THE GUIDE - The Rough Guide to Bali and Lombok - page 442

Warung Jawa 2 Jl Pantai Kuta. Seemingly held together with rubber bands and sticky tape,
this rickety warung run by a fun young crew prepares some great, cheap Javanese food, in-
cluding seafood, chicken curry (Rp14,000) and “snow fried rice” with pineapple (Rp25,000).
Daily 8am-11pm.
DIRECTORY
Airline tickets Book through Segare Anak .
Banks and exchange Kuta has several ATMs; the CIBM Bank ATM at the Novotel is the
only one that can dispense Rp3,000,000 in one session. Segare Anak can sometimes change
cash and travellers' cheques.
Clinic Lombok International Medical Service is a private clinic and pharmacy with two out-
lets in Kuta, near the main crossroads and 550m north of the village centre on Jl Parwisata
(daily 7am-11pm; 081 8353343). The nearest hospital is in Praya.
Police 500m north of central Kuta, near Yuli's Homestay .
Post Segare Anak is a postal agent; the nearest post office is in Sengkol.
West of Kuta
The coast west of Kuta has some of the loveliest beaches on Lombok - to explore it,
you'll need your own transport. It's still mostly wilderness alongside the road towards Sepi,
peppered with occasional hamlets; as you near Selong Blanak there are tobacco and ricefields
too. All beaches are signed and all charge for parking (usually Rp10,000 for cars, Rp5000
for motorbikes). Except where stated they all have some shade , in berugaq , plus at least one
tiny stall selling water, soft drinks and perhaps packet noodles. Except on Sundays and pub-
lic holidays you'll rarely find more than half a dozen people on any of the beaches.
Are Goleng and around
The road west out of Kuta climbs for a couple of kilometres, passing the Ashtari restaurant
and its panoramic vistas. Some 7km out of Kuta a rough 2km-long dirt track heads to the
coast and village of ARE GOLENG . The beach here is about 400m long and known for its
excellent right-hand reef break, but a river empties into the bay and it's not one for sunbathers
or sightseers.
The next beach west from Are Goleng is the awesomely beautiful Mawun , 9km from Kuta,
a fabulous semicircular bay embraced by green headlands. It's usually calm and great for
swimming and snorkelling, but has limited shade.
West from Mawun, the surf breaks at Mawi are some of the most famous, most challenging
and busiest in the area. The beach is small, however, and not as pretty as many, and you
wouldn't come here for swimming. The turn-off is about 12km from Kuta; the road to the
beach is sealed for the first 2.5km then degenerates into a gnarly dirt track for the final 500m.