali angekommen, haben wir uns gleich mal unsere erste Million abgehoben (sind ca. 70 Euro)…

Das Hofballett “Legong” ist eine sehr kunstvolle Tanzform. Die Körperhaltung ist exakt vorgegeben, die Schrittfolge sehr kompliziert und muss bereits früh erlernt werden. Wegen der vorgeschriebenen Reinheit war der Legong früher nur Mädchen vor der Pupertät vorbehalten. Nach jahrelangem Training traten sie im Alter von 8-12 Jahren dann auf. Da die Legongtänzerinnen die schönsten Mädchen des Dorfes waren, gehörten sie dem Fürsten, der unter ihnen nach Beendigung der Tanzkarriere häufig seine Konkubinen wählte. Das Repertoire des Legong erzählt viele Geschichten. Oft sieht man zwei Mädchen in Trance, beseelt vom Geist himmlischer Nympfen, perfekt synchronisiert tanzen. Diese Legong Zwillingspärchen sind bei guten Aufführungen wirklich fast perfekt aufeinander abgestimmt. Das Kostüm ist prächtig und markant mit der goldenen Haube…

Das Tanzspiel “Barong” stellt den Kampf zwischen einem löwenähnlichen Wesen (Barong), der das Gute verkörpert und der Hexe Rangda als Inkarnation des Bösen. Der Kampf endet unentschieden und das Barong Drama symbolisiert damit besonders plastisch den ewigen Kampf zwischen Gut und Böse, Göttern und Dämonen die auf Bali zusammengehören wie Tag und Nacht…

Auf den Strassen gibt’s immer und ueberall frisches Obst und Gemuese zu kaufen…

Mit dem Motortaxi (was der billigste Weg ist), machten wir uns auf den Weg von Denpasar nach Ubud, wo’s uns gleich viel besser gefiel…

Nachdem wir eine Unterkunft gefunden hatten, hiess es mal tief durchatmen. Es kann wirklich anstrengend sein, mit dem Rucksack am Ruecken, in dieser Hitze, herumzulaufen und ein Hostel zu suchen…

Es war sehr erfreulich, zu sehn, dass fast alle Hostels wirklich sauber und gepflegt sind, eine normale Dusche und Klo haben und billig sind! …nur Klopapier muss man immer selbst bei sich haben, wenn man nicht die Wasserspuelung zum Po reinigen verwenden moechte!

Leben kann man hier ca. mit 7 Euro am Tag (mit Unterkunft und leckerem Abendessen) – abgesehn davon, wenn man shoppen geht! …dann kann’s schon etwas mehr werden![Es gibt unzählige religiöse Feste und Zeremonien auf Bali. Der Bali-Festkalender (Pawukon) verzeichnet 200 feierliche Anlässe pro Jahr dazu kommen die vielen individuellen rituellen Zeremonien im Lebenslauf eines Menschen, welche die Wendepunkte des Lebens markieren. Die erste Zeremonie findet schon von der Geburt statt und die erste große Hauptzeremonie, wenn das Baby ein halbes Jahr alt ist, wobei das Balinesische Jahr 210 Tage zählt. Nach dem Eintritt in die Pubertät müssen sich Mädchen und Jungs der Prozedur des Zähnefeilens unterziehen, wobei diese Prozedur heute nur noch symbolisch vorgenommen wird, da sie sehr schmerzhaft ist. Zu heiraten und eine große Familie zu haben ist besonders wichtig für die Balinesen, so ist auch die Hochzeit ein farbenfrohes von vielen religiösen Ritualen begleitetes Fest. Die größte und heiligste Zeremonie überhaupt steht aber am Ende des Lebens. Es ist die Totenverbrennung, denn die Vernichtung der körperlichen Hülle eines Verstorbenen durch die reinigende Kraft des Feuers, ist die Voraussetzung für die Wiedergeburt. Es ist kein trauriges Fest, ganz im Gegenteil Tränen sind verpönt. Für die Kremation werden kunstvolle, pagodenähnliche Verbrennungstürme gebaut, die Zeremonie wird von Gamelan-Klängen und Ritualen begleitet und ist ein prunkvolles Fest. Da die Verbrennungszeremonie sehr kostspielig ist, finden neben Einzel-Kremation für begüterte Balinesen, die relativ zügig nach dem Tod stattfindet, auch Sammel-Kremation statt. Manche Familien können sich diese Zeremonie erst nach Jahren leisten und bis dahin werden die Toten begraben. Diese Begräbnisstätten liegen dann abgeschieden in einem Waldstück durch gar nichts als solche zu erkennen und werden von den Dorfbewohnern als Ort der Dämonen gemieden. Der größte Tempelfest ist der Odalan, der Tempelgeburtstag. Für diesen Tag wird der Tempel festlich geschmückt, prunkvolle Prozessionen und Zeremonien finden statt. Mit Tänzen und Gamelan Musik werden die Götter und Gäste unterhalten.] -Google hat geholfen

Taeglich bedanken sich die Menschen mit Gaben, die sie vor die Tuer oder in deren eigenen kleinen Tempel im Garten stellen…da wird geraeuchert und es duftet ueberall…

In Ubud gingen wir im Monkey forest spazieren…ein Wald voller Affen, mit denen oft nicht zu scherzen ist…

Einer hat mir doch glatt meinen Zipfel an der Tasche abgerissen…

…aber danach war er mein Freund

Dominik hat sich auch mit einem angefreundet…nachdem ihn zwei Affen kurz mal attackiert haben (einer hat uns alle Bananen gestohlen, die wir zuvor zum Fuettern gekauft haben)!

Auf den Gehsteigen und Strassen ist immer Vorsicht geboten…des oefteren sind kleine und groessere Loecher im Boden…

Mit einem Moped erkuden wir nun selbst etwas die kleine Insel (fuer ca. 2,10 Euro/Tag)…

…vorbei an ein paar Menschen, die gerade auf der Strasse ein Schwein mit Feuerfackeln roesten…

Bei den Tempelbesichtigungen muss man immer einen Sarong tragen (oder zumindest eine Schleife)…

Auf den Baustellen wird alles noch per Hand gearbeitet…Bagger gibt’s hier keinen…

Ausblick auf den Vulkan Batur…

“Clara Columna” und “Benjamin Bluemchen” auf der Bali – Entdeckungsfahrt…

…vorbei an einem der unzaehligen Reisfeldern – und terrassen…

Nach einem kleinen Shoppingausflug in Kuta (ca. 11 Euro fuer Schuhe, Sonnebrille, Armreifen und Ring)! Wer gut handelt, bekommt die “Lucky” – Preise…

Die balinesischen Kuehe sehen aus, als haette sich ein Rehbock mit einer Kuh gepaart…

Willkommen im Dreamland…

…wo wir die bis dahin groessten Wellen gesehen haben…

Bali ist der Traum fuer Surfer! …Dominik hat’s mal mit einem kleinen Body – Board versucht…

Beim Tempel in Ulu Watu treiben sich auch die Affen herum! Und einer hat tatsaechlich Dominik seine Brille von der Nase runter gestohlen und ist damit davongelaufen! Ein kleiner einheimischer Junge hat sie zurueckgeholt und hat von Dominik Geld verlangt, wenn er sie wiederhaben will!

So sehen die “Tankstellen” in den kleinen Doerfern aus…

Dominik ist ein guter Verhandler…anstatt 200.000 Rp bekam er seine neue Sonnenbrille nach 10 Minuten um 30.000 Rp (ca. 2,10Euro)! Man muss nur hartnaeckig bleiben…

Bei Sonnenuntergang kann man im Sueden Balis so manch gute Surfer beobachten, die auf den 4m hohen Wellen reiten…

Zur Zeit sind wir in einem guesthouse, das einer ganz lieben hinduistischen Familie gehoert, untergebracht! Saubere Zimmer und gutes Fruehstuck und Abendessen!

Nur am Klo kann man so manch (un-)willkommene Zuseher haben…

Another immigration to pass, another story to tell. I left Jakarta’s Kelapa Gading around 6am, a beautiful hour to spin on the highway. A less beautiful hour after 3 days Bintang (read as verb). I thought I had enough money to spend for the taxi and airport tax. And most probably I would still have enough left to enjoy a delicious indo mochacino in the airport. Though… I didn’t see near future coming. I waited at the counter to receive the stamp on my passport and the officer looked a bit dubious at me, followed by a: “Mister, you overstayed.” Shrruugg. No, can’t be, I counted the days, I thought I stayed exactly 60 days. “Mister, the computer don’t lie”. After going through all days one by one together I forfeited. He was right, that computer..and that officer. I stayed 62 days instead of 60. Big Oops! But no worries, it’s just a fine you need to pay…Another ATM (moneymachine) to milk. Ok, off I went, searching for my Meastro sign. There were a few…First one no worky. Second one no worky…Third one NO WORKY! Shit! Not enough time to go out of the airport, coz boarding time was nearby! I went back to the immigration officer. “Sir, the ATM isn’t working. Normally it does, but today it seems down. No communication with my bank.” “hahaha” in chorus. They (yes, few more officers joined) almost started to sing a song…”The ATM is not working lalala, lalala” You can’t go out sir. You must pay the fine. Fuck, i’m fucked…And more of those charming words I thought. “But..but sir, the ATM is really not working! Come and join me.” They showed me another one, which had maestro and mastercard (which also works for my card). From a distance they kept an eye on me, how I was getting completely hopeless. I saw myself driving back with a taxi, which I couldn’t pay, and say hi to my friends again. “Hello, I didn’t made it. I couldn’t pay them 50 dollar.” What a joke…no no no. I even started trying all other ATM’s. Funny sight that must have been. OMG, that guy must be loaded, he’s milking all ATM’s. Let’s rob him! I wish… I went back to them and said: “OK, I have tried them all, I need to go, is there any other way to get money? Maybe someone from the airport can give me a sum and I pay back from Kuala Lumpur airport.” Sure. “The ATM is not working lalalala…lalala…You can’t go sir.” I lost it (time pressure) and I started to bother passengers waiting in line for immigration. “Sir, could you give me 50 dollars or 400.000 rupia? I have a problem. I can pay you back in Kuala Lumpur”. How many would do that? 1 dollar ok, but 50… I found a guy however who gave me 100.000 rupiah. With this I went back to my officers. “Satu ratus!”…waahahaha Nonono, not enough. empat ratus!” They called me inside the office. Boarding started already. “Sir, what do you have, other then money? Any valuables? Mobile maybe” I had to laugh, my mobile isn’t even worth 20 dollar, but then again, can’t miss it for anything. No way. Then I did something smart it seemed. “Here, I give you my guitar Sir. Make your son happy, sell it, but I need to go. I think this is enough for the fine” “But sir, you give your guitar? That’s music, is your life, to valuable!” (I was laughing inside, this piece of crap wood wouldn’t even sell anymore to a retarded monkey, and I’m not that attached to it) “Yes sir, that’s how much I’m serious. I’m not joking about ATM, I need to go, you can have the guitar.” 2 mins silence. He let me follow him…back towards the counter…With my guitar! HE STAMPED. No fine! I’m out. Wooohoo! Another moviemoment. Airasia plane for the second time fully boarded and this bloke running second time towards it. Last passenger boarded. With guitar. Ready for take off, captain!. The two countries that I love the most were the two craziest exits. That’s how they let me never forget them. I do like it. Now, when typing this. I feel they want me back. Another story to tell.

Want your own budget beachfront bungalow on a near deserted island with nice beaches and reasonable snorkelling? Seraya fits the bill real well. I paid $us12 for a single less expensive Category A bungalow plus $2 each way for transport – prices are slightly higher in peak. Doubles pay an exra few dollars. The Category Bs are slightly more expensive – these are the ones right hand side of the pix. People told me they were slightly bigger than Cat As with tiled floors – but otherwise identical. Note they are set back from the beach about 3m and slightly raised with tree interrupted views. One couple switched across to the As after the first night. The website says there is a minimum stay of 2 nights, but a sign in the restaurant indicated a small surcharge for one night visits.
The hill behind has good views of the surrounding area plus sensational sunsets – the slightly lower one immediately right of shot is at the western end of the island with easier access and better photo-ops of the resort. The higher isolated building at right is an expat’s holiday house.
The on-the-sand airy restaurant is just out of shot to the left.

There are dozens of islands and islets within an hour’s slow boat ride of Labuanbajo, the major enty point for West Flores. Two of them have laid back budget bungalow outfits.
Seraya, 12km north of Labuanbajo just around the north west-corner of big Flores is owned by popular Gardenia Resort in town, and if you don’t book online, Gardenia can easily arrange this. The boat goes out around 11am and returns roughly at 8am or even earlier. The latter may seem a bit early but seems geared to people wanting an early flight. It works out real well if time is limited and you want to also visit Kanawa – their boat also leaves around 11am and normally returns early morning.

The cheaper bungalows – it’s not too many places you can actually get the oft asked for bungalow right on the sand. Note the buckets at the foot of the stairs for feet washing – a must that few bungalow places on or near the beach have. There was also a broom. The rooms were spotless and in good condition with enough room for 2+gear. Comfy beds were double, not queen or king. Mosquito net in good repair. No fan because electricity is limited. One night was a bit hot, the other had sea breezes. Nice sea and adjacent islands views from the big veranda. Attached indoor/outdoor bathroom has western toilet, no basin, no showerhead. These islands are almost semi arid and water has to be carted from the mainland – it is available only when the generator runs – about 1800 to 2300. You wash by the trad Asian small hand-bucket into the big bucket routine. There is another bucket to cart seawater to flush the toilet. No mirror in bathroom.

The on-sand restaurant was a pretty nice place to spend time. Food was a slightly limited variety of Gardenia’s menu at only 10% or so extra price. This place was actually cheaper than quite a few budget places I stayed despite its monopoly and freight costs. Food was tasty. Service was okay, but this is one of those places you go to the kitchen door and fire in your order if no-one is around. The staff were cheerful.

These dudes tended to come sniffing around in the afternoon. There was no sign of Seraya’s infamous aggressive male buck – I think he may have pushed his luck and got venisonised. These guys were very shy, as were the many goats who also came wandering. However it may be not a good idea to go away from your bungalow with the door open. That tree provides nice shade and was very popular with daytrippers. Most days saw at least 2 boats bring these from Labuanbajo.
Sunset and island view from the hill at west end of the island. This is easier to descend than the slightly higher hill near right – use better footwear than flip-flops. The cleared headland at rear right is part of the mainland – the far eastern tip of the island is the lower headland in front of this. I walked one end to the other in under 40 minutes. The rear of the fishing village can be seen just left of the far headland – from the resort walk along the beach and take the track aound the left lower side of the hill farside of the buildings. The best coral is along the drop-off into the deep water, particularly adjacent the restaurant (where those boats are). This is about 120m from the beach. The coral is okay but nowhere near as good as Kanawa Island. The dark area closer the beach is an area of sea grass with some interesting marine life.

This back beach can be reached in 10 minutes by taking a track over the saddle behind the bungalows.

The fishing village was neater than average – most places had a satellite dish out back big enough to bring in the Hubble, which indicates that the Indonesian fishing industry may be travelling well.

KANAWA ISLAND
Kanawa is about the same distance from Labuanbajo, but due west. It is also a budget resort – at first glance it looks a bit more expensive than Seraya at $us15 for a single, but prices include transport – so things work out much of a muchness. There is no one-day supplement.
The booking office is in Labuanbajo main street across the road from the steps up to Gardenia Hotel, and very close to Perama’s office.

Kanawa’s bungalows are not absolute beachfront and you could land a second rower. The restaurant is the building closest the water mid shot. The sand in front is a bit dust affected and not as attractive as Seraya. The reef drop-off at the end of the pier is an okay place to snorkel, but some of the best Asian coral I’ve seen starts at the nearest curve of the beach on left and runs towards the camera. It deteriorates past the near-end of the beach. This section can be seen below.

The reef drop-off is about 150m from the beach in the good coral area. The coral and fish for 30m on the beach side of the drop-off is very good too. That’s mainland Flores in the far background.

Back-beach on Kanawa. Beaches go virtually around the island but there are some headland areas which make walking around difficult. 2 Aussies, VERY good snorkelers kicked around in about 2 hours, but novices may find this a bit tough. I spent about 2 hours clambering around this hilly area behind the resort – it had about 5 summits and some real nice views. That’s Labuanbajo background centre. The best access track is near the small hut under the low cliff west of the resort – follow the electricity line to just short of the hut. The summit areas are criss-crossed with tracks, many made by the shy goats. (Kanawa also had a deer). If you can, wear long trousers and a long sleeved shirt – there are some innocuous looking shrubs with razor sharp thorns. Flip-flops won’t cut it.
The sunsets would be great up here because of the height, but it takes maybe 20 minutes more difficult climb compared to 10 minutes at Seraya.

The nicest section of coral starts adjacent this corner of the beach and runs to opposite the end of the beach. It is particularly good directly out from the swimmer in background. The beach is more grainy coral based which some people don’t like as much as fine sand – note the high-water mark shows the beach is pretty skinny most places at high tide.

My front row bungalow was about 25m behind the beach but with nice views of neighbouring islands and mainland Flores. It was in pretty good condition, had a comfy double bed, good mozzie net, plenty of room for 2+gear – although couples on my boat were allocated specific bungalows which may be a bit bigger. No foot-wash bucket, no broom. No fan – electricity is at similar times to Seraya. Bathroom could not be accessed from inside – you had to go out onto the big side veranda which could be a hassle for frequent nocturnal bathroom runners. Squat toilet which worries some. Same water supply set up as Seraya although the built in storage area was much bigger than Seraya’s buckets. No mirror in bathroom.

The restaurant was about 30m behind the beach and the area immediately in front was not as attractive as Seraya. Service was real good, food nice although prices were 30 to 50% more than Seraya (35k v 24k for a large Bintang – fried rice+ 30 v 18) – actually around what I expected for such an isolated place. Note some Canadians who had visited the previous week had told me in Labuanbajo that there was a very limited variety of food on their visit. Not too bad on mine – although the menu had less choice than Seraya’s.

SO WHICH ISLAND IS THE BETTER?
Depends on your priorities:
BEACH – nicer, much wider on Seraya. Both beaches seemed to be cleaned each day, but the between-beach area in front of Kanawa’s restaurant had a bit of litter first day.
CORAL – outstanding by my experience of Asia on Kanawa, considerably better than Seraya.
BUNGALOWS – much better position and slightly more attractive on Seraya. RESTAURANT – better position, wider choice and considerably cheaper on Seraya. Service a bit better on Kanawa.
EXCLUSIVITY – want your own desert island? Kanawa has no fishing village and seemed to get no daytrippers. It seems to attract fewer guests.
TREKKING – Kanawa by a long shot. The hill area is great. It’s a pretty ordinary walk across Seraya to the fishing village.
ASPECT – Kanawa faces south and picks up the south-east trades. It also has more extensive views of neighbouring islands and the mainland. Seraya faces north – it still seemed to pick up a nice breeze most times but not as cooling as Kanawa.

Thing is, I doubt you’d be disappointed whichever you picked. But why not do as I did and visit both? – as said earlier, boat times are such that you can come in from one island and go out to the other a few hours later. Note too 5 of us wanted to get a late boat back into Labuanbajo from Kanawa – after a bit of bargaining we managed to charter one for $us15.

LABUANBAJO
This is surprisingly small for the main entry point, port, fishing town and tourist destination in West Flores. It stretches a few km along a bay and up the hillside.

The main street is a disgrace – hot, dusty, rubbish and broken bits of pavement and road everywhere – often crammed with traffic – which is noisy – the locals like the open muffler set up on their vehicles (and boats). There seems to be more transport guys hassling for a ride than Kuta Bali.
Services are pretty good – lots of dive shops, places where you can organise daytrips and overnighters to surrounding islands for beaches and snorkelling plus Komodo and Rinca for some dragon spotting, trips further east on Flores, plenty of restaurants and other stores.

Away from the street, you can find some quiet and breezy oases with nice views like this area shot from Gardenia Hotel which has okay quality good value bungalows from budget to flahspacker set in a leafy area up a hill, good inexpensive food but abysmal service (tip, go to the kitchen door or to the manager’s little bar area behind the cabana tables to the left of the main restaurant). Golo Hill is even higher on the hill, is slightly upmarket and gets very good reviews on travel sites. Nearby Paradise Bar rocks with locals and travellers Friday and Saturday nights. There are lots of other budget places in town and a couple of midrangers down the coast (you can see one on the beach left backgound) and a fair way north on the mainland coast towards Seraya.

GETTTING THERE Several outfits fly from Bali and Lombok: http://www.alliance-indonesia.com/indonesia_airline.htm http://www.merpati.co.id/en/default.aspx
http://www.transnusa.co.id/index.php?switchto=eng
Flights have some history of being overbooked (or cancelled if there are too few passengers), but no-one I talked to in my May 09 shoulder season trip had trouble.

You can get a ferries/buses ticket from Bali or Lombok – but note my Gilis-Labuanbajo trip started 8am Wednesday morning and didn’t reach Labuanbajo until 5am Friday morning, mainly because I had to hang around Sarpe port in Labuanbajo from 6am until 7pm for the once-a day-ferry (the morning boat had not run for months). I think the ferry connections on the reverse trip are better.Sarpe-port is a God-forsaken hole, but 5 of us chartered a local boat for the day at two nice beaches on an island about 10km away. The second had pretty nice coral. We bargained the boat down to 150k – hell, 3 dollars each for nice locations was a sweet deal and turned a drag into a pretty nice day.

You can come across or return on Perama’s Lombok-Flores cruise. Other operators do this trip at peak season.
There is an occasional Pelni boat which will take you (maybe with connections) all the way to Jakarta and beyond.
There are also ferries to big Sumba Island.
And lots of buses and shuttles from further east on Flores.

Kuta Bay from the killer hill to the west. Good surfing on the fringing reefs of this and neighbouring bays of south Lombok (Image Panoramio-Lucas Wandeler)

Novotel Coralia Lombok – a pretty nice looking high-end place (image Panoramio-famdestroy)

Deserted beach east of Kuta (image Panoramio – famdestroy)

Bodyboarding the reef – Kuta Bay (image Panoramio – marinou)

From the big ferries at Lembar, the price was about 200000 (us$20) for a private car transfer in 06 but all the prices here must be higher now (Jul08) with fuel price increases. Perama will also run this route if there are enough passengers booked beforehand.

Lombok Lovers – an informative Kuta based Lombok forum.

The text and photos of this article remain the copyright of the Author (Tezza). Under no circumstances should the photos or text be used without the express written permission of the Author (Tezza). If you wish to use or publish photos or text from this article – please  Contact Tezza

The Gilis looking back towards the mainland – Trawangan, Meno and then Air. Rinjani volcano is at top left (image Lombok Travel)

(I’ve visited the Gilis 3 times in the past 10 years. Most of this report was written after the April06 trip, but I have inserted UPDATES in both text and photos from my latest May09 visit where appropriate.)

These are ideal places for beach lovers, divers and snorkellers. I visited all 3 for the second time last April. These islands are pretty attractive and laid back (although the party scene in Sentral on Gili Trawangan would keep most ragers happy) – the perfect place for a budget or midrange holiday. Overall, things were very quiet, although last August in high season was not particularly busy either. UPDATE MAY09 – recent travel forum reports indicate the Gilis have undergone a revival in interest, particularly Trawangan. Apparently high season 08 saw a shortage of vacancies and pretty high prices. My May 09 shoulder season visit saw more people on Trawangan than previous trips. Air was still pretty relaxed though. I didn’t get to Meno latest trip, but it looked as quiet as ever when my island hopping boat called in to the pier on the way between Trawangan and Air.

All three are great but I enjoyed Air the most. The popular beach section in the south of the east coast was cleaner than Trawangan and had a better range of accom and restaurants than lovely Meno.
If your budget is low end, an outstanding place in this beach area is Sunrise Hotel and Restaurant - tel/fax (0370) 642370). I got a huge lumbung (rice barge type) 2 storey bungalow in a nice garden setting, single, including a simple but nice breakfast for $US 8. In high season the guy told me 10-12 was more likely. They have a big, good restaurant and great bales (sitting platforms) outside overlooking the beach where you can sit and eat and watch the action, including nice sunrises over Rinjani volcano on mainland Lombok. You can also check this from your big upper deck on many of the lumbungs .

The sitting platforms (bales) near Sunrise Hotel on Gili Air’s east coast – mainland Lombok in the background (image Panoramio-Lombok Gili Air)

This area has many other restaurants, some bars, shops, internet, a lot of even cheaper accom and is about 10 minutes walk to the right when you get off the boat. Or 3 minutes by dokar aka cidimo – pony cart, which is the island form of taxi. No cars, motorcycles – just cidomos, bicycles or walking. No dogs.This is a May09 shot of the great bungalows at Surnrise Hotel. The place has moved upmarket a bit but $US18 for a fan bungalow is still not bad for such a nice place in a key position. High season and aircon sees more.
A less expensive place another 10 minutes walk further north in a quite section of the coast which gets very good posts is Santay Beach Bungalows – Google will find its website.
I wanted somewhere nearer the harbour this latest trip and got me a $11 room including breakfast and aircon just to the left at tiny Hotel Gili Indah. This was a pretty reasonable place which also had two fan bungalows with nice sea and mainland views in front for around the same price. Next door was the rather flash Hotel Villa Karang with a nice pool and some good looking bungalows which were being discounted fairly fiercely in what was shoulder season.

There is fairly good coral and fish life about 20 m off the beach where the reef drops off into deep water. A feature of all the “best” beach places I mention here is that there is usually a current moving alongshore parallel to the beach – you can fall in the water, snorkel out to the reef drop off, float along with the current for as long as you want, swim back to shore, walk back along the beach and repeat the exercise if you fancy. The perfect lazy person’s way to snorkel.
.Like it’s counterpart at Trawangan, the nicest beach area on Air now has beach furniture provided free by the warungs who’s sitting bales you can see immediately behind. This is a real nice area to spend time. Those boats are 3 island snorkelling craft put in for some eats and beach time.

The glass bottom boat trip for about $6 which is available from all 3 islands visits about half a dozen of the best snorkelling spots around the Gilis. I saw some great turtles on the Meno Banks on this good value trip which includes some beachtime for lunch.

Air is not big – I walked around in an hour 40 and bicycled in around 40 with stops, although there are sections of loose sand on the track where you have to walk the bike.

There is an island hopping boat morning and afternoon where you can go across and daytrip or transfer to one of the other islands for less about $2. UPDATE MAY09 – the island hopping boat between Trawangan and Air cost me 23k (around $US2.30) this trip, but buy your ticket at the public ticket office at the harbour – I was quoted 50k and 35k by various tour organisers around the island).

Meno is the quietest, most laid back island. I stayed right opposite the boat landing point at a place called Pondok Wisata (no sign) for $5 – no brekka. This is the place with the great bales overhanging the beach, with good views of Gili Air and Rinjani. Food here is good and sensationally cheap for people staying on Meno (they actually have a higher price menu for daytrippers) – try $1 for Nasi Goreng special complete with a lump of fried chicken.
The drinks/eats bales overhanging the beach outside Pondok Wisata on Meno. Great with a Bintang and a book to while away a lazy afternoon (image Panoramio-matsf)

The beach here is attractive although there is some boat traffic – the beach gets even better 100m south and continues another 500m around the south-east corner, with nice coral on the reef drop off only 25m or so from shore. Last August there were about 30 swimmer/sunbathers maximum at any time along this lovely strip – latest trip, a half dozen. There are some very nice midrange places here (Gazebo is one) and a class budget place called Malia Child. For some reason they wanted $10 with brekka – a Belgian friend of mine paid $7 last high season. Maybe it’s my rough head – they only had one other guest.

If you want to get right away from it, I could suggest Blue Coral Bungalows about 20 minutes walk to the north. I stayed there last August – $6 no brekka – nice people, good traditional bungalows across from an average beach, but the restaurant was mediocre and it was a hell of a slog down to the nice beach/multi restaurant area.

Sunrise from Meno near Blue Coral Bungalows – that is Gili Air across the passage with mainland Lombok and Rinjani vocano behind (image Panoramio Cola en Pia)

Sunset from the Sunset warung on the northwest of Meno is pretty special. I walked up from Wisata in about 25 minutes and hitched a ride back with some Brits on their cidomo. The driver charged me $1 and told me he charged the Brit’s a little more each way.
Seems low to me, but it was low season.

Trawangan is the liveliest island and has the most midrange and upper accommodation. Budget places are not in short supply either. I wanted to stay opposite the nice beach area and found a nice place rec on a website – Ozzies. Okay, it had great big tiled rooms and a nice balcony for $8 including brekka. Very nice. The room was so big there was another double matress leaning against the wall and even with this on the floor there would still be plenty of room to move around. So those wanting 3 or 4 to share a room could give this place a look. It is only about 5 minutes walk to the north off the boat and is actually about 100m north of the “in” beach and snorkel spot, although I thought the beach and reef drop off adjacent Ossies were nicer.

This is a May09 shot of the Ozzies block of rooms I stayed at the previous visit. But the place has moved considerably upmarket – these rooms were now 200k (still fan but no doubt flashed up inside as much as these balconies) and there were some new and very attractive A-frame aircon bungalows out front for 350.

This May09 shot shows the main beach area. The beach chairs are new from my last visit, but not as bad as appears – they are provided free by the restaurants and bars along the beach road provided you buy some food or drink (and they didn’t seem to be sticklers for insisting on this). It seems sand quality in this area has been adversely affected by dust from the unpaved beach road and crowds began to drop off in favour of nice areas further north – the beach furniture has
certainly attracted people back. I actually think it is now a nicer place to spend time. Note that the beach road has since been concreted – last year according to locals.

There is a heap of restaurants along the beach strip (and plenty of other accommodation) and it is only 10 minutes walk from “Sentral” – the downtown area of restaurants and bars, which is quite attractive and gets a festive air at night. This is party area – but a different place each night is the venue. Lots of places showing latest movies on big video screens, or you can sit back in a bar or restaurant and check the lights of adjacent Meno and mainland Lombok.

Part of Sentral. Some of the restaurants on the left have pretty nice views of the sea and mainland Lombok. Pretty lights and night.

If you want to get away from it, there are some great laid back budget places on the southern end of the west coast about 15 minutes walk from Sentral – Sunset and Bintang Bungalows are two. I stayed at Bintang last high season for $6 incl brekka – nice, big, clean basic bungalows. I just had to ride my hire bicycle around for another sunset show on Bintang’s bales this trip – they flag down passersby and invite them to watch sunset over Agung volcano on Bali while they take orders for beers etc from the restaurant. Not a bad way to end daylight. UDATE MAY09 – Bintang is closed! So much more my inflluence. Sunset and its more northerly neighbour Dewi Sri were still going strong.

A May09 shot of Sunset Bungalows – around 100k with breakfast. Unexpectedly about 500m of the sandy coast track has been paved along here – including a separate footpath and set of steps which start the climb up Trawangan Hill in the area immediately on the Sentral side of Sunset.

May09 shot of section of the west coast from Trawangan Hill. Note the triangle of Bali’s Agung volcano on left horizon. This coast is still the least settled part of Trawangan with only a few new subdivisions advertising villa sites. The north coast has quite a few new high end places either open or under construction. But the most changed area was the east coast north of the popular beach area where a whole array of mainly midrange places has appeared since my last visit. A lot of these have beach furniture across the road out front, but there is still plenty of beach space to fit your towel. The beach area seemed to be more tidy and manicured, one bonus of midrange development. Sentral seemed to have a few new more upmarket joints and the south-western end stretching towards Sunrise has some new flasher places and a markedly expanded Villa Ombak. Overall, most of the changes on Trawangan seem to have been to cater for midrange and upmarket visitors. There is still plenty of budget accommodation, notably in the lanes of the village but I would say Trawangan is no longer just a backpacker stronghold. And budget travellers will pay more than similar accommodation elsewhere. I grabbed a room right off the boat at Melati Homestay about 15m up the lane opposite the public ticket office in the harbour area – no great shakes and shoulder season – 120k – 30k dearer than similar places I stayed at this trip.

Getting to the Gilis:
Lombok’s Mataram airport is international – there is a regular flight from Singapore.

There are very cheap fares from Bali’s Denpasar airport to Mataram on mainland Lombok – at the time of writing Merpati was charging about $US30 one way. Mataram airport is less than an hour by taxi (approx. $6) from the little port of Bangsal***, where motorised praus will transfer you to the islands for a few dollars in around 20 to 45 minutes.

If you are staying in Senggigi, Lombok’s main tourist town, several outfits including Perama run morning boats along the spectacularly mountainous coast and across to the Gilis. This delightful trip takes about 90 minutes and costs about $6.

A cheaper way of getting to Lombok from Bali is by big vehicle carrying passenger ferries which leave Padang Bai on Bali’s east coast hourly and dock at Lembar, a kind of Sydney harbour without the buildings in Lombok’s south west. The trip takes 3 to 4 hours. The cost is about $3, and the 3 hours to Bangsal by local buses, changing in Mataram and Senggigi, will cost about the same.

However a much less complicated way is to use one of the big Indonesian transport companies like Perama or Nominasi. Perama can pick you up at your hotel in Bali and have you on the Gilis for around $15 inclusive, using their own shuttlebuses, and their ferry from Padang Bai in eastern Bali.
Other companies use the big car/passenger ferries from Padang Bai. Unless you leave Kuta Bali really early, you will not make the last boat to the islands – but Senggigi is a nice place to spend the night with plenty of restaurants, lots of accom of all standards and some nightlife.

UPDATE MAYO9 – with so many upmarket travellers heading to the Gilis there are now about 3 companies running speedboats direct from Bali. Some start in Padanbai in East Bali and one starts at Tanjung Benoa port near Kuta. http://www.lomboktropic.com/bali-gili-islands-fast-boat-transfer.htm. At least one outfit will divert to Nusa Lembongan for an extra fee.

Perama also has a slow-boat from Padangbai starting early afternoon and taking about 4 hours. This goes direct to the island and then on to Senggigi. The return trip goes direct Senggigi to Padangbai at 9am which is not so great because Gilis people have to catch the very early public boat to Bangsal and then Perama’s shuttle to Senggigi.

Gilis ahead. Actually just after I took this shot the boat’s main motor blew up! All Perama boats have 2 motors so after a bit of mucking about we motored slowly into Trawangan some 30 minutes late. I travelled over 500km on Perama boats this May09 trip (Gilis and back plus Flores to Lombok) and that was the only trouble experienced. This is actually a pretty relaxed way to access the Gilis – and they feed you! The brekka on the return boat from Senggigi is welcomed by people who have left the Gilis at 7am.

Dokars are the taxi service on the Gilis (image Panoramio Cola en Pia)

***Bangsal, the mainland departure point opposite the Gilis, has a bad reputation for hassle. It is a bit hectic but no real problem. It is only a 400m trip from the carpark where taxis and buses drop you, to the boat – easily walked if your luggage is not huge. Otherwise about one dollar per person for the cidimos seemed to be acceptable, although they will ask for more. Always agree on the price first.
Don’t buy boat tickets off anyone in the carpark or on the way down the road, and stay away from the restaurant across the road from the carpark where they will try to sell you half of Gili Trawangan and a RTW ticket for $25 all up. For another $2 they will throw in a night with Miss Indonesia. Go to the boat ticket office right on the beach to the left – a whitish building abt 20m from the water.
Note that if you arrive after abt 4pm you are unlikely to get a boat unless you charter one individually.
Don’t allow a porter to grab your heavy bag from the cidimo or boat on return until you fix a price – it seems from discussion that no more than 3000 per item is the go.
Kids will also offer to wash your feet with bottles of water coming off the beach on return – don’t know what a fair price is here.

UPDATE – Oct 07.
le, a resident of some years on the islands, has provided some good info on accessing the Gilis:
“Bangsal-gilis – Here’s the cheap way:
Walk out of the airport in Mataram and get a blue bird taxi. Tell the driver to go to Bangsal. It takes about an hour and the taxi’s are metered and reliable. Make sure the taxi takes you right to the beach front. Do not stop at any restaurants, ‘ticket offices’ etc on the road. You buy a ticket for the public boat in the building on the beach at the desk. Prices keep changing as fuel goes up but it will be around 10-15,000 rph. There isn’t really a schedule. The public boat goes when it is full. Boats go fairly often in the morning but in the middle of the day they won’t go as not enough people want to make the trip. A boat will leave from Bangsal to Trawangan at some time between 4pm and 5.30pm. It takes about 40 minutes to get to the island. You can charter a boat but you will have to negotiate hard. Most people get ripped off. Just say no thanks!

The expensive way:
Email/Phone one of the dive shops on Gili Trawangan (Big Bubble, Manta, etc) and ask them to arrange a speedboat pick up from Teluk Nara for you ($25 ++). Go to the taxi desk and buy a voucher to go to Teluk Nara. You will have been told where in Teluk Nara the boat will pick you up and the driver will probably have been there before. Teluk Nara is very close to Bangsal so takes about 1 hour from the airport. Speed boat takes 15 minutes.”

…..

UPDATE OCT 08 – how quickly things change. For some time the Gilis were doing it tough with a shortage of travellers even in high season. Now apparantly Trawangan has returned to earlier super busy times – and at the same time is developing more as a midrange destination. Adam recennly gave this very useful information:

I recently spent 2 weeks on Trawangan and have to say that anyone on a budget should avoid Gili Trawangan in August. It is hardly a backpacker place these days as expensive new hotels and restaurants open up at a rapid rate. Hotel room prices at this time bear absolutely no relation to reality in Bali or most other places in the country. A room that would probably cost 50,000rp in most places can go for 200,000rp or more. Even bicycle hire is a whopping 70,000rp for one day, more than a motorcycle costs on Bali and most Thai islands. The best budget option we could find was Pondok Melati in the village for 100,000rp (after bargaining and without breakfast). Not a bad option but the price for other customers was fluctuating everyday like many other places on Trawangan.

As a result of such prices, it is probably best to avoid the Perama boat from Bali as it isn’t so cheap (350,000rp), takes 5 hours from Padangbai and arrives around 6pm when it’s difficult to get a room and easy to ripped off for a room when searching in the dark. If coming from Kuta or Sanur a better option is a flight with which takes 20 minutes. Indonesia Air Transport offers the best value at 382,000rp for a ride in a clean Fokker 50 prop plane. Merpati costs 416,000rp and Trigana (not recommended, the prop plane was very dirty, old and hot) was 442,000rp. Don’t forget 30,000rp airport tax from Bali and 20,000rp from Lombok. A taxi or private car to Bangsal is around 100,000rp, and the public boat to Trawangan is 10,000rp (8,000rp to Gili Air and 9,000rp to Meno).

Whilst Trawangan is a pleasant place, we preferred Gili Air. We stayed at a budget place called Blue Moon Bungalows for 80,000rp inc. breakfast. Very kind staff, and located in the heart of the village so you can watch local life from your balcony. Also, lots of privacy. It is not actually on the beach but very near to the pier where the boats arrive. This island’s best stretch of beach is a 2 minute walk away. Another budget option nearer the beach is called Paradiso but their bungalows didn’t have much privacy but we met some people staying there for 80,000rp inc. breakfast. In front of Paradiso is some decent snorkelling with both hard and soft corals and the odd turtle. Lots of smaller reef fish too.

Ernie added this:
While walking around the island I discovered an ATM (Bank Mandiri) located in front of the Villa Ombak Hotel on Gili Trawangan island. The maximum withdrawl is Rp 1,250,000

LOMBOK-NETWORK – A GOOD GILIS AND LOMBOK WEBSITE
LOMBOK-TRAVEL.COM – ANOTHER

Rinjani volcano on mainland Lombok is a popular trek – trips are offered on the Gilis although Senggigi back on Lombok has a much wider range of operators (image Bali Cruises)

If you have any questions, please ask them in THE FORUM rather than below. I don’t get a chance to check all threads daily, but unless I’m travelling I’ll try to monitor THE FORUM regularly.

Sunset behind Meno and Trawangan from Air

Visitors returning from a snorkelling trip out of Nusa Lembongan (image Island Explorer Cruises)

The Jungubatu backpacker/surfer strip – Agung volcano on the mainland in the background (image Panoramio – Arouel)

So what to do after lunch? Yesterday I grabbed a hire bicycle and toured the island. Lembongan is only about five by two kms, and largely flat in its northern three quarters. Simple tracks follow the coast and divert to avoid the northern mangroves and here you can observe the unhurried pace of island life – fishermen’s huts in pockets around the coast, some simple farming further inland, a small area devoted to salt making and one or two coastal warungs where you can stop and buy a drink or a snack. Local women spread washing to dry on roadside rocks and old timers pass the hours sitting and jawing on simple roadside platforms called bales. Bicycle riding is very safe. Over several hours I was passed by less than a dozen motorcycles and I saw no other motor vehicles.

There are two villages, Jungubatu at the southern end of the bay, a simple ribbon development with a bank, wartel (telephone kiosk) and a range of basic shops and Lembongan, a bigger development in the hilly northern section with maybe a thousand inhabitants. Some local kids will flag you down here and offer to take you on a guided tour of the Underground House for a dollar or so. This collection of interconnected underground caverns was built by a local as a memorial to himself. Some Belgian travellers had told me it is cramped and claustrophobic and no big deal, so I passed up the offer.

A short distance from Lembongan village, a new suspension bridge crosses the narrow passage to neighbouring Nusa Cennigan. Roughly equal in size to Lembongan, it is much more hilly with some seriously challenging slopes that will cause the unfit to wish they had taken one of the hire-motorcycles instead. However the effort is worth it. From a viewpoint on the southern tip of the island I can see back over Cennigan and Lembongan to Bali. Directly below me the cliff drops into a bay very similar to the lobster’s home this morning and to the west is Nusa Penida, a much bigger island with 100m cliffs falling abruptly to the ocean. Penida’s nearest point is only one km away across a narrow passage. I could see dive boats parked in two of the inlets facing me. Tomorrow’s snorkel trip goes across there, one I definitely won’t miss.

I came across an unlikely sight shortly after starting downhill. Pushing his bicycle up a killer slope was an itinerant ice-cream seller, complete with cooler box and a Mr Whippy like tune produced by a small generator connected to the front wheel. Who he aimed to sell to up here, with only a few scattered farming huts, is anyone’s guess. Perhaps the crazy cycling tourist. He probably overcharged me at a dollar for the choc-coated ice cream, but in its slightly melted state it was simply delicious and worth three times the price.

Lembongan and Cennigan have less than five thousand people between them. It took me around 4 hours to do my leisurely tour and I swear half the people I saw were kids. Indonesia has a system of shift schooling in some areas (morning school for some kids – afternoon for others) and in other areas extended mid day breaks from class. So no matter what time of day, there always seems to be kids walking along the tracks to and from school. And when you pass a school, kids in there too. Immaculate in their blue and white or all brown uniforms, they unfailingly greet you with a wave and a smiling “Hello!”

Okay, maybe no cycling this afternoon. I notice a few backpackers piling into a prau loaded with fishing rods. There are apparently some excellent angling spots in the near vicinity. But I feel more like a laze on a beautiful beach and maybe a leisurely swim.

The beach at Jungubatu is not exactly shabby, but the tide has gone down so that much of the lagoon has become shallow pools and exposed coral flats. Great for the seaweed farmers to tend and harvest their crop (and no, as far as I can tell, there is no smell involved) and excellent for fossikers to inspect the micro-life of the pools and collect seashells. But not so great for a swim. No problems, I know an excellent place.
An excellent place – Mushroom Bay on Lembongan (image – Holiday Check)
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I walk down the beach, past the village and then take the coastal path along the cliffs heading south. Down to my right the seaweed workers are banging anchoring stakes into the coral. Further out in deep water are two big shaded pontoons with fast motorised catamarans moored to them. These are big daytrip boats from Bali. I can make out groups of snorkellers in a section near the pontoon and there are kayaks and a banana boat ride operating on the other side. To my left a handful of mid-range bungalow places are built up the hillside with panoramic views over the water and back to Bali. See shot of Coconuts below.

Coconuts Resort overlooking Jungubatu Bay – on a later trip I stayed in the highest chalet. Nice midrange place (images – Island Explorer Cruises – Coconuts Resort)

Fantastic view from the top bungalow. But killer set of stairs to get there.
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I cross down over a couple of nice beaches and small coves and after about 20 minutes reach a simply gorgeous beach in a place called Mushroom Bay, so named for the shape of some coral outcrops offshore. This place has blinding white sand, deep water even at low tide, some good coral for snorkelling and casuarinas growing behind the beach for shade. Not surprisingly, it had attracted some high-end and mid-range boutique hotels.

After a leisurely swim, I elect to sit on the sand at the southern end of the bay, which by mid afternoon is shaded by the trees. There are maybe two dozen people scattered along the sand and the occasional prau comes in and unloads daytrippers who mainly head for the pool area of the Beach Club behind the trees. The emphasis here is on tranquillity. Unlike most beaches in Bali there are no hawkers with their: “pineapple – papaya – shells – massage – beer – paintings – sunglasses – I give special price – later? – tomorrow? – okay, when?” The beach back at Jungubatu has a similar absence of these people – with the sole exception of the boat guys who wander along in the morning and ask you if you would like to join the snorkelling or fishing trip. Plus I did see my ice-cream guy down on the beach at the village on the way over.

Another unlikely sight. An old wizened local leads one of the doe eyed island cattle down a path from the southern headland. Two cute untethered calves tag along. The animals have small tinkling bells around their necks. They cross a section of the beach and take the road towards Lembongan village. After 20 minutes they retrace their steps. I can hear the bells long after they disappear back up the headland track. Please don’t think this beach is part of the island’s answer to the Canning Stock Route – I see this once in three afternoons on the beach.

After a few more swims and an explore of a deserted sandy cove immediately to the north around a small headland, I start to stroll back to Jungubatu. But first a pleasant diversion. At the top of the stairs leading out of Mushroom is a little warung, sensationally perched on the northern headland looking back over the bay and out to sea. Food and drink prices here are only about 20% higher than back at Jungubatu, as is the tariff for their few bungalows. This is the perfect place to grab a late afternoon beer or juice, check that lovely beach and watch the sun go down in a golden glow behind southern Bali. Any breeze tends to disappear around sunset, turning the sea into molten glass. Even better, when I turn a little I notice that the usual late afternoon melt-off of clouds around Agung, Bali’s loftiest volcano has occurred. Agung is considerably higher than Kosciusko and at this close distance should be pretty spectacular. But when the clouds part, it is always twice as high as I expect. The peak has a northern ridge which drops precipitously to the coast no more than 25km from where I sit.
Awesome.

Mount Agung, Bali, from Coconut’s Pool overlooking the bay at Jungubatu, Nusa Lembongan (image Island Explorer Cruises)

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Getting there.
Public boats leave the small harbour at Sanur, 20 minutes from Kuta on Bali, at 8am and 11.30am. Cost is around $4. More conveniently, Perama, one of Bali’s bigger transport operators can pick you up at your Kuta hotel around 9am and have you on Lembongan via their own boat before mid-day for less than $15.
Even quicker are the daytrip operators who can take you out on their big fast boats for around $35. Bounty Cruises (www.balibountygroup.com) and Bali Hai (www.bali-paradise.com/balihai) are two of a number of daytrip outfits. If you simply want to do the daytrip you are looking at $80-120.
It is also possible to buy a ride for a few dollars on one of the seaweed boats or supply boats from Kusamba on the central eastern coast of Bali. I came across with two Dutch surfers from the gorgeous little town of Padangbai, north of Kusamba. We chartered a local fisherman to take us in his small prau at just under $15 each. Padangbai is the port for the big ferries from Lombok.
Package brochures by Garuda, Qantas and others feature Lembongan’s mid-range and high-end places. Because package airfares are heavily discounted, this can be an excellent way of visiting the island.

The text and photos of this article remain the copyright of the Author (Tezza). Under no circumstances should the photos or text be used without the express written permission of the Author (Tezza). If you wish to use or publish photos or text from this article – please  Contact Tezza

The Bukit Peninsula is that higher limestone plateau you see when looking south from the Tuban-Kuta-Legian-Seminyak beach strip. Long a haunt of surfers, the fact it has arguably the best beaches on mainland Bali and some spectacular cliff and coastal scenery means it’s becoming increasingly popular with both the backpacker set and midrange/high-end travellers.
Backpackers are taking advantage of cheap beach accommodation set up for surfers while a building boom has seen a growing number of flasher places for the fiscally enhanced.

Part of the Bukit coastline west from Dreamland North. Super busy Dreamland Main with its huge new hotel structure, deck chairs and beach umbrellas (see below) is just around that rock near-left. If you don’t like crowds, the beach in the foreground is a few steps away.
Bingin where I based myself is the collection of seaside buildings spreading up the cliff in the near background.
Right up the end of the peninsula is the famed surfing and Buddhist temple location of Uluwatu.
The neat little beach at Padang Padang is tucked in about half way between Ulu and Bingin.
The nicest beach of the lot, Balangan, is about 2km behind the camera.

Dreamland Main, pretty early and not yet crowded with daytrippers. This used to be the pick of the Bukit – a gorgeous beach behind which were lots of neat elcheapo losmen built for surfer-dudes to catch some shuteye plus some laid back warungs where you could sink a Bintang or 5 checking the surf. How things change – have a look at the shot on my main Bali page of the monster seaside residential-retail structure which has replaced them. BTW, this was unfinished in my latest May 09 visit, although some guests were swanking it out in the horizon pool overlooking the beach.
But if your thing is sun-lounges, beach-umbies and a host of beautiful people to spec out, this may be just the thing. Certainly the sand and water is way cleaner than the Kuta strip. There was a warung back of sand and I was impressed with just how modest its food and drink prices were for a place which has headed way upmarket.
The surf far right in the background (the image is a bit small, but that’s all Blogger gives) is the awesome Impossibles a few hundred meters north of Bingin. Hard core surfer dudes should enquire about Impossibles Surf Camp which is a Chocky’s type place half way down the cliff overlooking the break. I just tried Google – no luck. It certainly isn’t Padang Padang Surf Camp which looks more upmarket.
Note you can walk down between Bingin and Dreamland along the beach at low tide – at high water the headland tracks are not too hard to navigate.

Some of the places at Bingin have actually stepped up from the basic surfer digs. Actually some of the best views are from places out of sight built on the top of the cliff. Google for Kembang-Kuning Ocean View Bungalows (flash packer – note 300k was the price they gave me in May 09) and Mick’s Place (midrange) As you can see, the beach here is nothing to get excited about and with a pretty rocky entry to the water. Pretty nice swimming around in the relatively calm lagoon between the reef and the shore though.
If you can’t hack multiple steep steep steps, pick some other place.

CHOCKY’S , my digs at Bingin. Nice surfer hangout. That upstairs loft is the one basic double room. There are 3 singles behind a higher veranda partly obscured in this shot by the building to the right. The railed area above the posters is the front of the restaurant – pretty neat views from both here and the higher veranda area. Access to the loft room and basic singles’ balcony is by ladder. Below the restaurant are 2 family rooms, flash-packer level with their own bathrooms. The other rooms share a big bathroom area which was kept pretty clean on the restaurant level.
My basic single had just enough room, was super clean, the bed was comfy with a pretty thick foam matress, mozzie net in good condition, fan quiet. Electricity 24 hours. I paid 80K rupiah (about $us8 at the time) – current room pricing can be seen on the website.
At high tide the waves smack into the lower front of the building – actually wavelets because when the swell is big (often) the reef dissipates most of its size. Can sound pretty busy at night.
Chocky provides an airport pickup service which if you are coming in at night like I did is essential – Bingin is down some obscure side roads, which stop about 200m from the buildings – and finding the right lanes from there and the correct set of steps to descend would be impossible for newcomers. Chocky charged me 160K compared to an airport taxi to anywhere on the Bukit for 120K, but took me back to Kuta for no extra at the end of the stay.
If you are going to come up by hire-motorcycle from Kuta, check Google Earth first and draw yourself a map. But make sure it’s daylight, and watch out for cops checking for Indo or International Driving Licences endorsed for motorcycles.

For surfers, Chocky’s has one of the prime postions in Bingin because the reef break is directly out front. This is a super fast left hander breaking into about 15cm of water at low tide – plenty of coral-scraped bodies on show in this neck of the woods. If you expand this shot you will see some kamikaze merchant tucked into the edge of the white water on the shoulder to the right.
Chocky spent a lot of time with a huge-lens digital SLR propped over the railing, snapping pix. Late afternoon usually saw a lively bunch of surfer dudes from all over Bingin checking shots of themselves on his laptop, which he will burn onto disc for a suitable fee.
Restaurant food was pretty nice, prices a bit higher than average but supplies have to be hauled down those dang steps (and rubbish back up!). This is maybe why small bottles of Bintang (heavy in crates) was 20k v the more normal 15. Service was normally pretty good although brekka never kicked off before 0830. There are plenty of other restaurants in the area.

Padang Padang is a neat little beach cut into the plateau. Another very good reef-break out front, but for experienced surfers. There is no accommodation right on the beach but you can see one of the growing bunch of midrange/top end places which have appeared on the Bukit on the cliff top behind. There is also a bunch of budget and flash packer places on the coast road about 300m inland from the beach plus a bit of a small village shopping area.

Once again you are looking at a decent set of stairs to get up to road level, but not as challenging as Bingin. Some nice shade areas side and back of beach. I dunno about those life-saver flags.

Uluwatu. There’s a dozen or so warungs plus surf shops in the area of the camera with great views of this world famous big wave break – not so big in this shot, the swell having a rest-day.
You pay extra for your Bintang if you want to hang in the joint front left…..

…..but no extra if you are quick enough to grab this neat little platform.

There is a neat little beach at the foot of the cliff at Ulu – actually there isn’t too much sand left at high tide. This is where the surfers enter the water.

Ulu always had a good range of budget surfer losmen, but now has a selection of flasher places. Google Blue Point Bay Villas for top-end cliff top.

Roughly midway between Uluwatu and Padang Padang is this un-named beach (actually I’ve seen it referred to as Ulu-Padang) where Thomas Homestay has set up a neat little budget/flash packer place. This is part of the view from the restaurant, you can actually see about twice as much beach – the rooms’ balconies have a similar outlook. The place has a large really nice tiled floor room with a big-screen TV for 200k – the smaller more basic rooms were 100k.
This is where I’m staying next Bukit visit.
Apparently the surf works okay here when the swell is up, but a wax-head with the universal motorcycle and sidewinder board-rack can reach even the most distant Bukit break, Balangan, in less than 15 minutes. For those on foot I walked from Ulu in less than 20minutes and it took me just over 15 to then hoof it to Padang Padang.

Balangan – with the overdevelopment of Dreamland, probably the nicest beach on the Bukit AND mainland Bali (not as nice as Dream Beach on Nusa Lembongan though). A good selection of budget losmen and laid back warungs behind the beach. This seemed to be the beach attracting most backpacker types although Padang Padang had its share. If you are feeling flush google La Joya for a flash place back behind the beach.
Interestingly, on a day Bingin and Impossibles seemed to have lost swell, it was still quite good here. Once again a super-fast left hander. Goofy-footers’ paradise!
I walked across from Dreamland via the headland golf course – with a fat security turkey blowing his whistle at me. I just gave a cheesy and waved. You can walk around the inland side of the golf course – but check Google Earth and make yourself a map – the Bukit is criss-crossed with a confusing plethora of tracks, lanes, roads. At lowest tide you apparently can walk the water’s edge from Dreamland. Actually I read on a surfer site you can walk all the way from Uluwatu at low tide – but from what I saw I think this may be cofined to those twice monthly (full moon/no moon) lowest low tides.
Notice the area behind the beach is much lower than further west towards Bingin -Padang Padang – Uluwatu. The Bukit plateau is tilted upwards both towards the west and particularly the south. There are some awesome cliffs on the far southern side – and a few very upmarket hotels have perched themselves up top – google Bali Cliff Hotel.

The text and photos of this article remain the copyright of the Author (Tezza). Under no circumstances should the photos or text be used without the express written permission of the Author (Tezza). If you wish to use or publish photos or text from this article – please  Contact Tezza

Ubud is the cultural home of all things Balinese in Bali. We had a great time there (made better by staying in some fantastic (and cheap) accommodation) wandering around the town and taking in the culture and wandering around the markets. While we were there was a massive Hindu festival on (Galungan) – where lots of kids would be walking round the streets pounding drums and gongs with some dressed up as cows/horses or something similar. It was great as you would be sitting having dinner and all of a sudden loads of kids would appear and make loads of racket for a bit then leave!

Anyway, we enjoyed spending time in Ubud and managed to buy some Indonesian masks, paintings and spices (safron was so cheap). We also ate some amazing food and had the specialty smoked duck! We did try to book a cooking course for day but the courses were not that hands on so we decided against it.

The best part of Ubud was the cultural dance that we saw one night – we went to see the Kecak dance which was a lot of fun and really clever. Basically a dance telling a story but done to the sounds of chants chant (about 50 men chanting). Don’t really know what was going on but there was Rhama, a bad guy, an arrow that turned into a snake and some monkey soldiers. I loved it and would recommend anyone to go. It was very touristy but definitely worth going!

Before leaving Indonesia we wanted to get some surfing in so we had been researching the best places to go. Unfortunately, the best places for people who do not want to kill themselves on reef breaks are the places that Ozzie tourists like to go (think Costa del Sol but with Ozzie’s). Anyway, we bit the bullet and headed for Legian beach the quieter end of Kuta. We got ourselves a nice little bungalow (with a pool) and did some surfing. I had a lesson on the 1st day as I had not surfed since Biarritz (about 4 years ago) but by the end of the week we were both getting the hang of it – despite my bad rash burns and bleeding hands from the boards!

Apart from surfing we did not get up to too much. We did some planning for NZ and read books and did some runs on the beach. I also managed to get my cocktail in a coconut (after 5 months of trying)!

The text and photos of this article remain the copyright of the Author (Gem and Stu). Under no circumstances should the photos or text be used without the express written permission of the Author (Gem and Stu). If you wish to use or publish photos or text from this article – please  Contact Gem and Stu