Selamat pagi Lombok! Sehabis menyaksikan acara keren yang dibuat ama Tuhan, yaitu matahari terbit di Gili Trawangan, gue memutuskan untuk balik ke pulau utama Lombok untuk jalan-jalan. Mau kemana ya? asli masih bingung. Ke Kuta? Ke kaki gunung Rinjani? cari air terjun? ngunjungin Suku Sasak? ke Mataram? ke Pantai Pink?….gile, banyak bener nih pilihannya.
Begitu turun dari kapal, kita sudah ditunggu sama pak sopir yang sudah kita pesen lewat telfon. Si bapak ini namanya Pak Mukhlis dan dia memberikan estimasi waktu dan rute dari semua tempat yang jadi alternatif tujuan gue. Ketahuan banget nih bapak sangat berpengalaman nganter turis-turis yang nggak tau mau ngapain. Hahaha! Setelah mempertimbangkan ini dan itu, kita memutuskan untuk pergi ke beberapa lokasi yang sejalan. (Info rental di Pak Mukhlis ialah Rp.400.000 untuk 12 jam rental mobil Avanza baru, sudah termasuk bensin dan supir (ingat, ini tulisan bulan Oktober tahun 2012, jadi perubahan pasti ada. No telfon: 0819.1643.7838 – semoga masih sama)
// Arrived in Bangsal Port, our driver had already waiting for us. He is a very polite gentleman with many knowledge on Lombok. His name is Pak Mukhlis and he told us the estimation time to travel here and there around Lombok. Very helpful! After so many considerations, we settled with our plan for the next 10 hours. By the way, this car rental we found on the internet (call 0819.1643.7838 to rent – hope the number doesn’t change) is totally handy and cheap. <<We only need to pay US$ 40 for 12 hours car rental (brand new Avanza car) + driver (which is also a guide in my opinion) + gas.>> A new day in Lombok….after watching the sunrise show by The Almighty, we crossed back to Lombok’s main island from Gili Trawangan by the passenger boat. We went early in the morning, around 8 a.m. and still had no clue where should we go afterward. Should we go to Kuta area? Mount Rinjani? Waterfalls? Gili Nanggu for more snorkeling? Lombok’s Sasak Tribe villages? Mataram? the famous Pink Beach? too many choices…help! //
Perberhentian pertama ialah daerah Pusuk, yang mirip puncak di Jawa Barat, yang merupakan wilayah hutan di bagian Barat Lombok. Disini bisa melihat pemandangan dari ketinggian, dan bisa berhenti ngasih makan monyet!!! Monyetnya banyak banget dari ibu-ibunya sampe bayi-bayi. Mereka berderet di pinggir jalan, mirip tukang minta-minta gitu. Lucu bangeeett. Begitu mobil berhenti, mereka langsung tau kalau mau dikasih makan. Mereka berdiri dengan sopan sambil ngulurin tangan. Jauh lebih normal dari monyet di Sangeh Bali yang suka mencuri.
// First stop was Pusuk. Pusuk which means the peak, is the forest area of Rinjani in northern West Lombok. The interesting thing about this place are the hundreds of monkeys that line the roadside waiting to be fed by a passing motorist who crossed the winding street. From our car, they looked like small hitchhikers. So very cute! So we stopped, and our driver already prepared us some peanuts to feed the monkeys. We didn’t think of that. He also told us that the monkeys here are different from the ones in Sangeh, Bali which love to steal. Here, the monkeys are friendly. So cutteee! The view from up here was also something to appreciate.//
Dari situ kita meluncur ke Mataram, ibukota Lombok untuk makan siang. Udah ngidam banget pengen Ayam Taliwang dan Plecing Kangkung. Si Pak sopir ngasih beberapa tempat pilihan favorit yaitu: 1. Taliwang Irama Restaurant, 2. Taliwang Raya Restaurant dan 3. Dua EM Restaurant. Tiga-tiganya berdekatan, dan si bapak bilang yang enak menurut dia ialah yang nomor dua, walau yang nomor 3 adalah yang paling terkenal. Setelah itung kancing, gue pilih restoran ke tiga.\
Sambil nahan lapar, gue mesen Ayam Taliwang (Rp.35.000 per porsi), Ayam Panggang Madu, Plecing Kangkung, Terong pedes, Tahu Goreng, Sate Sumsum dan nasi putih….nyam nyam nyammm!! Satu suap, dua suap….hm, ternyata nggak se dasyat yang gue bayangkan. Ini biasa aja rasanya, enakan restoran Ayam Taliwang langganan gue di Jakarta. Oh, kecewa.Tau gitu gue ngikutin saran si bapak.
// From there we went to the Capital of Lombok, Mataram. It’s a culinary purpose visit. I had been dying to try Lombok’s favorite “Chicken Taliwang” and “Plecing Kangkung” – water spinach with chili – and nothing better to try it in Taliwang where it originally comes from. I really like that dish, and even learn how to cook it my own. There are 3 famous Chicken Taliwang restaurants in Mataram; 1. Taliwang Irama Restaurant, 2. Taliwang Raya Restaurant and 3. Dua EM Restaurant. The location of those 3 restaurants are near to each other. Which one to choose? The driver recommended the second one and named it the cleanest and nicest one, but I wanted to try the third one, since I heard that this restaurant claimed itself to be the oldest, most traditional and most delicious. So I chose number 3.
When we get there, the place was just getting ready to have a busy lunch time. So our orders took a little bit long. We ordered “Chicken Taliwang” (US$ 3 per portion), “Honey Grilled Chicken”, “Plecing Kangkung”, “Eggplant with chilli”, “Fried tofu”, “Marrow Satay” and jasmine rice. When the food finally arrived, they looked really really good. But I was turned off at the visual of the water spinach. As i remember when I was visiting Lombok 17 years ago, Lombok’s water spinach were wayyy bigger and luscious looking compare to normal Javanese water spinach. But this one on the plate, looked thin and uninviting.//
Dari restoran itu, kita berangkat ke pantai! Cihuy! Kata si Bapak, pantainya bagus tapi jalan kesan sangat nggak bagus. Bener loh, jalannya ampun-ampunan hancurnya. Udah jauh, berdebu, berlobang dan berliku-liku. Najis banget deh. Untungnya, begitu sampai, pemandangan yang menyambut luar biasa indah. Salah satu pantai tercantik menurut gue.
Halo, Pantai Mawun! Kamu cantik sekali.
// After taking a few bites, ah, I thought i should have went for the driver’s choice instead. The food was ordinary and slightly disappointing. We didn’t finish our food. The eggplant was a total let down and the Chicken was not really good. The Satay and Tofu saved the day. Why oh why? There is a Chicken Taliwang Restaurant in Jakarta that taste so much better than this. Leaving the place with a pout, we demanded a consolation. Mr driver, take us somewhere nice !
The driver told us that the road leading to this Beach is very very very bad, but the view there, is very very very good. We took a chance and drove to Mawun Beach at the south of Lombok. He was right. The way was so bumpy, dusty and uncomfortable. Maybe we needed more than an hour to reach it, but when we got there… he was also right. It was très magnifique. I fell for it in an instance, big time. A beach with calm waves and still quiet, with two hills and clear calm water and occasional small ripples of waves. People can relax under the big trees in the shady sidebeach with views that are just extraordinary. BEAUTIFUL ! //
Dengan bayar parkir hanya Rp.5000, kita melihat pantai biru yang tenang, pepohonan, pondok bambu, pasir putih, dan super sepi. Untuk pantai seluas itu, hanya ada 3 turis lain yang lagi nongkrong. Selebihnya, kosong. Kita jalan kesana sini, duduk sana sini, main air sana sini, dan memanjat ke bukit yang ada. Bener-bener serasa pantai pribadi. INDAHHHH banget pemandangannya.
Aku beneran jatuh cinta sama Pantai MAWUN.
// When we were there, only 3 other tourists were there. No body else. There is a small parking fee at the entrance (less than a dollar), three bamboo huts, and that’s it. No bungalows, no bars. The beach is plainly awesome, a secluded bay with bright blue waters and pristine sand. I noticed we were the only guests arriving with a car, the other tourists drove motorcycles to get here. We walked around and climbed the hill at the corner of the beach. The hills around the beach change colors as the seasons. In the rainy season, the color will be green, while in the dry season like when we were there, it will look brownish. The view from the hill (half way to the very top) was amazing. Mawun Beach, I’ve got a crush on youuu..//
Setelah puas disini, kita berpindah lokasi ke Pantai Kuta. Yak, Lombok juga punya Pantai Kuta. Dihiasi beberapa batu karang besar, pantai ini cukup bagus sih. Air lagi surut sehingga bentuk lautnya mirip dengan kolam renang. Sebenarnya sih menyenangkan duduk-duduk disini. Masalahnya hanya satu. Banyak banget anak-anak kecil jual suvenir ke turis yang dateng. Pak sopir ngajarin kita untuk nyuekin aja anak-anak itu. Soalnya kalau diajak ngomong, mereka bisa ngikutin kita seharian penuh dan tidak akan terima kata “tidak”. Gue liat banyak turis bule yang diintilin si anak-anak itu kemana-mana. Kasian bener. Ada yang lagi berjemur pun masih digangguin.
// Spending a few hours there, we realized we needed to move to another location. 7 kilometers away, there is Kuta Beach. Blue water mixed with white sand, making the landscape around it looks pretty. (We saw it already from the hills as we drove here). The chunks of rock on one side of the beach, makes it even prettier. The tide was low, and the bay turn into shallow water pool. People were dipping themselves in. It was nice atmosphere except for one problem. Here in Kuta Lombok, there are many kids selling souvenirs who won’t take no for an answer. They will keep following you everywhere and push you to buy from them. Our driver taught us to completely ignore them, as if they’re not there. It’s kinda mean, but if you even pay even a small attention to them, they will annoy you for the rest of your stay in Kuta. The ‘ignoring’ trick worked for us. We just felt so sorry for the Westerners who probably made the wrong move. We saw some kids just sat right next to a lady (she was sun bathing in bikinis!), stared at her for hours and asked her to buy some bracelets. Oh no. //
Dari Kuta, kita nyetir 5 menit aja ke Pantai Seger. Disini lah biasa digelar acara tahunan yang bernama “Bau Nyale”, dimana orang-orang berebut menangkap cacing laut untuk dimakan. Tapi acara itu adanya di Bulan Februari atau Maret. Kalau di bulan September begini, laut lagi surut dan suasana lagi sepi. Hanya ada beberapa ekor anjing (tiap kali gue ke pantai selalu aja ada anjing…) dan beberapa ibu-ibu penjual kain Songket. Jadinya gue malah belanja kain Songket deh sambil minum kelapa muda dan duduk-duduk ama anjing-anjing lokal.
// From Kuta, we drove for 5 minutes to Seger Beach. On February/March, people come here and watch “Bau Nyale” ceremony or catching the sea worms. The annual tradition is signed with the appearance of sea worm or nyale to be caught and also eaten here! But today, no ceremony and no nothing. The beach was also on the low tide and practically empty. I spent some time with a few dogs and fed them coconuts! (they loved it). Here I also bought a beautiful traditional black ‘Songket’ woven from a lady who sold it for Rp. 50.000,- //
Kunjungan terakhir kita ialah ke Pantai Tanjung Aan yang lokasinya juga sangat dekat. Di Tanjung Aan, kita bisa naik ke atas karang besar untuk menikmati matahari terbenam dan lihat-lihat pemandangan. Tarik nafas, buang nafas, tenang, santai. Kalau nggak wajib, bener-bener males nih pulang ke Jakarta. Buktinya, hal pertama yang gue lakukan begitu berangkat ke airport ialah memikirkan kapan bisa balik ke Lombok lagi.
Harus segera balik ke sini lagi nih kayaknya.
// Our time nearly done here in Lombok, so we made a final stop in Tanjung Aan Beach. There is a large rock which you can climb to get a better view of the surroundings. We did, and chill for a moment there. We spotted many crabs and tiny fish trapped between some rocks because of the low tide. Interesting. We were waiting for the sun to set, but it was cloudy, so the sunset was not as picture perfect as we hoped for. Feeling relaxed by the breeze and the natural beauty of Tanjung Aan, we were not really wanting to go back to Jakarta. But we had to. Around 30 minutes drive to the airport, our flight was waiting .I already have a plan to re-visit Lombok. Snorkeling in Gili Air and Gili Nanggu, spending a night in Sembalun Pusuk, trekking in Rinjani Mountain, checking out Tanjung Ringgit are some that written on the list of my must dos next time. Four or five days will be enough I think. See you soon, Lombok! //
When you travel, take time to observe the beauty of the place
olivelatuputty.com/blog @shiningliv
