I was dithering if I should buy the ticket back in October, before I’d sorted out my work future. Then I thought, sod it, if I had to wait, nothing would ever get done so I went ahead and bought the ticket. I thought of taking a boat to Nusa Penida but the boat ride would take too long for comfort so I had to ditch that plan. I then looked for hotels and booked one in Senggigi, however, as the trip approached, I decided to stay in Mataram city instead. I managed to get a room at a guesthouse on Trip.com. Alhamdulillah.
Wednesday, 29 January 2025/Chinese New Year
I woke up for prayers and packed after prayers before tackling outdoor chores. After cooking breakfast, shower, prayers and breakfast, I made my way to Cyberjaya where I would meet my sister and family for lunch. They then drove me to Putrajaya Sentral for my train to KLIA T1.
We took off slightly later than scheduled as we had to wait for a group of umrah pilgrims. So we only landed close to 20:00 and it was 20:30 by the time I had cleared health check, immigration and customs. The driver, Endy, was already waiting and we set off for TNC Residence Syariah Guesthouse. The driver stuck to 60 km/hour, indeed no one sped over there and we arrived at the guesthouse at around 21:15. My room was basic with furniture that looked like it was about to fall apart. After checking in, I went out to find water. I walked up to Mataram Mall before turning back. The majority of the island population are Muslims so I was disappointed to find the locals patronising McD.
Thursday, 30 January 2025
I ventured out after 07:00 to find breakfast and finally bought packed rice at a stall along the road to my guesthouse. They sure eat a lot of rice there. It was spicy, not my cup of tea.
Endy and I had agreed to meet at 08:00 and we set off at exactly 08:00 for Sembalun at the north of the island. It was quite a drive to get there, going up and down hills and we were even stopped at random by policemen (they stopped many people) who insisted on inspecting the car registration and insurance, etc.
We stopped first at Kedai Sawah. It’s a big restaurant with dining area on the ground floor and a platform style dining space on the first floor, overlooking fields of vegetables and hills in the distance. I had a plate of fried rice, yet more rice, alas! And a mug of hot tea which cooled down quickly. It had started raining by then. We left after about an hour and the rain came swiftly down. It was so heavy and torrential that Endy had to drive very slowly as the fog limited visibility to about three metres at most. I’m not kidding. Was so glad that I didn’t include island hopping because it definitely would be a rough day at the sea.
We somehow made it to Tiu Kelep Waterfall and I went down to the first waterfall with the guide. We decided not to go to the second waterfall as it required wading in the river and the heavy rain may cause fast flowing river water. We were about to head back when it started raining cats and dogs and everything in between again. We sought shelter at a rest place then decided to move on regardless as the rain may continue for some time and I sure didn’t want to be stranded there for long. We left and drove back passing through Senggigi and stopped a a view point. The wind was strong there. We spent about twenty minutes there before continuing on. We reached the guesthouse at about 17:30. I ventured out after evening prayers to find dinner.
Friday, 31 January 2025
I ventured out to the same stall to get breakfast. I was dismayed to find small ants had attacked the buns I brought from KL so I had to throw the rest of it away.
Endy and I had agreed to meet up at 09:30 today and we set off shortly after. We drove first to to Sukarara Village where there was songket weaving and of course a big shop where the finished products were sold. I dithered if I should buy some songket for my nephew but the shop assistants laughed at me when I misheard them mentioning something so feeling offended, I left without buying anything. We then drove to Sade Village, a traditional Sasak village where 150 families still reside. I even climbed a platform for a bird’s-eye view of the village. I browsed at some sarongs but I felt like I was being made to feel bad about not buying anything. I know I should contribute to the local community but I’d already paid for the tour and I’m sure the village would receive some amount.
We then drove south to Tanjung Aan Beach and had to pass really bad roads to get there that made me wonder why the roads (you couldn’t really call them roads) was never repaired. We were rewarded with a beautiful view though. We spent about half an hour there then Endy dropped me near Merese Hills before driving off for Friday prayers. I spent about an hour climbing and exploring Merese Hills. You enjoy a gorgeous view of the surrounding landscape from the hills. There were some goats and I some cow droppings although I didn’t see any cows up there. I had a great time going up and down the hills.
I went down and met up with Endy and we drove back to Mataram, stopping en route at the Islamic Centre. I performed prayers there then Endy asked if I wanted to buy any souvenirs. I thought about it and said no because I wasn’t going to check in my bag.
I had chicken soto for lunch and ventured out to a nearby restaurant for dinner,
Saturday, 1 February 2025
An early start. Endy arrived before 07:00 and drove me to the airport. I paid him equivalent to Grab fare. The flight took off on time but the door opened too slowly so I missed the first available KLIA Transit train and was subsequently slightly late for my 15:00 physiotherapy. So that was my trip to Lombok.
