Indonesia | Mar 23-24 2023 |
The next leg of my Bali to Flores journey was to get to Sumbawa. The drive from Kuta Lombok was short and sweet. This required another ferry, and I was once again expecting the worst - but my experience was the diametric opposite to Bali-Lombok: I rolled into the Lombok terminal, straight onto the ferry, departed 10 minutes later, for a 2-hour trip, right on schedule.
This was my second time in Sumbawa, I first was in 1992, and I recall it was then very poor (kids with swollen stomachs and bleached hair, both signs of malnutrition) and had a desert-like environment. Things have changed: today, interestingly, Sumbawa is frequently referred to as "The New Bali" (mostly by surfers, due to some awesome breaks; more of that coming in future posts). The island seemed quite green now (time of year?) and the standard of living and houses and everything looked just like the rest of Indo.
I rode on through some nice countryside and decent road to Sumbawa Besar, the second-largest city in Sumbawa and the capital of the former regency that covered the west of the island (a third one was extirpated by the Tambora eruption in 1815). Not exactly a tourist mecca, but a nice town with some interesting historical architecture like the former Sultan's palace. Sumbawa Besar served well as a one-night pit stop.
Ride: 197 km including ferry / 6 hours
Stay: Khalifah Guesthouse $15 4/5
