Senggigi

Senggigi is known for its 13km long coastline with partly black beaches and was once the tourist hotspot of Lombok. This has changed as the Gilis and Kuta Lombok started attracting the younger generation of travelers, and since then it has apparently become mainly a paradise for retirees and a popular spot for families and expats. There are no attractions in Senggigi, so one can lounge on the beach for days or weeks without a guilty conscience.

I only let myself be taken to Senggigi after the hike to Gunung Rinjani because there are four-day boat tours to Flores starting three times a week from there, and I had booked one. The fact that there’s really nothing to do in Senggigi apart from sunbathing worked out well for me in the end, as I had caught a cold on the summit day at Gunung Rinjani and thus had at least one day to recover before the boat trip.

As I was sitting on my terrace the next morning, several coconuts suddenly fell from the tree on the neighboring property and crashed onto the ground. At first, I thought nothing of it; after all, it's more likely to be killed by a falling coconut than by a shark bite. However, when more coconuts fell shortly after, I took a closer look and spotted a man harvesting coconuts. He lowered the ripe coconuts with a rope and simply let the overripe ones fall. Shortly after that, he quickly climbed down the tree without a ladder and was just as quick to reach the coconuts of the next tree.

I only left the accommodation to pick up my washed laundry and buy new sunscreen. Finding sunscreen is not so easy if it is supposed to have SPF 50 and be dermatologically tested. And 'dermatologically tested' here means it is from Nivea. I unsuccessfully scoured numerous supermarkets and all pharmacies, and even visited the 'Fresh Market', where various overpriced western products are available (e.g., Ritter Sport chocolate with German flavor names). But no dermatologically tested SPF 50 sunscreen. After visiting the 'Fresh Market', I wanted to buy Nivea sunscreen with SPF 30 at the next supermarket — and I actually found a 100ml bottle of Nivea sunscreen with SPF 50 after all. Well, persistence pays off! I only had to take a deep breath when I converted the 242,000 Indonesian Rupiah into Euros...

During this longer walk, I got the impression that nothing is really happening in Senggigi anymore. Perhaps the place simply hasn’t recovered from the earthquake in 2018 and the subsequent Corona pandemic yet. There are abandoned construction projects on the beach, signs leading to art galleries that are permanently closed, and huge resorts almost without tourists. And this, even though July and August are the peak season in Lombok. At least the beach is mostly clean, apart from all the plastic waste on one section that strangely lay right in front of one of the luxury hotels. But well, the hotel also has a pool.

I spent the rest of the day at the accommodation, and by evening my headache and fever were gone. Now the boat trip can come!