lombok honeymoon day 3

We hired the same tour driver that the hotel hired for us the day before.

I had wanted to venture to a waterfall and explore other scenic beaches. Hubby meanwhile, agreed to the traditional village visit. Guess he's the culture-vulture amongst us...

Before setting off, we arranged with the resort to have our romantic candlelight dinner that evening. Yes, the one that's part of our honeymoon package...

So there. Enjoy!

breakfast at resort's restaurant

Hubby finally relented to having our breakfast at the restaurant instead. He always insist on room service bec. he can't seem to get out of the pool after jumping in prior to waking up.

That day, we arranged to start our tour at 9am so there ain't a chance for him to splash in. Heh.

And boy am I glad we came here. The view was superb from where we sat.

Paddy fields with Mt. Sembalun & Rinjani in the background

The 3726 m (12 224 ft) Mt. Rinjani is famous with hikers. There's a lake caled 'Segara Anak' (Child of the Sea) midway (2000m) that is famous for its abundance in fish.

Benang Stokel waterfall.

Located at Aik Berik, Central Lombok, Southwest of Mt Rinjani, it’s 30m high waterfall, 552m above sea level.

The left side is higher than the right and have bigger flow. It may come from one outlet and divided into two waterfall. The waterfall has quite clean water (drinkable!) and the man-made forest + rainforest in the area is well-managed and protected.

This is the 1st of the 2 waterfalls that we plan to head to.

Benang Kelambu waterfall.

It’s about 30 minutes walking (more like hiking!) distance from Benang Stokel. It will take an extra energy because its rather like trekking trail, very rugged and definitely more adventurous.

The problem is, the both of us weren't prepared for this. Hubby especially.

Despite my audible panting, I find myself easily moving along the trail to a point that I left hubby behind. Never mind that we're wet from the previous dip in the lower waterfall. I had a towel around my shoulder while hubby carried our bag.

It was no mean feat. Brings me back to my hikes at Bukit Timah and MacRitchie. And upon reaching the waterfall, I was glad to see that they've constructed a set of stairs. But each step was more than a foot high and it was tedious to encounter it. Especially the climbing part.

Of course we had local guides to assist us along.

But the gorgeous sight of the waterfall makes all that ardous process worth it. In the end, hubby had sore thighs while I'm still as fresh as a daisy. Many thanks to all that swimming I've done, I guess my muscles are well-stretched and toned by then. Love the pool!

That's the new international airport under construction.

The current Selaparang Airport at Mataram is merely 1/2hr drive from Sengigi - where most of the action is.

This new international airport will be bigger, so as to accommodate bigger flights and will be more than 1hr drive from Sengigi but only 1/2hr from Kuta.

THAT'S why, there are plans to develop Kuta.

My serene, idyllic Kuta. It might just transform to be another Bali! Oh, the horror! :O

Welcome to Tanjung Aan

This has got to be one of the most gorgeous views that's I've seen for myself!

Tanjung Aan

It's low tide but the scenery's splendid, nonetheless.

Tanjung Aan

Sooo picturesque!

And you know what, not only is the sand here white (unlike in Sengigi), they are also little round morsels that's similar to white pepper!

Kuta

Like Bali, Lombok also has an area called Kuta.

But the beach here is wayyy nicer.

Kuta Beach

Flanked by little green hills that somehow reminds me of Scotland...

Kuta Beach

And know what? There's only 1 high-class resort in this area currently and that's Novotel.

But not for long. Most lands in this area have been bought over by some Dubai developer. This area won't be the same in a few years.

Our romantic candlelight dinner by the beach

We had requested to have dinner close to the beach. By that, we had assumed that we'll be placed at the dining area where we'll be seated on the floor, facing the beach.

Little did we expect them to do up our dining area to look like that!

Those were strips of 'janur' (young coconut leaves). This kind of decor are usually done during weddings or any celebration of sorts in the Indonesian culture.

Naturally, this kinda' setting will definitely attract some attention and we had a couple of Caucasian guests coming over to congratulate us during our meal.

So paiseh.... -_-

Swimming by candlelight

Despite being totally stuffed post-dinner, it still doesn't stop hubby from jumping into the pool anyway... Pfft!

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