Desert Point – Surfers Challenge

Desert Point or Bangko Bangko beach is in the remote south west of Lombok Island.  Desert Point was voted as the best surfing point by most surfers.

As described by surfers, the wave quality is totally epic, great barrels, with a thrilling 300 meter hollow ride, best when the tide is low and rising.  Because of this and that there is a shallow reef with razor sharp corals, only seasoned surfers risk the ride.  The swells start at 1.5 meters, and holds up to 2.5 meters.

Besides surfing at Desert Point, one can go diving, snorkelling, hiking and a host of other activities in this relative quiet away from the crowds from the other touristy areas of Lombok.  There are several nice lodges around Bangko Bangko at Pelangan.

This video by aznness shows off the fun and the tubes of Desert Point Lombok.

Lombok - Travel to Tropical Islands

Lombok, part of the Lesser Sunda Islands, is east of Bali in Indonesia.  For ecology buffs, the Wallace Line is here at the Lombok Straits, separating the Indomalayan biome at Bali and the start of the Australasian biome from Lombok.  An active volcano, Mount Rinjani, the third highest mountain in Indonesia, dominates the Lombok skyline and is a National Park.  Gili Trawang and its two tranquil sister islands are off the northern tip of Lombok Island. 

Lombok offers jungle trekking, beaches, scuba diving, surfing, snorkeling and some historical sight seeing.  

Sengigi beach is just north of Mataram, en route to Gili Trawangan.  Sengigi beach has four focus areas namely Mangsit with its long and tranquil beach, Kerangdangan Bay, Sengigi town and the Batu Bolong hotels.  Kute beach on the southern end of Lombok is an area popular with surfers for its clean beaches and high waves.  A well hidden surfers gem is Desert Point. You can even hop off Lombok to GIli Trawangan or Sumbawa for a get away from it all feel.

For sightseeing you can go see the Tanjung A'an beach to see its unique pepper shaped sand, Sukarare to watch local artisans at work on handicrafts or for a spirit of adventure, trek up Mount Rinjani to see its beautiful lake crater. Narmada park and Brahma's Throne offers some historical insights and the many waterfalls offer cooling dips from the tropical heat of Lombok.

The video by bali0range shows what Lombok has to offer.

Diving in the Gili Islands

Indonesia is host to 25% of the world’s reefs with 3,500 marine species living in its seas and reefs.  The Gili islands offer a good sampling of sea fauna such as sharks, manta rays, cuttlefish, eels, crabs, turtles and fish.  There are 15 to 17 dive spots around the Gili Islands.

The Gili Air Wall is covered with soft coral, and shines yellow orange in the sun.  The coral block at 22 meters is surrounded by shrimps, pipefish, glass fishes and in the deeper parts, white tip sharks.   

Shark Point at Gili Trawangan has different levels at 24, 20 and 18 meters.  It is home to the Hawksbill and Green turtles and a wide variety of marine life such as Napoleon fish, White Tip sharks, manta rays and eels.  There is an undersea 'golf course', the ‘Volker Golf Course’, so called because of its green color, east of Shark Point. This dive is best tackled by the pros for its very strong currents.

Another dive for the pros is the 20 meter long Japanese wreck south of Gili Air, sitting upright on the sandy bottom at 45 meters.  It is home to huge frogfish, lionfish, scorpion fish and much more. And don’t forget to check out the Biorocks, the manmade reefs by the dive schools at Gili.

This video by cacchionegiovanni  shows of the wonders of the waters around the Gili Islands.

Gili Islands - Ibiza of the East

Fancy going to a place where there are no cars and motorcycles? Just laze on the beach, go snorkelling or scuba diving and then later just party and forget the weight of today?  There is a name for such a dream; the Gili Islands in Indonesia.

The Gili Islands are just off the northwest point of Lombok Island, east of Bali. There are three islands in the group, Trawangan, Meno and Air.  Trawangan is the happening island, with white beaches, dive schools, resorts and a party scene complete with throbbing beach bars and an Irish pub.  Meno and Air are rather laid back, for sun bathing, snorkeling and diving.

Once catering just for backpackers, the Gili now beckon the hip and wealthy too. There are no motorized vehicles on these tiny islands.  Only bicycles, horse carts and your own two feet to get around.  And the boats to travel to the other islands and civilization. 

There are six dive centers, with great dives to see sharks, turtles and seahorses with the stunning coral.  Powdery white beaches, clear waters and a brilliant sun with the unpolluted air clean of fumes give one a feel of a tropical paradise.

This video by mariekevangameren showcases a relaxing day at the Gili Islands.

And this video by sir0 gives a glimpse of a beach party.

Rendang - World's Best Dish at Number 1

Rendang originally from Sumatra in Indonesia is now a national dish in Indonesia and Malaysia.  It’s a well spiced dish which is essentially a dish of dry yet rather moist curry paste clinging to succulent pieces of meat.  Lamb, beef, chicken or even vegetarian soya meat can be added to rending to serve as a mouth watering dish.

CNN updated (7th Sep2011) its World's 50 Most Delicious Food, and it now lists Rendang as the numero uno of all food dishes.  As quoted from CNNGO:

What are the world's most delicious foods? We thought we knew. Apparently we don't.

Our list of the World's 50 most delicious foods stimulated some impassioned debate about the conspicuous lack of French dishes and the merits of ketchup over mayonnaise.

“Ketchup? Pop Corn? Chips? Plenty of Thai but few Malay food? What about Chinese (Sichuan, Cantonese, etc)? No Brazilian or Argentinean?” queried commenter Max.

Reader LoveFoods wrote, "OMG why are people hating? If you don't like the list, make your own! I love Thai and Japanese foods."

LoveFoods was right. So we threw it open to a vote on a Facebook poll.

And now, after more than 35,000 votes, it appears we got it all wrong. The world’s most delicious food is not Massaman curry, as we suggested, but a meaty, spicy, gingery dish from west Sumatra.

Reader Kamal F Chaniago showed great foresight when he wrote, "Rendang is the best." A clear winner with a loyal following, this beefy dish can now rightfully claim the title of "World's Most Delicious Food."

Beef is slowly simmered with coconut milk and a mixture of lemongrass, galangal, garlic, turmeric, ginger and chilies, then left to stew for a few hours to create this dish of tender, flavorful bovine goodness.

The Indonesian dish is often served at ceremonial occasions and to honored guests. It's not only delicious but also comes with a simple recipe. If you haven't already, go ahead and take reader Isabela Desita's advice: "Rendang should be the first! It's really nice, you should try!"

So go ahead and check out this video from tokchiksincan and the recipe for that pavlovian aroma for dinner.  And when visiting Indonesia, you can get this dish at most local restaurants and street stalls.

Dragon Safari

The Komodo Dragon is a rare lizard found wild only on 4 islands in Indonesia, notably on Komodo Island.  This seven foot lizard has fearsome teeth, teeth that are in the league of sharks. And saliva teeming with bacteria.  Its one bite will almost certainly lead to an animal's slow death.    Besides watching Komodo Dragons and the breathtaking sunsets, one can go scuba diving in Komodo National Park, a marine reserve.

You can get to Komodo from Bali by air or go a cruise on the luxury Bugis Schooner from Flores Island to view these monster lizards and go snorkelling or diving in the marine park.

This video by NationalGeographic gives a good introduction to the Komodo Dragon.

Sunda Music and Art

This video by SUN da JAVA provides a soothing listen and an insight into the West Java (Sunda) music.

Gamelan

The haunting music of Gamelan of Java will mesmerise, if you are really open to other cultures and music.

This video by Emily Tasha Laura below, provides a background to the gamelan assemble.