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LOMBOK ISLAND INFORMATION
Welcome to Lombok Tours & Travel Agent Information, we provide all
about Lombok island information and travel to Lombok island
Indonesia Asia by detail information below :
General Information
Lombok is regarded as one of the most spectacular of all of
Indonesia’s islands. Though visions of idyllic Bali, modern fast
paced Jakarta are conjured up in the minds of the people whenever,
the name of Indonesia crops up, Indonesia is much more than the
relatively well cities and islands as a whole, Indonesia is also
about tempting virgin beaches, innocent and naïve villagers,
simple life styles and truly exotic cuisine. It is also about
Lombok. Relatively unraveled by time and marauding travelers from
all over the world, Lombok is slowly but surely revealing herself
to the world. The island of Lombok is to the east of her most
famous neighbor, Bali. The straight which divides these two
islands is very deep with innumerable whirlpools and dancing
dolphins. The history of Lombok gives a fascinating insight into
how the island evolved over the centuries to become what it is
today. Though it is quite a task to delve deep into the ancient
history of Lombok because of a paucity of chronicled articles,
what is known is that in the ancient times, Lombok had native
rulers who ruled over this province and Selaparang (a small
kingdom) had some control over the eastern side of the island. It
was in the seventh century that the veil over this island started
lifting with outside influences. Lombok came under the influence
of Balinese and Makassarese of Sulawesi. The Balinese arrived from
Karangasem crossing the Lombok Strait in the early part of the
seventeenth century and around the same time, the Makassarese
invaded the eastern part of the island. 1677 was a landmark year
in the history of Lombok, it was in this year that the two
intruders managed to subdue the other one. Balinese won as they
had the help of the native Sasak aristocracy. Henceforth, it
became a Balinese obsession to secure and maintain their control
over this island. However with the passage of time, it was found
that the Balinese control over Lombok had run into hard times and
the beginning of the nineteenth century saw Pagesangan, Pagutan,
Mataram and Cakranegara competing for the island.
1894 changed the
course of Lombok’s destiny. From this year Lombok began her
journey as one of the colonies of the Dutch. Balinese army had
attacked the Dutch camp in Mayura Palace, Cakranegara. Though the
Dutch escaped, they could not escape casualties to artillery and
man. Now they were determined to pay back the Balinese and this
resulted in their taking total control of Lombok.
Lombok now started to realize what colonialism meant. There was
abject poverty and they were on the verge of starvation on more
than one occasion. The Dutch wanted control as well as personal
profit. Heavy taxation was another area of concern for the Lombok
population along with exportation of food materials. The last
straw on the camel’s back was famine which tormented Lombok for
nearly half a century.
So continued Lombok’s tryst with destiny. But suddenly in 1945,
Lombok had a new sun rising . Soekarno arrogated that Indonesia
was independent and Lombok was also a part of this new order of
things. But in 1965, after a difficult two decades, mass killings
of Communist sympathizers and ethnic Chinese created a scar for
ages to come on Lombok. It was President Suharto who can be
credited with much of the growth and stability of this island, but
here it has to be mentioned that in comparison to Bali and Java’s
glitz and glamour, Lombok comes a poor second. Now this island is
slowly gaining its place under the sun as a distinguished
alternative to Bali in the tourism world.
Pre 20th Century
The earliest recorded society on Lombok was the relatively small
kingdom of the Sasak. The Sasak people were agriculturalists and
animists who practiced ancestor and spirit worship. The original
Sasak are believed to have come overland from northwestern India
or Myanmar (Burma) in waves of migration that predated most
Indonesian ethnic groups. Only a few archaeological relics remain
from the old animist kingdoms, but animism has left its mark on
the culture, although the majority of Sasak people today are
Muslim. Not much is known about Lombok before the 17th century, at
which time it was split into numerous, frequently squabbling
states, each presided over by a Sasak 'prince' - a disunity
exploited by the neighboring Balinese. Balinese princes ruled
Lombok from the mid-18th century until the 1890s, when the Dutch
sided with the Sasaks and defeated the Balinese in bloody battles.
Under Dutch rule, the eastern islands of Indonesia were grouped
together as the Lesser Sunda Islands, administered from Singaraja,
Bali. Taxes resulted in the impoverishment of the majority of
peasants and the creation of a new stratum of Chinese middlemen.
When Soekarno proclaimed Indonesian independence on 17 August
1945, the Lesser Sunda Islands were formed into the single
province of Nusa Tenggara, which means 'Islands of the Southeast'.
This proved far too unwieldy to govern and in 1958 the province
was divided into three separate regions - Bali, Nusa Tenggara
Barat (West Nusa Tenggara) and Nusa Tenggara Timur (East Nusa
Tenggara). In the wake of the attempted coup and Soekarno's
downfall in 1965, Lombok experienced mass killings of communists,
sympathizers and ethnic Chinese, as did Bali and other parts of
Indonesia. Under President Soeharto's 'New Order', Lombok enjoyed
stability and some growth, until crop failures led to famine in
1966 and to severe food shortages in 1973. Many moved away from
Lombok under the transmigrasi (transmigration) programmed. Tourist
development started around 1980, when Lombok attracted attention
as an 'unspoilt' alternative to Bali. While low budget bungalows
proliferated at places like the Gili islands and Lombok's south
coast, big businesses from outside Lombok became interested and
speculation on beachfront land became epidemic. Lombok's tourism
planning was dominated by the national government in Jakarta, and
many traditional landholders were displaced as outside business
interests moved in.
The political turmoil, economic crisis and civil unrest that beset
Indonesia in the late 1990s did not spare Lombok. Students in
Mataram and Praya staged protests over the general economic
situation as early as 1997, and the local economy was hit hard by
the general downturn in Indonesian tourism.
Recent The riots of 17 January 2000 were a surprise and a shock to
most local people. A public community meeting in Mataram was
roused to burn churches and ransack Christians' houses and
businesses. Evidence suggests that this apparently spontaneous
incident was actually well planned by groups from outside Lombok.
Anti-Christian propaganda had been circulated before the meeting,
there were planted provocateurs in the crowd and the rioters were
directed to a well-identified series of targets. A high proportion
of Lombok's Christians are ethnic Chinese, and though the violence
was consistently described as anti-Christian, many observers
consider that an anti-Chinese element was at least a contributory
factor. The effect on the tourist industry was immediate. The
incident caused grave damage to Lombok's reputation and economy,
and despite efforts to promote the island as a safe destination,
the bombings of 2002 and 2005 in neighboring Bali only compounded
the negative perceptions. Senggigi, the island's main resort, has
suffered particularly badly, as tour operators have cancelled
bookings; however, the Gili islands have remained popular with
independent travelers.
Lombok is about three-quarters the size of Bali and is estimated
to have, surprisingly, approximately 2.5 million inhabitants
making it slightly more densely populated than Bali. As mentioned
Lombok is only 70 kilometers from Bali and is separated by the
ecologically significant Wallace Line (the Wallace Line is the
demarcation line separating Equatorial Asia from Marsupial
Australia that marks vast and immediately noticeable changes in
the flora and fauna from Bali).
As well, Lombok lies only 8° (375km) south of the equator. As such
the weather is tropical. Days are almost universally 12 hours long
with sunrise is approximately 6:20 a.m.; sunset at 6:30 p.m.
depending on the time of year. The daytime temperature averages
between 27° C to 32° C ( 80° F to 90° F) along the western coastal
area (the main tourist venue). Average temperature inland is 29° C
to 34° C. And if you plan to trek Mt. Rinjani bring a sweater - at
3,726 meters it is Indonesia's second tallest mountain and gets
surprisingly cold up there.
Lombok's tropical monsoon climate has two distinct seasons; dry
(May to September) and wet (October to March). Monsoon refers to
the wind, not the rain. However even in the wet monsoon the rain
tends to be short lived and localized. Weather wise May, June are
July are generally considered the best months.
The People of Lombok
Approximately 90% of the population is Sasak with the majority of
the remaining 10% claiming Balinese lineage. The Sasaks are for
the most part Moslem however there is still evidence of Hindu and
Wetu Telu (an animistic faith) that has incorporated some aspects
of Islam into its practice. The Sasak people are much more
conservative by culture and not as open as their more famous
Balinese neighbors and fare poorly in comparison. This may be due
in part to the lack of interaction with visitors but for whatever
reason pay no mind the more you learn about Lombok, the more
you'll appreciate the people and the friendlier they seem to
become. |
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