Hippies and travelling surfers put Bali firmly on the tourist map in 1967. Kuta sprung up as a low cost alternative to Sanur's 5star hotels in 1972, and both areas never stopped growing ever since. Thank you Alby Falzon.
The hippies were gradually replaced by packaged tourists, and tourist shops sprung up on every street corner. Its gotten a bit out of control. Rabid dogs and the faint whiff of raw sewage the norm in many parts. Traffic is a way of life. Sadly much of the original magic has gone.
Bali is still very beautiful in pockets, the people are certainly wonderful, sunsets still great and the nightlife/shopping/restaurants have greatly improved. But its reaching saturation point. The coastline is under enormous development pressure, roads increasingly congested and beaches/rivers often clogged with rubbish and effluent. Infrastructure investment simply hasnt kept pace with the development and development has occurred at breakneck speed with little planning and literally no environmental consideration. The smell of raw sewerage / effluent is often evident walking down a road or visible on a beach, especially after a heavy rain.
In the last 10 years there has been a second wave of development spurred by the government's land reforms and buoyant property prices in Australia/America/Europe. Property in Bali has sky rocketed with foreign buyers comprising 80% of new home sales in coastal resort areas and Ubud (see Elite Havens 10yr historical price graphs attached non- beachfront, beachfront). The quiet Bhukit area has played catch-up on trendy Seminyak, with its cliffline quickly disappearing under a sea of new hotels and villas. Bali's best beach, Dreamland, has sadly been replaced with condos, golf courses and, erm, a nightclub. Bingin is swarming with warungs down below and villas up above. Canggu has gone upscale. Even the once sacred Uluwatu has an ugly half finished Japanese hotel along the cliffline. Where have all the hippies gone!
The waves in Bali might still be great... but the crowds have multiplied year on year and are intolerable at most of the major surf spots now, no matter the time of day or year. Beautiful pockets still exist such as Ubud in the mountains or Candi Dasa on the east coast, but the congested roads linking make travelling painful, sometimes even dangerous.
For shopping, nightlife and dining in Indonesia you still cant go past Bali. But for a slice of the quieter life, snapshot of what Bali used to be like, beautiful beaches, amazing scenery, lush mountainsides and friendly people Lombok is a much better choice.
Hippies and travelling surfers put Bali firmly on the tourist map in 1967. Kuta sprung up as a low cost alternative to Sanur's 5star hotels in 1972, and both areas never stopped growing ever since. Thank you Alby Falzon.
The hippies were gradually replaced by packaged tourists, and tourist shops sprung up on every street corner. Its gotten a bit out of control. Rabid dogs and the faint whiff of raw sewage the norm in many parts. Traffic is a way of life. Sadly much of the original magic has gone.
Bali is still very beautiful in pockets, the people are certainly wonderful, sunsets still great and the nightlife/shopping/restaurants have greatly improved. But its reaching saturation point. The coastline is under enormous development pressure, roads increasingly congested and beaches/rivers often clogged with rubbish and effluent. Infrastructure investment simply hasnt kept pace with the development and development has occurred at breakneck speed with little planning and literally no environmental consideration. The smell of raw sewerage / effluent is often evident walking down a road or visible on a beach, especially after a heavy rain.
In the last 10 years there has been a second wave of development spurred by the government's land reforms and buoyant property prices in Australia/America/Europe. Property in Bali has sky rocketed with foreign buyers comprising 80% of new home sales in coastal resort areas and Ubud (see Elite Havens 10yr historical price graphs attached non- beachfront, beachfront). The quiet Bhukit area has played catch-up on trendy Seminyak, with its cliffline quickly disappearing under a sea of new hotels and villas. Bali's best beach, Dreamland, has sadly been replaced with condos, golf courses and, erm, a nightclub. Bingin is swarming with warungs down below and villas up above. Canggu has gone upscale. Even the once sacred Uluwatu has an ugly half finished Japanese hotel along the cliffline. Where have all the hippies gone!
The waves in Bali might still be great... but the crowds have multiplied year on year and are intolerable at most of the major surf spots now, no matter the time of day or year. Beautiful pockets still exist such as Ubud in the mountains or Candi Dasa on the east coast, but the congested roads linking make travelling painful, sometimes even dangerous.
For shopping, nightlife and dining in Indonesia you still cant go past Bali. But for a slice of the quieter life, snapshot of what Bali used to be like, beautiful beaches, amazing scenery, lush mountainsides and friendly people Lombok is a much better choice.
Bali has better surf but Lombok has better beaches and lots of them, as well as many beautiful offshore islands, called "Gilli's".
Whereas life on Bali can be frantic and very social, Lombok is very laidback and peaceful. You wont get the same variety of international restaurants or shopping or nightlife, but you will be spoilt for scenery and outdoor activities. Unlike cosmopolitan Bali, Lombok is a nature lovers paradise. The kind of place you go to unwind, de-stress and relax.
The theoretical Wallace line in the Lombok strait creates a distinctly drier and sunnier climate than nearby Bali - longer dry season, shorter wet. More pronounced in the south. Mount Rinjani at 3726m (12,224ft) catches the rain and distributes it to the waterfalls, rice terraces and plains below while the dry southern coastline basks in sunshine. This geography makes Lombok one of Indonesia's agricultural hub…cocoa, peanuts, chili, tobacco and vanilla…etc are all grown enmasse. Offshore the fishing is excellent too thanks to flushing from Lombok and Alas straits and upwellings around the abundance of small offshore islands.
Southern Lombok where Avantara's located is sunny and dry, the coastal scenery breathtaking – its un-comparable. Just bay after bay of empty picture postcard perfect white sand beaches separated by craggy wind swept headlands. Pinch yourself and take a photo, because no-ones going to believe you. By contrast 3 decades of unhindered development has left Bali's coastline scarred. Beach access in Lombok is more difficult sometimes but cows and goats are going to be the only likely cause of traffic jams. Once at the beach you'll find sand that is pearly white and water that is clean, clear and blue. Until recently the tourism focus has always been in the west close to the ferry/airport links and the beautiful Gilli islands just offshore, which afford beautiful sunset views over the sea (Bali/Lombok Strait). The best beaches and coastal scenery on the mainland however is in the south.
In the centre of the south is the ramshackle backpacker destination of Kuta Lombok, which has the only real accommodation options and hence forms the only base from which people explore this beautiful coast. We plan to change that.
20 min drive inland from Kuta Lombok is where the New International Airport (est 75M USD) is currently being built - due to open sometime in 2011, or early 2012. Next year is infact Tourism Indonesia’s – Visit Lombok & Sumbawa (see promo video) – so its likely 2012 to coincide with this. Selong Belanak, Selong or Selong B (whatever you choose to call it) is 40mins drive west from Kuta Lombok on a potholed coastal road, but is only 25min drive inland from the new international airport (an initial oversight by those rushing in to buy up Kuta). However it’s completely untouched and undeveloped and will stay that way for some time with private investors from Hong Kong/Singapore/Australia (high end villa developments) now blocking any large hotel groups and pricing out backpacker projects. More on Selong Stakeholders Association here.
Spanning out from the airport is a network of new access roads and electricity grids currently under construction. There is also a new coastal ring-road around the island’s perimeter under construction, funded by the Central Government. As the roads are upgraded the travel times above are cut by 20-30%. As the electricity, water, sewage and airport near completion; developments will start to break ground. At Avantara we aim to be first mover in the area. As with many things in Indonesia, a dash of cynicism is healthy but these infrastructure changes aren't pipe-dreams. They’re 2/3 done already and construction on the final 1/3 is underway as we speak.
The New International Airport (link to PDF) is the talk of the town in Lombok and Bali these days. We visit the site regularly to check on progress and chat to workers (pretend to be a journalist from TIME magazine and they’ll grant you access). With the unusually high rainfall received last year, the runway experienced drainage issues which Jakarta has released an additional 12M USD of funding to remedy. The terminal, control tower, fenceline, carpark and common areas appear 90% finished. As of Jan 2011 construction activity has waned in favor of work expanding the road to Kuta and installing a water pipeline adjacent. In hindsight, this supporting infrastructure should’ve been built simultaneously with the airport, not after. But heh, its Indo, go with the flow.
Part of the reason the government has been slow to complete the infrastructure is because they want to see another major investor fill the shoes left by EMAAR. The government has been left with a big airport bill and no-one to pay it with Dubai’s largest listed developer on the brink of bankruptcy i.e. cancelling a lot of foreign projects. In Jan Jakarta announced EMAAR is finally officially out with their sites being repurchased by the Bali Tourism Corporation. According to the Bali Times and Jakarta Post a consortium from Qatar is front-runner for the bid but we’ve heard from a reliable source (sorry Jakarta Post) a group from Hong Kong is front-runner for the bid. Watch this space – the signing of a major hotel group is the catalyst needed for the signing of airlines, which brings the airport one step closer to being a reality.
For updates on the airport, sign up to our newsletter or our new blog – ‘Straight from the Horse’s Mouth’ (starting April 2011)
South Lombok is comprised of a series an empty white-sand beaches separated by towering headlands and picturesque farmland. Ironically the focal point is Kuta Lombok and although head and shoulders above beaches on Bali, it’s the ugly duckling of the South Coast beaches.
The coastal road is tarsealed but pot holed and bumpy, making the going slow, compensated for by its amazing scenery. Given it’s a holiday we should learn to slow down anyway huh.
‘The vibe is laidback, the going is slow, with buffalos and chickens all over the road’ – Unknown Lombok farmer/poet.
From this tarsealed road is an even bumpier, often dirt, road leading down to each secluded beach. Like a pot of gold at the end of the proverbial rainbow are these sandy gems. Countless secret nooks and crannies, some with surf some without. We’re not going to name our favorites, rather leaving the exploring up to you.
Here's a table to give you an indication of driving distances and times. Google-earth can give you a good indication of straight line distances and help you get your bearings
