Hi Tweetwee - Welcome to Lombok Lovers
I will try to also answer some of your questions:
Gilis: I recommend that you charter a boat from Mangsit beach. Puri Mas Hotel is on Mangsit beach. There will be locals hanging around the beachfront entrance of the hotel that can help you, or wander down to a small hut on the beach between Qunci Villas and Holiday Resort (you will see the boats on the beach there) and make your arrangements. The boat can supply snorkelling gear also. Make sure you arrange it the day before you want to go - so maybe arrange it the day you arrive. I would recommend you get them to take you snorkelling first, then to Gili Air or Gili Meno for lunch, and then to Gili Trawangan for a look, and then home to Puri Mas.
Local food/restaurants. Local Sasak food is very, very, very spicy. If you are brave, try some warung food - and I mean local warung, not tourist warung. There is one on the street between Qunci and Holiday Resort where I buy food all the time. Ask for nasi bunkus (take-away rice). They don't speak much English but you should be ok. Costs about rp5,000 for a take-away meal wrapped in brown paper. Another place I like is 'the tent' in Senggigi. This only appears at night and is near the post office and directly opposite Asmara restaurant. Meals are around 12,000 to 15,000. Try the Ayam Bakar (grilled chicken) it is a whole grilled chicken, but the bird is so tiny that there is not much meat on it, but it's delicious. I can't help with the more upmarket places, outside my price range.
I have no idea what an "SPA" is, let alone a good and affordable one. Can you elaborate?
Local stuff to buy for presents and to bring home:
- wood carvings - the locals are very good and make all sorts of things.
- Lombok pottery - quite famous and sold all over the world.
- Woven 'blankets' - the real ones are very expensive and hand woven
- fresh water pearls - the locals will tell you they are from Lombok, but they are all from China. Still, there are some nice, inexpensive ones to be had.
- silver - there is a silver industry on Lombok, not as organised or famous as the one in Bali, but some of the nicer pieces sold in Bali are actually made in Lombok.
Where to buy? Off the beach sellers (they need to make a living), the place Josi mentioned, another similar place at the front of Asmara restaurant, art markets next to the Sheraton in Senggigi.
Rinjani - absolutely CANNOT climb Rinjani in a day!! This is a big mountain, 3725 metres to the sumit. There are no roads up the mountain, it must be trekked. To drive to a village where treks leave from and back would take a day. A couple of years ago 7 Javanese locals tried to climb Rinjani without a guide and every one of them died. Do not even think about it.
Money: credit card is not widely accepted. Puri Mas probably take credit card, and some more upmarket restaurants will, but basically you need to use cash. There are ATMs in Senggigi where you can withdraw rupiah from your own bank account. There are money changers in Senggigi that will change all major currencies - I recommend the one at the northern end of town at the wartel on the left, or the post office.
Have a lovely holiday. I hope you get some time just to chill and take in the sunset from the beach bar at Puri Mas. The sun sets behind the island of Bali (depending on the time of year) and is quite lovely.
Freo
Wed Aug 12, 2009 12:14 am
Mt. Rinjani is not just off the well paved highway. Going there without a guide is a nutty idea. [b]Choose between a honeymoon or doing a crazy thing.
