Indonesia
Next door to world-famous Bali, Lombok offers many of the same attractions as its better-known neighbor: waterfalls, white-sand beaches, snorkeling and scuba diving, but with a fraction of the tourists. Here are some of its top destinations:
Located on the northwest part of Lombok, Senggigi is the main tourist area lined with hotels, restaurants, souvenir shops, massage parlors and more. Senggigi is where visitors can set up tours or find guides to take them to different parts of the island.
Icy, cold and slippery, these waterfalls are some of the most awe-inspiring sights on the island. We hired a guide to lead us to them.
Banyumulek is a village known for its world-class pottery. We visited a family of three generations creating pieces of various sizes. Farther inland, Sukarara is a community where visitors can learn about traditional hand-weaving and give it a try themselves. Pottery is available for purchase at Banyumulek, and sarongs, wall hangings, blankets and scarves are available for purchase at Sukarara.
A string of three tiny islands off the northern coast of Lombok, the Gili islands are popular for their laidback feel and lack of traffic. We headed to Gili Air because it was the closest, hiring a private speedboat and driver and spending a few hours walking around the island and jumping in and out of the water. Don’t forget to get your picture taken at one of the well-known water swings.
Flores
Known mainly for being the jumpingoff point to Komodo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the island of Flores is much larger than you may think. I made the mistake of thinking we could fly into the city of Maumere — the largest on the island — and take local transport to the western side and head on to the Komodo area. I was wrong. It turned out to be at least a 12-hour drive, and with just a few days on Flores, we decided to stick around Maumere instead of being rushed. But we were not disappointed.
One interesting aspect of visiting Flores was the Christian influence. Indonesia is the world’s largest majority-Muslim country, but here Christian churches and a large cross can be seen along the coast. Flores means flowers in Portuguese; it was a colonial outpost for Portugal in the 16th century.
Other attractions here
An authentic slice of life, with vendors selling fruit and livestock and chatting with each other and customers.
We decided on the fly to visit Pangabatang Island, an uninhabited island about an hour off the coast of Flores. With the help of some friendly locals, we flagged down a bemo, a public transport van, found out one of the women on board was married to a boat captain, and headed to meet him at the fishing village of Nangahale. He spoke no English, but I was able to communicate with my rudimentary Indonesian language skills, and we hopped on his rickety boat. We sat in silence snapping photos of some of the most scenic water views we’d ever seen. Once at Pangabatang, we suntanned, jumped in and out of the sea, and, of course, took selfies. One note of warning: Ferry sinkings and boat accidents are not uncommon — including a glass-bottomed boat that capsized