Saturday, July 08, 2017

Let's Get Lost In Lombok!

Hubster is known for his spontanity. He's been doing it since I first met him in college. And it doesn't end even now, 20 years later. His latest surprise for his wife and daughter is this: sudden trip to Lombok. And that was not all. SiBapa told me to bring Ferry, my little brother, to come along. So then I did every last-minute things like booking tickets and browsing villas in AirBnb. But yes! It was sure worthy :)

Day One

This time SiBapa said we should try Batik Air from Jakarta - Lombok. But I can tell you now it was surely our LAST TIME flying with that particular airline. Why? Long story short we missed our flight. Yes. You read it right. We. Missed. Our. Flight. No. It was not our fault. We were right there in the waiting room, constantly checking the tv to see what our flight was, when we had to enter the gate & when the departure time was going to be, which gate we had to go and everything. We've been traveling half around the world and we never once ever miss a flight. What we noticed from the first time we entered the waiting room was that our flight was delayed. We thought oh okay! Let's just sit and wait calmly, enjoying our time. Time passed by. I started to feel anxious because the flight was delayed too long. Suddenly we heard an announcement that a plane was going to take off... 

And it was OUR FLIGHT!!!!!! WHAT THE FUCK!??!?!? As we ran to the gate, we practically saw the plane slowly moved and... TOOK OFF!!! Hubs went to find out that IT WAS INDEED OUR PLANE!!! Now, FYI having an...emotional husband always make me the patient one as a couple. But this time???? I WAS PISSED!!!!!!! The only thing that held me back not saying or cursing the airline people with nasty words was because Kukka was right there with us, panicking, crying. Anyways we got a full refund and were able to take the next flight, which was still hours away. This time we paid extra attention to the announcer, who NOW btw was very clear announcing the flight number, gate and boarding time. #rollingeyes Oh and this time Kukka was very nervous, panicking and ran very fast to the airplane. Alhamdulillah we finally sat on our seats and flew off to Lombok...

Aaaaaand the beautiful blue sky and sea of Lombok greeted us in the most beautiful way. But first thing first: we need food! Our car and driver were already there, ready to take us anywhere we like. Including the right places to eat. Mas Gunayang, our driver, said that RM Nada Alam Nyaman was the right restaurant to eat ayam taliwang. It surely was. The restaurant was pretty. We could lay down on the saung/sundanese bamboo hut while waiting for the spicy dishes, which was very delicious AND spicy!!! We ate like crazy and had runny noses because of the spiciness :))) After having our tummies, eyes, backs and feet well-rested, we decided to finally go heading off to the villa: Secret Garden, in Kerandangan - Serendah, Senggigi Beach. I found the villa from AirBnB. It's a beautiful villa with a private pool. It belongs to a nice lady called Ace, who lives in Hong Kong but has a very helpful assistant named Ibu Nyoman. Ace said whenever we needed help or any info at all about anything, just asked Ibu Nyoman. But after all the hustle and trouble we had, all we wanted to do was resting our legs and eyes. So we decided to stay at the villa and saved our energies for tomorrow. Although Kukka and SiBapa DID go swimming until late at night :)) SiBapa went to sleep first, while Kukka was still playing around and I couldn't rest my eyes because Ferry was going out. My big-sister-alarm couldn't be turned off. Not until Ferry finally came back. :))) But finally I did went to sleep... And it was a very good night sleep...zzzz....


Day Two


6 am, Lombok time, Jakarta time, who cares!!!! I was mesmerized by the beautiful blue morning sky!!! It was... Oh mein Gott! It was the perfect day to go to the beach indeed! Which beach??? Probably one of the most beautiful ones... The beach of Gili Trawangan Island!!! Our adventure began with a boat ride. The boat is called Ocean Star Express :)) At first I was kind of worried... Having Kukka with me and all... BUT!!!!! SHE WAS THRILLED!!!! When we took the speed boat ride, Kukka couldn't stop smiling and laughing. And me too!!!! Ferry had to ask me a couple of times "Teh??? Are you okay???" :)))) When I asked him why he kept asking me that, he said it was because my face looked weird... In a "very ecstatic kind of way"!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! Well I was!!!!!! I really enjoyed the boat ride! It was my first time and I loved every bump of it!!! And the beach of Gili Trawangan? Masya ALLAH... And some say that Gili Trawangan island is not the most beautiful one... But... Oh my... It's amazing. You can practically see magnificent shades of blue, starting from the sky to the ocean water, slowly faded to the clean, smooth cream-colored sand. How could you not be thankful to ALLAH, for having the chance to be able to experience such beautiful moments? And that was not all. I was there with the loves of my life. Again. How could I NOT be thankful? :) While Hubster, Kukka & Ferry were swimming, I was having a great me-time. Watching my loved ones having a great time, I saw the sun slowly going down, creating one of the most beautiful moments... Now here's the thing. We actually didn't plan to spend the night in Gili Trawangan. It was supposed to be a full-day excursion. But again, Hubster was being spontaneous & shouted "Le't spend the night here!" :)))) No surprise there, my man :))))) We had luck and found a very nice place called Ambary House Villa. Ibu Nyoman in Secret Garden was kind of...suprised when I called to tell her that we were not coming back that night. She already bought 2 live lobsters and fishes for dinner. Well let's just hope they'll make it until tomorrow ya 'Bu :)) While Kukka and the boys went out to do some shopping, I stayed at the villa all by myself. It was so nice. It was exactly what I wanted and needed. Relaxing and having my mind wandering around, sipping coffee while listening to some reggae songs, which vaguely came from the cafes in the beach. Finally it was time to go to sleep because the next day would be a very busy one. Oh and did I mention that we didn't change our clothes? At all? But we did take a bath! A long one! :))


Day Three

Good morning Gili Trawangan! Can you be even more beautiful that THIS????? Too bad we had to go back to Lombok. Maybe one day we'll be back :) Once we arrived in Lombok, we noticed that the traffic was really bad. The driver said it was Lebaran Topat, a "small" Eid celebrated after 7 days of Syawal. Nice. Another new experience and knowledge :) Today we went souvenir shopping at Sasaku. BFF wanted Dodol Rumput Laut and constantly made sure that I won't forget #rollingeyes Afterwards we went to Aruna Senggigi to chill. Hey! That was why we came here! To chill! :p Although poor SiBapa did have to make some sketches for his latest work. While our Godsend? Well... Let's just say the second she saw water, she jumped right in :))) And didn't get out of it until the sky turned dark. No I'm not making this up. For those who know Kukka will know for sure her love for swimming or basically playing in-with water :))) After enjoying the magnificent sunset on the beach, we headed back to the Secret Garden. Ibu Nyoman and her husband were preparing lobsters and everything else for our dinner. And man!!!! We ate like crazy!!!! :))))) I was too full to start packing because after taking a bath, we all went straight to bed. Tomorrow would be another busy and fun day. 


Day Four

We sadly had to say goodbye to Senggigi Beach and its mesmerizing blue sky. Before heading to the airport we had the chance to check out how Lombok's mall looked like :)) It's called Lombok Epicentrum Mall. What we did there??? Hubster bought Starbucks!!! -_-  Alhamdulillah afterwards we still had time to visit the rice fields, which Kukka quite enjoyed. We also went to Kampung Sasak - Desa Sade. Sade is a traditional Sasak village in Lombok. It's filled with traditional wooden huts and the people's primary activity is weaving. Visiting the village was very interesting. Good thing we a had a tour guide too! One of the most interesting things the guide told us was that the Sasak people cover their floors with cow poop :D :D :D Why????? To prevent them from cracking! And you know what!?!?!? It doesn't smell at all!!!!!!! Seriously!!!! Another interesting thing is about marriage. There are Kawin Lari and Kawin Culik. Kawin Lari or eloping is when the guy and girl like each other and run away to get married. Kawin Culik is when the guy kidnaps the girl, both sides of the families knows/are totally aware of it and many times they are practically neighbors. If the girl doesn't come home until late at night, it means she's been kidnapped *duh*. And days later, some family members from the guy's side will come to the girl's family, give them news that the girl is okay (LOL), aaaand the negotiation of mahar ("payment") begins! Cool, right?!? Too bad I felt like everything went to fast. We had to go to the airport. But before that, Hubster said we still had time to visit Novotel Lombok, our honeymoon place :) 

Somebody was very, very nervous though. Kukka was panicking. She didn't want to be late again. The second the announcer told us that the gate was opened, Kukka walked way in front of us, in a hurry, with a very anxious face. I guess having missed the plane was quite a traumatic event for her :D Her parents and uncle had to walk fast behind her and calming her down that we would be fine. And yes, alhamdulillah. We arrived early in the airport, got inside the plane on time, flew back and landed in Jakarta safe and sound, alhamdulillah :) And that, people, is our Lombok story. Exciting, nerve-racking and super fun! And most importantly, for me personally, I finally had the chance to say that I really do love the blue of Indonesia :)

June 30th - July 3rd
Secret Garden - Serendah Senggigi, Lombok & Ambary Villa - Gili Trawangan.


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