Nusa Penida Trip

I’ve been wanting to visit Nusa Penida for quite some time and even contemplated taking a boat from Lombok after buying the flight ticket there. However, after finding out that the boat ride would take four to five hours one way, I scraped the idea and bought another flight ticket, to Denpasar this time. I then started searching for rooms near the port and then on the places to visit. I booked a room in Denpasar and Toyapakeh at Nusa Penida, was offered another room at another place in Toyapakeh, searched further, cancelled earlier booking a mere few days before departure and booked The Cozy Bidara as it’s closer to the main road. Just before this, I also cancelled the Denpasar room and booked a room in Sanur as I figured it’d be better to travel on directly to Sanur after landing than taking an early morning cab to Sanur from Denpasar. 

I then bought fast boat tickets from Sanur to Banjar Nyuh Harbour and return from Banjur Nyuh Harbour to Sanur. A colleague who went to Nusa Penida on a day trip from Bali shared me a guide’s number and after a few days, he gave me quotation for a two-day trip (covering Weat and East Penida). Initially, he quoted me IDR7.5 million but after telling him that I’d make my own room booking, he quoted me IDR5.5 million. Which was simply just exorbitant! I’d searched for tours on Klook but it cost too much for a solo traveller. Somehow, Allah helped me come across a page offering car and driver for RM194.7 for a solo traveller for either West or East Penida so I purchased one of each. I’d have to pay for parking and entrance fees but after doing more research, I found it would still be way more economical than the earlier offers I saw on Klook. Syukur Alhamdulillah. It always pays to do some research. 

Friday, 7 February 2025

I left office and took trains to KLIA T1. I had checked in for my flight online and wasn’t too worried when I arrived at 15:37. I was surprised to find that the flight was bound for Melbourne which meant I had to go to the satellite building so I hurried over. I was boarding the plane before long and we took off on time.  We landed at Denpasar and I rushed out, earning some comment from an entitled elderly woman. I gave her a ‘whatever’ look and sprinted out. I had pre-booked a taxi via Booking.com and the driver told me that due to the busy airport, they could only wait a certain time.  I was out by 20:30 and after locating the driver, we made our way to Erwin’s Guest Room in Sanur. The guest house is located within a maze-like neighbourhood with very narrow lanes but we managed to find it, Alhamdulillah. It was 21:30 then and too late to find dinner.

Saturday, 8 February 2025

I woke up early and had a shower then performed prayers. A light breakfast was served at 06:30 (it was already light then). I left at 07:10 and made my way to the rendezvous place for Axe Stone boat. I decided to be adventurous and followed a different route and ended up being lost and tried to retrace my steps and Alhamdulillah, found another exit out of the maze. Alhamdulillah.

I registered at the Axe Stone counter then joined the other passengers to the port building. We then went through security and walked to the boat. We were given lanyards which we returned back to one of the staff before boarding the boat. The boat ride took about 45 minutes and it rained somewhere along the way. I had taken an anti-motion sickness pill during breakfast but the aging of the boat as we were disembarking almost made me nauseous.

I had arranged to meet the Klook local operator for driver at 09:15 and borrowed a bloke’s phone to contact the driver. We met up and walked out of the port area. Ok, the port area was horrible and I don’t know why the local authority didn’t improve the road surface with the port tax that they collected from visitors (Rp25k). We drove first to Kelingking Beach aka T-Rex Beach. Nusa Penida is hilly and the roads can be quite bad in some areas and very narrow with one-lane width so drivers have to drive carefully to navigate the turns and slow down when there’re vehicles from the other direction.

We spent about 45 minutes at Kelingking Beach - I actually went down the steep stairs until the steps stopped and you have to navigate the o my terrain) and climbing up again - before driving to Angel’s Billabong and Broken Beach. I paid Rp10k for parking at Kelingking Beach car park and Angel’s Billabong/Broken Beach (the latter two share the same car park). We left after spending about an hour there and Dhika (my driver) brought me to lunch at Manthies Resto.

After lunch, we drove to Crystal Bay. Again, I paid Rp10k for parking. I didn’t see the charm or beauty of the place. There were stray dogs (indeed there are too many stray dogs around the places we visited) and the sand was black. I couldn’t appreciate it at all and went to sit at a hut instead to let Dhika have some shuteye.  After an hour, I woke Dhika up and he drove me to The Cozy Bidara Guest House. I had paid for my stay beforehand. The guest house is quite near to the only mosque on the island and within walking distance of Banjar Nyuh port. I wanted to venture out for dinner and was not amused when there was a power trip just before Maghrib. Thankfully the room wasn’t too suffocating as I had switched to AC earlier. I then went out in the dark to find dinner and ordered bakso from a stall. The power came back on while I was having dinner. Alhamdulillah!

Sunday, 9 February 2025 

This morning, we set off at 09:00 and drove to the east of the island. It fined during the night so there were puddles in the roads. After 75 minutes, we reached Diamond Beach. After paying Rp10k for parking and Rp35k for entrance (receiving a bottle of mineral water in exchange), we made our way to the cliff overlooking both Diamond and Atuk Beaches. The view was spectacular. I decided to go down to Diamond Beach - many people stopped along the way down to take photos - before coming up again. My thighs were already screaming from the steps at Kelingking  Beach the day before and were in agony by then. But hey, this would likely be my one and only trip to Penida, right.

After that we drove to nearby location for a view of Raja Lima (a group of islands) and Tree House. I paid another Rp10k for parking and Rp25k (smd received another bottle of water), we walked down (yes!) to the tree house. There are actually three tree houses but the staircase to one was dilapidated while another was abandoned. You have to pay Rp75k to have your photos taken at the tree house which I didn’t feel like paying so I just took photos of the tree house sans me.

We were ready to leave but the car battery decided to die on us and after trying to restart the car with another car’s battery, Dhika decided to borrow his friend’s car battery. He borrowed a motorbike and went to his friend’s house. It started raining then stopped then started again. I sat in the car but it was hot and suffocating so I held my foot out to hold the door open, closing the door when it rained.

We finally drove back and I told Dhika to bring me back to my guest house. It had rained very heavily in west of the island and the lane leading to my guest house was submerged and I had to wade my way through. Good thing I decided to pack my old Crocs instead of Converse or Skechers!

After prayers, I went out to find lunch. I bought some titbits then waited to have a massage. Oh by the way, there was another power trip so I had to wait for the power to be restored before I could have my massage. I had chicken noodles for dinner then returned to my room. It started raining again in the evening.  

Monday, 10 February 2025

I left the guesthouse at 07:15 and walked in the drizzle to Semabu boat office. I had received a message reminding me to arris an hour before the boat trip and was not amused to find the office hadn’t yet opened. It started raining on and off and finally I went to wait at the port. The boat from Sanur was late and we only boarded at 08:48. We reached Sanur at 09:30 and I was so glad that I asked the driver to come at 09:45.  It started raining heavily just before I reached the car and I jumped into the car. It rained all the way to the airport. My flight was retimed from 12:00 to 12:15 to 13:20 and finally 14:00. I walked to the domestic terminal to find lunch then back to the international terminal. The rain continued.  After a gate change, we finally boarded a bus to the plane. The airline had some umbrellas for us to share. I dozed off and wa not amused to find we were still on the runway when I woke up. We finally took off and landed at KLIA at 18:15. What a tiring day!!!

And that was my trip to Nusa Penida.

Lombok Trip

 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.