I stayed at Sengigi and Gili Trawagan, a small island off Lombok. The food and accomodations were a much better value than on Bali. The donkey cart taxis were an interesting change of pace.
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Gili Trawagan, a nice backpackers island with a lively social scene, fair snorkeling just off the coast, and good places to stay with savory food. The main drawback for me was they had only salt water showers there.
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A tour on a motorcycle of western Lombok including Purakalasa water palace, Mayura water palace, Lingus Temple, and a cold water mineral spring.
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The glass bottom boat tour in Gili Trawagan was great. Swam down to large clams which I could make open and close by waving the water in area, and also 4 large sea turtles. The trip took most of the day and did not include lunch for $3 in 2001.
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I stayed at Nusa Tiga on Gili Trawagan. It is away from noise of the town and sits right on a beach. In Sengigi, I stayed at Coconut which is north of town on a a hill with a panoramic view of the coastline. It was run by a Swedish woman and seems to be patronized by mainly middle-aged Swedish (or Northern European) women with young Indonesian boyfriends, at least when I was there. A refreshing change though from the vice versa in most of SEA. The hotel swimming pool is great, but the restuarant is a overpriced to say the least. The Nusa Tiga was $2.00, and Coconut $3.50 per night in 2001.
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There are many video bars and bars with small live bands in Gili Trawangan. Sengigi attracts more affluent tourists with expensive dance shows and overpriced nightclubs.
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I ate at a variety of places. The most impressive meal I had was a fish barbecue on the beach done by my Hotel the Nusa Tiga. I split a huge fish with a friend and still far too much. Most restuarants in Sengigi were overpriced by Indonesian standards.
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There was also a beautiful Balinese rock temple near Sengigi which is on a peninsula jutting out into the sea.
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Published on Sunday August 24th, 2003
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