Back in time in Lombok

Vast, ancient and relatively undiscovered,  the island of Lombok seems a world away from the tourist traps in Gili Trawangan and Bali.

Lombok is a place of lush green mountains and dazzling beaches, of roaring surf and lofty rice terraces, slithering lizards and rumbling volcanoes. The only large city is Mataram, in the west of the island, where we visit the immigration office once a month to run the bureacratic gauntlet and extend our visas, always accompanied by a trip to the grubby mall for a taste of civilisation. Otherwise, the island is largely undeveloped.

At Tetebatur, high on the slopes below Mt Rinjani, a local led me through the rice paddies. Here we stopped by a spring and three local women walked past in the distance.

My trusty Real Madrid-themed bike. Sadly, not all of the roads are this deserted (but many are much better surfaced!).

Clothes on the line at a fishing village near Kuta Lombok

A view of the Gili Islands from Lombok. On the far left, the only speck of land with a hill, is Gili Trawangan.

Parts of SE Asia (that is, anywhere with wifi) seem to specialise in a particular type of Lonely Planet-wielding, wifebeater-wearing travellers. But Lombok is far removed from the beach bars of Gili T or the Eat, Pray, Love scene in Bali and it is rewardingly easy to find quieter spots.

I rented a little moped for $5/day and happily roamed around, relieved to be free of Western company for a while. I followed the beautiful coastal paths leading down to the laid-back surfer camp in Kuta Lombok. To the east is the perfect beach at Tanjung Aan, a crescent of golden sand untouched beneath a perfect sky, the only company a lady selling soft coconuts and the gentle sound of surf at the offshore break.

Under a scorching mid-afternoon sun, I took a wrong turn in the sand near the legendary surf beaches at Kuta. I took off my flip-flops and climbed up one of the promontories for a stunning view.

Half an hour east of Kuta Lombok along crumbling tracks is Tanjung Aan, surely one of the most beautiful beaches in Asia. A perfect arc of yellow stretches between two lush green headlands. Grains of sand as big as peppercorns roll in the surf under a perfect blue sky. The beach was deserted apart from an old lady selling coconuts from a palm-tree shelter and some local boys surfing. These two were keen to stop for a photo.

It’s only a matter of time before South Lombok turns from a collection of quiet beach colonies into a grim reflection of its namesake in Bali. But the island has its own surf culture. too.

From Kuta I sped to the foothills of Mount Rinjani, the mighty volcano which dominates the hilly northern half of the island. At the top of a bone-shaking track on the southern edge of Mt Rinjani National Park, north of Tetebatur, I was chased down on my moped by a man who shouted for me to follow him home. He introduced himself as Badron, a local village leader: small and quick-eyed, he took me under his wing and showed me around. His English was fine (far better than my Bahasa!) and we discussed everything from local development projects to Islamic animism.

Badron was desperate to attract tourists to the area – indeed, he still texts me reminding me to tell all my friends about Tetebatur. Of course, I would like to see the village remain traditional and avoid bbecoming overrun. But it is the people’s right to develop their village, and of course it is inevitable that the busloads of tourists will arrive eventually. It can be difficult to reconcile these two concerns.

What Gap Yah photo album would be complete without a pretty waterfall?

Ron was a chatty and enterprising local from Tetebatur who took me into his home and led me through Rinjani National Park.

On a separate visa run to Lombok, a group of us hired mopeds and headed for the coastal road. It was barely minutes before sunshine turned into a tropical downpour and we pulled up, sodden and cold, by a roadside stall for glasses of thick, malty Lombok coffee. These boys saw the funny side as they walked past.

First-class seats on the inter-island express to Gili Air

Spending time in Lombok has left me excited for the wilderness of Papua New Guinea and, beyond it, exotic Micronesia and all those tiny islands normally left off the map. The East is calling, but first I have a short stop-off in Singapore for a very Cambridge reunion.