ALH
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Sex in the City! I’ve never seen it, and now it’s too old for me to even bother with it.
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Sex in the City! I’ve never seen it, and now it’s too old for me to even bother with it.
ALH
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Isn’t it amazing how you can go to bed so full and then wake up absolutely famished?
Arabic Breakfast (Shakshuka eggs, Fattush salad,Falafel, Labneh, Hummus, Baba Ganoush served with Arabic bread)
Our favourite breakfast so far.
Absolutely devine flavours.
...and another day of reading novels, drinking red wine and swimming.
Arabic Breakfast (Shakshuka eggs, Fattush salad,Falafel, Labneh, Hummus, Baba Ganoush served with Arabic bread)
Our favourite breakfast so far.
Absolutely devine flavours.
...and another day of reading novels, drinking red wine and swimming.
Can I ask what sort of transfers you got with $500AUD? Just curious as last time I paid $200 return inc private speedboat and private driver in a Toyota MPV. I didn't really want to spend an hour + in a small Toyota but couldn't find anything better.
ALH
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I read GPH’s comment about “$500 transfer” that way as well.
To clarify: It was actually $ 500 for 2 nights in the beachside villa with breakfasts, and including transfers from LOP to Qunci Villas and back to LOP airport. From memory the transfers were USD$25 each way
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After sitting around , eating, sleeping, reading. We are heading off to do some sight seeing.
There is aa elephant sanctuary in North Lombok, the attraction for me is that they have an orangutan.
The last time we had any interaction with an Orangutang was 30years ago in Sandakan.
There are a range of other animals including Indonesian rhinos.
There is aa elephant sanctuary in North Lombok, the attraction for me is that they have an orangutan.
The last time we had any interaction with an Orangutang was 30years ago in Sandakan.
There are a range of other animals including Indonesian rhinos.
D
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Pretty ordinary taxi ride up the coast, and a very narrow road in, found us at the Lombok Elephant Park. It’s small and for most of our visit I felt we were the only visitors there. 
get me outta here
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D
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Back in the resort and having lunch, and to recap on the morning excursion.
It took about 45 minutes to get to the elephant park from Qunci villas. We took a taxi, and had the driver wait for us (with the meter running) at the park.
We have had a number of taxi rides in Lombok. This was our longest, and unfortunately our worst. The driver would be right at home as a taxi driver in Sydney. No real idea about what he was doing, as with most local taxis, he drove very slowly. I get this, the roads are not wide, and all manner of people, livestock & motorcycles randomly drive, walk or jump in front of you. The horn is a vital accoutrement to the operation of said taxi, right up there with brake and accelerator (lol). We had a couple of close calls. But nothing too dramatic.
The A/C in this taxi was also not up to scratch. The winding road was a bit disorienting for Mrs GPH and she was close to being car sick, so I insisted she sit in the front on the return journey.
Driving north we got lots of sea view opportunities and even though the day is overcast, we were able to the Gili Islands quite clearly. We drove past a pearl farm, which on any other day might have warranted a visit. Eventually with only a few concerning moments we turned off the main road to a narrower but equally winding secondary road, and drove for about 2 1/2 Klms. Were it not for the occasional sign indicating we were on the right track, I would have had serious reservations about getting to our destination. All we needed was a thunderstorm and dark skies and we would have had our very own “Brad and Janet” moment. We eventually arrived at the elephant park, and were beginning to think it was closed. Car park was empty, a few locals (staff?) loitering at the gate and a bored looking young man behind the ticket counter was all we could see. We ponied up with our 200,000 Indonesian Ripiah, and were shackled with a wrist band, which I believe allowed the park staff to discern just what activities beyond the entry price we had paid for. I think aside from an elephant ride, there was an up close encounter with an orangutan, a lunch package and various feeding and contact opportunities. As already mentioned up thread, Mrs GPH is still recovering from a rather serious car accident in October, so she is still unsteady and requires a walking cane to keep upright. The pathways and stairs are both steep and a bit slippery. Needless to say we took our time walking about. The concrete pathways are in dire need of a water blaster treatment, so it’s just as well it didn’t rain.
We managed to negotiate the very steep entry and our first encounter was with a very handsome and friendly Palm coughatoo, and a selection of the sulphur crested variety and a pair of eclectus parrots. For those who don’t know, they are dimorphic which is to say, the male has completely different colored plumage. Bright green for Male, and bright red for female. We were able to handle the birds, and they weren’t skittish or aggressive.
We then moved on to the elephants. There seem to be about 3 or 4 in total, one male and at least 2 maybe 3 females. We could have gone for a ride, but I’m not in agreement with the practice as I believe it isn’t good for the elephants. None the less, they are beautiful creatures and we fed them some chopped up coconut palm leaves (minus the green). They were inquisitive when it came to my tote bag, so I had to be on the alert.
Wandering further on we passed more birds including a few Hornbills, they appear quite fearsome with their large and formidable looking bills (Photo up thread).
It was at this point I was quietly remarking to myself about how much work was needed to bring the park up to scratch.
End of part one.
It took about 45 minutes to get to the elephant park from Qunci villas. We took a taxi, and had the driver wait for us (with the meter running) at the park.
We have had a number of taxi rides in Lombok. This was our longest, and unfortunately our worst. The driver would be right at home as a taxi driver in Sydney. No real idea about what he was doing, as with most local taxis, he drove very slowly. I get this, the roads are not wide, and all manner of people, livestock & motorcycles randomly drive, walk or jump in front of you. The horn is a vital accoutrement to the operation of said taxi, right up there with brake and accelerator (lol). We had a couple of close calls. But nothing too dramatic.
The A/C in this taxi was also not up to scratch. The winding road was a bit disorienting for Mrs GPH and she was close to being car sick, so I insisted she sit in the front on the return journey.
Driving north we got lots of sea view opportunities and even though the day is overcast, we were able to the Gili Islands quite clearly. We drove past a pearl farm, which on any other day might have warranted a visit. Eventually with only a few concerning moments we turned off the main road to a narrower but equally winding secondary road, and drove for about 2 1/2 Klms. Were it not for the occasional sign indicating we were on the right track, I would have had serious reservations about getting to our destination. All we needed was a thunderstorm and dark skies and we would have had our very own “Brad and Janet” moment. We eventually arrived at the elephant park, and were beginning to think it was closed. Car park was empty, a few locals (staff?) loitering at the gate and a bored looking young man behind the ticket counter was all we could see. We ponied up with our 200,000 Indonesian Ripiah, and were shackled with a wrist band, which I believe allowed the park staff to discern just what activities beyond the entry price we had paid for. I think aside from an elephant ride, there was an up close encounter with an orangutan, a lunch package and various feeding and contact opportunities. As already mentioned up thread, Mrs GPH is still recovering from a rather serious car accident in October, so she is still unsteady and requires a walking cane to keep upright. The pathways and stairs are both steep and a bit slippery. Needless to say we took our time walking about. The concrete pathways are in dire need of a water blaster treatment, so it’s just as well it didn’t rain.
We managed to negotiate the very steep entry and our first encounter was with a very handsome and friendly Palm coughatoo, and a selection of the sulphur crested variety and a pair of eclectus parrots. For those who don’t know, they are dimorphic which is to say, the male has completely different colored plumage. Bright green for Male, and bright red for female. We were able to handle the birds, and they weren’t skittish or aggressive.
We then moved on to the elephants. There seem to be about 3 or 4 in total, one male and at least 2 maybe 3 females. We could have gone for a ride, but I’m not in agreement with the practice as I believe it isn’t good for the elephants. None the less, they are beautiful creatures and we fed them some chopped up coconut palm leaves (minus the green). They were inquisitive when it came to my tote bag, so I had to be on the alert.
Wandering further on we passed more birds including a few Hornbills, they appear quite fearsome with their large and formidable looking bills (Photo up thread).
It was at this point I was quietly remarking to myself about how much work was needed to bring the park up to scratch.
End of part one.
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D
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Part two:
I was beginning to struggle with this post using my iPhone, and we needed to get back to the room before the heavens opened up. Now ensconced on our very comfortable day bed on the veranda, after taking a plunge in our secluded pool.
I digress.
After we left the second lot of birds we next encountered the first Orangutan enclosure. The two animals were a forlorn sight, no trees or cover, just a small island with a climbing frame and a few pieces of timber laying about. After visiting the orangutan sanctuary in Sandakan 30 years ago, and seeing the amazing work being done there, it was very sad to see these beautiful animals in such poor circumstances. I don’t believe they are abused or anything like that, but I do believe that a larger, more jungle like enclosure would provide a more emotionally fulfilling existence for them. Walking further we came to a few caged birds, including some small birds of prey.
We had a walk through experience with some lory’s and lorikeets, then on to a rather messy looking enclosure with two sun bears.
Once again, a sad looking enclosure which offers little or no quality of life for the bears. A bit better than being caged and having their bile drained out for sale to the ignorant and selfish in other parts of Asia who believe it is medicine. But enough of that.
Another orangutan enclosure, some friendly pythons and iguanas, and then a couple of Pygmy Hippopotamus from West Africa. What they were doing there is anyones guess, given they are primarily nocturnal, their enclosure gave them no opportunity to exist as they should.
We passed a partially completed (small) enclosure, which was due to be the new home to a Komodo Dragon.
I’ve not seen one up close, and I believe they are quite ferocious.
A walk through our last enclosure called peacock island, with a few more hand reared birds of prey, coughatoo’s, peafowl and two small native deer and the ubiquitous gift shop was just in time for me.
I was ready to head back. A brief stop in the restaurant for a cold drink and then back with our driver who I have decided to nicknane “Fangio” to begin our drive back to Sengeggi.
I’m pleased we made the trip, and there were a number of plusses for me. The sad looking Orangutans notwithstanding, the park was clean and the people working there seem to have the animals welfare at heart. I think with more resources and a bit better planning, it could be something really worth while. So if you find yourself in this part of the world, a visit to the park will mean more revenue and hopefully a better existence for the inmates.
I was beginning to struggle with this post using my iPhone, and we needed to get back to the room before the heavens opened up. Now ensconced on our very comfortable day bed on the veranda, after taking a plunge in our secluded pool.
I digress.
After we left the second lot of birds we next encountered the first Orangutan enclosure. The two animals were a forlorn sight, no trees or cover, just a small island with a climbing frame and a few pieces of timber laying about. After visiting the orangutan sanctuary in Sandakan 30 years ago, and seeing the amazing work being done there, it was very sad to see these beautiful animals in such poor circumstances. I don’t believe they are abused or anything like that, but I do believe that a larger, more jungle like enclosure would provide a more emotionally fulfilling existence for them. Walking further we came to a few caged birds, including some small birds of prey.
We had a walk through experience with some lory’s and lorikeets, then on to a rather messy looking enclosure with two sun bears.
Once again, a sad looking enclosure which offers little or no quality of life for the bears. A bit better than being caged and having their bile drained out for sale to the ignorant and selfish in other parts of Asia who believe it is medicine. But enough of that.
Another orangutan enclosure, some friendly pythons and iguanas, and then a couple of Pygmy Hippopotamus from West Africa. What they were doing there is anyones guess, given they are primarily nocturnal, their enclosure gave them no opportunity to exist as they should.
We passed a partially completed (small) enclosure, which was due to be the new home to a Komodo Dragon.
I’ve not seen one up close, and I believe they are quite ferocious.
A walk through our last enclosure called peacock island, with a few more hand reared birds of prey, coughatoo’s, peafowl and two small native deer and the ubiquitous gift shop was just in time for me.
I was ready to head back. A brief stop in the restaurant for a cold drink and then back with our driver who I have decided to nicknane “Fangio” to begin our drive back to Sengeggi.
I’m pleased we made the trip, and there were a number of plusses for me. The sad looking Orangutans notwithstanding, the park was clean and the people working there seem to have the animals welfare at heart. I think with more resources and a bit better planning, it could be something really worth while. So if you find yourself in this part of the world, a visit to the park will mean more revenue and hopefully a better existence for the inmates.
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D
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It is our penultimate day here in Lombok.
The TR won’t be fully completed until we head home tomorrow from CGK.
However my reflection on the week is that a visit here is a mixed bag.
If the Hustle and Bustle of Bali, the street vendors and pickpockets trying to separate you from your cash and valuables, combined with the plethora of Australian surfers and Bogans is more your style, then the relative calm of Lombok may not do it for you. That said, we are not as young and crazy as we once were.
Some things hold true though, hiring a motorcycle in Lombok is just as dangerous as doing it in Bali, albeit with less traffic. The population of Lombok is decidedly more Muslim than Bali and the muezzin calling the faithful to prayer is a reminder of this. I quite enjoyed the haunting cry of the muezzin at night as it added an extra layer to the experience here. The resort and its people are very friendly, and courteous. Some, however, seemed to me to border on the obsequious.
The Resort is well laid out, the rooms / villas are well appointed, modern and well maintained. The plumbing in our villa was a little bit interesting at times, but no major issues. The outdoor shower was a nice touch in this tropical environment, our first one in the beach side room had a palm tree and raphis palm garden adjacent to the shower, so a greater sense of the outdoors than the more stylised version in the Pool Villa. The beds are King size, maybe even super king size, and firm but not hard. The A/C works efficiently and getting a good nights sleep is not a chore.
The food here is about double the cost of a restaurant outside the resort, but for all that, still very cheap, about $10.00 -$15.00 per dish + 21% Govt tax. Which is quite high, but I guess collecting tax from the locals is a bit more difficult. The meals were tasty and we focused on the local cuisine in the main. Breakfast were inclusive of the tariff and a huge international variety of dishes was on offer. I stuck to the Indonesian food in the main, with the odd detour for an Arab dish.
We had as part of the “Luxury Getaways” deal, some meals and Spa treatments included, the massage and Foot reflexology sessions have encouraged us to return for seconds. There isn’t a hairdresser on site though.
As you would expect, the cost of these treatments are much lower than in Oz.
The weather has been mainly overcast, with some bright hot sunny days, a fair amount of rain, mostly in the evenings. But NOT super hot and muggy. Had we waited another month, I suspect we would have had less rain, more sun and higher temps.
Overall I would comfortably recommend Qunci Villas for a holiday. The rooms do not accommodate more than a couple. So if you’re with children, they have a set of two bedroom pool villas, but as far as I can tell, not actually inside the resort.
There are other resorts nearby, including the Sheraton Sengeggi. We promised ourselves a visit, but have not yet done so.
Would I come back here, yes. Which room would I choose? That’s a hard one, the beach side rooms have a nice view and are close to the bar and pools. The pool villas are more intimate and private, and not really much of a distance from the bar and restaurant. So it’s a toss up, we did both on this visit, and would consider doing it that way again.
The TR won’t be fully completed until we head home tomorrow from CGK.
However my reflection on the week is that a visit here is a mixed bag.
If the Hustle and Bustle of Bali, the street vendors and pickpockets trying to separate you from your cash and valuables, combined with the plethora of Australian surfers and Bogans is more your style, then the relative calm of Lombok may not do it for you. That said, we are not as young and crazy as we once were.
Some things hold true though, hiring a motorcycle in Lombok is just as dangerous as doing it in Bali, albeit with less traffic. The population of Lombok is decidedly more Muslim than Bali and the muezzin calling the faithful to prayer is a reminder of this. I quite enjoyed the haunting cry of the muezzin at night as it added an extra layer to the experience here. The resort and its people are very friendly, and courteous. Some, however, seemed to me to border on the obsequious.
The Resort is well laid out, the rooms / villas are well appointed, modern and well maintained. The plumbing in our villa was a little bit interesting at times, but no major issues. The outdoor shower was a nice touch in this tropical environment, our first one in the beach side room had a palm tree and raphis palm garden adjacent to the shower, so a greater sense of the outdoors than the more stylised version in the Pool Villa. The beds are King size, maybe even super king size, and firm but not hard. The A/C works efficiently and getting a good nights sleep is not a chore.
The food here is about double the cost of a restaurant outside the resort, but for all that, still very cheap, about $10.00 -$15.00 per dish + 21% Govt tax. Which is quite high, but I guess collecting tax from the locals is a bit more difficult. The meals were tasty and we focused on the local cuisine in the main. Breakfast were inclusive of the tariff and a huge international variety of dishes was on offer. I stuck to the Indonesian food in the main, with the odd detour for an Arab dish.
We had as part of the “Luxury Getaways” deal, some meals and Spa treatments included, the massage and Foot reflexology sessions have encouraged us to return for seconds. There isn’t a hairdresser on site though.
As you would expect, the cost of these treatments are much lower than in Oz.
The weather has been mainly overcast, with some bright hot sunny days, a fair amount of rain, mostly in the evenings. But NOT super hot and muggy. Had we waited another month, I suspect we would have had less rain, more sun and higher temps.
Overall I would comfortably recommend Qunci Villas for a holiday. The rooms do not accommodate more than a couple. So if you’re with children, they have a set of two bedroom pool villas, but as far as I can tell, not actually inside the resort.
There are other resorts nearby, including the Sheraton Sengeggi. We promised ourselves a visit, but have not yet done so.
Would I come back here, yes. Which room would I choose? That’s a hard one, the beach side rooms have a nice view and are close to the bar and pools. The pool villas are more intimate and private, and not really much of a distance from the bar and restaurant. So it’s a toss up, we did both on this visit, and would consider doing it that way again.
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