Here we were on Kuta Beach – with no milling crowds of surfers, no nightclubs or bars nearby, no souvenir stalls, no groups of masseuses, no empty cans of Foster’s in sight. This Kuta Beach is on the south coast of the island of Lombok, far in many ways from the hedonistic Kuta on Bali and its tragedies of recent years. The white sand beach is fine, and the surf great both here and elsewhere on jellyfish-shaped Lombok.
Many surfers who love this Kuta choose small, inexpensive hostelries such as the G’Day Inn, where an Australian flag is flown to make visitors from Oz feel at home.
If you’re truly into surfing and prefer quiet evenings, there’s no comparison between here and Kuta on Bali,” says Craig, from Newcastle, NSW.
Craig and his friends spend the hours after sunset listening to music and eating at modest cafés, chatting to friendly locals in a mix of English and Indonesian.
Ironically, the best way to Lombok remains via Bali, a short flight away, with Lombok’s capital, Mataram, providing the gateway in the west of the island. It is two hours by road from there to the south coast. Cheap local buses are available, but they are not air- conditioned, often rundown and crowded.
A new airport has been proposed on flatlands much closer to the popular southern beaches and hotels, with work expected to start next year.
Apart from the daily street market, things are quiet in Lombok’s Kuta although every February or March things get disturbingly crowded for the annual Nyale fishing contest. Thousands flock to Kuta for the event, many of whom sleep on the beach. The weather is best between June and September with the rainy season between November and February.
Unlike Bali’s Hindu population, Lombok’s 2.5 million residents are mostly Muslim; the majority of those are Sasak, who have their own culture and language. One tour not far from the south coast is to Sade, a village of 700 people where locals live in houses with thatched rooves, brick and bamboo walls and clay floors dressed with dried buffalo or cow droppings, which we’re informed only smell at first.
Anaf, an English-speaking guide greets us with a “G’day” and chats about the Sasak’s sometimes violent history and way of life.
“The population comprises 150 families,” Anaf says. “We are all cousins.”
Some Sasak live in the mountains, although most are in the fertile central plains. Farmers use ploughs drawn by water buffalo then harvest the crops by hand. The crops include rice, soyabeans, maize, sweet potatoes, coconuts, coffee, tobacco, peanuts and onions. Some Sasak are small traders and shopkeepers while others are potters, basket makers or blacksmiths.
Sasak villages range from several hundred to as many as 15,000 inhabitants. Their social system is of three levels; two levels for the aristocracy and one for commoners. Nobles and commoners often live in segregated areas.
Other coach tours take in the gilis (small islands) for diving, snorkelling and swimming, as well as to pottery or weaving villages, waterfalls and some spectacular coastal and inland scenery.
The cheapest and the most fun way to travel short distances in Lombok is by cidomo, a locally-designed cart drawn by horses bred on and imported from the adjacent island of Sumbawa.”