Airasia media FAM trip to Lombok Island - Indonesia on July 2014

Lombok island is located at Nusa Tenggara Barat of Indonesia. It is a island with full of nature, unspoiled beach and friendly peoples. The island is different with its neighbor - Bali island, which is less commercial and more original...the island is suitable for nature lover and for those who like relax holiday. The Lombok Tourism is doing their best to attract more visitors to the island, they strongly promote the beautiful nature of the island like Mount Rinjani and the rest...
If you like to know more of Lombok island, please click here.

Weather and climate in Lombok
Lombok is dry and less rain compare with Bali, the dry season run from May through September and the wet season is from October to April. Most of the tourists visit Lombok during the dry season, but the wet season is less humid and the rainfall is not overly high. The average year-round temperatures is 26�C to 29�C. I would prefer the month from August to October, because of the hot, humid, sunny and beautiful weather that perfect for photography.

The Airasia FAM trip to Lombok Island was on July, 2014, this trip was hosted by Airasia and Lombok Tourism Board. I was invited for the 4 days 3 nights trip together with a group of travel bloggers from North Penang, Johor Bahru and Singapore.

It was also the maiden direct flight from Senai to Lombok island, a day to remember 12th July 2014. There are 3 routes a week which is Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Airasia had launched 3 new flights from Senai International Airport to 1) Lombok island, 2) Jogjakarta and 3) Ho Chi Minh City.
'Free' sky shuttle bus provided from Singapore to Senai, it's actually a hassle free traveling to Senai airport for Singapore passengers. The pickup points are : Kranji MRT station / Queen Street bus station / Newton Circus. For more information, please visit the Airasia website here.

There were 12 of us in the group...a lovely couple from Penang, 2 lovely ladies of Airasia from Kuala Lumpur, 4 popular bloggers from Singapore, 1 cute girl represent Airasia from Singapore and 3 bloggers from Johor Bahru included myself. We all met at Senai International Airport around 6.50am, and our journey to Lombok started...

AK486 from Airasia was ready for Lombok

Our flight was filled with joyfulness! Some of the passengers were excited because they be able a ride on this AK486 direct flight from Senai to Lombok, they were going back home town!

While waiting for the passengers on board - AK486

I noticed there was a male flight attendant had attracted most of the women on board, his name is Eddy who was the handsome guy on the AK486. :)

The flight attendant - Mr Eddy

There was an entertainment during the flight to Lombok. Some singing and souvenirs giveaway...everyone was so happy.

We had our breakfast on board by this simple 'nasi lemak'. Surprisingly, the sambal was yummy and we all like it. You can enjoy the tasty meals for 20% off by pre-book online (in the official website).

The nasi lemak on board - Airasia AK486

The flight took 2 hours and 40 minutes. Once we touched down Lombok International Airport, we had a warm welcome from the Lombok Tourism...

Lombok International Airport

The Lombok International Airport was just started operation on 1st October 2011, the main purpose of the airport is to promote the beautiful island to the World. It located at the south west of Mataram (Capital of Lombok Island), and the airport deploys in 551.8 hectares with cost Rp.945.8 billion. The Lombok International Airport area has the second largest area after Soekarno-Hatta International Airport

The airport clearance was smooth and all of us were greeted by Pak Uji - The Lombok Tourism's Public Relations Director at the airport. He was also our super tour guide for the 4 days 3 nights trip in Lombok island.

Short briefing from Pak Uji before our trip in Lombok

Airasia Media FAM Trip 2014 in Lombok Island

Because of the airport location, we were not check into the resort immediately, but to cover the south part of the island before heading to our resort at Senggiri Beach.

Our itinerary in Lombok - 4 days 3 nights :-
Day 1
*  The first stop before the beach of Selong Belanak for photo taking.
*  Selong Belanak beach (through Sempiak Villas)
*  Mawun beach
*  Lunch at Ashtari Restaurant and Lounge
*  Kuta beach of Lombok
*  The Sade Village for Sasak villagers - the native of Lombok
*  Dinner at Warong Menega, Senggigi beach
*  Check-in to Kila Senggigi Beach Resort.
*  Free and easy.

Day 2
*  Grilled fish stall spotted before the Tawun jetty to Gili Nanggu.
*  Snorkeling and islands hopping - Gili Nanggu.
*  Lunch at Nirvana Beach Restaurant, Gili Sudak (another island next to Gili Nanggu)
*  Starfish spotted on the return trip from Gili Sudak.
*  Enjoyed Arabian Cuisine for dinner and Al-Hamra Restaurant, Mataram.
*  Enjoy and relax at Happy Cafe, Senggigi beach.

Day 3
*  Visited Pasar Gunungsari (local dry and wet market)
*  Lunch at Senaru Village
*  Sendang Gile Waterfall - Mount Rinjani national park�s best known attraction
*  Tuna sate stall at Tanjung
*  Autore pearl farm
*  Cape Malimbu for sunset photo taking
*  Farewell dinner with Pak Taufan and the Lombok Tourism at Kila Senggigi Resort

Day 4
*  Breakfast at Kila Senggigi Resort
*  Bye-bye to Lombok and depart for Lombok International Airport.

The places that we missed :-
*  Sukarare village - renowned for its traditional hand weaving of brightly patterned songket, ikat and sarong cloth.
*  Taman Narmada built in 1727 by King Anak Agung Gede Ngurah Karang Asem as the kingly garden as well as the place to worship. Its spring water is believed to grant the eternal youth for the believers.
*  Lingsar temple (built in 1714) � famous as the only Hindhu temple in the world, which also happily accept their Moslem brothers to worship together. This temple symbolizes the harmony and unity of both religions.
*  Banyumulek Village which famous for its pottery
*  Pusuk Pass
*  Autore pearl farm

"I was really impressed by this magical island from the unspoiled nature, it won't be bore for me to travel as many times as I can. Because of the places we missed due to limited time on our trip, that will be a good reason for me to go back to Lombok again."
It was a blissful holiday for us!

Beside the island, I would like to say thousand thanks to Pak Uji, who was the perfect host and very knowledgeable during the trip. He can answer all our questions immediately without checking his tourism bible. Pak Uji is a friendly, humble and talented guy. Our trip was well arranged by him and the responsible driver - Pak Zaki (he speak Indonesian and limited English)
This 2 guys made our Pleasant Vacation in Lombok!

Contact information :-
*  Pak Uji
    Cell phone - +62 817-5704-926
    Email - ujigaffar@yahoo.com

*  Pak Zaki
    Cell phone - +62-878-6356-4900

The handsome Pak Uji - The Lombok Tourism's Public Relations Director cum our tour guide in Lombok

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*  The detail blog post of every places we visited will be coming soon, stay tune!