LOMBOK’S SCENIC OCEAN DRIVE-1
Putting
“oceanic scenic drive” in Google will get you mostly to the Great Ocean Road in
Victoria, Australia. Driving along the Great Ocean Drive was an awesome
experience, a full feast to the eye of the magnificent coast of South
Australia. In another continent, the oceanic ocean drive links you to website
about the Big Sur drive, along the Californian coast in USA. I was fortunate to
have experience both of it and always wondered whether we have that kind of scenic
drive somewhere in Indonesia.
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| Driver and navigator: armed only with map from free guide magazine and android phone |
Through my
ex-student, Ririn who now works in Lombok, we manage to rent a car without a
driver. Armed with only a Lombok Map from the free
copy of the Lombok Guide (it’s an old March issue!) given by the receptionist
of our hotel - plus Google map whenever the signal is on - we decided to brave the
unknown road along the coast of Lombok in search of the ocean’s scenic drive.
Senggigi – Bangsal – Mt. Pusuk – Mataram -
Senggigi
Typically,
we woke very late on our first morning. Thus, we decided to take a short route
for the first day. Starting from Senggigi, we headed north to Bangsal and
return through Mataram. As we suspected, the road take twist and turn along the
hills and in consequence our eyes were treated with outstanding view of the clear
blue ocean in the left and its mostly deserted beach - and mountain backdrops. A short stop in
Malimbu will get you a stunning view of the three Gilis’ Islands (Gili
Terawangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air), a few minutes before Teluk Nara where most
of the private boat to the Gilis are docked. Although the roads are narrow, the
quality of the road is very good. Smooth and no potholes – it is even much better condition than the
toll road in Jakarta!
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| The view from Malimbu |
A few
minutes after Teluk Nara, we arrived in Bangsal, a small harbor that mostly
caters traditional boat transfer from the main island to the three Gilis, vice
versa. The right turn from Bangsal is a bit confusing; it will get you to
Pemenag Town but there is no sign showing the direction to Mount Pusuk. Since
the road is forked, we decided to take the right direction hoping that it will
go down south through Mount Pusuk. Later on we found that almost all Lombok
roads have minimal signs. Luckily, we did take the right turns. The road along the Jalan Raya Pemenang and through Jalan
Raya Pusuk cut through forested area of Mount Pusuk. Along
the way, we encountered several groups of macacaque monkey on side roads, which
is no wonder the area is called the Monkey Forest. Traditional stalls selling
food and local fruits dotted the area and tempted us to stop over and try the durian.
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| The sign at the back of this rusty bus full with banana said: Papa pulang mama cemburu (Father return, mama jealous). Bringing a new mama? |
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| Heaps of local durian in a motor cycle parked at a traditional warung along Pusuk Road |
Halfway down to Mataram we
stopped by a quaint warung called Warung Kelor “Tibu Idjo” at Desa Pusuk
Lestari. Apparently the warung is a popular stop for traveler, thus we need to
wait for awhile to get our order. Surprisingly, the food is good (and very
cheap compared to the food in one of the café in Senggigi!). Try the kelor
soup, it is quite good. Coupled with good scenery, we recommend for traveler to
stop in this warung.
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| Scenic scenery from Warung Kelor |
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| Do you know that Lombok also means chilli in Bahasa Indonesia? Beware of spicy food while trying the local food in Lombok. The food at Warung Kelor is yummy, though! |
There is
not much interesting view down from Pusuk
to Mataram. However, we passed a village which showcase rows of stalls
with interesting-looking Bamboo Furniture (we didn’t stop). Later on we found
out the name of the village is Gunung
Sari, which of course are famous for their Bamboo Craft. Late at night we arrived back in Senggigi. Tired but satisfied.
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