Lombok in 4 Days Itinerary - Day 4
MORNING - MANDALIKA BEACH
For the last two nights of the Lombok trip, my family and I stayed at one of the resorts which are situated at the central part of Lombok, Novotel Resort Lombok. While the room rate per night may be somewhat expensive (USD 132 per night), the resort has direct access to its own private beach. There are a lot of local kids selling out handmade jewelleries made from the beautiful seashells. While we were chatting up with these kids, they suggested for us to got to Mandalika Beach which is located just a few steps away from the resort's private beach. Mandalika area used to be more crowded with tourists before areas like Gili Trawangan and Senggigi Beach were developed. The name "Mandalika" came from the name of a princess who has become folklore of Sasak tribe in Lombok. Tales said that there were two princes from two strong countries who fell in love with Princess Mandalika up to the point that their love rivalry about to turn into a huge war. To save her own kingdom from war, the princess took her own life by throwing herself into the sea.
For the last two nights of the Lombok trip, my family and I stayed at one of the resorts which are situated at the central part of Lombok, Novotel Resort Lombok. While the room rate per night may be somewhat expensive (USD 132 per night), the resort has direct access to its own private beach. There are a lot of local kids selling out handmade jewelleries made from the beautiful seashells. While we were chatting up with these kids, they suggested for us to got to Mandalika Beach which is located just a few steps away from the resort's private beach. Mandalika area used to be more crowded with tourists before areas like Gili Trawangan and Senggigi Beach were developed. The name "Mandalika" came from the name of a princess who has become folklore of Sasak tribe in Lombok. Tales said that there were two princes from two strong countries who fell in love with Princess Mandalika up to the point that their love rivalry about to turn into a huge war. To save her own kingdom from war, the princess took her own life by throwing herself into the sea.
Legends say that after the princess jumped to the sea, the princess turned into sea worms which the local refer to as "nyale". Nowadays, the locals commemorate this tradition of catching nyale on every 20th day in the 10th month. The local inhabitants believe that nyale brings good fortune to whoever manage to catch the worm. The legend aside, Mandalika Beach is a very beautiful beach with white sand and blue clear water. The waves here seems to be quite strong but the beach is very quiet in general because this place is not as commercialised as the northern part of Lombok at the moment.
AFTERNOON - MAWI BEACH
Our adventure continued by visiting another beautiful beach in the central part of Lombok. Mawi Beach is one of those beaches which location is hidden behind hills. The mixture of hill and beach is the unique trait of beaches in the central and southern part of Lombok. The beach at Mawi Beach has the circular shape making it impossible to take the whole stretch of the beach without using the panoramic function of my camera phone. Other than the white sands which have texture like pepper and the green hills surrounding it, a lot of tourists come to Mawi Beach to surf because they love the strong wave current at Mawi Beach.
While the most popular activity in Mawi Beach is surfing, it is not recommended for beginner surfers to surf here because the strong currents and the rocky terrain may be challenging and even, dangerous for newbie surfers. A lot of online review suggest Terong Belanak Beach as a better surfing spot for beginners. If you are a pro surfer, the best time to go to Mawi Beach to surf is from the month of May to October. If you are not interested in surfing, you can also enjoy relaxing on the beach or even, taking a hike to the top of the hill where you can enjoy the beautiful view of Mawi Beach from the top.
LATE AFTERNOON - SADE VILLAGE
Besides its beautiful beaches and ocean, Lombok Island also has a rich and diverse tradition and culture. One of the tradition which the island maintain until now is the traditional Sasak village, Sade Village. Sasak is the original tribe of Lombok. The people who currently live in Sade Village is the tribe of Sasak by bloodline. Their social rank and daily life routinity still follow the tradition upheld by the Sasak tribe since ages ago. You can also find the architecture of the traditional house which is named "Bale Tani". There are are two types of traditional house by which one is used for residence while the other one used to store harvested grains/wheats and other necessity, which is referred to as "Bale Lumbung".
Currently there is about 715 people residing in Sade Village. The main occupation of the resident of Sade Village is farming for the men and weaving for the women. However, the women of the village usually helps the men to tend the plants at the farm first before they go back home and weave all kind of clothes using the traditional weaving tools. They have produced a variety of cloth from tablecloth, songket, shawl, blanket, etc.
