Balian Surf

TRUST NO ONE

This title may seem a little on the harsh side but having lived in Bali for the past six years and having spent plenty of time on Lombok… “TRUST NO ONE” is one of the best pieces of advice I can offer.

When you land on either of these paradise islands and breath in that intoxicating ocean air, unbutton your shirt and feel the warm tropical breeze on your chest, optimism and brotherly love magically permeate your soul. Sweet smiling brown eyed Indonesians are bowing to you, carrying your luggage, wearing flowers behind their ears, messaging your shoulders and in general treating you better than, perhaps, you have ever been treated in your life.

You feel trusting. Safe. And why wouldn’t you? Look at them, they are radiant… it’s true.

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THE LOMBOK AND GILI CONNECTION

If you have even a little time to spare on your Bali holiday, Lombok is not to be missed.

Kuta Lombok is the main attraction. If you leave Bali in the morning you will be dining in Kuta Lombok by evening. And if all you spent in this rustic beach town was two days, it would be two days you will never forget. Set among dry craggy volcanic hills Kuta Lombok is a strange oddly empty tourist town populated by a few broken down hotels, a couple of OK places to stay, one giant five star Novotel, a small group of motorcycle boys and a very charming group of sarong, tshirt, necklace and pencil sellers.

The roads are empty most of the day. Horse and buggy ply the roads transporting local folks with their purchases from the morning market. Modified pick-up trucks form the bemo brigade and water buffalo round out the scene basking in the mud holes or quietly munching on roadside grasses attended by hand-rolled cigarette smoking cowboys under home-made hats.

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TIP EVERYONE

Do not! I repeat do not follow the advice of any guide books or persons that recommend that tipping is not expected or appreciated in bali – lombok! If there was ever a time to give it up for the third world the time is now.

For the passed 20 plus years the Lonely Planet and related travel bibles have been instrumental in perpetrating a “no tip “epidemic throughout south-east asia based on the fact that tipping is not common amongst its people…

This is true, South Asians in general don’t tip after meals, after taxi rides, room cleanings.. The list goes on. Whether it is because 90% of Asians subsist at or below the poverty line or simply their general disdain for the working class ( see colonial occupations 1600 to 1947 ).

This local practice should not prevent you, the well off first world traveler from sharing the wealth with your not very well off third world brothers and sisters.

For the record, the tourism crisis presently looming over bali – lombok is very severe and in the very early stages of what will go down in history as the musim miskin… ” the season of the poor “. Tourism suffers extremely and there is no end in sight.

Many a traveller, especially in Bali, include spiritual enlightenment and inner peace ideas in there trip itineraries. Many more are just here to relax and have a good time. So here is an easy way to enhance your holiday, achieve enlightenment and make your good times better through simple generosity…

Tipping… It’s beautiful thing.

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HOW TO STAY

Now comes the all important matter of accomodation. Obviously I cannot tell you where to stay although I have my favorite spots but I can tell you how to stay and this information is ultimately more valuable than the where.

Be it chosen from your guide-book, recommended, offered by a street promotor or stumbled upon by accident “the hotel room” is an all important part of your holiday. Many a traveller take this matter very seriously while others are just happy to have a mattress and a water faucet, which is sometimes all you get. Wherever you check in always remember, you are in southeast asia so accomodation is different than the west.

Get the most out of your hotel. It’s an art.

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