Saturday, August 8, 2009

Nusa Lembongan; a laid back island off Bali

Nusa Lembongan is an island off the southeast coast of the main island of Bali. We took the public boat to Nusa Lembongan early Saturday morning; it leaves daily from Sanur beach at around 08.00am. It doesn’t dock at a pier at Nusa Lembongan so you have to wade in through knee-high water, I was offered a piggyback ride by one of the crew member though, but politely refused :)



After having breakfast at one of the cute cafes along the water, we set out on foot south along the shore and the main beach, where fishing boats, seaweed farms and ferries crowd the shallow waters. Crossing the lush headlands that protrude into the blue sea, we found some smaller and more peaceful coves with white-sand-beaches and azure waters. Even in the smaller coves, fishing boats are not to be avoided though, but it doesn’t matter much, as they are actually often quite beautiful with their brightly painted hulls and spiderlike outriggers.



This is a nice place to walk. A rocky coastal path links nearly all the guest houses and hotels. Most trips will take you less than two hours. Bicycles can be rented at most places, and the mainly flat roads are quite well surfaced. Motorbikes are also available but may be unnecessary given the short distances involved, and they also charge outrageous for motorbike rental, one hour is 30.000rp, normally on the mainland you can rent a bike for 24 hours for the same amount. It is also possible to cross to the small island of Ceningan via a scenic suspension bridge.



We swam and relaxed on the beach the whole day, returning in the afternoon, when clouds slowly began to gather and a light shower reminded us that it is still rainy season. We headed back through the small Kampungs (villages) that dot the coasts and interior of Nusa Lembongan. The atmosphere on the island is much more relaxed than the big tourist areas of mainland Bali, and as many of the locals are employed in the Seaweed farming business, tourism is only a secondary income to most, making the locals less intrusive and pushy.



Mornings are a great time to people spot on the main beach; Jungutbatu. Here the locals were already busying themselves with seaweed farming, bringing in groceries from the boats coming from the morning markets in Bali or big baskets of fish caught earlier in the morning. Children were out catching sandworms to use for bait and a few women were putting out offerings at the edge of the water.
If you get up early you can also be lucky enough to get a good view of Gunung Agung, the tallest and holiest mountain on Bali before the clouds roll in an obscure the view. Most often than not it is shrouded in thick mist or clouds, so even though it dominates the landscape of eastern Bali, you don’t see it very often, especially not in the rainy season. But it is a beautiful and humbling sight!

3 comments:

  1. Nusa Lembongan is one of a small group of islands in addition to Nusa Penida and Nusa Ceningan who entered the territory of Klungkung regency.Visit www.bali-deals.com for more information .

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  2. Nusa Lembongan is the good island in Bali. If you want to go to Lembongan Island, must from sanur. For more information transprot to Lembongan Island, you can visit http://www.lembongantransport.com for more information.

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  3. yes, the www.lembongantransport.com give more information to go to lembongan island.

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