Lombok : the island without footprints in the sand

This is the island without footprints in the sand, the island of serenity that you dream about without hope of touching, except in your thoughts.

Yet it is here, waiting. And, like a thief in a crowd, it can steal your heart, enchanting your senses with a heady mixture of perfect beaches and jasmine-scented rain.

Few Americans have ever heard of Lombok, which is smaller than its more popular neighbor, Bali. Mention its name to even the most worldly travel agent, and you are likely to be greeted with a blank stare.

But Lombok is worth seeking out. It has somehow managed to stop time in an era long since past.

You don’t visit Lombok to hunt for souvenirs or to boogie in a glittering disco. Although it is only a 20-minute flight from Bali, Lombok is not a hot spot for the jet set, as Bali is. You visit here in search of serenity.

Measuring only 50 miles east to west and about the same north to south, Lombok, one of the islands in the Indonesian archipelago, lies just across a strait, east of Bali. It offers a blend of Asian mystery and South Seas simplicity.

As I stepped outside the tiny Lombok airline terminal, brilliant sunlight bathed the morning. It was unobscured, uninterrupted sunlight, somehow purer than mere daylight. The locals call it “diamond sunlight,” and it warms the air and the tourists with an average temperature of 79 degrees year-round. In it, life sparkles like a jewel.

I came to be in Lombok after a return trip to Bali left me thirsty for the island I had learned to love on a visit a decade before.

Not that there’s anything wrong with Bali today. But, like many Pacific islands, Bali has changed. While she still retains her natural elegance and charm, the outside world has reached the long tentacles of its influence into her heart, embracing Bali for its own selfish purposes.

Major hotels have sprung up on pristine beaches and tour companies have brought flocks of holiday-makers. Instead of Shangri-La, I found windsurfers and spaghetti Bolognese.

Disappointed by the growing commercialism, I complained to an Indonesian friend who suggested I try Lombok. “It is Bali as it was 50 years ago,” he said. “Go and see for yourself.”

I did, and found an island that has thus far managed to escape the 1980s. Hopping from Bali to Lombok is like peeling off shoes for a barefoot walk on the beach.

Lombok has no car rental agency, so a taxi took me cruising through quiet roads flanked by rice paddies and fields of corn, where farmers tend the crops with oxen and wooden plows. The island is densely populated and its people make their living from the land. The rich soil produces soybeans, peanuts, coconuts and spices. It’s a Garden of Eden where bananas and mangoes grow like wildflowers.

Two young boys riding ponies trotted past our car, their laughter cutting the still air. As my driver slowed to let them cross our path, I asked him what their futures might hold.

Education is considered important in Lombok, he told me. Most children begin kindergarten at age

4. Those most fortunate will attend a university-like school on Lombok or another Indonesian island until the age of about 23.

“Then, according to our government program, they are often sent to live and work on neighboring islands such as Sulawesi and Kalimantan. There is more for them to do there.”

And so, as in many small towns across the United States, the best and the brightest children may end up leaving their home in search of opportunity.

As we passed dense palm plantations, which produce palm oil, one of the island’s main exports, my senses were invaded from every direction by a lush rain forest speckled with bright blooms, brilliant yellow birds and storybook cottages splashed with pink and blue paint.

Thousands of Monkeys

Trailing vines hung like serpents from the trees. My driver commented that unlike the jungle of Bali, Lombok has no tigers or apes. The main furry inhabitants seem to be thousands of monkeys that boldly approach tourists in search of food.

The road twisted down to my destination, my hotel on Senggigi Beach, pointing straight into a silvery sea, its surface rippling like pulled threads on satin.

After I checked into my room I ventured into the warm Indian Ocean. Wandering weightless and free in a liquid crystal world, my snorkel and fins were the passport to a new land.

Branches of unspoiled lavender, blue and orange coral formed an underwater garden. Tempted to cut a piece, I reached for my knife. A large black and yellow angelfish blocked my view, glaring disapproval, and conscience got the best of me. Better to look, but not touch, this treasure of the sea.

Although diving enthusiasts are among Lombok’s primary visitors, you don’t have put on scuba gear to see the sights. You can snorkel in shallow water for an hour and never see the same species of fish twice.

Art and Culture

When I emerged from the sea, several Indonesian families were sitting on the once-deserted beach, munching lunches of bread and fruit. It was Sunday, and the locals had gathered to picnic. Their children splashed in the sea or fished with hand-held nets.

These were the Balinese people who inhabit the western part of the island. In the 18th Century this part of Lombok belonged to the kingdom of Bali, and their Hindu heritage still influences the art and culture.

The rest of the land is populated by native Sasaks, a Muslim people who descended from the royal families of Java. Together the two groups make up a population of just over 2 million.

Under a veil of night, Lombok becomes mysterious. As I made my way along the path from my hotel room to dinner, a breeze kicked up, rustling the trees and turning palm tree silhouettes into dancing Javanese shadow puppets.

To better enjoy the day’s end I sat by the railing in the open-air room. But by the time soup had arrived, I was being pelted by warm raindrops.

Lobster Salad

Moved safely to the center of the room, I enjoyed a dinner of local lobster salad followed by sweet martabak, an amazing concoction of milk, chocolate sauce, ground peanuts and spices, all rolled up in a thin crepe.

For this meal I had skipped rice, the basic staple of Indonesia, which is wonderful when eaten with a variety of dishes, such as kepiting Oriental, a spicy crab dish, or pacri nanas, a pickled, spiced pineapple with an abundance of chili peppers, served as an appetizer or side dish. I did, however, sample the local coffee which is strong, black and sweet.

After the leisurely meal followed by a quiet conversation with my host, he produced a thin Swiss pocket watch and predicted the rising of a very bright star.

When the clouds parted he pointed to a part of the sky and the star appeared there almost to the second. As if on cue, it rose high above the palms, glowing like a jungle panther’s green eye.

Lombok may be the perfect destination for the traveler whose idea of great night life is searching the skies for just such a star.

Three days passed unmarked on Lombok, this microdot on the map that I’d visited on a whim. Like an urban commuter returning to the city, I flew back to Bali and its tanned tourists but could not forget the island without footprints in the sand and the jasmine-scented rain.

-- -- --

Excursions: Take a trip inland to gaze at the floating court of justice at Taman Mayura. Lombok is dotted with ancient temples and beautiful gardens such as the summer palace at Narmada.

The palace was built by the Balinese King of Karangasem in 1805, and the locals believed the royal spring here was the Fountain of Youth, and no commoner was allowed to drink from it.

A full tour into the countryside can be arranged by the Senggigi Beach Hotel, including a stop at the blacksmith’s village of Getap, the traditional weaving village of Sukarare, and Sengkol, a Sasak village with traditional thatched huts. Have lunch at the cool mountain resort of Suranadi at the edge of a forest reserve teeming with monkeys and other wildlife.

Getting here: Garuda Indonesian Airlines flies from LAX direct to Bali three times a week (Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.) Round-trip air fare is $1,155. No advance purchase is required. Lombok is a 20-minute flight from Bali on Merpati Airlines. Fare is about $30, round-trip. To contact Garuda Airlines call: (800) 342-7832.

Wooden Beach Houses

Accommodations: I stayed at the three-year-old Senggigi Beach Resort. Although I was told it is the first deluxe resort on the island, with its restrained architecture and unhurried atmosphere, it doesn’t seem like a resort at all. Small wooden beach houses dot the edge of the sand.

An open-air lobby has a gazebo-style dining room just beyond. A sapphire swimming pool lies between you and the sea. Clearly a refuge from the outside world, it is lazy, clandestine, undisturbed.

All 52 rooms face the ocean and are air-conditioned. Rooms are priced at about $65 double or single. You can arrange side trips at the hotel, including sightseeing with guide, and scuba diving and snorkeling trips to outer reefs.

Other accommodations on Lombok include Sasaka Beach Cottages, five kilometers down the beach from Senggigi. Some of its rooms are fan-equipped, others are air-conditioned. Prices are about $10-$20.

Wisma Melati has air-conditioned singles and doubles starting from about $15, including breakfast. It also has a restaurant, bar and telephone. It is located near the Senggigi.

A Rice Breakfast

Three pleasant and inexpensive hotels are closer to town, but most of their rooms are modest and do not have air-conditioning. The proprietors, however, are very helpful and gracious. Rooms at the Kamboja, Kertayoga and Handika hotels range from about $5 to $9 and include a rice breakfast.

The Indonesia Tourist Promotion Board, 3457 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles 90010, can provide detailed information on accommodations in Lombok, including a list of hotel addresses and prices. Telephone: (213) 387-2078.

Shopping: Although tourists do find their way to Lombok, the island really doesn’t produce much in the way of souvenirs. Handicrafts are often quite raw and beautiful, especially woven fabrics in brilliant hues and straw purses in rough designs.

The nearby fishing village of Ampenan has a good antique/handicrafts shop. This family run enterprise, Toko Sudirman, is a couple of meters down a narrow dirt road just off the main street and sells excellent woodcarvings, baskets and traditional weaving. It’s more difficult to bargain for goods in Lombok than in Bali, but prices generally are lower to begin with.

Thriving Craft Center

Formerly the old capital of Lombok under the Balinese rajahs, Cakra is a thriving center for craft work, particularly well-known for basket work and weaving. Check out the silversmiths and goldsmiths at work in the bazaar. Their prices will surprise you and you’ll be unable to resist a bracelet or ring.

Transportation: Although there is no car rental agency in Lombok, the alternative modes of transport will prove more interesting and much less expensive. Bicycles can be rented, but most islanders travel in bemos , small open pickup trucks with a row of seats down each side. Horse-drawn carts, known as dokars, are good for exploring off-the-beaten-track spots. Small minibuses, or “colts,” as they are called, are a more comfortable alternative, and leave from terminals that they share with the bemos in town.

Motorcycles, which are rented by private owners and a few rental shops in Mataram near the airport, are also cheap, but beware of rocky, potholed roads that flood during rains.

There are gas stations are in the larger towns, but in the quiet villages you must buy gasoline from roadside stalls that sell it by the beer bottle.

Pungent Dressings

Dining: Lombok offers a variety of tastes, usually well-prepared and often quite spicy. Mataram, 10 kilometers from Senggigi, has two restaurants. The Taliwang serves locally-caught fish with pungent dressings. The more expensive Garden House restaurant has both Indonesian and Chinese food, as well as the best ice cream on Lombok.

Climate: The seasons on Lombok are much like those in Bali, with a dry season from April to September and a wet season from October through March.

Temperatures are uniformly tropical all year, so light clothing is advised in natural materials that dry quickly.