Kuta, Lombok, Indonesia - Day 2
Monday, March 17, 2025
Today got off to a slow start in Kuta, Lombok. None of us slept well last night, thanks to the Muslim call to prayer publicly broadcasting on the loudspeaker from 6:30pm - 5:30am. Ear plugs help block the noise of a lot of things, — roosters crowing, motorbikes zooming, even fireworks popping — but not the songs of prayer calling Muslims into a time of fasting. As it would happen, the mosque’s rooftop megaphone pointed directly at our airbnb.
We became familiar with the call to prayer during our Moroccan travels, but this was different. March is the month is Ramadan when Muslims around the world fast daily from food and water from 5:30am- 6:00pm. The broadcasted prayers started last night around 6:30pm, and continued until around 10:00pm. Then, another prayer jolted us all awake at 3:00am to notify its town faithful that it was time to get up and eat before the sun rose for the day. Another prayer sounded at 5:30am telling Muslims to cease eating and drinking until sundown.
The prayers are frequent in Kuta, and last much longer than they did when we traveled through Morocco. After the loudspeaker woke up our household at 3:00am, it was hard to go back to sleep again.
So, Andi got up and flew his drone at sunrise. It was a beautiful, sunny morning. If we travel back to Lombok in 10 years, I bet it looks entirely different here. There’s so much construction happening all over the village, and pockets of wealth intermixed with poverty. Our villa perched on the hilltop is an example, overlooking shacks made of tin and tarps. Family farm animals live amongst their owners.
Andi worked at his computer for a while this morning, and then decided to walk around town. I was too tired to join him, and rested comfortably on a lounge chair reading my book beside the pool. Not a bad spot to spend a lazy morning.
We decided to order take-out for lunch, mainly because it was too hot to walk into town. The heat was stifling today; maybe not as suffocating as Darwin, Australia was, but close. Andi ordered meals from a restaurant called Nourish — a chicken satay burger, chicken salad sandwich on baguette, french fries, and an acai bowl. There was more, but only half the order was delivered, so we made due with what came.
Tory and I did her school work after lunch, but I had a hard time getting Aden out of the pool to do his. I kept asking, and he kept swimming until eventually I made a deal with the kids that Tory would do her school work today (already done) and Aden would have to do his school work tomorrow morning.
Around 4:00pm, Andi and I walked down the big hill to XENO gym to workout. It was so hot inside the open-air gym. I had to stop part-way through my workout because I thought I was going to throw up. Not that I was sick, just overheating. Ugh.
After we returned from the gym and took showers, Andi and I decided we’d try to explore town now that the sun was close to setting. Unfortunately, that didn’t seem to much matter & we sweat through our shirts within minutes.
The four of us wandered through the streets taking in the scenery of Kuta. A group of barefoot kids played outside their parents’ convenience store. Young male greeters stood at the entrances to restaurants calling us to come inside for dinner. We saw school volunteers handing out take-away meal boxes to locals at 6:00pm — the breaking of the fast. The streets were surprisingly busy and loud, but also felt safe and full of everyday tasks.
Next, we walked to Kuta Beach, and were appalled by its condition. So much trash! It was rather disgusting, and sad to see a beautiful place of nature being kept this way. Lots of wooden canoe-style fishing boats were parked on the sand, but understandably — not many people.
Andi wondered if all this trash washed up from the ocean. Or, maybe it was a result of the recent flooding in Lombok. No way all this debris could be the result of the local people, right? We weren’t exactly sure.
The four of us continued walking through town, eventually deciding to eat at a Greek restaurant called Elamu for dinner. This restaurant was the number one recommendation by the Above the Coconuts manager, and it did not disappoint.
Our family sat inside the open-air restaurant in the “non-smoking section.” We ordered sodas and two Mediterranean platters to share. Each platter was filled with hummus, pita bread, tzatziki, olives, meatballs, and chicken satay skewers. Everything tasted excellent.
After dinner, the four of us walked back to our villa. It wasn’t nearly as busy in town now, but it was dark and we also couldn’t see where we were stepping which proved to be a bit of a challenge.
So far, things we like about Lombok: it’s cheap, the people are friendly, and it feels safe. Things we don’t like: the streets are dirty, it’s hot, and it’s noisy. We have several more days in Kuta to settle in and explore the area. I’m sure when the newness wears off it’ll feel more comfortable.
