Michael Tyler

Kuta Beach

Kuta Beach runs a close second to Gili Trawangan as a party, nightlife and general place to be.

Gemini says – “Kuta has evolved from a sleepy fishing village into a burgeoning tourist hub. For centuries, it was a quiet enclave shaped by the indigenous Sasak people, largely off the radar. However, following Bali’s rise as a global hotspot, Kuta began its gradual emergence, now becoming the main focus of tourism development on the island.

Surfers, from beginners to pros, flock here for the consistent waves, with numerous surf schools and rental shops and a general ‘surf’ vibe around town. Also, the proximity to 4 different surf spots within half an hour drive on the scooter makes.

So far Kuta has managed to retain much of its original charm. Visitors can explore nearby traditional Sasak villages to glimpse into local culture, enjoy fresh seafood at beachside warungs, and unwind in a setting that feels reminiscent of Bali decades ago. This blend of natural allure, active pursuits, and cultural immersion is precisely what draws a growing number of travelers to Kuta Beach Lombok.“

I’ve editing it slightly, but that’s a basic and fairly accurate description of the main Kuta Beach area.

Sasak Village

I went here one afternoon on the scooter after having visited the beach.

You don’t have to pay a specific entry fee, but they do ask for a ‘donation’. For that, depending on what time you arrive, you can get to watch a performance such as the one below, where the participants dress up in authentic gear and fight with authentic wooden swords!

After a few warm up fights, they got into it and really started whacking each other!

There was a winner and the crowd were encouraged to join in.

I managed to sit in on this display. Afterwards you can visit the many shops selling wares at different levels of authenticity.

I bought some coffee. It came from the hills beyond the village, (maybe). There was a lot more textiles and metal, pottery etc they were actually producing in situ.

Prices were variable depending on how hard you wanted to bargain and how much you wanted the item.

Tajuun Aan Beach

I also went to one of the beaches, the most popular one in the Kuta region, it’s called Tajuun Aan beach. It was really clean. The sea was warm. There were plenty of places to grab a drink or some food and relax on a sunlounger or beanbag. If you didn’t want to pay, you could just put your beach towel down on the beach, and there were plenty of people just doing that.

Tajuun Aan also has fairly good surf and there were many learners out in the waves practising their moves.

Continue reading “Kuta Beach – Lombok”

Spent from 17th June until the 9th July here and on the gilis. So, a good chunk of the holiday wandering around, climbing mountains, getting drunk and chilling on the beach. That’s in addition to other activities. There’s certainly no storage of things to occupy your time here on Lombok and the gili’s.

By the gili’s, I mean Gili Trawanga, Gili Air and Gili Meno. I visited all these islands, although only Gili Meno briefly when I swam over from Gili Air. Had a glass of water then swam back. In the dark, that turned out to be not such a good idea.

Lombok island had different stop overs for me and I’ll look at these in the order that I visited them.

Senggigi

After I got off the ferry from Bali, Sengigi was the 1st choice to stop. The port, Bang Sal, looked very functional and didn’t have much appeal when I read about it. Even less when I actually visited.

In the past, Sengigi was the number one resort on Lombok. That must have been some time ago, because now it is empty and boring a lot of the time, at least when I visited. There didn’t seem to be very much in way of visitors. It still has all the hotels, bars and restaurants, which gives it a Morecambe-esque feel to it.

Most of the foreign types were expats, mainly from Aus, who now lived in the locality. One approached me at the convenience store, he didn’t seem very lucid. Looked at me in a confused way and asked a lot of questions. I visited Sengigi again on a separate visit to extend my visa, I got talking to another Aussie. He was a bit more compos mentis, able to understand jokes and such like. He’d run a business locally which had got shut down by COVID. We chatted about various stuff. He gave me the low-down on where to go for a drink in the locality and some other local gen.

The best place I found was called Le Chill Bar. They had nice bean bags, good food and decent music, a chill vibe and the staff were friendly.

Whilst I was eating dinner there on my first night, this turtle came up the beach and started laying it’s eggs on the beach around 10yards from my table!

Continue reading “Senggigi and Eastern Gilli’s – Lombok”

I flew from Jakarta. It was the simplest option in terms of time and cost.

The trains that run to the east of Java have for some reason been discontinued. You could get a train but it would mean getting an additional onward connection to the port, which would add an additional day.

After the ferry, it would work out no cheaper than flying. By my calculation, more expensive and 24 hours plus travel time.

Flying from Jakarta to Denpasar

Total time, 2 hours. Total cost. £45.13.

Arriving in Denpasar. Waited around for an airport bus which didn’t arrive, then took a taxi to

Seminyak

Is on the developed west side of Bali. Developed is the right word. The traffic, especially around the main roads is non-stop, relentless cascade of bikes, lorries and cars.

The closer you get towards the beach, the less through traffic you get, so it tends to tail off a bit. Walking through the main part of Seminyak, it’s pretty cool. Laid back even. Lots of shops and bars and restaurants.

Continue reading “Bali”