LOMBOK

I made my way from Gili T to Lombok where my last few days on the beach will be spent before coming home. The first 2 days here were blue skies and sunny but today I got trapped inside with non-stop rain... went to the spa instead and got a foot massage and much needed pedicure. Hope the sun comes back tomorrow!!!
The island of Lombok is dominated by the centrally-located volcano Mount Rinjani, which rises to 3,726 meters making it the third-highest in Indonesia. The volcano, and its sacred crater lake, 'Segara Anak' (child of the sea), are protected by a National Park. The southern part of the island is very fertile plain where corn, rice, coffee, tobacco, and cotton are grown.
The island's inhabitants are 85% Sasak (a people, related to the Balinese, but mostly practising Islam), 10-15% Balinese, with the small remainder being Chinese, Arab, Javanese, and Sumbawanese.

Beautiful black sand beaches of Sengiggi

Lombok has much in common with nearby Bali but promotes itself as an "unspoiled Bali" which I definitely say fits the bill. The most-developed center of tourism is Senggigi,  a 10-kilometer strip along the coastal road north of Mataram, their main city. Other popular tourist spots are Kuta where surfing is considered some of the best in the world. The Kuta area is also famous for its beautiful, untouched beaches. I'm not wandering too far from the hotel as I have reached the point in this trip where I just want to read by the beach and relax. I will have to return one day to play tourist as this island is really nice and has tons of things to see and do.

Interesting trivia tidbit on Lombok...

The distance between Bali and Lombok is only about 35 kilometers but right between the two islands runs an imaginary line called the Wallace line. The line demarcates the distribution of Asian and Australian plants and animals.  It represents an abrupt limit of distribution for many major animal groups. The distributions of many bird species observe the line, since many birds refuse to cross even the smallest stretches of open ocean water. Some bats have distributions that cross the Wallace Line, but other mammals are generally limited to one side or the other. Other groups of plants and animals show differing patterns, but the overall pattern is striking and reasonably consistent. Bali and islands to it's west have animals/plants common to Asia (rabbits, monkey's, tigers) and Lombok and islands east of it have animals/plants common to Australia (parrots, marsupials,platypus, lizards). I saw a kangaroo today which would be rather unheard of in Bali!

The hotel is really nice and has an amazing garden....and a rarity for Asia: a soft bed! Well, I'm off for dinner now....hopefully tomorrow I'll wake up to some sunshine. Please let it stop raining...2 more days is all I need.

That's Bali in the distance. If I can get a cloudless sky one night the sun setting behind Bali's big volcano should be amazing!