Day 3 of our Lombok adventure was a day of waterfalls, markets and the sea.
When travelling, I love to visit local markets as it is one of the best places to meet people and get a feel of their everyday life.I was glad that we started our Day 3 with a visit to the buzzing Pasar Gunungsari.
There were hundreds of smallholders selling vegetables, fish and meat.
This young lady sells different kinds of fresh chili peppers at the market.
This friendly gentleman at the market
This is a pony driven carriage known as cidomo here. It is a common form of basic transport (not a gimmick for tourists).
At the market, there were dozens of cidomo waiting to pick up passengers and their day's marketing.
Almost everywhere we drove in Lombok, the grand Mount Ranjani which peaks at 3,726 metres towers in the background.
๐Click on photo to watch video and listen to the cascading waters
Our next stop was the Sendang Gile waterfalls which is within Mount Rinjani national park.
Lunch was a short uphill walk to Senaru Village, which is the main access to Mt. Rinjani National Park.
I had this sambal chicken for lunch - the sambal was flavourful, though the chicken was fried a bit too hard and dry for my liking. I like the Indonesian style of sambal with layers of spiciness balanced with savouriness, which always works for me ๐
The Lombok salad is very similar to ulam in Malaysia. I love the fresh, crunchy, juicy vegetables dipped in good sambal.
Thick, creamy avocado sweetened with gula Melaka (palm sugar).
Our next destination was the Autore pearl farm.
During the 2 hour road trip, Pak Uji (PR Manager of Lombok Tourism) suddenly stopped the van when he spotted this road side satay stall.
Pak Uji said that this was something special which we must try.
The friendly lady stall holder was grilling satay. All of a sudden, she was swarmed by tourists clicking away at her with our cameras.
There were several types of satay like chicken, beef or fish. All well marinaded and freshly grilled over red hot charcoal.
Pak Uji wanted us to try this tuna satay. The tuna satay tasted very similar to otak otak in Malaysia and Singapore, but slightly drier (as it was not wrapped with attap leaves, unlike otak otak). The grounded tuna fish was combined with spices and coconut milk, making a tasty, tender bite size snack that is hard to resist. I had about 5 of these ๐ Incredibly tasty.
The Autore pearl farm was closed for the day, but we enjoyed the breathtaking scenery and perfect weather in the area.
On the way back to Kila Sengigi Beach Resort, we stopped by the stunning Cape Malimbu for photo taking.
The Cape Malimbu is a tiny peninsula jutting like a finger into the sea. It takes the full blast of the wind from the Bali Sea beyond.
Cape Malimbu is a popular photo spot. This is the view of the bay below from Cape Malimbu.
Photo courtesy of Hoong of mylovelybluesky blog
On our last night in Lombok, Pak Taufan, Chairman of Lombok Tourism graciously hosted our group to a farewell dinner at Kila Senggigi Beach Hotel.
We enjoyed the cultural show at the dinner hosted by Pak Taufan.
The main course at the dinner was Ayam Taliwang, one of Lombok's signature dishes.
Ayam Taliwang is made with free range chicken, grilled, then deep fried, painted with sauce and then grilled again before serving. The marinade of spices and shrimp paste was sweet, spicy and savoury. The chicken meat was quite chewy and a bit too dry for my liking.
After bidding farewell to our gracious hosts, we departed unwillingly from Lombok island via AirAsia flight AK 487.
The majestic Mount Ranjani raised above the clouds on our way home to Johor Bahru.
AirAsia flight AK 487 departs at 10:05am from Lombok to Senai three times a week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
At Senai Airport, Singapore passengers can hop on the free Sky Shuttle which will take them to drop off points at Queen's Street Terminal, Newton MRT and Kranji MRT station.
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