More than 2,000 tourists evacuated after Indonesia quake kills 98

Yahoo – AFP, Kiki Siregar, August 6, 2018

The Lombok quake has already killed 91 people with fears the toll could rise
(AFP Photo/ADEK BERRY)

Mataram (Indonesia) (AFP) - Indonesia Monday sent rescuers fanning out across the holiday island of Lombok and evacuated more than 2,000 tourists after a powerful earthquake killed at least 98 people and damaged thousands of buildings.

The shallow 6.9-magnitude quake sparked terror among tourists and locals alike, coming just a week after another deadly tremor surged through Lombok and killed 17 people.

Rescuers on Monday searched for survivors in the rubble of houses, mosques and schools destroyed in the latest disaster on Sunday evening.

National disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said there were fears a number of people were trapped in the ruins of a collapsed mosque in the northern village of Lading-Lading. Footage he posted on Twitter showed the large concrete mosque had pancaked.

A lack of heavy equipment and shattered roads were hampering efforts to reach survivors in the mountainous north and east of the island, which had been hardest hit.

Najmul Akhyar, the head of North Lombok district, estimated that 80 percent of that region was damaged by the quake.

"We expect the number of fatalities to keep rising," Nugroho said. "All victims who died are Indonesians."

He said up to 20,000 people may have had to quit their homes on Lombok and paramedics, food and medication were badly needed.

The spokesman said search and rescue teams also rescued between 2,000 and 2,700 tourists from the Gili Islands, three tiny, coral-fringed tropical islands a few kilometres off the northwest coast of Lombok.

Authorities initially said 1,200 people were stuck on the islands but scaled up the figure early in the evening. Some tourists chose to stay behind.

Footage posted online by Nugroho showed hundreds crowded onto powder-white beaches desperately awaiting transport off the normally paradise Gilis.

"We cannot evacuate all of them all at once because we don't have enough capacity on the boats," Muhammad Faozal, the head of the tourism agency in West Nusa Tenggara province, told AFP, adding two navy vessels were on their way.

"It's understandable they want to leave the Gilis, they are panicking."

By early afternoon, hundreds of weary tourists had arrived with their baggage at Bangsal harbour, the main link between Lombok and the Gilis.

Margret Helgadottir, a holidaymaker from Iceland, described people screaming as the roof of her hotel on one of the islands collapsed.

"We just froze: thankfully we were outside," she told AFP tearfully from a harbour in Lombok to where she had been evacuated. "Everything went black, it was terrible."

Seven Indonesian holidaymakers died on the largest of the three islands, Gili Trawangan, while another local woman died on nearby Bali.

Foreign tourists were among those injured on Lombok and the nearby Gili 

islands (AFP Photo/ADEK BERRY)

Night of aftershocks

But it was Lombok which bore the brunt of Sunday evening's quake.

The shallow tremor sent thousands of residents and tourists scrambling outdoors, where many spent the night as strong aftershocks including one of 5.3-magnitude rattled the island.

The quake knocked out power in many areas and parts of Lombok remained without electricity on Monday.

Hundreds of bloodied and bandaged victims were treated outside damaged hospitals in the main city of Mataram and other hard-hit areas.

Patients lay on beds under wards set up in tents, surrounded by drip stands and monitors, as doctors in blue scrubs attended to them.

Anguished relatives were huddled around loved ones in front of the main clinic in Mataram, as medical staff struggled to cope with hundreds of patients. Many were yet to be attended to despite spending the night out in the open.

"I feel restless sleeping in a tent, I can't be at peace," Nurhayati told AFP outside one hospital where she had brought her sick 70-year-old mother.

"What we really need now are paramedics, we are short-staffed. We also need medications," Supriadi, a spokesman for Mataram general hospital, told AFP.

Singapore's Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam, who was in Lombok for a security conference when the earthquake struck, described on Facebook how his hotel room on the 10th floor shook violently.

"Walls cracked, it was quite impossible to stand up," he said.

Bali's international airport suffered damage to its terminal but the runway was unaffected and operations had returned to normal. Disaster agency officials said. Lombok airport was also operating.

Indonesia, one of the world's most disaster-prone nations, straddles the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide and many of the world's volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur.

In 2014, a devastating tsunami triggered by a magnitude 9.3 undersea earthquake off the coast of Sumatra in western Indonesia killed 220,000 people in countries around the Indian Ocean, including 168,000 in Indonesia.

Infographic on the Indonesian holiday island of Lombok, where a 6.9-magnitude quake killed scores of people and damaged thousands of buildings https://t.co/PxrElscQ7A pic.twitter.com/a65Z8xV2qE

— AFP news agency (@AFP) August 6, 2018

Five Reasons to Visit Lombok, Indonesia

Time, By DERRICK CHANG Thursday, Dec. 02, 2010

Unspoiled Pristine scenery, like this view of the active Mount Rinjani,
characterizes much of Lombok. (Ulet Ifansasti / Getty Images)

The Indonesian island of Lombok does not receive as much fanfare as its hugely popular neighbor Bali. Nevertheless, many Indonesians prefer vacationing in Lombok over Bali for many reasons: prices for hotel rooms, food and attractions are often a good deal cheaper, and the island's scenic spots are still unmolested by the gated villa developments, cheap cocktail bars and tawdry souvenir shops that have spread across so much of Bali. At least for now. A large international airport will be completed next year and Indonesian tourism officials will likely be marketing Lombok as Bali version 2. So don't put off your trip — or miss any of these five Lombok essentials.

1. A Homestay
   If you're going to Lombok to avoid Balinese-style tourism, then why not pass up on the hotels, spas and plunge pools altogether and opt for a homestay? There are numerous options around the island, including farmhouses and homes in beachside and mountainside villages. Some are quite elaborate affairs, with self-contained accommodation and differing from standard travelers' lodges only by the presence of convivial hosts. Many offer an introduction to fishing, farming or even hunting as practiced by the local Sasak people, plus a firsthand look at the preparation of local foods and maybe a chance to sit in on some craftwork or the celebration of a festival. Your hosts will also be able to show you points of interest not found in the travel guides.
   (Watch TIME's video "Indonesia's Green Gamble.")
   
   If you can't pass up on your little luxuries, Yuli's Homestay, yulishomestay.com, in south Lombok is really more of a small resort (it has three comfortable bungalows and a swimming pool), but with a personal touch and lots of local insights supplied by a host couple from New Zealand and Indonesia. H. Radiah Homestay, tel: (62-370) 22298, in Lendang Nangka is a more rustic experience, offering a location smack in the middle of a Sasak village and a great base for hiking.
   
   
2. The Lombok Chili Pepper
   Since the word lombok means chili in Bahasa Indonesia, you'd expect the locals to know a thing or two about spicy food. The green and red Lombok chilies are often made into sambal — a fiery condiment — with locally grown naga jolokia peppers, garlic and shrimp paste. Sample it as an accompaniment to local dishes like ayam taliwang (grilled wild chicken) and sayur nangka (jackfruit curry).(See pictures of Indonesia noodle factory.)
   
   
3. Hit the Beach
   Lombok's beaches are second to none and a blessed relief after Bali's busy strips. Head for the island's southwest to really escape the crowds. Surfers love the big waves at Bangko-Bangko (also known as Desert Point); if its long-walled and hollow left-hand breaks sound too taxing, then try the tiny island of Gili Nanggu, 15 minutes by boat from the town of Tawun. There, the Gili Nanggu Cottages and Bungalows resort, gilinanggu.com, offers a chance to laze on a pristine private beach that encircles the island, or to go snorkeling in the beautiful reefs.
   
   
4. Two Wheels Good
   Public transport on Lombok is unreliable. Many visitors opt to hire a car and driver, which can be obtained at very reasonable rates, but if you're feeling adventurous try renting a motorcycle — available from shops all over the island. At just over 80 km at its widest point, Lombok is easily traversable and its roads are in great condition for Indonesia — the beneficiaries of recent infrastructural investment. The excellent 21-km coastal stretch from Senggigi to Pemenang winds past beautiful inlets and beaches and is an easy, exhilarating ride. Other, smaller roads meander through rugged highlands, passing secluded waterfalls and verdant rice paddies.
   
   
5. Hot, Roasted Worms
   Lombok's people are an eclectic mix of religious and ethnic groups, with the majority being the indigenous Sasak Muslims. There is also a sizable Hindu Balinese population, and significant numbers of Chinese and Sasak Buddhists. All of this means a lively festival calendar. The largest and most colorful festival is the Bau Nyale or Sea Worm Festival. Every February at Kuta beach (that's Kuta beach, south Lombok, not to be confused with its famous Bali namesake), the Sasak people commemorate a mythical princess who drowned herself in these waters rather than enter a politically vexatious marriage. The festival is timed with the spawning of marine worms, which are eagerly caught and eaten — often after being wrapped in banana leaf and roasted — and the celebrations last for four days.

See TIME's Global Adviser for exotic, beautiful and interesting getaways.

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On an Island East of Bali, a Backpacker’s Hideaway Goes Upscale

Komodo, Indonesia: Into the dragons' den

Sailing on a schooner around eastern Indonesia, Natalie Paris mixes sunbathing on deck with a spot of island exploration - and a meeting with the carnivorous lizards of Komodo.

Telegraph.co.uk, By Natalie Paris, 11:09AM BST 10 May 2010

While not exactly fire-breathing, these large monitor lizards have an acute sense of smell, large claws and a toxic bite

Indonesia's vast archipelago has always lured adventurers, with tales of stormy straits, desert islands and man-eating dragons. European trading ships sailed here in the 16th century in search of treasures. These days the Spice Islands, now known as Maluku, have fallen off the charts of the average seafarer, but farther south, legends of dragons live on. Here lie remote islands perfect for modern voyages of discovery.

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Dirk Bergsma, a latter-day explorer, got his first taste of the country in the Seventies when he caught a lift on a wooden schooner locals used to transport cargo. The journey inspired him to found a tour company, Sea Trek, that organises intrepid but relaxed cruises along the old spice routes. "You can sail to places so incredible you can't believe they still exist," he says.

Nearly two decades after Dirk bought his first schooner, I joined 14 other passengers boarding another on an adventure of our own. We might have had gin-and-tonics, sun loungers and a wonderful crew who rinsed our walking boots for us, but we still felt like adventurers.

Each day would start with some sailing, typically past pods of dolphins and lackadaisical turtles

The double-masted Katharina sails all over the eastern archipelago, including to Maluku, but our voyage was the most accessible that she offers – a 10-day trip east from Bali to the island of Flores and back. This popular itinerary allowed us to make various stops within the Komodo National Park, a diver's haven with sharks and manta rays below the surface, and above it, the island homes of one of the world's most impressive creatures – the Komodo dragon.

While not exactly fire-breathing, these large monitor lizards have an acute sense of smell, large claws and a toxic bite. Although they eat mainly carrion, they prey on deer and water buffalo, and have killed a human as recently as 2009. From Ari, our companionable guide on board the Katharina, I learnt that the dragons eat their dead and are cannibals, forcing their young to live in trees for up to five years to avoid being attacked. Suddenly our planned two-hour hike to spot them seemed less appealing, knowing that they could be anywhere around us – on land, in branches above us, in the sea. That's right. They swim, too.

An encounter with the lizards is certainly the most obvious reason to explore this scattering of volcanic islands, but there are plenty of others. In the couple of days before we went in search of dragons, the boat stopped at Flores ("Flowers"), an island named by the Portuguese that has smoking cones, fertile flanks and forested ridges studded with the tin roofs of villages glinting in the sun.

The winding island road, forever either climbing or falling, is lined with Catholic churches, neat wooden houses and tethered goats, pigs and tawny cows. As our driver negotiated the many switchbacks through the lush interior, old women squatting next to fires of coconut husks smiled up at us through lips stained red by betel-nut juice, and schoolchildren yelled "Hello, mister" at every bend.

We had come inland to see the dramatic crater lakes at the top of Mount Kelimutu, which change colour depending on mineral levels and have, in the past, been a rainbow palate of brown, cream, red, blue and emerald green. Kelimutu's three lakes have a spiritual meaning for locals and represent the afterlife.

The dramatic crater lakes at the top of Mount Kelimutu have, in the past, been a rainbow palate of brown, cream, red, blue and emerald green

At sunrise, two lakes that were brilliant turquoise during my visit were the first to be bathed in light. These are the two that welcome the spirits of the good and the young, and the sun gave them a pinky halo. Yet a chill remained at the third, on the other face of the mountain, supposedly the resting place of evil spirits. This lake was as black as an inkwell and, while it was shrouded in shadows, an air of foreboding was almost tangible.

That feeling returned a few days later on the boat, as we checked our zoom lenses and prepared to set foot on Rinca island, dragon territory. Rinca and neighbouring Komodo, where the dragons also live, have a more arid landscape than Flores. Shoes or flip-flops, I wondered? Apparently the dragons can launch themselves into a sprint as quickly as a small dog. Shoes it was, then. I had just started to weigh up whether it would be safer to stride out with the ranger or stay close to the group when our first group of dragons appeared right in front of us.

Six or seven lay under a ranger's hut, the occasional yellow forked tongue sliding from square jaws. They were just as big as I had imagined. Shutters whirred and we edged nearer. "Careful," one of the rangers said. "Not too close."

For a minute the dragons seemed docile. But then something disturbed the group. In a flash they rose up on haunches encased in folds of scales and darted forward at speed, their thick bodies switching from side to side in a manner that was alarming in something 10 feet long. Deep inside, some innate urge screamed "Run".

I flinched and the ranger laughed. "Don't worry," he said, waving a stick as if idly flapping at a mosquito. "Their noses are really sensitive; they will run away." We had no choice but to believe him and follow him into the woods.

These stocky predators are the largest lizards on earth and are a protected species. There are only about 4,000 of them living in the wild, all found on this cluster of islands. We spotted one with its head close to the ground, camouflaged by the trees. "He is waiting for a monkey," the ranger said. Sure enough, 15 yards along the track we saw a young family of long-tailed macaques skipping along the forest floor.

On the crest of a hill another dragon sat on its hind legs, leaning against a rock and staring down at the bay where the Katharina was docked. Fearing an ambush of the kind recently filmed by the BBC's Life crew – in which dragons had sat mercilessly waiting for a wounded buffalo to die, tongues flicking in anticipation – our group filed back down to the jetty with new purpose.

It was a pleasure to return to the blissfully relaxing routine of the Katharina. Soon I was sitting with my legs over her bow, sea salt in my hair and the waves slapping at my bare soles, watching another uninhabited island slip out of view.

On board were seven air-conditioned, amply appointed cabins, shared by passengers from all over Europe. We ate communal dinners with wine at a large, deck-top dining table and there were sun loungers for optional massages against the backdrop of sublime sunsets. The small lounge and bar downstairs was the perfect nook for nightcaps, and the crew raised handsome maroon sails whenever there was a brisk wind.

Each day would start with some sailing, typically past pods of dolphins and lackadaisical turtles, sheets of ferocious currents and whirlpools. Then, as we travelled slowly back to Bali, we would drop anchor in order to visit island communities on Flores, Sumbawa and Lombok. Some demonstrated how to weave ikat cloth, others how to master the steps of traditional dances.

In Sumbawa we disembarked onto a beach at Wera, where village children ran out to greet us and show us half-built wooden ships positioned like breakers along the black sand. Skilfully made but incomplete, they resembled skeletal Mary Celestes that required years of crafting before they could be blessed and put out to sea.

Sumptuous lunches would be dished up on board before afternoons spent snorkelling or exploring pristine beaches, such as the smudged pink sand at Gili Banta, turquoise bays around Riung and the corals at Gili Lawa.

Afternoons would be spent snorkelling or exploring pristine beaches, such as the turquoise bays around Riung

We came to learn that other passengers had enjoyed previous voyages on the Katharina. At night they swapped stories under the stars of journeys further east, of meeting warrior tribes and sailing through the Alor strait, where "there was nothing but swirling seas". A retired Dutchman told me on our final night: "You should come when we sail to Papua. Now that is truly magnificent."

As we approached the glittering lights of Bali's coastline, I felt every bit the returning explorer, with a successful voyage and encounter with fearsome reptiles under my belt. Even in this day and age, new adventures are always possible at sea.

Explore

(0844 499 0901; www.explore.co.uk) offers 16-night "East Indies Seatrek" tours including a 10-day Bali-Flores-Bali voyage on the Katharina between May and October. The trip includes four nights in a hotel in Bali on a b & b basis and nine nights' full board in ensuite cabins on the schooner: prices from £2,370 with international flights; £1,621 without. Between July and August, places are available for children at £2,478, with adult places costing £2,601, both with flights.

Sea Trek

(0062 361 283358; www.anasia-cruise.com) offers a range of voyages on the Katharina to Indonesian destinations farther afield.

Animal Activists Bemoan Fate of Gili Island Horses

Jakarta Globe, April 26, 2010

Workers in tourist island, Lombok, load boxes in Gili Meno Village. (Antara/Budi Afandi)

The Gili Islands off the coast of Lombok are famed for their near pristine coral, world-class diving and horse-drawn carriages that ply the islands’ roads in the absence of motorized transportation.

However, animal rights groups are claiming that these very horses are being cruelly mistreated by the islanders and it could threaten the tourist industry on Gili Trawangan, Gili Air and Gili Meno.

The Jakarta Animal Aid Network and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals urge the Ministry of Tourism “to take action to improve the condition of the animals,” JAAN spokesperson Femke den Haas said in a press release on Monday.

“If not the number of tourists will decrease,” she was quoted by Detik.com as saying.

She said both organizations had received a number of complaints, which JAAN had then investigated.

The investigation revealed that the animals were treated poorly, and often given neither shelter nor fresh water among a host of other violations.

She said the local government needed to formulate standard procedures regarding how to treat the animals.

Culture or Cruelty?

Jakarta's carriage driver Sain brushes down Imron, a horse he bought for only Rp 3 million ($249) because of its badly emaciated condition. (Photo: Titania Veda, JG)

Related Article:

Culture or Cruelty?

Femke den Haas: Rescuing endangered animals

Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN)

Jl. Jeruk Purut Buntu 2A

Cilandak, South Jakarta /

Tel: (021) 7802556

jakartaanimalaid@gmail.com

Size Doesn’t Matter on Gili Nanggu

The Jakarta Globe, Ade Mardiyati

Guests to the island can pay Rp 100,000 to have the opportunity to release endangered sea turtles back into the ocean as part of a conservation program. (JG Photo)

Gili Nanggu, situated just off west Lombok, is a small island of 12.5 hectares. Yet the island feels a lot bigger than this, with its undisturbed corners of natural beauty and numerous swimming spots.

The underwater world is also stunning with lots of brightly colored fish swimming close to the beach in the warm tropical water.

Traveling to the island is relatively easy — it’s a 45-minute boat ride from Lembar Harbor in Lombok, or a 15-minute boat ride from Taun Harbor, also in Lombok.

A taxi ride into Lembar from Selaparang International Airport takes about 45 minutes to an hour, while from the airport to Taun takes about 90 minutes.

Boats can be chartered from either harbor at any time of the day. Local operators charge about Rp 150,000 ($16) for a boat from Lembar with a maximum capacity of six passengers. From Taun it is about Rp 25,000 cheaper.

“Visitors are mostly foreigners from Europe, usually couples — honeymooners — because of the serenity and peacefulness here,” said Suherlan, or Herlan, a staff member of Gili Nanggu Cottages and Bungalows. “Vendors, like jewelry sellers [often spotted on the other islands in the Gilis], are not allowed to enter the area.”

The island has 10 cottages with timber floors and seven bungalows, with prices ranging from Rp 250,000 to Rp 350,000 per night with breakfast included.

Although cheaper, the cottages trump the bungalows due to their beachfront location. The upstairs bedrooms have large windows that open out onto a view of the sea and the balmy breeze.

Inside each cottage is a bed with a mosquito net and a fan. Some cottages also have a sitting room.

The bungalows are set back from the beach, just a short walk along a track.

The simple hut-like structures sit on a raised platform and the room comes with air-conditioning and an attached bathroom.

The resort has a restaurant serving local and European cuisine. Grilled fish is also available as local fishermen bring their catch to the island.

One of the most intriguing things about the resort is the conservation program it runs for the endangered Hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) — locally known as penyu sisak . The turtle is one of seven species of sea turtles found in the world. The name “hawksbill” refers to the turtle’s hooked beak.

The Gili Nanggu Sea Turtle Conservation Program has been functioning since 1995.

Adult sea turtles lay eggs once a year. If you are lucky enough to visit Gili Nanggu when the baby sea turtles are ready for release, you can take part in this natural conservation activity and help give the sea turtles a future.

“Fishermen around the area used to sell the turtles and the eggs to traditional markets in Lombok and Bali to be consumed or for religious purposes,” Herlan said.

Turtles are said to be used for offerings in Balinese ceremonies, but in fact this is rarely the case. People like to eat them, and most of the turtles that are sold illegally end up in the cooking pot.

“To stop the species from disappearing, we buy the eggs from the fishermen and hatch them here,” Herlan said.

The eggs are purchased for Rp 500 each from the fishermen, usually during the rainy season in February and March, Herlan said. For 45 days, the eggs are buried under the sand until they hatch. A year after, when they are strong enough to survive, the turtles are released into the ocean.

“Guests can participate in the conservation program by paying Rp 100,000 to release a turtle,” Herlan said. “It is a nonprofit program as the money goes to the cost of purchasing the eggs and breeding the turtles for a year.”

Turtles are released every month by visitors to the island, Herlan said.

Gili Nanggu makes a wonderful holiday spot at any time of the year, but it’s best to avoid Muslim or school holidays, when the island is more crowded than usual.

How to get there

Boats can be chartered for one-way trips to the island from Lembar for Rp 150,000 and from Tuan for Rp 125,000. Reservations are required.Peak season is from June to August.

Tel. 0370 623783 or 081 237972299

www.gilinanggu.com

Sailing the Lombok Strait

The Jakarta Globe, Ade Mardiyati

The Sri Noa Noa is crewed by Yosi, the deckhand; Wayan, the chef; and Heri, the captain. (Photo: Ade Mardiyati, JG)

I stepped carefully into the crystal-clear warm water off a beach on Gili Air, one of three small, coral-fringed islands off the northwest coast of Lombok. I put on my goggles and started to swim. Feeling scared, I stood up and breathed in deeply.

Earlier that morning, I had encountered the open water of the sea for the first time in years when I had woken on board a 32-year-old schooner under sail. Outside my porthole was so dark that I could barely see. I pressed the button on my digital watch and saw it was a few minutes past 2 a.m. That meant we had been sailing for almost 13 hours since leaving Benoa Port in Bali.

In the dim light from a small bulb some two meters in front of me, I could see Heri, captain of the sailboat Sri Noa Noa for the past 10 years.

“Where are we?” I asked him.

“Lombok Strait,” he answered.

When I asked how far we were from our first destination, Gili Air, Heri said he expected we would arrive there in about three hours. The boat was constantly rolling and I was a little worried but I realized there was nothing I could do.

Water has always been my biggest fear yet I decided to face it when invited on a four-day sailing voyage — my first such trip — from Bali to Lombok.

Normally, Heri said, it took 10 to 12 hours to sail from Benoa to Gili Air through the Badung and Lombok straits. However, due to the falling tide, a current from the north of Lombok and Bali would make our journey longer.

The boat kept rolling from side to side and at times I felt it would turn over.

“Don’t worry, it is safe. Trust me,” Heri said. Yosi, the deckhand, also assured me we were doing fine. But for a hydrophobic like me, it was not easy to relax.

I tried to go back to sleep but woke several times.

Later, the sound and smell of food being fried woke me completely. I opened my eyes and saw Wayan, the chef, preparing breakfast for the four guests and three crew members. “Good morning,” he said in Indonesian, with a thick Balinese accent.

“Good morning,” I replied. I looked around and saw some crew mates on the foredeck taking pictures. It was 6:15 a.m., an hour ahead of Jakarta time.

The boat had anchored a couple of hours earlier off the beach of the island, and after breakfast, I sat on the deck in the morning sun. The water rocked the boat gently and it felt much calmer than it had a few hours earlier.

As the sun rose, it shone on the pristine water. In the distance were gradations from light to dark blue, and to my right I could see another boat on the horizon.

Noa Noa, which means fragrance in Tahitian, is a beautiful boat. Fifteen meters long, it looks elegant with its twin masts, and even more so when the sails are raised.

Made of local timber, with teak paneling below deck, Sri Noa Noa has stood the test of time and weather.

“People prefer to charter wooden boats to fiberglass boats,” Heri said. “Wooden boats have souls. You can feel it when you enter the boat.”

Originally a private boat, which sailed from Bali to Cairns, Australia, in 1979, Sri Noa Noa has served as a charter boat in the eastern Indonesian archipelago for the past 17 years, mainly between Bali and Timor. It has carried many people on cruising adventures, including world-class surfer and artist Mike Doyle.

“He gave us this book and signed it for us,” Heri said, handing me a copy of “Morning Glass,” Doyle’s autobiography.

The best time to sail is between early April and mid to late December, Heri said.

“[That’s because] apart from the weather, which affects the movement of the water, Sri Noa Noa regularly goes through a maintenance period from January to March,” he said. “We inspect every single thing to make sure everything is in good condition for sailing.”

After breakfast, we boarded the yacht’s tender to get to the gili, a local word for island. In less than two minutes, we were on the sandy beach.

Gili Air has become increasingly popular among foreign tourists over the last several years. Heri said that the island was so popular it is always crowded, especially during school holidays. “More and more tourists will arrive in a couple of hours,” he said. “And that’s when vendors selling jewelry go around and come to you several times.

“So it’s good that we are here early. It’s only just past seven.”

Another journalist with us, Sara, quickly put on her gear and swam off. I watched her as she disappeared from sight. An Australian friend, Rob, convinced me to do the same.

Pushing down my fear, I swam a little more. Under the surface of the clear water, a school of tiny bright blue fish swam and spread out as I moved my fingers to touch them.

Just before they disappeared, some black thin fish with white stripes swam close to me and I saw and felt one touch my leg. It was a wonderful feeling to have a close encounter with the kind of fish I had previously seen only on TV or in books. I felt like a child in a toy shop, pointing at every beautiful thing I saw.

Rob later told us he had spotted a strange fish that looked like a designer sneaker. He described it as a pale yellowy beige with a nose. The fish’s head, he said, abruptly rose, making it look like a shoe.

We spent the rest of the morning resting in huts on the beach. By only 10 a.m., the sun was so bright it sparkled on the water. The breeze was calming.

A group of young local girls wearing colorful clothes ran down to the beach and swam like fish. A little boy pushed his bicycle with the help of a friend to get it through the sand. It was a perfect day out for everyone.

As Heri had foretold, a number of jewelry vendors came to us with open wooden boxes displaying pearl necklaces, bracelets and rings. We said no but they persuaded Rob into making a purchase.

In the afternoon, we set sail from Gili Air bound for Gili Nanggu, an island some 37 kilometers away that Heri said was even more beautiful. The crossing would take four hours, he said.

It was almost dark by the time we anchored and Wayan prepared dinner. Knowing that Sara and I don’t eat meat, he had purchased more vegetables and tofu on Gili Air. During our four-day sail, the 35-year-old father of two served various mouthwatering dishes, ranging from sauted water spinach to kebabs.

“What makes me happy is when I see the guests eat and finish the food I make,” he said. Wayan has been cooking aboard the Sri Noa Noa for nine years.

The evening was pleasant with the stars appearing like diamonds in the clear sky. I lay down on the deck star-gazing as such beauty cannot be seen in Jakarta. The lapping of the water was the only sound until Stefan, a Swedish writer on board with us, connected his laptop to the yacht’s speaker system and played some beautiful West African music.

When morning came, Gili Nanggu’s beauty was revealed. The 12.5-hectare resort island had water even clearer than that off Gili Air. It was so transparent that a school of silvery fish could be spotted from above, swimming close to the edge of the sandy beach.

We felt like the only visitors to the island, and as if we owned all the beach, fish and sunshine.

Underwater we could see huge brightly colored starfish and enormous sea cucumbers scattered here and there. One of the fish had an amazingly beautiful combination of colors like that of a parrot over its small body.

When the sky started to turn cloudy in the afternoon, Heri told Yosi and Wayan to weigh anchor and we sailed for Nusa Lembongan en route to Nusa Penida.

The six-hour trip to Lembongan was a bit rough, with small strong waves buffeting Sri Noa Noa. Scared that the rolling would get worse, I went on deck to finish reading a book.

Seeing my worried face, Heri and Yosi, both friends since they were small boys on Flores Island, smiled at me.

“It’s OK,” they said almost at the same time. I felt safer seeing their calm faces in any situation.

Everyone else seemed to be enjoying the evening, talking and drinking while Cuban music played in the background.

The rolling continued and I began to feel seasick. I skipped the dinner Wayan had prepared for us that night although it looked delicious — salad with cucumber, tomato and other vegetables topped with avocado, marinated tuna and bakwan jagung , an Indonesian fried dish made of flour and sweet corn.

Stefan told me to put a slice of ginger under my tongue to help reduce my nausea. I did as he said and although not sure that it was the ginger’s power, I began to feel sleepy as the Cuban music was fading.

We did not stay long in Lembongan the next day. It is a spot well-known for its surf and attracts many visitors. However, having been on an island as quiet and beautiful as Gili Nanggu, we did not find Lembongan inviting.

Pulling up anchor, we sailed past Nusa Ceningan before arriving at the hilly island of Nusa Penida. The crew lowered anchor in Crystal Bay, named for its pristine waters.

Unfortunately the waves made it unsuitable for snorkeling so we decided to explore inland instead.

Made, a Balinese man also visiting the island, told us that the nearest village was one and a half kilometers away, and offered to show us around there.

It was a nice walk under shady trees to reach the village. I had never seen so many pigs, and there were also cows, chickens and dogs to the right and left as we walked. I asked Made why there were so many cows as Balinese Hindus consider them holy and do not consume the meat.

“They’re going to sell the cows to [buyers from] Java for the coming Idul Adha [Muslim festival],” he said.

We came across Sati and Asti, two elderly women, preparing canang , offerings of colorful flowers put in sampian , tiny baskets made of young coconut leaves.

Sara and I were fascinated by how quickly their old hands wove the beautiful baskets and took the chance to learn to prepare the offerings.

We also met Luh Rumi, a woman who looked to be in her late 30s who was standing with her 7-month-old baby outside her house. She called in Balinese and her husband came out holding necklaces made of tiny seashells.

Luh said that most villagers earned their living making handicrafts from seashells and cooking oil from the coconuts that grow in abundance in the village.

“We sell the coconuts for Rp 700 each and the oil for Rp 6,000 per medium-sized Aqua [600 milliliter mineral water] bottle,” Luh said. “We don’t earn enough to make ends meet.”

Despite that, she brought out a small basket of mangoes a neighbor had given her family and invited us to eat some and take the rest back to the boat.

After a day on the island, we went back on board and pulled the anchor up for our final sail back to Benoa.

The four days had been an amazing journey that went by all too quickly. Although not totally over my fear of water, I would happily board Sri Noa Noa for another such trip.

Delivering logistics

The Jakarta Post | Wed, 04/08/2009 4:32 PM

Workers in tourist island, Lombok, load boxes that will be used as vote containers in the upcoming general elections on Thursday in Gili Meno Village. (Antara/Budi Afandi)

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By the way: Safe for now: The private, pristine and pretty Lombok

Lynda Ibrahim, The Jakarta Post | Sun, 03/22/2009 9:22 AM

Lately, I’ve started feeling that nothing is sacred any more in a world where everything is as instant and as mass-produced as the ubiquitous Indomie noodles, without much regard to due process or uniqueness. Either the world is spinning too fast, or age has simply made me world-weary. So imagine my delight and surprise when I read, over the weekend, that the Lombok Megaproject had at last been unplugged.

The turquoise-colored water on the shore of white sand beach at Gili Meno,

backdropped by the vast blue sky. (JP/Prodita Sabarini)

Phew! That pretty, private heaven with its pristine white sands and almost turquoise water! My sanctuary for much-needed refuge from the hustle and bustle of life, where, on the three Gilis, there are no motor-powered vehicles and often no cell phone signal (a great cold-turkey rehab for those Crackberrys, I’d say). Where reasonably-priced, yellow-toned natural pearls can still be found, if you know where to look, though riot-caused supply disruptions of Ambon’s grey-toned pearls have jacked up the prices a bit lately. Perfect for visiting alone or with your best friend, and paradise if you come with The One. The place I first landed on in summer 1992 and have kept revisiting since, the place I’ve prayed should never to turn into another Bali.

Wait, I’m no Bali basher. I love the beautiful island, and years-long Balinese dance training gave me a lot of respect towards their unique culture. But to me, for the last decade it has become way too commercialized, often without due care, especially in the Kuta-Legian area where the beaches are more often cluttered with trash (in all its meanings), than not. Unless accompanying first-timer foreign friends with a list of must-see tourist spots, my Bali trips for the past few years have mostly consisted of a straight-to-Ubud ride, with a stop by the chic Seminyak shops on my way to the airport at the last day.

I first heard of the Lombok Megaproject during a long lunch with a high-flying PR person prior to the official announcement. Knowing of my love for Lombok, our PR friend filled me in with hush-hush details of how a massive sum of oil money would fund multiple resorts, an international airport and perhaps a possible highway, mistaking my stunned silence as a sign of awe.

Jaw dropping, I started having horrible images of Senggigi becoming a 24/7 boisterous strip where it would be too loud for fishes to swim close by, too dirty for young children to play sandcastles, or too risqué for a sedate holiday as drunken beach bums openly trade illicit chemicals. I thought of the charming Sasak villages and artisan communities becoming the commission-based mandatory stops of large tourist buses. I shuddered as I pictured hawkers outnumbering vacationers on the peaceful triangle of the Gilis, or noisy Jet Skis obstructing the direct view from Gili Terawangan’s main beach to Gili Air, where now divers or strong swimmers can swim the short distance of clear, shallow water between the two islets. And I almost wept as a glimpse of motorcycles roaming the Gilis entered my mind.

Stilted open art wooden huts are the perfect spots to enjoy the beach of Gili Meno.
(JP/Prodita Sabarini)

It’s not that I don’t want Lombok people’s livelihood to be improved by tourism, and I’m sincerely looking forward to the gradual development of Lombok as a holiday destination. But the Megaproject just seemed to aim to whip Lombok into some one-stop-shopping for island vacationing in a slapdash stroke. I’m sure promises were pledged to preserve nature and culture during the process, yet I suspect keeping those promises would be harder than keeping a six-pack belly after babies. Why? Because being a developing country with prevalent poverty and income gaps, the lure of easy money would be too much to resist for both the locals and government, and sensibility would be nudged aside, and eventually thrown out of the window, until it’s too late. I’m grateful that the Ubud royal family uses their cultural power to ban clubs, but nobody was there to rein in Kuta or Legian.

And somehow, the Dubai-based fund didn’t make it any more encouraging to me. Yes, we all have seen how the rising petrodollar has turned the sleepy desert town into a bustling, ultra-modern city with architectural wonders competing to outdo each other. It’s been great for Dubai and I don’t mind enjoying it while I’m there, yet I would seriously object if the serene Lombok should suddenly be bedecked in shiny, 24K-gold-gilded columns, supersized branded boutiques, or other in-your-face, ostentatious facades of opulence that have become Dubai’s pride. How soon before someone would think of constructing a series of man-made islets to flank the Gilis?

You can disagree with me, but what’s more important now is for us all to participate in developing Lombok tourism lest another mega-fund arrives. Divers have steadily been supportive, but more can be achieved if bridegrooms start considering Lombok for honeymoons, if ladies start collecting Lombok pearls they way they do Mikimoto’s, or when interior designers start giving room to Lombok crafts for high-profile projects. Pretty, pristine, somewhat private, yet prosperous Lombok? I have hopes.

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