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INDONESIA
283
November14
PEARLS
On the way to the airport, I
asked my driver to stop off at
one of the many pearl stores on
the outskirts of Mataram, to see
if I could find any good jewellery
deals. Lombok has lots of pearl
farms along its coast (you can
tour them if aquatic accessories
are your thing), and you can
find wonderful, genuine pieces
for excellent prices. I ended up
buying two necklaces and four
pairs of earrings for $100, and
I almost missed my flight.
chick flick. The array of dishes on offer
was delightful – think fine dining meets
local favourites, with a dash of Western
comforts on the side.
One evening, I did follow the traditional
sound of Indonesianmusic (withmultiple
xylophones and cowbells, it wasn’t hard
to miss) to the amphitheatre and was
treated to the sight of a Sasak dance
performance by candlelight. It was
so enchanting that I decided to stay
and tuck into tender beef satay and
a gorgeous duck biryani (The Oberoi
hotel group hails from India), chosen
for its antioxidant-rich base of rice bran
oil, which I hoped would fight off at least
seven of the milkshakes.
The activities
There were two activities on offer that
I simply couldn’t pass up in favour of
lolling around in luxury. The first was an
afternoon in the Gili Islands, involving
a 15-minute zip across the reef in an
outrigger, a posh packed lunch and a
spot of snorkelling. While I’d seen all
sorts of marine life off The Oberoi’s
reef (turtles, giant clams and even reef
sharks), we had a tour guide take us
around the Gili Air lagoon; he knew all
the thriving spots and pointed out the
best areas for coral and fish – during our
30-minute swim, we spotted four turtles.
(Either that or it was the same turtle just
having a good laugh with our group.) Gili
Air itself is a special place – rather than
roads and cars, the island’s transport
system consists of sandy tracks and
ponies pulling carts, decked out in
colourful bells and tassels. The beaches
are strewn with bright beanbags, arty
parasols and thatched pavilions, with a
lot of relaxed travelling-types staying in
budget boutique hotels on the island.
The second activity I adored was The
Oberoi’s turtle release – from eggs that
the hotel staff worked hard to save from
local traders and brought up as their
own (sort of) in the resort. When the
time comes, guests are able to release
the hatchlings into the ocean and watch
them scurry off to the reef; no wonder I
saw so many moseying around in Gili.
It’s a touching experience and one I’d
also recommend to do with little ones.
There are heaps of other activities you
can get stuck into, with an abundance of
local culture, natural scenery and water
sports across Lombok. One couple next
door was off to climb Mount Rinjani – an
active volcano and Lombok’s highest
mountain at 3,700m. Admittedly, it
looked stunning from the plane window,
but scaling rocks very much clashed
with the general theme of my trip. And
so, after a sensational bout of relaxing in
Lombok, I was off to do it again in Bali.