From the camping ground
Tarmac, n, – The paved area at an airport where aircraft park, fuel, load, and unload.
Like the aircraft parking, fueling, and unloading at the tarmac, we had the camping ground. The camp ground was our temporary home during our stay in Lombok. It wasn’t really ideal but we had no other options. That was our safest bet to have a shelter in the heat of Lombok. Not only the heat, we discovered Lombok has an amazing windstorm. Getting near the beach made it even stronger. Thankfully, nothing happened to our tent. The morning after we landed in Lombok, we tried taking it easy. We showered at the public bathroom which I found out, ray and I were the only customers there during the morning. And even the entire time we were there, we hadn't seen anyone. Not for me, neither for him.
There are a lot of dogs around these area. They are friendly in the morning but beware during the evening!
We woke up with a drone flying around the area. There is a strict policy of no drone and the police shot down some of it.
Morning from the tent!
Things to see around kuta mandalika
On the 17th, we tried exploring kuta mandalika, a place where the festivals and some booths are going to be organized. These events will start on the 18th right the day when the international motogp commenced. During the 17th, there wasn’t a lot happening around, only some preparation for the big days to come. The events will be held for 3 days from Friday to Sunday. Majority of the people would watch on the second and the third day but we only watched during the first day.
Ray and I strolled from the camping ground to the farthest area where there is a visible sign of Kuta Mandalika. Along the way, we only saw the beach, some inns, and local food stalls. The local food stall is an amazing place to eat. It is priced reasonably and quite filling. I would not say delicious but it was filling. It was just enough to keep us going against the heat in lombok.
During that walk, we probably had spent over 1lt of water. The place wasn’t too far but the heat made things awfully difficult. Due to the events, the sand is covered with booths and a lot of construction workers. Lots of people offered souvenirs too. I was surprised, it wasn’t too expensive.
Kuta mandalika is one of the closest locations to the circuit. There are some 5 star hotels where the riders were staying too. Without MotoGP, this place would still be awesome to see. There are local boats, local houses and an amazing view of the beach and the hills surrounding it. With motogp, the place becomes even more lively, many people from across Indonesia come to visit and open their booth in the food area. However, this area is the best to visit during international events such as MotoGP. We’ve heard around that the event is going to be held yearly and there are more international events to come. So, since kuta mandalika is a prime location, there would be more to see around.
The beach around Kuta Mandalika is a white sandy beach with an amazing water view. It’s also clean, well-maintained, and also a lively one. When I strolled around it, I saw plenty of baby crabs and tiny sea creatures around. I was in awe of the view and the surrounding area.
We had our walk for about an hour before getting back into the tent. We had to prepare for the day we were about to watch the motogp events. That afternoon, I took some pictures from inside my tent. The sunset and even sunrise view were breathtaking. I wouldn't mind waking up to such a view. By now, we made friends with the staff who were very accommodating and extremely friendly towards us. They were helping a lot with our stay and ensured that we had a comfortable experience staying with them. Ray even helped around and hangout a lot as during the night, the camp can also get extremely hot. It felt like you were baked inside the tent.
Over the rainbow
In the morning, I woke up with a rainbow view as it rained the night before. It was so amazing that I could see it curved beautifully. I rushed to grab my camera but when I got it, the clouds were shrouding it. So, I could only see half of it. That day,
I was also a bit panicked because I had no idea where to redeem my ticket for the wrist band so that we could enter the circuit. Not to mention, Ray was also still sleeping soundly and wasn’t bothered that we needed to catch the race. I got extremely agitated about that but eventually, he woke up and took another long minutes just to shower. And after he finally showed up, we walked to the circuit, thinking that we didn’t have to redeem the ticket. But voila! That was another adventure and another long walks itself. See you in the next race story!
Mac's Pinmapple Travel List
 | Mac is a jack of all trades. A typical introvert in love with literature, books, technology and philosophy. She is also so into nootropics, productivity, minimalist lifestyle, cybersecurity, and languages. Other than that, she is passionate about cooking and traveling. In her free time, she enjoys learning various things. If you like her content, don't hesitate to upvote, leave a comment or a feedback. A re-blog is also appreciated. |