chris44
hi all, i am considering moving from Bali to lombok next year.Does anyone have experience with Lombok?Why many people move from lombok back to bali?Will the new airport change Lomboks way of live? As second Bali? Honestly from the beach an quiet i like Lombok more than Bali.Thanks for your answers
helmiz
[b]June 2o11[/b]Hi Chris,My name is Helmi ,iam Indonesian ,married with Japanese with 3 children.Iam living in japan now,but will move to Kuta Lombok next year around June.We bought some land 3 yeras ago,around the propety that we have are owned by most of foreigners.West side by Peter,an Australian,Yoshi a Japanese in the front and Steven a Swiss guy at the East side.Iam sure there will be many foreigner will live in Lombok soon, after the new international airport is ready to operated.Hope we can met up there oneday.Cheers..Helmi:icon_biggrin:
matsaleh
hi all, i am considering moving from Bali to lombok next year.Does anyone have experience with Lombok?Why many people move from lombok back to bali?Will the new airport change Lomboks way of live? As second Bali? Honestly from the beach an quiet i like Lombok more than Bali.Thanks for your answers[/QUOTE]One of our members, Mimpimanis, runs the Lombok Lovers forum. I'd suggest you'll find a lot of answers there. [URL="http://lomboklovers.aforumfree.com/"]Free forum : Lombok Lovers[/URL]
Ben Johnson
Lombok is walking 20 years (or more) behind Bali. Gradually products from Western countries are being introduced (like fresh milk and whole wheat bread. The infrastructure is improving, water parks being built, and big plans are on the drawing boards. Sasak people (natives of Lombok) have yet to adopt Balinese work ethics, so everything moves at a slow pace. Still no good English language bookstore, and workers skilled at any modern task (ie, builders, technicians) are few and far between. The beaches are great but mosques are noisy. If you want to get away from the hectic rush, then Lombok is a great place to live. If you like modern conveniences (such as fast internet), then stay in Bali.
mugwump
Lombok is walking 20 years (or more) behind Bali. Gradually products from Western countries are being introduced (like fresh milk and whole wheat bread. The infrastructure is improving, water parks being built, and big plans are on the drawing boards. Sasak people (natives of Lombok) have yet to adopt Balinese work ethics, so everything moves at a slow pace. Still no good English language bookstore, and workers skilled at any modern task (ie, builders, technicians) are few and far between. The beaches are great but mosques are noisy. If you want to get away from the hectic rush, then Lombok is a great place to live. If you like modern conveniences (such as fast internet), then stay in Bali.[/QUOTE]There are many Sasaks doing construction work in Bali, and some people may debate the distinction you make about work ethic. Perhaps more important is the cultural and religious differences that may greatly influence the reason people return to Bali after living in Lombok. If you can read some honest anthropological appraisals of Sasak attitudes towards people foreign to them it would be well worth the effort.
calitobali
If you can read some honest anthropological appraisals of Sasak attitudes towards people foreign to them it would be well worth the effort.[/QUOTE]Do you have examples of any? I would never live in Lombok but would be interested in reading about some of those experiences that you mention.
gilbert de jong
Balinese workethics??? I somehow can't imagine it going any slower then it already is going here on Bali..
matsaleh
Balinese workethics??? [/QUOTE]An oxymoron, if ever I heard one.
hermit
Balinese workethics??? I somehow can't imagine it going any slower then it already is going here on Bali..[/QUOTE]Come on Gilbert,Have you ever tried to work eight hours a day in construction?All the balinese workers i have ever employed did work hard,and were completely exhausted at the end of the day.They may start slower than most westerners,but they keep up the same pace during the whole day.It helps not to let them work continously till the next odalan as they are used to do,because after two weeks without a day off ,pace starts slowing down.That is a natural phenomenon when you are tired.Has nothing to do with work ethics.
mugwump
Do you have examples of any? I would never live in Lombok but would be interested in reading about some of those experiences that you mention.[/QUOTE]There are numerous incidents from my own personal experience in addition to those of others. My own come from the perspective of doing business in exporting goods from there to the U.S.,using Sasak workers in construction and remodel projects, and as a tourist. The others come from people who have worked in Lombok.Since these experiences aren't complementary, and could be construed as prejudicial I will be happy to cite them only by personal message and promise to reply to your inquiry or those of anyone else.
calitobali
There are numerous incidents from my own personal experience in addition to those of others. My own come from the perspective of doing business in exporting goods from there to the U.S.,using Sasak workers in construction and remodel projects, and as a tourist. The others come from people who have worked in Lombok.Since these experiences aren't complementary, and could be construed as prejudicial I will be happy to cite them only by personal message and promise to reply to your inquiry or those of anyone else.[/QUOTE]Yes, please send them to be me by way of personal message, I would appreciate that. Thank you
gilbert de jong
Come on Gilbert,Have you ever tried to work eight hours a day in construction?All the balinese workers i have ever employed did work hard,and were completely exhausted at the end of the day.They may start slower than most westerners,but they keep up the same pace during the whole day.It helps not to let them work continously till the next odalan as they are used to do,because after two weeks without a day off ,pace starts slowing down.That is a natural phenomenon when you are tired.Has nothing to do with work ethics.[/QUOTE]I was and am fortunate enough to have never had to work in construction for a living, nothing wrong with people who do but it ain't something I would choose to do for 40 years.I was simply commenting on something that Ben Johnson wrote "Sasak people (natives of Lombok) have yet to adopt Balinese work ethics, so everything moves at a slow pace." ...By reading that he implies, that it goes slower because sasak's are not as fast as Balinese, right? Since everything goes at a slow pace here, I can't imagine it going any slower then it does here.Most workers are exhausted at the end of the day because they only eat rice with some greens, drink two cups of coffee and smoke kreteks..with that kind of diet I would be exhausted even when doing totally nothing.
angel4sasiang
Never live there before, but i think Lombok is better than Bali.
justinbali
About Lombok, one word : islamEarly morning call from the mosque, throughout the day and night preaching, etc.
justinbali
No bikinis, blonde women harassed, any white woman asked to cover up, very annoying men who wouldn't dare harassing their own people who think that western women want to fuck any man, a woman's hell on earth. That is Lombok.
Natasha
I really like Lombok. My husband is from there and we go quite frequently. I find it a nice break from Bali- no traffic, decent roads, quiet, nothing built up, less pollution, everything is quite spread out, great beaches, good food, etc.. My husband is Hindu and in his village in Lombok everyone is Balinese Hindu, so we aren't staying directly next to any mosques, so probably quieter (plus his village is in the middle of the jungle, so it's really quiet!!). We've travelled a lot all over Lombok and I find the people to be very nice, very talkative and friendly, I'm a youngish 'blond woman' and have never been disrespected or harassed, or in any way felt threatened being there. Majority of people are Muslim in Lombok, so out of respect I do dress accordingly.My husband's dream is to move back there, but I rather live in Bali and go there for a visit every few months. I like Bali because I don't feel so isolated, I do enjoy and need some western comforts like decent internet, treating myself to some western food once in a while, etc.. plus I'm pregnant with our first baby and I believe their are better options for schools and such here in Bali. Perhaps when I'm much older and retired maybe I'd stay in Lombok, but for the time being I'd rather just holiday there!!!
Rambutmerah
Having lived a long time in Lombok both on Gili Trawangan and mainland Lombok I simply don't understand what justinbali is talking about. Not ones in all the years I lived there did I hear about or see blond women being harrased sexually or otherwise, told to cover up etc etc. The Sasaks are very tolerant towards both tourists and expats. Bules does have to be respectfull of the culture/religion being it in a muslim or hindu community. Must say that I miss the prayer calls from the mosque close to where we lived.Feels safe and secure every time I return and is meet by the prayer calls. The only time I find it overwhelming is during Ramadan when the resitation from the Koran goes on all night long.Now a days all modern commodities are found on Lombok. Being it western food, nice housing,international school and a rather big expat community for those who like to get together.
sakumabali
Never been to Lombok but I heard many stories, "the sasaks are very tolerant (towards both tourists and expats)"??I heard otherwise, tourists got hit in a village by thiefs, many people watched & nobody helped; street robberies in open daylight etc etcYou can't deny Rambutmerah that Lombok has a bad image, I heard it's beautiful there (nicer than Bali) but probably they never will compete with Bali - the reasons are the locals....maybe you & Natasha are fine cause you have relatives there
Rambutmerah
I'm aware that there has been incidents down Kuta Lombok where tourists has been robbed in broad daylight. There are some villages down south where it's a bit like in "the wild west". Can't see that it should stop people from coming to Lombok. In Bali it's also an almost daily thing happening. Crooks can be found everywhere. Wasn't really aware that Lombok has a bad image as the people I meet usually love Lombok and would love to stay either longer or make it a permanent place to live. Note that I'm not naive as not to see problems in Lombok, there are plenty but most arn't related to foreigners visiting the island. Althou I have relatives in Lombok I have been venturing around the island by myself a lot and always been meet with respect,( except at Kantor Immigrasi). I answered out of my own experiences and as I have a very wide and diverse contact net both in the local community and among expats I hear lots what's going on and as I said have never heard of or seen people being treated bad because they are blond and foreigners.
sakumabali
It is my experience that locals who killed locals (Bali, Lombok, Nusa Lembongan) are usually never in jail for longtime. On Lembongan a guy who killed another and distributed body parts over the island is even now Klian. Others who were in jail short time don't look too scared either. Maybe it's a macho thing but I didn't get the impression that they are too scared now to do it again. Interesting is the matter of time. In western countries mostly a homicide is an act of passion imho; here it could take years. A guy in Negara married a woman who recently left her husband. The ex insulted the new man over years; approx a year ago he did it again, the two son of the new husband held both arms of the ex and the guy came with a super sharp knife and cut his head off. Afterwards he went (with the head!) in a warung to eat nasi kuning, then he went to the police...of course these stories & many other are NEVER in the newspapers...P.S "never long in jail" 1st degree homicide compare to those guys got catched with 5 grams and get 20 years :(
