Sumbawa: Basic Facts and My First Day at Sumbawa (1/3)
9:00 AM
Last year, I did one of the best trips in my life. Not to an overseas destination, but to Sumbawa, Indonesia. The trip makes me believe even more that Indonesia has a tremendous tourism potential. In Sumbawa, there are a variety of activities that can be done: snorkelling, hiking, swimming under the waterfall, or simply walking on the beach between corals. Can you imagine that? No? Okay. I’ll gladly elaborate for you! 😉
WHERE IS SUMBAWA, REALLY?
Sumbawa Island is located on the eastern side of Indonesia. When you see Indonesia’s map from a bird’s eye view, it is situated on the right hand side of Lombok, which is on the right hand side of Bali. Got it? To tell the truth, not many people—even Indonesians—are aware of this island.
When compared to Bali, yes, Sumbawa can be considered a remote island. A little fun fact for you: have you ever heard of Moyo Island? The late Diana, Princess of Wales, once spent some time here. In other words, this island should be famous. Does this fact intrigue you to know more about Sumbawa?
HOW TO GET TO SUMBAWA
There’s only one reasonable way to go to Sumbawa from Jakarta: via Lombok by plane. If you are on a budget, there’s always Lion Air with all of its controversies and delays. The best choice is, obviously, Garuda Indonesia. From Lombok International Airport, drive two and a half hours to Kayangan Port, then take a boat to Poto Tano Port, Sumbawa.
By this time, you might be asking, “Then, how did Lady Diana come to this island?”. Ask no more! She royally travelled by private jet and stayed at the luxurious Aman Resort. For us mere peasants, there are actually a couple of flights that fly directly to Sumbawa from Bali and Lombok, though it seems that those have been stopped for a while.
GETTING AROUND SUMBAWA
The most convenient way to get around Sumbawa is by car. Public transport is pretty much non-existent and the ones that do exist (mikrolet, oplet, etc) are rare. Motorcycles are available, but you have to get into the city first. And because it is not that common for tourists to rent motorcycles, the facilities are likely not good enough.
Since I enlisted the help of a local tour, Mr. Takwa, everything was taken care by him. He is like the Yoda of tours in Sumbawa, and a really nice person. He arranges for the car and the driver, who double duties as the tour guide.
THE BEST TIME TO VISIT SUMBAWA
The best time? Of course around summer time! It is indeed extremely hot, but you wouldn’t want to ride a boat during high tide, would you? Imagine randomly getting splashed (and soaked) while you are chilling on the boat and taking pictures.... So, sometime around July and August is the best time.
So, let’s begin the adventure!
The plane from Jakarta to Lombok takes almost three hours, so we took the earliest flight and arrived around 08:00 AM. The local tour picked us up at the airport and drove us to Kayangan Port. On the ferry, there were trucks, buses, and motorcycles as well! I’d like to note that there were a lot of beggars and street vendors, so always be polite yet careful of your belongings.
After hopping on the ferry, I immediately went to the deck upstairs to see around. The view was gorgeous! And different, to say the least. Sumbawa from afar was a majestic view; the uniqueness is that the islands are covered with shrubs and grasses, also known as savannah. There are no such thing as big trees because of the eruption of Mt. Tambora hundreds of years ago, making Sumbawa’s climate very hot.
Thirty minutes later, we arrived at Poto Tano Port, Sumbawa. Then we changed into a smaller boat to go to Paseran Island. And… *drumrolls*... IT’S REALLY. FREAKING. BEAUTIFUL. There are no adequate words to describe it. White sands, blue ocean, blue sky, savannah.
We spent a couple of hours at Paseran Island, swimming and enjoying the corals. The adventure then continued to Kanawa Island, which was pretty much the same, only in a different angle. Hahaha. In Kanawa Island, there are more to see if you could spare some time walking around and trekking between the hills. There are also savannah hills, which are very nice to take a photo with, especially during sunset.
The first day was really long but fun! We closed the day at our accommodation for the night, Hotel Samawa Rea at Sumbawa City. It's a decent hotel with clean rooms and bathroom inside. I was a happy camper!
See you on the second post about Sumbawa!
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