Lombok Travel Guide

Where to go in Lombok, Indonesia

1. Sengigi Beach

Sengigi Beach 

Perfect Sunset Spot 

• Sengigi Beach has one of best sunset viewpoint in Lombok.
• About an hour rides from the Lombok Airport.
• Arts market located at the vicinity of Sengigi Beach. Great place to shop for souvenir .
• Highly recommended to stay at Puri Bunga Beach Cottages. Amazing view!
• Roadside Food Vendor
• Happy Café (Live Band Cafe during the night)
• Asmara Restaurant – delicious Indonesian cuisine

2. Tiu Kelep & Sedang Gile Waterfall

Tiu Kelep Waterfall 

Tiu Kelep Waterfall 

• About 2 – 2.5 hours ride from Sengigi Beach
• Guide (Not necessary). Be careful if the local kept insisting that you will be needing a guide for the trek.  The trek to the waterfall is pretty obvious and you just have to follow it.
• First waterfall (Sendang Gile) 5 minutes hike
• 2^nd Waterfall (Tiu Kelep) 20 minutes hike. (The huge one)
• Entrance fee should cost around (INR 10,000 / USD 0.70 / MYR 3)
• Normally spend around 2-3 hours here.

3. Kuta Beach

Michelle & Vera

Vera

Michelle 

Local surfers 

One of my favorite shot here in Lombok 

• Normally known as surf beach among the local surfer here.
• Reggae Bar
• Visit Pantai Seger (5 – 10 minutes drive from Kuta Beach)
• Small fee to be paid to the local upon entrance.

Aerial shot of the Pantai Seger. 

Sunset

Aerial view of Pantai Seger. 

Kenny‘s friend that brought us around. 

4. Tanjung Aan Beach

Vera & Michelle at Tanjung Aan

The Swing 

• Amazing beach view
• Boat ride to Batu Payung available here.
• Family friendly beach
• Local snacks stall available.

5. Sasak Village (ENDE)

Traditional House 

Local stick fighting performance by the locals. 

Local crafts

• Local villages open for visitor
• Pay as you want (donation to the villagers) and also comes with a local guide.
• Visit their traditional houses.
• Souvenir shopping
• Local fighting performances

6. Sambelia Tree Forest

• Giant ancient trees
• Small fee required upon entrance.
• Skippable if you have tight schedule.
• About 3 – 4 hours drive from Sengigi Beach.

7. Gili Terawangan Beach

Sunset at Gili Terawangan 

Michelle with the swing 

Perfect sunset spot 

Love this shot 

OM

That Sun peaking 

Our villa acoomodation 

Local Vegan Cafe in Gili Terawangan 

 

• About 30 minutes boat ride (local boat) from the jetty. (About IDR 150,000 / USD 11 / MYR 45 including pick up from hotel)
• Private boats around 10 minutes.
• Gili Terawangan known as the party island and tons of scuba diving shops and restaurants.
• Do rent bicycle to get around the island or hop onto the pony carts. (Around IDR 50,000 / USD 3.50 / MYR 15 per day)
• Night life at Gili Terawangan is spectacular from party bars to reggae music.
• There are plenty of boat tour around so make sure you compared the prices.
• Sunset Swing (Ombak Sunset) one of the famous swing that you see on Instagram.
• There are viewpoint on top of the hill.
• Do spend around 2-3 days here.
• Bear in mind that it can get pretty crowded on the island.

Relaxation 

Aerial View of the Island 

Other places to visit

1. Sembalun Highlands (About 1 – 1.5 hours hike and paddy field aerial viewpoint)
2. Selong Belanak Beach (Surf Beach & Yoga Class)
3.  Mawi & Mavun Beach (About an hour drive from Kuta)
4. Pink Beach 

Extra Tips

• Lombok is a huge island so make sure you have your main destination in mind and plan your travel well.
• Would highly recommend to stay in Lombok for at least a week to get full experience of Lombok.
• Rent a car or motorbike is the best way to get around.
• Check out our travel vlog here Lombok Travel Guide

For more info,

Stalk me on social media, Lionel Benang

For Business

Email me at lionelbenangchai@gmail.com

 

 

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Surabaya Quick Travel Guide

Where to go in Surabaya, Indonesia

1. Mount Bromo

Michelle & Vera

That’s Vera 

Making their way to Mt.Bromo 

The Iconic Postcard Photo (This is not Mt Bromo though) 

Michelle looks sleepy there

Mount Bromo

Wear mask to prevent inhaling too much of the gas

That morning ride 

Crowded with people 

Sunrise View 

• Sunrise in Mt. Bromo viewpoint is very popular with tourists.
• Book early with your guide for the jeep ride or ride with GoJek (Local Bike Sharing)
• It can get very crowded at the viewing point so do go early and find your perfect spot. (Highly suggested to ask your guide bring you to other spot for sunrise)
• Mt. Bromo located far away from Surabaya Airport so make sure you arrive one day earlier.
• Normally trip to Mount Bromo is a guided tour and they will bring you to few attractions around Mount Bromo.
• They will drop you off at the parking area and gotta walk about 20 minutes to Mount Bromo.
• There’s temple located at the middle of pathway to Mt. Bromo.

2. Teletubies Hill

Teletubies Hill 

New member of the Teletubies squad

Good Times! 

• After visiting Mt.Bromo, we were brought to the Teletubies Hill.
• Beautiful green mountainaoeus scenery
• Horse Riding Available

3. Lautan Pasir (Sea of Sands)

Jumpshot 1 

Jumpshot 2 

Jumpshot 3? 

The Gang Lair

• Vast land of dark sands, locally known as Lautan Pasir (Sea of Sands) 
• Perfect spot to get your Instagram picture with the iconic hill.

4. Colorful Village (Malang, Surabaya)

Rainbow Town 

So colorful 

Amazing arts 

•  A small village located at Malang, Surabaya.
• Rainbow colored house and townhouse.
• Entry fee required

Extra Tips

• Surabaya has a lot to offer so make sure you spend more than 3 days here.
• If you have more time to spare do visit the famous waterfall and Mount Ijen.
• Indonesian cuisine is a musts try although it can be extremely spicy.
• We booked our trip through  Javanation Trip Organizer.
• Our trip cost around IDR 975,000 / USD 68 / MYR 294 per person.
• Very reliable guides and friendly. Highly recommended.
• They know the places well and can bring you to eat awesome local food.
• Check out our travel vlog here Surabaya & Lombok Travel Blog

For more info

Stalk me on social media, Lionel Benang

For Business

Email Me at lionelbenangchai@gmail.com

 

 

 

Pokhara Travel Guide

Aerial View of Pokhara Town

Pokhara Old Town

View from Pokhara Town. That is Machhapuchhre.

Clear sky will give you a magnificent view like this from Pokhara. That is Annapurna South.

Annapurna I peeking behind the Sarangkot Hill. 

• About 8 hours of bus ride from Kathmandu. A bumpy ride but with a breathaking luxurious green mountain views.
• Bus ticket normally cost NPR 600 / USD 6 / MYR 25. 
• There are many hotels and lodges available here in Pokhara. We stayed at Hotel Hakoniwa (Budget). Highly recommended.

 

View from our balcony. They have rooftop view as well.

Our room (Non A/C)

 

What to do in Pokhara

Boating at the Phewa Lake

Kenny & Chris. Paddling. Harder than we thought.

Here’s the price list. Each jetty has its own price list. Do compare them.

Third Jetty 

 

Phewa Lake

• You can hire a local paddler or paddle on your own. (2 paddle max)
• Do paddle in the afternoon or during the sunset. You will get spectacular view of the mountains and lakes.
• There are few boat jetty around so make sure you get the one with reasonable price.

Watch the Sunrise at Sarangkot Hill

View from Sarangkot Hill 

Kenny contemplating his future.

This chicken nailed it!

• Hire a cab from town. (NPR 1500 / USD 15 / MYR 63)
• 30 – 45 minutes car ride.
• Find your sweet spot or you could be sipping a cup of hot coffee while watching the skies breaking the dawn at a cafe rooftop nearby.
• It can get pretty crowded so make sure you arrive early.
• If you’re not a morning person, sunset is doable and you can witness the skies breaking the clouds in purple rays as it getting dark.
• You can hike all the way up here. About 2 – 2.5 hours of hiking. Our friend, Chris did that.
• Sarangkot Hill  is famous for paragliding activities. We skipped that since it is not within our budget.
• Price normally ranged from USD 80 – USD 120. Bargain!

HIKE UP TO PEACE STUPA

Follow this sign. About 20 minutes hike up.

We made it in 15 minutes. Chris is happy.

View from Peace Stupa. 

• Free Entrance.
• Sunset view.
• About 20 – 35 minutes hike.
• Paddle across the lake and hike your way up.

RENT A BICYCLE OR BIKE

We came across this beautiful landscape at the countryside.

Amazing Nepalese crossing lake full of water buffalos.

 

3 modes of transportation here in Pokhara. 

Sunset

• Cycle around town or the countryside. You will be amazed.
• It can get very hot in the day so do spray your sunscreen.

‘CHUKPA’ LOCAL SNACKS

Chukpa (Local Snacks)

• Famous local snacks.
• You can find it almost any where in Pokhara. 
• Mixed of chopped onions, cucumber, tomatoes, garlics, potatoes and instant noodles with sprinkled noodles spices.

BEST SANDWICH IN POKHARA

• Locate this sandwich cafe with TripAdvisor.
• We kept coming back because it tasted amazing. All fresh ingredients.

Tips when travel to Pokhara

• Do check the weather forecast.
• Avoid monsoon season as you would not get clear view of the mountains when you in Pokhara.
• Spend about 2-3 days here for a full travel experience in Pokhara. 
• There are plenty of good restaurants here. Highly recommended Tibetan Restaurant. 
• Check out Blues Bar if you want to chill and have some good rock band music.
• Visit Chitwan National Park if you want to see some Rhinos. 
• Go to the North side of Pokhara Town if you’re a hippies.
• Check out my video here about Pokhara Pokhara Travel Guide

 

Kathmandu Travel Guide

Where to stay in Kathmandu

Kathmandu Aerial View

Thamel Street At Night

Thamel (Shopping Paradise)

 

• Best places to stay in Kathmandu definitely in the vicinity of Thamel.
• Plenty of hotels, restaurants, bars, trekking and gifts shop. (Walking Distance)
• Bear in mind that Thamel streets can be very dusty so do wear your face masks.
• Highly recommended Hotel Thamel & Holy Himalaya Hotel .

Places of Interest in Kathmandu

Bhaktaphur Durbar Square

Bhaktaphur Durbar Square

• Bigger compared to Kathmandu Durbar Square.
• About 45 minutes drive from Kathmandu.
• Bargain with your cab driver for the price. ( Around 1500 NPR / USD 15 / MYR 63 One Way)
• 1100 NPR / USD 11 / MYR 46 Entrance Ticket.
• Locals will approach you and offer to be your guide. (Not necessarily)
• Do spend 2-3 hours here.

Bhaktaphur Street

Hindu Temple

 

Amazing Archictecture

Pottery Square

Gayane trying Kufti (Local Ice Cream) for the first time

Bhaktaphur Lake

Monkey Temple (Swayambhunath)

Stupa

Buddhist Prayer Flags

 

Monkey

• 200 NPR / USD 2 / MYR 8 Entrance Ticket.
• Hire a cab. (Normally included in the day tour package or you could walk 30 minutes from Thamel street)
• Locals will approach you and offer to be your guide. (Not necessarily)

Garden of Dreams

Sola at Garden of Dreams

• 200 NPR / USD 2 / MYR 8 Entrance Ticket.
• Flowers & Squirrels.
• Great place for family picnic and dating.
• Walking distances from Thamel.

Kumari (Living Goddess Place)

• Free Entrance (Donation expected).
• Photo of Kumari (Living Goddess) are forbidden during visit.
• Kumari will take a peek at the window just for a moment.
• Walking distances from Thamel.

Kathmandu Durbar Square

• 1000 NPR / USD 10 / RM42 Entrance Ticket
• Most of it still under construction after the earthquake.

Best Lassi In Town

 

• We were brought here by a local. (We have no idea where is the exact location)
• 70 NPR / USD 0.70 / RM 3
• BEST LASSI WE HAD SO FAR.

Watch Traditional Dance Performance

• There are plenty of restaurants here in Nepal that offered traditional Nepalese dance performance.
• We were brought to Thamel Restaurant by our trekking agent and we had a great evening with amazing Dal Bhat.

Drink Local Beers

Tips when travel to Kathmandu

• Try Dal That (Local Dish)
• Always bargain even for groceries. Yes. We did and it worked.
• Always pay in Nepalese Rupees and they do accept MYR currency. (Many Nepalese able to speak decent Malaysian Language)
• Bring your face mask. (It get very dusty and windy at times)
• Phasphutinath Temple going to cost 1000 NPR / USD 10 / MYR 42. (We skipped this place because we think it’s a bit expensive)
• Check out my video here on Youtube Kathmandu Travel Guide