Lombok; a Laid-back Surfers’ Home

After a week and a bit in idyllic Gili Air, I returned to Lombok and made the road trip down south once more, past the airport to my new temporary residence just outside Kuta Town.

Kutas Compared

Like Bali, Lombok too has a town called Kuta. While the Balinese version is a rather tacky town predominately visited by crowds of uncultured Australians, Kuta in Lombok is a touristy, yet in comparison very chilled affair. Laid-back Kuta, Lombok is one of the island’s main tourist towns that comes with a nice beach. In addition to a number of shops, the town is full of eateries owned by locals that are just extensions of their houses. In most cases the food is amazing, but service is slow and dishes are seldom served at the same time. This means that if you are a company larger than three having ordered different dishes, it’s not likely you’ll be eating at the same time. In addition to the warungs, you find more upmarket restaurants, mainly owned by foreigners, where service is just as friendly but not necessarily faster. In Kuta, Lombok’s eateries too, just as in Bali, the apartheid state is active. With this I mean that all waiting staff is brown and everyone there to eat is white with very few exceptions. No one seems to mind this, yet I find it most peculiar.

Surfers’ Home Drop In Lombok

The reason for my Lombok visit was some indulgence/ lessons in surrender in the form of salt-water wave riding. For convenience I wanted to stay at a surf camp. I had a particular camp in mind, but it was fully booked on my desired dates. Reluctantly I booked another camp that was considerably more expensive but in hindsight totally worth the price. I  had planned to stay a week and was so happy there, I decided to hang around a bit longer. Drop in Lombok is a fabulous surf camp set in a lovely garden with beautiful lodges. It feels very homey and in addition to the chilled vibes and pleasant aesthetics, the food is good and the surf instruction absolutely amazing. I was in great company of a fabulous crew of mainly German-speaking surf sisters as I attempted to improve my riding skills at the different breaks of Gerupuk Bay. We also made a road trip to Ekas watching a magical sunrise on the boat as we made our way towards the break.

Surf Obsession

If you do surf indulgence/ surrender, you better do it properly: you get up at dawn for a sunrise session. You return to the camp for breakfast, followed by a theory session or a nap, to have another surf session in the afternoon. Evening is bonding time with the surf family. The surf sisters and I went to Kuta town for dinner, chat and maybe a drink afterwards. Nothing too mental, as the obsession would be calling early the next morning. In addition to being rather surf-occupied, wifi was petty dodgy, so I more or less took a couple of weeks off.

Salt Water Surrender

Surf, like yoga, teaches me a lot about surrendering to what is. You can’t orchestrate the ocean or any crowds the surf break might attract. You got to make do with what is. As I was so focused on improving, and I learnt a great deal, I was taking it all rather seriously and often forgot to have some fun. Surfing sure can be frustrating and on occasions dangerous too, but we all do it because we can’t help ourselves. Everything for those few moments when time seems to stand still and you become one with the ocean for a fabulous symphony, although it might not look that impressive on a pic or video. At Drop In Lombok I definitely found myself a surfer’s home, as owners and staff are just downright fabulous. Although it might take me a while before I head East again, I’ll be back with improved riding skills committed to learn AND have fun, insha allah.