Lombok- Things to do
It was nearing the end of the year and we were as usual planning a holiday. We chose to go to Lombok,
an island near Bali. We wanted to make
the best use of time there and we contacted Edy Sumedy at edytrekking@gmail.com. Edy planned our tour and it was a wonderful package of fun and
adventure. Lombok is popular for Mount Rinjani trekking. The trekking is not
available during the rainy seasons. So we
did hard and soft trekking towards the Sindang Gila
and Tiu Kelep waterfalls at the foothills of Rinjani.
The trail was wet due to rains and the rocks slippery but at the end it was one of the most beautiful sights to see, the waterfalls, with water so clear and sweeter than mineral water. Whilst trekking we saw the rare black monkeys. They are arboreal and they never come to the ground.
Later that day we visited the traditional houses of North Lombok. They practice Wektu telu religion. Wektu Telu people where Hindus who refused to convert during Muslim invasion and conversion, so they were driven to stay in the valley and eventually they were converted to Islam because of economic pressures. They are practitioners who pray three times daily unlike the majority Sasak Muslims who pray five times. The houses are different from other houses in Lombok.
We met the community leader, Raen Ged Arip. He is the village head. Sasaks traditionally followed animist and Hindu beliefs before their conversion to Islam around the 17th century and their culture remains strong on the Island, although it has divided into two branches – the Wektu Lima and the Wektu Telu. The Wektu Lima took an orthodox approach to Islam, but the Wektu Telu mixes traditional practices and beliefs, called Adat, to their version of Islam and follow three cardinal rules – obey God, community leaders and parents. Wektu Lima practices Adat as the three essential stages of life – birth, life and death and their ceremonies celebrate various aspects of this. Wektu Telu traditions are a mix of Islam, Hindu and Animist. Marriage takes place by eloping with the bride and later the bride’s parents concedes to the marriage. Men can have only one wife till death and whoever breaks the rule has to give three cows to the parents’ in-law of the former wife. Raen Ged Arip is the only community head to break the rule of marriage. He has three wives and said that he became bankrupt, with a big laugh, giving 9 cows to each in-law. He had hosted a couple from Sweden who had come to study the Wektu Telu Culture and he also told us about his travel to Sweden. After knowing about the Wektu Telu culture we went to see the oldest mosque made of bamboo in Bayan built in 1610.
We stayed at
Holiday Resort at Senggigi. It’s about
40 minutes to an hour’s drive from airport. We visited few temples around
Mataram. A very interesting temple was
Pura Dan Kemaliq Lingsar, where both Muslims and Hindus pray for unity. Pura Lingsar was built around 1714, on the prevailing
animist beliefs of the time, and some of the original animist statues remain
today.
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| Sindang Gila Waterfalls |
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| Tiu Kelep Waterfalls |
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| The Black Monkeys |
The trail was wet due to rains and the rocks slippery but at the end it was one of the most beautiful sights to see, the waterfalls, with water so clear and sweeter than mineral water. Whilst trekking we saw the rare black monkeys. They are arboreal and they never come to the ground.
Later that day we visited the traditional houses of North Lombok. They practice Wektu telu religion. Wektu Telu people where Hindus who refused to convert during Muslim invasion and conversion, so they were driven to stay in the valley and eventually they were converted to Islam because of economic pressures. They are practitioners who pray three times daily unlike the majority Sasak Muslims who pray five times. The houses are different from other houses in Lombok.
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| Traditional house |
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| Cattle and barn |
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| Village head- Raen Ged Arip |
We met the community leader, Raen Ged Arip. He is the village head. Sasaks traditionally followed animist and Hindu beliefs before their conversion to Islam around the 17th century and their culture remains strong on the Island, although it has divided into two branches – the Wektu Lima and the Wektu Telu. The Wektu Lima took an orthodox approach to Islam, but the Wektu Telu mixes traditional practices and beliefs, called Adat, to their version of Islam and follow three cardinal rules – obey God, community leaders and parents. Wektu Lima practices Adat as the three essential stages of life – birth, life and death and their ceremonies celebrate various aspects of this. Wektu Telu traditions are a mix of Islam, Hindu and Animist. Marriage takes place by eloping with the bride and later the bride’s parents concedes to the marriage. Men can have only one wife till death and whoever breaks the rule has to give three cows to the parents’ in-law of the former wife. Raen Ged Arip is the only community head to break the rule of marriage. He has three wives and said that he became bankrupt, with a big laugh, giving 9 cows to each in-law. He had hosted a couple from Sweden who had come to study the Wektu Telu Culture and he also told us about his travel to Sweden. After knowing about the Wektu Telu culture we went to see the oldest mosque made of bamboo in Bayan built in 1610.
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| Oldest Mosque in Bayan |
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| Big Drum inside the mosque |
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| Pura Lingsar Temple |
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| Offerings to Lord Ganesha |
Perang Topat is an annual festival held at Lingsar and features a ritualised war with rice cakes, which also serve as an offering to the God. Interesting fact is that Balinese visit Lombok temples as “Trithayatra”.
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| Monkeys at Pusuk Pass Forest |
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| Iguana |
During Bamboo rafting we saw some Iguanas.The Pusuk Pass Monkey Forest has docile monkeys and it was a wonderful experience feeding them with groundnuts bought from the Landang Bajur morning market.
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| Banyumulek Pottery Village |
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| Tanjung Aan Beach |
We visited the Banyumulek Pottery Village. Beautiful pottery are exported to many countries. We made small pots with gecko and turtle's motifs.
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| Snorkeling in Gili Islands |
The best experience of all is the snorkeling in Gili Islands. It's a breathtaking experience. All beaches have their share of corals. Seawater and freshwater pearl culturing is a popular trade and 'pearl jewellery set' to be added as one of the shopping list. The main cultivation is paddy. As for the palate we had jumbo prawns at Yessy Restaurant and at Warung Menega, Mataram and no better way to end the holiday with a spa at Mandara, Senggigi. The picturesque beaches and landscapes will make anyone a naturist and can be back home all rejuvenated.
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