As I’ve been talking about the trip about a month ago, I couldn’t sleep the night before my flight. I tossed and turned until my mom told me to just sleep and it’s going to be okay. I haven’t had a long trip in a while, let alone visiting a place where I have no understanding of the local language. I had only about less than five hours of sleep. My uncle drove me and my cousin Ray to the airport. We got somewhat fooled because on our boarding pass, it mentioned that we were supposed to be flying from Terminal 2 but apparently, all flights were moved to Terminal 1. And both are 9km apart which really cut our time. I only bid goodbye to my mom briefly before moving inside the airport which had many layers of security checks. These days to fly in the country, the government recently lifted the PCR requirements which made traveling way easier than before. However, that rule only applies to anyone who has double vaccinated or has a booster. Thankfully we both were double vaccinated, so everything was very smooth for both of us.

It was Ray’s first time inside a plane, he felt anxious and excited at the same time. I got the best aisle seat and throughout the flight, I could see tiny islands that I have never seen before. You could see some of them here. I also recorded videos which I will be sharing later. Halfway inside the plane, he slept through it. Once we landed, we could not believe that we arrived in Lombok. Funnily enough, though I’ve traveled to some countries abroad, I haven’t explored Indonesia much. Lombok was my first, a first adventure where I learned that I know too little about the country I am from.

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Smooth Landing

We heard from the announcement inside the plane that we’re about to land. It was a more smooth landing than we anticipated. Lombok is still a virgin. It’s not an overstatement. As far as my eyes could see, there are less buildings but vast greenery around it. It felt like getting into a remote location where things are still very much preserved. Inside the airport, we were greeted by plenty of motogp posters and even murals. A lot of people were taking pictures around and getting the chance to be in front of the fast motorbike miniature. Ray didn’t want to miss the chance, so I took his picture along with the two girls who are very beautiful. These girls look like the paddock girl so standing with them makes it feel like you’re one of the racer.

A Wild ride

I have booked everything about 2 months to a month prior. I had everything planned and all expenses were paid. I sort of learned that I had to book everything prior to avoiding major costs and extra expenses. That was the case with the airport driver. I booked it from Traveloka and it was from a local travel agency that arranged a pick-up service. I paid about 7$ to the travel app.

After calling back and forth, finally our driver, Juna, arrived. He was friendly to us and tried helping out navigate the airport. His driving skill wasn’t great but not too bad either. What we really appreciated was his knowledge of the overall place. He even told us about a tribal village nearby and a few words in their language. When I first heard it, the language was really foreign. It was, as if words were twisted but really eloquent. If anyone told me that learning French is difficult, learning their language was even harder. I told him that we didn’t want to go but just wanted to directly stay at the destination homestay “ Dedy’s homestay”. As soon as we arrived, Juna asked for the payment. Apparently, he was the third chain in the link. We told him that we’ve paid and it was 163000 IDR. But he insisted that he wasn’t getting paid and that was not the same amount that his friend promised him. I really wanted to tip him for his effort explaining things to us but that tip became an extra expense that we had to spend just because the travel agency did not mention the extra cost to us.

As soon as we unloaded our luggages, we were greeted by a man in his 60's. He wore sarung, a traditional indonesian cloth wrapping for men and asked us, “ what’s your occasion here?”

“ We’ve booked a night stay here from Traveloka,” we replied.

“ What traveloka?”

That point, we both were shocked. We tried to show the app, we showed the listing, and the receipt that we paid. He said that there was no room left, he never used any app, and closed down everything. But he was kind enough to let us process what happened. He told us that he didn’t use any travel apps. He had to close it down because he didn’t make enough money and that was already 2 years ago. Even at that point, we still couldn't believe it. We tried to call the registered number but there was nothing. “ The number that you are trying is unreachable” and the other one was “ The number you are trying to reach is not registered”. At that point, we only know that we were scammed. I panicked for a while thinking where we could stay where everything was fully booked and I could no longer trust any listing in this place. So, I checked out camp grounds which were readily available and we could still book a tent. We eventually booked one and it’s from a reputable accommodation chain called bobobox, you’ve heard it before in my capsule hotel review.

We found a resolution by calling the Traveloka customer service. We got angry and we even handed the phone to the homestay owner. We stayed there for a bit and he started talking about the locals who are selling the lands to the foreigners. Some foreigners marry locals just to buy a piece of land on the island. He even told us some prices that I think were irrelevant at that time. He kept talking to Ray about the situation on the island and his previous workers. I only halfway listened and continued booking the camp.

Ray was already pissed and the heat gave us no mercy. We walked from the homestay to the campground for about 2km under 35C heat. At that point, we felt like we were baked. On our way, we spotted many locals and motorbikes around. The cafes were somewhat packed. We also encountered some police and asked them for directions. We eventually reached the beach area but were too tired and emotionally damaged. We just wanted to be safe and sound.

We arrived at bobobox x eiger campsite at around 3 PM. The sun was still high but the staff were friendly. Apparently, we were the first who arrived at the camp. We were the sole customer of the place. As soon as we adjusted to the place, we talked to the staff and Ray told them what happened to us. They felt sorry for us. And during the evening, Ray hung out with them while I was trying to sleep because I couldn’t think anymore. Since essentially, we still had a day where we didn’t know if the place was legit or not.

How we ended up being interviewed by two journalist

When we got back into the camp, we started seeing numerous journalists from national television. They approached us and interviewed both of us. They asked me how I found the camp, how I ended up inside the camp and if we actually watched the race. And we explained everything and added some honest, raw truth that they might not want to show. It seems like in this place, they only want good coverage because this is an international event. I personally read that everything is good, transportation, accommodation, almost everything but that was not the entire truth. What I saw at the spot was way different. The public toilet especially wasn’t really working the first day we arrived.

During the night, the moon was insanely beautiful. I managed to capture some of it from my camera. You can see some of it below.

The hospitality of people in the island is far different from the hospitality that I experienced in Java. During the trip, I learned to not compare the hospitality of Yogyakarta people and the natives in Lombok. I began to appreciate their hospitality the next day, where I am less tired, less irritated and generally happier about the place. I will be showing you some places around Kuta mandalika in the next post!