Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
INTRODUCTION TO BALI & LOMBOK
Part of the Indonesian archipelago, a 5200km-long string of more than thirteen thousand
islands, stretching between Malaysia in the west and Australia in the east, Bali and Lom-
bok boast dramatically rugged coastlines, gloriously sandy beaches and world-class surf.
Both islands are small - Bali extends less than 150km at its widest point, Lombok a mere
80km - and dramatically volcanic, graced with swathes of extremely fertile land, much
of it sculpted into elegantly terraced rice paddies. Culturally, however, they could hardly
be more different. Bali is Southeast Asia's only Hindu society, and religious observance
permeates every aspect of life here; the Sasak people of Lombok, on the other hand, are
Muslim, like the vast majority of Indonesians.
Bali
landed on the tourist map some ninety years ago and is today an incredibly popular destin-
ation, drawing everyone from backpackers to high-end travellers, divers to sun-worshippers,
package groups to people seeking spiritual healing. Although visitor numbers plunged after
the terrorist attacks of 2002 and 2005, they have since rebounded, and the island has all of the
comforts and facilities expected by better-off tourists, as well as the predictable problems of
congestion, commercialization and breakneck Westernization. However, its original charm is
still very much in evidence, the evocative temples and vibrant festivals set off by the verd-
ant landscapes of the interior. Just to the east of Bali,
Lombok
plays host to far fewer foreign
travellers, but numbers are steadily increasing thanks to the island's many unspoilt beaches,
forested mountain slopes and burgeoning reputation as a more adventurous destination than its
illustrious neighbour.
Until the nineteenth century, both Bali and Lombok were divided into small
kingdoms
, each
ruled by a succession of rajas whose territories fluctuated so much that, at times, parts of east-
ern Bali and western Lombok were joined under a single ruler. More recently, both of the is-
lands have endured years of colonial rule under the Dutch East Indies government, which only
ended when hard-won
independence
was granted to Indonesia in 1949. Indonesia's Jakarta-
based government has since tried hard to foster a sense of national identity among its vast
array of extraordinarily diverse islands and peoples, both by implementing a unifying five-
point political philosophy, the Pancasila, and through the mandatory introduction of Bahasa
Indonesia, now the lingua franca across the whole archipelago. Politically, Bali is administered
as a province in its own right, while Lombok is the most westerly island of Nusa Tenggara,
