Lombok is my least favourite Indo island.

Yucky vibes, I reckon.

And how good does sharia tourism sound ?!

I'm struggling to put words to the feelings I experience when I see a middle eastern gentlemen in T shirt , boardies and thongs strolling through the wet season humidity ahead of his head to toe veiled wife.

fcuk Sharia tourism + mega western tourism= what could go wrong?

I predict westerners living behind razor wire.

Your kidding? Take that crap up to the Gili Islands or anywhere on the north coast that doesn't get surf. There's lots of untouched coast to rape up there and you're not laying the blueprint for yet another surf ghetto. I've had fun waves at Gerupuk and Seger Reef, plus a few other spots along that stretch.

Only 10533 rooms ?

Whereabouts are the rest of the Korean surfers from the 9-11AM Grupuk session going to sleep ?

Better Lombok than other areas with waves in Indonesia, the writing has been on the wall for Lombok for at least 15 years its always been pushed as the next Bali.

Sad but better it happens in Lombok or Java rather than elsewhere.

I took a group of students to meet with ITDC last year as part of a fieldtrip. They showed us around the Nusa Dua area, detailed their waste management, their water treatment wetlands, and the efforts they've made to make the area walkable. They talked about how it was a deliberate decision to develop high end tourism in an area that was otherwise unproductive. It was reasonably impressive, though still entirely unsettling for someone uncomfortable in those sorts of places.

When he mentioned their takeover of the developments in Lombok one of the one schralper's in the group put forward something along the lines of "what about the surfers?" and his response to her was pretty swift, as if he'd heard it all before: "what about them? Surfer's are mostly stingy. They've been coming to Lombok for a long time and the situation there is still bad. People are poor, there is no work, drug use is high, education levels are low. Surfing hasn't done very much for the area. We are already employing hundreds of locals who are growing the landscaping plants and developing skills that will make them employable. Surfers will still have access to the waves so they aren't going to miss out."

It's pretty sad to see such rank development anywhere in the world. But I'm with ID in that I am glad it is there rather than elsewhere. The experiences I've had there completely scare me off the joint.

Its a joke right?We (Australian Government) are bank rolling this....what can go wrong...?Ha

I just came from Lombok last week. The scale of development is off charts and Kuta was so messed up and nasty with it we bailed for another part of the island. It really felt like a piece of Bali, for all the wrong reasons. Other bits of Lombok are still nice though, scored some good waves and good times.

Pinnacles with a resort?? Empty island only two years ago where if the boats were at Churches you could get it with just your mates. Not anymore. Short ride, tight take off. But the ad says empty waves. Surfed it excellent by myself for hours one day whilst everyone was having lunch or snoozing and missed the arrival of a swell pulse.

Even in the "empty Telos" a few years ago the channel at Churches had about 50 surfers bobbing around on boats watching 15 guys surf an okay left it with 2 wave sets every 10 minutes.
The risk of a bum trip keeps notching up with all these resorts creating permanent crowds at spots.
Can't believe how fast it all changes.

Last time I was down in that part of Lombok, I flew in direct from Australia. The stories about the 'new' airport and the 'disappearance' of those villagers and farmers who didn't want to relocate and protested were full-on to say the least.

Could other more westerly parts of Lombok be next?

Other surfing destinations east of the isle of Lombok?

I have done a few trips to Lombok over the years, yeh I'm a slow learner. It doesn't take long to realise a lot of people don't want you there so I have taken the hint, I won't be back.

This was planned 20 years ago at least Probably a good spot for a Muslim resort where they don't have to put up with the yobbo bullshit that is the Kuta seminak strip of course there will be huge resorts that will root this pretty piece of coast tommy and his cronies have probably bullied everyone else out .Lombok has always had a heavy vibe , black magic thing happening , the sasak are very different people from the Balinese When there is $$$$ involved sure they will be nice to your face but Bad things happen on this island but I've also had good times and met some gems . As for grupuk what a shit hole of a spot , the Cangu of Lombok , baby waves to keep the kooks happy . Indo has atleast 13000 islands I've been to about 20 and only one had a heavier vibe than I've seen on Lombok

Maybe Kuta Lombok will turn into another Agadir for rich Saudis? Some wild shit goes on there. Sex, booze, gambling. Sick hamburgers!

Dan x3 what were the experiences you had there that have scared you off?

What were yours blowin?

Im genuinely curious as i haven't spent a great deal of time there so i haven't noticed the vibe to be honest.

The Bok................anyone have a good talk long honest with the locals to get the under current happening there? Have a problem with someone just get your mates together and stab them in the eye, burn their house down, cut various parts off, etc.
Mate of a mate committed suicide in the Bok by jumping off a cliff.........he did'nt know until they took him up and pushed him off.
Police report all legit of course.
Really nasty fu(kers....and some

I went in 2006, seemed pretty rural, was fun, most waves onshore in the trade winds. Ozzy owned restaurant on the hill was all time with epic view. At that time the rumor was that a Saudi based entity had bought all the land. So I think this has been coming for a long time.

If Bule can't actually own land in Indonesia what structure of ownership are the developers offing plots for $US175K? Because a handshake land deal is like a foot print in the sand...

Lombok. There's a good reason it's known as "the Island of thieves" by other indos.
We've had money stolen from hotel security boxes, seen other tourists with machetes held to their throats being robbed , and experienced a few heavy vibes.
Personally, being dropped in by a group of novice Japs on sups at perfect 4ft Grupuk was the most frustrating though.
For some reason the better half refuses to go back.

I ran into some surfers in Sumbawa a few years ago who were pretty freaked out and shaken up about some shit that happened in south Lombok., I cant remember the whole story but I it was over something fairly trivial ,. They were literally ran off the island under threat of death by the villagers , threatened to carved them up with machetes. This sparked off some more comments about others experiences there , and most of them seemed pretty hairy, thefts ,assaults ,heavy threats etc
I haven't surfed in Lombok, or stayed overnight,, the drive from the airport to the fast boat with a local driver is enough excitement for me.

From my experience it depends who you make friends with and how you behave that mostly dictates the vibe you get on Lombok. Every surf I had I gave up waves to locals and only took waves when the locals called me onto one or when no one was in position to catch it. On land smile and listen rather than talk shit. I enquired from a local surfer I was drinking beers with why there was a distinct lack of Brazilian surfers and he went very quiet and changed the subject. Later another local told me that a group of Brazilians had started dropping in and snaking the locals which pissed them off, asked to chill the Brazilians kept up the unfriendly actions, one thing lead to another and their boards were hacked to pieces with machetes and their gear back at their hotel was put in a pile and burnt. The only things left were their passports which were given to them with the order: Leave Lombok now and never return. Yes the locals can be heavy in Lombok, hell they can be just as heavy in Australia in some places. The fact remains don't piss off the locals wherever you go and you will be fine 99% of the time.

How many surf related death threats have you had in Australia?

Then there's the full moon night that the cattle rustlers took their boat from Lombok across the channel to South West Sumbawa - which ain't a rarity - only they couldn't find any unattended cows .

They did see the home of a fella ( Aussie ) that I know. So they go to his place and start robbing the joint. Aussie wakes up and comes down stairs and interrupts their thieving. They come at him , one strikes his sword across Aussie's neck but luckily the blade hits on the flat as he swerved , otherwise he'd be dead.

Another Sasak strikes at his head with a club , but mate blocks it and gets his arm broken in the process. Guy with the sword comes in for another go but Aussie's barking dogs have brought his staff in to investigate the commotion and so the Cattle thieves bolt.

Aussie gets himself fixed up and reports this to a local contact in the police that he's slipping a few rupiah to every now and again. Copper says no worries , ill sort it out.

A little while later and another full moon and word is out amongst the locals that the rustlers are back so Aussie calls his police mate who rocks up and asks to borrow his tinny.

Police man and a couple of mates take the tinny around to the uninhabited next bay where the rustlers land their boat under cover of darkness . They putt around there without any lights. When they pull up to the beach and find the rustlers there is no warnings , just flick on the spotlight and start shooting. End of the rustlers.

Problem solved.

"How many surf related death threats have you had in Australia?"

I've heard of them. Well, maybe they're just 'old wives tales'.

https://www.swellnet.com/forums/wax/12736

Now I'm no cattle-rustler, but going out to do the deed on a full moon just seems to me to be asking for trouble.

Any cattle-rustlers out there that can give us the good oil?

I remember hearing about the cattle rustling while I was in Sumbawa , that and watermelon wars and water tank stealing,
But I imagine towing a couple of illegal head of cattle across the 'big' creek in the middle of the day , or running nav lights at night wouldn't be a sensible option , and given their budget ,I would say a GPS and radar , yet alone a compass or a map ,would certainly come as high priced optional extras .

Never underestimate the cattle-rustler.

And never underestimate the villagers , the chief , or the local police. My understanding is that most of those who are caught rarely make it as far as the courtroom.

Ha Ha, beat me to it shats.

'How many surf related death threats have you had in Australia?'

Exactly! This below is a horrific, unbelievable tale of a surf near bashing and reflex jabbing death in a peaceful, quiet, good 'ol Oz settlement!!! The sort of place the 'inlaws' would live!!! Or the Waltons for that matter!!!

https://www.swellnet.com/forums/wax/12736

'From my experience it depends who you make friends with and how you behave that mostly dictates the vibe you get on Lombok. Every surf I had I gave up waves to locals and only took waves when the locals called me onto one or when no one was in position to catch it. On land smile and listen rather than talk shit.'

And yes agree fully MP, this sort of blowin, shit blathering yob below, unsuprisingly the purp from the same sordid 'Death Wish 5' tale, is bound to run into trouble and attract grief:

' I surfed for six hours straight,like a grom. Ball rash from so many run arounds, nipples like i had taken a cheese grater to them. Even toked on a joint at around the three hour mark that a couple of crew were burning on the jump off rock. Life was good.'

'I was surfed out and ready for one to shore. Just make it a good one eh ? No hurry, the walk up the beach was gonna make my thighs bleed anyway.
So i waited in pole position, a few meagre sets passed before my wave came. I started
to paddle noticing Loud Mouth paddling furiously from his recent entry off the jump rock declaring possesion. Whatever fuckstick, i'm going. So i went. Loud Mouth went too, i faded and Loud Mouth and myself went over the falls as one.'

'Then the red mist came over me
It was the assumed resentment of the women that really got me.
The smug superiority of some small minded no- one cunt moll that set me off. I turned to face Loud Mouth in front of his cunting piece of shit friends and with every ounce of will ,energy and misdirected anger from every point of my life i drove my fist into that cunt's putrid face and punched him to the sand.
I was standing over Loud Mouth's form bellowing that he was an imposter king presiding over a weak, gay wave, raising my fist for another blow when i realised my hand was broken . Then i heard a lady screaming and i was back in my head, concious of what i'd done , aware of where i was.
Loud Mouth was not cowering , but all fight had left the man. He was submissive but i was not gracious. Thank fuck i did not have a gun cause if i did i would have shot the cunt. The only thing that stopped me from kicking him till he twitched was some chick throwing herself over his prostrate form.'

'I looked up to see four hundred sets of eyes willing me in gaol. I walked towards the path that led to the carpark, unrepentent, as i approached my car a smiling mother said to her young son "look at that mans face honey! " , i stared at her and tried to fathom what type of person would be so insensitive to anothers situation.Then i told her to "shut the fuck up , mole," and walked to my car.'

Yes believe it or not, this maniac, this horrific, uncontrolled reflex death jabberer could be lurking at a beach near you!!!

Also as I am an Indo specialist, just recently I attended a bbq with several types of very many respected Indonesians. Interestingly enough, when the topic of maniac, near death beach reflex jabbings and bashings was inevitably raised, (by the very respected, many, several types of Indonesians), all of the very respected, many, several types of Indonesians agreed with me about everything. This interestingly enough supports what I, an indo specialist, have been saying all along!

Most of the people Ive met around Lombok were polite, cautious, financially poor (make quality rugs or bowls for $1 / day ); uneducated ( The original Susak tribe (animist) live half way up the active volcano Mt Ringani...spiritually significant . The mtn track is littered from tourists who pay a 'local' to carry their backpacks & food up into this mtn for 8 hours ($1) and back.
There is seasonal work for the western tobacco barons on the fertile flat lands. 'gypsy' types I met on the south coast are street smart & vulnerable ( no village) . A traditional sport there involves sword fighting....The same story could be reflected on other islands. Good read on this is called "the Future Eaters" by Tim Flannery (Aust of the year)

Lombok in Kawi language means "straight" or "honest"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sasak_people

"the blowin" story was a straight and moving tale.
https://www.swellnet.com/forums/wax/12736
thanks for sharing...

The 'bloviator' is the Jeffrey Archer, nah, Barbara Cartland of Swellnet. One of the Seppo George bros?

I don't get why some people here just want to stir and put shit on each other?

Why bother?

What do people actually get out of spending so much time doing this to people who are basically strangers?

Sure have a debate about things you may not agree on, but i don't get the pointless put downs and negativity, really don't see the point.

As for Lombok not sure why it can have bad vibes and be even dangerous compared to most places in Indonesia?

'As for Lombok not sure why it can have bad vibes and be even dangerous compared to most places in Indonesia?'

MP already summed it up. I went to West Java years ago. Before it was famous or anything looking like a tour or camp, or specialist. Absolutely no problems with the people. Beautiful people. Oppressed people. I watched the corrupt Government come through a village, where the soldiers had already made them paint the whole place red and white, where they had to stand and wave, with soldiers at their backs, whilst the government drove through. There were some western officials of some sort standing in one car, being waved at. Then that was it, the soldiers flogged some food, left, and the village was red and white. Not much different in the end to the queen coming here really.

I found the surf I wanted, surfed, had fun, met lots of people, left. Meanwhile, three other guys rolled up, 2 ended up being tied up and held at bay with machetes, while one had to make his way back to Yogyakarta, buy some goats, and bring them back to make up for their behaviour. They were pissed, and stumbling around the prayer hall, no shirts on, insulting, breaking laws left right and centre. The villagers weren't as forgiving and accepting as Indigenous Australians are to that sort of behaviour, that's all. Later I heard a similar story with a not so happy ending. More bintang slurpers heading out of Bali. I've always found travelling to remote areas to surf easy. I have surfed for over 45 years, so have lots of surfing mates, plus, it doesn't take much to figure out people if you are genuinely interested. First time I went to Bali I met a guy, Tim Watts, who had a place on Lombok, who had a yacht there, who loved it. He predicted once more surfers came, they would fuck it.

As to your other heartstrings. I don't get why people would bother sending bitching emails, because they are so distraught about nothing. Its like sugar, or food. Fat people eat too much. They say they won't go near it. Then they just do. And get all upset. Unfit, injured people do things that injure them. Or do fuck all. Then they say they won't, that they'll change and fix it. But they don't. Why? Simple.

I'll just say this indo, because, well, you know. I don't normally read anything much you have to say. I went to indo heaps ages ago. I have plenty of mates who live in indo, run business's there, have boats there, married Indonesians etc. So if I want to know about indo, I just ask them. Just like I bumped into a grom who his heading off to Europe. So we talk, and he's going to an area a mate lived, surfed for ages. I contact him, he sets the grom up. Simple. I don't get why all these hard core, big time, big savvy surfees have to go on the internet to find out anything about surfing? Big wave ledges wondering what size board or fin they need? Just ask their mates surely? South Africa? Just ask a mate, surely if they are such hard core surfees they would have mates who know heaps about it? I do.

Anyway, I'm a fitness expert, with fucked knees, shoulders, neck, back, ankles, wrists, hips. Should I do pilates... I have an uncle that does...

Quote Herc..."Simple. I don't get why all these hard core, big time, big savvy surfees have to go on the internet to find out anything about surfing? Big wave ledges wondering what size board or fin they need? Just ask their mates surely?"

Unbelievable that people would come to a surfing website, to try to find out things related to surfing isn't it?!
Honestly, ya wouldn't read about it.

With all respect to MP i don't think his post explains that much.

Lombok especially the southern area has a bad reputation for crimes, road side robberies and quite violent robberies, not just among surfers but also other tourist and even Indonesians.

Obviously there are other areas in Indonesia with similar reputations and normally poverty is part of the problem, but you also get areas with very high levels of poverty, where you don't have similar issues.

I do have Indonesia friends from Lombok, i will ask them their thoughts.

Indo - I reckon places have an energy of their own .

It's hard to ascribe why a place would have a good , bad or neutral energy . Not just speaking from self experience as most places are popular with most people beyond that of the wave quality or natural beauty of an area.

Who doesn't find Byron enchanting ?

Maybe not the facade of intense humanity that imposes on the area at present , but the place itself seems to possess a natural attraction and vibration that is undeniable and that's why it attracts such a creative community . Yet a few kilometres down the road and Ballina feels like different country. Not sinister or evil , just a bit uninspiring.

Whether it's laylines, feng shuei , mineral deposits , magnetic fields....who knows , pick your groove . But there's difinitely something drawing the subconscious towards positivity.

And then there's places with negative energy. Some places where there seems an unacknowledged undercurrent of anxiety or tension . Sometimes even violence.

Such as Lombok.

Maybe the result is a culture that's developed within the shadow of an intangible yet nefarious force. A culture that tends to fall towards the darker path if the dice of fate are rolled.

What do you reckon ?

Too deep for a Saturday night ?

Byron or Cavvanbah, was an important meeting place for indigenous nations from a vast area of the northern NSW, SEQLD area.
Cavvanbah means meeting place.
So much indigenous history and culture and knowledge of living off the land and sea there.

They had it down. Some of the indigenous park rangers .......have a chat if you get a chance. They are quiet, humble people who tend to hang in the background , and they know so much. So incredibly much about the country.

I don't find Byron enchanting, at all.. I,m happy to bypass the shithole these days.... 'creative community', I'll say they are , I almost fell over when I saw what looked to be rat eaten hessian sack, roughly cut in the shape of shirt/jumper, in a trendy boutique shop window with a label on it , going for just under $300. Pseudo hippies, meth heads, overzealous locals who've been there less than 2 years , gold coast crews , cheeky groms , crowds , rich developers backpackers ,the list goes on. I guess anyones view of a town is subjective according to their own experiences . As for Ballina being 'uninspiring' , you got me there, the big prawn did nothing for me, , but I find the locals a little more down to earth

Big Prawn uninspiring?

Go wash your mouth out with soap.

After the paint faded and peeled it looked a bit freezer burnt to me,

they repainted it , it looks a million bucks on sunset after a beer and a surf at .... ....

A couple of us passed through Lombok a little over 20 years ago now. We encountered several nefarious looking characters at Mawi, one had a machete or cutlass, they said a few words to us, then used the machete to strip a thin slice of bark of a particular tree, tobacco of some sort was then rolled into the bark and they proceeded to smoke it. DP was almost empty, only two guys when we rocked up. Not sure how much of it was true but they told us everyone left the losmens because the locals came in one night, stole a bunch of the belongings of the surfers in the middle of the night. Apparently some guys were in a tent as well, they slit the side of the tent with a knife, took their bags and belongings and had to cut the legropes to get the boards as they strapped the leggies on for security. Some locals sorted out the bad guys and some items were returned but other belongings apparently went up in flames. I wasn't there at that time so I cannot confirm these stories myself. The other two guys left and we had DP to ourselves for several days. Only one fisherman gave us flack for staying there but did nothing other than verbal abuse. I'd paddle out to the boats circling offshore with rupiah in my mouth and buy fresh catch of the day for dinner. Grupuk had several surfers, and Ekas was empty and really fun. Mawi to ourselves too. Not much at Kuta that I recall, but no threatening encounters anywhere else on the island for us.

I went and spent a couple of weeks in Kuta Lombok around 15 years ago about a month before I got there some of the local people had banded together and burnt down some buildings on the beach side of the road where they felt the local hotels had encroached on public land. There was quite a bit of ill feeling around in general, because it most of the coastal strip had already been sold off to outside financial interests. At that stage locals thought when the international airport went in the place was going to explode with development that they wouldn't really benefit from.... fast forward 15yrs.
I personally had a great trip including some intense and shallow barrels at big Mawi and outrageously beautiful deserted scenery which felt like it was on borrowed time. I also met some really lovely people who were generous and invited me into their homes.
While traveling by motorbike around the coast it struck me that the local Sasaks had a really intense and threatening stare when approached and mostly carried a machete, these same people would often burst into great big smiles when greeted with one, and I came to feel this look was a kind of cultural thing.
I've got to say it doesn't surprise me there is some ill feeling in an area where most of the local land has been sold to outside interests, the people are poor and prospects for the future are not promising and may involve displacement of their way of life.
Having said that I was also told of some Aussie guys who had rented motorbikes, were hijacked at the road side with machetes, beaten with the stipe of a palm frond and had their bikes stolen. They were then forced to pay for said bikes, which mysteriously turned up again after they were gone. This was all said in warning to be careful by one of the local guys.
The Sasaks seem to be proud, fierce and have a culture that involves stick fighting and combat, I suggest anyone who goes there is respectful, treads carefully and hopefully runs into good luck. The whole scale of this cookie cutter development saddens me and looks like it offers little to the locals except servile jobs. I actually feel like piecemeal development, which has happened in much of Bali offers much greater opportunities to local people. It might be scrappy and messy but it's way more intergrated and gives real business opportunities to those coming in from the bottom up.

Was on Lombok about 6 years ago, based myself in Kuta, stayed at a B &B owned by a local woman married to a Kiwi guy. She was a real character and a lovely person.
Heard all the stories of the scooter scams, so we were very vigilant and had no trouble. Also didn't go anywhere at night on the scooter due to warnings of hold-ups.
Overall a great trip, only agro was when I went to pay for petrol at a place half way up the big hill on the way west. The girl snatched the money from my hand with a filthy look on her face, no idea what that was about but the look on her face is burnt into my memory.
That big Novotel resort at Tanjun Ahn was basically a white elephant with next to no guests when I was there, unless that's changed I have no idea what makes them think this new resort will attract people. Obviously aimed at the same type of guests they get at the big resorts around Nusa Dua. People who never leave the grounds.
A mate of mine was present the night that guy got his shoulder slashed at Deserts. His opinion is that there was some sort of currency deregulation or something along those lines, at the time and it hit everybody hard financially, which led to the attempted robberies which ended in the machete injury. Pretty horrific night, carrying the victim a long way through deep water using a board as a stretcher because the tide was up then had to travel a long way to find a vehicle to transport him to nearest village.

I have been frequenting Lombok for the past 5 years, sometimes 4-5 times a year and have to disagree with alot of the comments made about it being dangerous. I have never had a incident there never seen anything and in fact I have never even heard of anything happening except for the odd bike being stolen and held for ransom which has in fact now stopped or if people just paid a dollar for parking it never would of happened.

Generally speaking gurpruk is a shit hole where only kooks and learners go to ride fat shoulders. Segar is a decent spot but being so close to town it obviously has strong local dominance. Ekas is good but you need a surf guide to get you to the right spots on the right tide, Plenty of quality breaks further away from town not known by many unless you're connected, which is easy to do as sasak people are very friendly happy people once you get to know them. There is however at this time some rather unfortunate circumstances where local people have lived on land for a very long time close to town, are being moved by government for road and hotel development.

I don't think its fair to rubbish the people of Lombok over the criminal acts of a minority, But I wouldn't stick my head in the sand too far.

Very sad to hear all this. Surfed Lombok heaps from early 90's on and have many great memories from epic uncrowded surf with just the people I'd meet along the way or even by myself. I mostly travelled with my wife so would stay down Kuta way where there were better facilities, sometimes at Ekas end where there was pretty much bugger all except a raised platform with a thatched roof with rat droppings covering the filthy mattresses. Surfing nearly every day 'til the missus would spin and and we'd have to bail back to Kuta area. Road in to Ekas was very rocky and rough as guts, so if you drove in you'd have to commit to a few days to make the effort worthwhile. Still not as rough as driving out to Deserts was though. Great waves had at Mawi often though wind would spoil it mid morning usually, like most spots along the south coast. Air Gulang round the headland from Kuta nearly always good fun but always spooky as I'd nearly always be by myself with just the hired boat guy looking on. Many barrels. Anyhow my point is Lombok is still the only island in all of Indo I've had my life threatened by machete wielding locals. Twice. Not a good situation to find yourself in with just your loved one by your side. Both times for declining offered items for sale, and we would always buy as much as we could carry every trip and try our best to support every one as best we could. You can only buy so much before you eventually would have to decline as politely as we'd know how. Terima kasih ibu saya tidak mau. The situation turned nasty in a flash both times as local guys would fly out of the bush with said machetes and back up the 4 or 5 women we had been approached by. Terrifying. Had photographic gear, clothes, money, sunnies, surfing gear and other stuff stolen on separate occasions over at least a dozen trips. Very heavy place 25 years ago. Very beautiful place as well with many more good experiences than bad and many long lasting friendships made with locals over the years. Kuta Lombok was always referred to as the Bali of the past but it was also known as the island of robbers. Bit more of a hippy/backpacker vibe up in Gili's. Great memories of the right hander on Gili Air. Takes a lot of swell to push up the channel though and never had it over 3 foot but always no one out. Crystal clear water and you'd see the brightly coloured fish through the face of the wave as you drive down the line. Eventually stopped going to Lombok as the missus was off it completely and we'd travel straight through on route to Sumbawa. Surfed nearly every where of note through the Indo island chain and never, ever had any trouble anywhere except good 'ol Lombok. For the ones spinning out on my name dropping of surf spots I couldn't care less 'cos it's basically all been fucked hard in the arse by internet exposure now anyway. 10 boats and 75 guys out at Rifles in the Ments 2 years ago confirmed this for me, but really I guess I've just turned into a grumpy old bastard. You should have been here yesteryear...I was!

This explains a lot, regarding local attitudes towards that arrogant attitude of plundering, of wanting power, of thinking that the place is just a personal resource for 'specialists'.

All that's going on in Indonesia is nothing. Wait till you see what's been done to the Gold Coast.

"In a split second i made a judgement error and instead turning a fleeing. I chose to stand and fight. Horribly outnumbered i was attacked by a half dozen Indonesians. My right arm was 90% hacked off. My back and head also cut by the machete blows.

�� Fortunately i was with friends at the time.I was carried along the beach.Placed in a car and endured a� 3 hour� 4WD ride to get to the closest thing they had on the island that you would call a hospital. It was then a very bumpy and turbulent plane ride to the isalnd of Bali and finally, some 13 hours late. A hospital that i could recieve proper care in.

�� After 3 days in hospital i flew home to Australia. I though upon arrival my troubles were over. Little did i know they had only just begun...."

http://www.blair8000.com/contents/1155280769

"Mr Falahey, of Melbourne, made a decision that almost cost him his arm and his life. "I wanted to make this guy pay. All I remember is running after the thief and torches being shone in my eyes. Somehow I was knocked to the ground. "I tried to push myself up with my right arm. Instead I just fell over and rolled into the sand. "It was then 1 realised my right arm had been almost severed." A friend frightened the attackers away and then began the nightmarish saga of coming to terms with the extent of his injuries and making the long, painful trip home to family and proper medical help. Mr Falahey plans to return to Desert Point this year "to exorcise the demons". Massive blood loss. Makeshift surgery by staff wearing thongs. Operations at St Vincent's Hospital in Melbourne, including one to clean out sand and twigs in the wound. Foul infection. Deep depression, caused by the prospect of the arm being amputated. Permanent muscle, nerve and bone damage. The keen surfer has been undergoing physiotherapy after the attack, which also left him with two broken ribs and deep cuts on his back. Mr Falahey and friends were camping at a remote surfing spot called Desert Point. Worried about thieves, the surfers hired a local man to guard their camp as they slept. Mr Falahey woke to hear the guard blowing a warning whistle. He ran to warn a friend at the beach, where he was attacked by a to hell as holiday destinations, according to an Australian traveller who had his arm almost severed in a horrific attack by thieves. Blair Falahey. 28. admits folly contributed to his bloody nightmare but warned that increasing poverty was making Bali a more violent place. Mr Falahey said many Indonesians, hit hard by a deepening economic crisis, flocked to Bali in the hope of cashing in on tourist dollars. When they couldn't get work serving tourists, they robbed them, he said. The incidence of theft, muggings and assault in the teeming areas of Kuta and Legian were growing all the time. "You can see the writing on the wall," he said. "Bali isn't the end of the rainbow anymore." A seven-year veteran of trips to Indonesia and a worldwide traveller for 10 years, Mr Falahey had his right arm mangled when one of a group of thieves attacked him with a machete in a jungle on the island of Lombok, east of Bali. He then survived: Ll A 13-hour dash on a makeshift stretcher: through raging surf, by car over corrugated roads, a stormy plane trip and a hair-raising taxi ride the driver agreeing to take him only after being shown the gaping wound to a hospital in Denpasar. "

https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/123614679/

"Suddenly, a group of men with machetes surrounded him and demanded all of his money and valuables. When John refused, one bandit hit him several times with a machete. Seeing John was unable to resist any further, the men took all of his possessions and sped off. John shouted for help, was assisted by locals, and is being treated in a hospital in Mataram.

Just a few hours later, Gina Schillings and Barbara Klar from Germany were riding on the main road near Areguling Beach when they were cut off by machete-wielding men on motorbikes. The men approached the women from behind and surrounded them, threatening them with machetes and demanded Schillings’ bag, which contained a camera, mobile phone, cash, and other valuables. The victims tried to resist, but the men grabbed the bag and took off.

Local informants and media state that the area where these crimes took place are known to be high-risk zones for road robberies. Lombok commander of the military district, Arie Tri Hedhianto, said he will help police track the whereabouts of the perpetrators"

http://www.theinertia.com/surf/3-tourists-in-1-day-attacked-by-machete-w...

Bob Hawke Surf Team very accurate in terms of my experiences. Been many times now and never had anything bad happen, but perhaps you always feel the vibe of "veiled menace" when you are in certain situations. As always " RESPEK" is the way to do all your business & fun ( as when anywhere else surfing). Also seen some hilarious outcomes when "greenhorns" attempt to "persuade" the locals to their way of thinking / price/ destination etc. I must say I am very sad to hear of the developments, but we were warned by locals of this up to 15 yr ago ( Hi to Tommy). The locals as usual will get screwed, and the $$$ will go to the usual vultures. Good environment will suffer too. Note to Blowin : Husband will not be present walking in front of Burquad' wife, but a guy in military uniform with an M16 will be with her & her little ones on the beach. Seen it already.

We were there in 1992, there was definitely a dodgy group of locals in Kuta but as with most dodgy people on our travels, we seemed to get along with them.

I do remember the dogs at night, walking home from the local bar ( the discotecque they called it) the dogs would follow in the dark , growling all the time. It was nerve racking.

The only local 'surfers ' I saw then were some kids who were catching waves in the shallows at Grupuk point on planks of wood.

In three weeks I will have surfed for 44 years. I've been threatened once, at North Narrabeen, in 1975, mouthed off at once at Bondi in 1999, and had a lot of fun in the water in between. I've never been to Indo, despite decades of invites and opportunities. My 25 year-old son has just returned from his fourth trip in three years, to Bali, Lombok and Sumbawa. This time he went with his petite Jewish girlfriend. Where it was appropriate, she wore a burqa, to show respect. They visited and stayed at all the above-mentioned spots, including Desert Point, without incident. They are gentle, perceptive and respectful people who could tell that poverty, disenfranchisement and frustration drove nearly every example of anger, envy and hostility they heard of or witnessed. These feelings and actions are universal. The beauty of the locale is immaterial, it is human nature. Respect and understanding defused every potential problem for them and they came back wiser, safe and well, for which I am very thankful.

Can somebody google Sengiggi massacre n post the link on here(i dont know how).there's a news article from year2000 by www.independent.co.uk....thnx

Lombok,1st year i went was 2000.i always found it a bit more Indiana Jones like kinda place than the more developed/sophisticated Bali,Jawa,Sumatra.good and bad,its intense from the start,the whole island.i love the place!
although i never did enjoy Kuta Lombok.the vibe was always a bit wierd?wet seasons i've been there a bunch,o.k waves.this development with the airport has been on the go for 15years now.i was told the big boys want to make Lombok a major hubb of Asia.that rumour seems to be coming true.
one trip i slashed me hand @mawi lombok.bleeding from me palm pretty good.on the beach this old ibu see's me wound n grabs this leaf off a tree.chews it up n spits it rite on me gash!i was thinking how would a western dokter react?it worked excellent,dried up like a bandage.she was on the beetle nut,big purple smile!great lokals,big knives!!

Hi troppo D , heres the article ;
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/muslim-mobs-hunt-christians...

To be fair I don't think those incidents were really a Lombok thing Indonesia was pretty unsettled in the late 90,s early 2000.

In 98 you had Riots in Jakarta and central java and even small rioting in Sumatra, but all throughout that period Indonesia was very unstable.

When Shit goes bad in Indonesia most blame the Chinese who although a minority group own much of the business and control much of Indonesias wealth and the majority are Christian.

You also had religious conflict in the spice islands about 99 that wouldn't have helped things.

To be fair you can find conflict and extreme violent event almost everywhere in Indonesia if you go looking for it through fairly recent history.

BTW. Even though my father inlay is catholic Indonesian, he got involved in the rioting and looting, my wife said he brought home all kinds of cool shit

I jumped at the chance to be part of a crew on the Darwin to Ambon yacht race in the late 90's. The year I was supposed to go it was cancelled all because of a few larrikins razing some churches and some good old fashioned looting. Storm in a teacup if you ask me.

thnx for the link clam.
yeah that violence isnt just on Lombok.the archipelago has been at war since time began.from headhunters to cannibalism,religion,politics,island warfare is a part of the historical development of Indonesia.
Orang Sasak are thought to be Phillipinos that came down via Sulawesi.to my understanding the Balinese fended off Java andconquered Lombok for hundreds of years and only when the Dutch conspired with the local Sasak they overthrew the Hinddu kingdom of Lombok.the Dutch then took,manipulated and ruled the Sasak for awhile.
a glimpse of history can explain the locals with machete's and a staunch attitude.
i remember in 2000 going to places in Senggigi and coming back weeks later to see them burnt down to the ground.

'When Shit goes bad in Indonesia most blame the Chinese who although a minority group own much of the business and control much of Indonesias wealth and the majority are Christian.'

Even in the old days, the Japanese (it should be us ruling the world, not the arrogant dutch), were the real power mongers, through Pertamina. The never ending infinite cash cow. Java/Bali, the land of infinite oil and petrol fumes. The screaming jets. The Suharto's are still massive. And the Japanese are flowing and growing along with it. Big, joint plans for powering the future. The life blood. Never ending corruption, never ending oppression. Desperate people learn, from good teachers, and do desperate things.

The christians are used to doing all the slaughtering. In the name of God.

'To be fair you can find conflict and extreme violent event almost everywhere in Indonesia if you go looking for it through fairly recent history.'

Do you mean prolonged, attempted genocide like the christians recently tried against the 60,000 year founders and citizens of Australia?

Stayed for 1 month in kuta Lombok in feb ~"04 . Rented a kos (room) for the month, paid up front to the guy who organized it all .
Everything was ok for the month then the day of departure the old bapak who was the resident chief of the rentals said he had not been paid yet.
So i was expected to pay again for the room , the local police locked us up for a day until we paid again .
Im pretty sure it was an organized stitch up , maybe not and the initial scout guy ripped us all off . The polisi said they would try find the guy who stole the cash but i never found out , never went back .
Best surf was possibly air guling 6ft alone around xmas time .

'the 60,000 year founders and citizens of Australia'

Wow Herc, pushing a Western-style worldview on Indigenous crew is interesting. I doubt they saw themselves as founders or citizens.

Lil' Andy back from the dead! Looks like you've made another monumental blunder (who could forget the surety of the last ones)! Its the tropical 'plunder' thread, not tropical 'blunder'(s) thread! Yes as more councils reject ozzie day:

'The deputy mayor, Gaetano Greco, said that 26 January was a “divisive day” and migrants seeking citizenship to Australia, many of whom come from groups persecuted in the countries of their birth, would not want to be associated with it.

“We’re trying to have a party on a day where it basically was a day of invasion and Australia’s brutal colonization,” he said. “New migrants who become aware of January 26 will not want to become an Australian citizen on that particular day.”'

'Original citizens and founders' is the exact language being used by indigenous Australians on air, as they stand beneath the fake statues of the fibbers, the fake founders and original citizens of this land. That riles you Lil' Andy, and turns is trying to stomp it too, necks glowing in the breeze!!! I can feel the glow from here! Anyway, witbusters are busy no doubt, so, best to witbust this one.

'Im pretty sure it was an organized stitch up , maybe not and the initial scout guy ripped us all off .'

I was with the original builders of the peanuts club in Bali. A nice American couple with these big dreams. Including all these dreams of helping dispossessed local people. I went to some meetings with them, things like discussing getting power, water, building regulations. Fleece mania. Endless corruption and bribes. They were too trusting. Should have seen the signs. Once they had it it booming, they got boomed. Thrown out of the country at gun point, at night, put on a plane in singlets and boardies, thanks, but no thanks. Their grinning 'partners' waving goodbye. But,stitch ups, yeh, Terra Nullius was a new high, or low. How's the citizenship outbursts from turns! I hope he's a fuckin' citizen... ya never know! Sneaky, 'organized' cunts!

??

'Speaking of Lombok girls, before i met my wife i did interact with a few in a very personal way, I've got to say some of the best girls I've met.'

Agreed blowie, he might be ya mate, but good thing you called him out!

Why? Want to catch up?

Just curious.

I assume you're going to the Phillipines. I've never been . Maybe you'll get waves ? I see their is a major storm hitting Hong Kong ...maybe send some swell where you're going ?

Thought so. You'll never know. My wife is Filipino though. I met her on a surf trip. Surfed and lived there for a while. Gave up a lot to be with her. Millions actually. That's love for you. Agree with the sex trade thing. If you go there be real careful how you label and treat people, especially in the rural areas. They are nothing like the city. People go missing. Way more full on than indo. For instance, her dad was a regional police chief, fuck, it ain't indo! Woudn't parade the habit of being off your face, that alone would see you pushing up a coconut palm, or feeding the fish!

D for deleted

Herc why do you assume it was paid sex?

There is no need to pay Indonesian girls for sex, even if you are an average looking guy , when your young or youngish have blue or green eyes, blonde or brown hair and fair skin and a anglo saxon type nose, there is plenty of Indo girls that want to be with you, especially if you spark up a conversation in Bahasa Indonesia even if pretty average as mine was back then.

'Herc why do you assume it was paid sex?

Your mate blowie brought that up. I was referring to him objecting to you marrying an Indonesian lady, which he feels is destroying Lombok.