Vacation time at last after 4 months of hard work offshore in Balikpapan. Currently there is no direct flight from Balikpapan to Lombok so we had to transit in Surabaya. Nonetheless it was surprisingly easy to get to Lombok. We made hotel arrangements in Sengiggi, a small city about 30 minutes north of Mataram, at a hotel called Santai Beach inn.
This was a Lonely Planet special and once we arrived to Santai Beach Inn, we were certain that we had made the right choice for a hotel. It was pretty much ideal, with bamboo bungaloos and mosquito nets around the bed. Had an old fashioned outdoor shower and toilet, albeit cold water, with stones and fresh flowers. On the porch in front of the house had cushions on the ground with low tables and a hammock. We were served coffee and hot tea straight away and immediately felt at home.
We rented a motorbike because the hotel is about a five or ten minutes drive north of the city of Sengiggi, and after a nice rest headed down the road about a mile to Coco Beach which was very beautiful and relaxing. We ate gurame...Z's favorite river fish, and kangkung plecing with tahu and tempe. Pretty standard fare on the island of Lombok. Initially the waitress gave me a menu in English though and I was very confused because Zuhud kept telling me all of the good food he wanted to order but I couldn’t find it on the menu. Then I realized that the translation was ridiculous. For example Kangkung Plecing translated to spinach in tomato sauce which is completely incorrect as it is actually steamed spinich tossed in a spicy salsa with lime and peanuts....hmmmm.
13 December 2010: Finding and guide and around Mataram.
In the morning we searched for Rinjani trekking center which is a more reputable trekking company than the hundreds of private guides you can hire offering the same deal at much more the cost. Unfortunately, they all have signs saying Rinjani Trekking Centre. We went to one and after a long talk we decided that this wasn’t the place so we politely excused ourselves and called to ask directions to the correct office. Its not very convincing when the guide doesn’t look fit for the trek he is offering to take you on. When we got to the RTC, it seemed so much more we established and for quite a lower price. I believe that you can hike Rinjani without a guide but it is definitely worth it for the first time. They offered transportation, porters, guide and food for $120 a person 4 days and 3 nights. Ideally we wanted 5/4 but they didn’t offer it. He gave us a list of small things that we should bring and we headed into Mataram to go to the mall. We then went for Ayam Taliwang for lunch at a restaurant recommended to us by our friend Sulfan. It was really a very awesome kedai and the food was amazing and spicy. All food is spicy on Lombok. We ate our share to prepare us for the long trek up the next day as we would be leaving at 5am.
14 December 2010: Hiking Rinjani.
We got picked up at 5 am and drove 2 to 3 hours to the starting point of the trek in a small village of Sembalun. We met our porters there who would be our saving grace on the mountain as they would not only be carrying our food, but our tents and sleeping bags as well. They cooked us a banana pancake and brought us tea for breakfast before we started. It was an unbelievable.
I don’t know if it was the sudden feeling of going from an offshore rig to a completely quite and serene environment but the feeling was incredible. The silence of everything took my breath away as we walked through the deep bushes and long grass with Rinjani in the distance bearing over us. We stopped at Pos 1, and 2 and it was after that that we eventually started are more strenuous ascent. The weather also made it more surreal with the clouds and fog and the sun sometimes coming through brightening all of the wet green leaves. At Pos 3 we stopped for lunch were we ate by a nearly dried up river.
The porters made us noodle soup with vegetable and some fresh pineapple for dessert. It was more than enough to keep us going. From Pos 3 it was a much steeper ascent for about 3 hours with a little rain coming down to keep us cool if not even a little cold. But the trek was more than worth it when we finally reached the rim and were able to see over into the lake (Danau Segera Anak).
The view was more than outstanding. We then walked a little further to the point where we would camp for the night at Pelawangan 1 at about 2700meters. It was very very windy and cold especially more so because we were already a little bit wet. But after I took off my dry clothes it wasn’t so bad. The porters helped set up the tent and it was very relieving to finally get inside and warm up. We took rest while they made us nasi goreng.. incredible service... complete with kerepuk and all. We ate it all up and fell asleep as we would begin the ascent to the summit at 2 am.
15 December 2010
The sun woke us up at about 7am which seemed odd as we should have been up at 2am to summit. Unfortunately, there had been a big storm, thunder and lightning all night.We headed down to the lake instead where we would camp for the night. It was a rocky and steep descent but they day was fresh and sunny which kept me going. There was also a very big landslide happening on the slope across from us which sounded like thunder every time. It was so awesome at the lake though, reminded me of my home in Idaho. We ate Gado Gado and then went to the hot springs.
These were more than just hot springs though, it was more of a hot water park with waterfalls and pools beneath them where you could swim. So beautiful with the green algae and yellow sulfer clung to rocks. We showered and finally felt clean again. We enjoyed the sunset at the lake and at mie goreng for dinner.
16 Decemeber 2010
This morning we woke up fresh and clean. We went swimming at the hotsprings again and jumped into the cold lake. By lunchtime the weather started to turn windy and rainy so we decided to make a move to our next campsite. We hiked up and over to pos 3 were we made fire and warmed up and enjoyed the forest shelter from all the wind.
17 Decemeber 2010
The final descent down to Senaru. It was tough going as my legs were finally starting to really feel the wear of the last three days. But by lunch time we landed at Senaru. We took a side trip to a nice waterfall to shower.
We went back to Senggigi and ate a well deserved Nasi Padang from the warung in town staying again at Santai beach inn.. phewww.
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