It’s our favourite time of the year and the Christmas parties have already started in Lombok. Our hotels are reporting high occupancies and the festive season looks like being a busy time on our beautiful island.
The whole world celebrates on New Year’s Eve and Lombok is no different! The streets of Senggigi will be packed, the Gili Islands will be rocking and all around the island people will be celebrating as we say goodbye to 2011 and welcome in 2012.
For many, there’s no better place to be on New Year’s Eve than on Gili Trawangan, the most popular island of the three Gili Islands.
Famous as a party island, the last night of the year sees almost the entire island become one big party, as all the crowds and parties merge together along the beachfront. Join in the fun at any of the numerous hotels, restaurants and bars or choose to celebrate in style at one of the island’s top venues below:
Friends, colleagues and hundreds of students from Sekolah Nusa Alam – Lombok’s only genuine International School – bid a sad farewell to school Principal, Gregg Renneberg, and his wife, Leigh, this month.
Gregg and Leigh, together with their family, moved to Lombok in January 2009, with Gregg taking up the position of International Principal at Sekolah Nusa Alam.
The word Chandi (spelt Candi in Bahasa Indonesia) usually refers to an ancient temple or sacred place… so it is that “The Chandi” embraces the concepts of peace and sanctuary at its newly-opened resort in Batu Layar, just five minutes south of Senggigi.
Set in a one hectare coconut grove fronting on to an undeveloped section of beach, The Chandi looks out across the ocean, with panoramic views of the Lombok skyline all the way to the southwest coast. The sunsets across the water to Bali on the horizon are just one of the glorious features of this space dedicated to relaxation and tranquility.
On 26 November 2011, BlueWater Express celebrated 6 years of service to the Gili Islands with its biggest party to date, at Paramitha Restaurant in Bali.
The event was a huge success, with over 120 staff and families attending to enjoy some excellent food and entertainment laid on by Paramitha restaurant and the BlueWater organizing committee. The evening comprised games, singers, an MC, and a prize draw which enabled all staff to go home with some sort of prize.
Dashing pirates and buxom wenches, pirate poison, "the plank", jigs, and sea shantys - all at the swash buckling pirate party to celebrate Buzz's birthday!
QUESTION: I have been living in Lombok for several months now and I think it is about time I learned to speak Indonesian. I have heard about various language schools but would prefer to learn during my spare moments or whilst I am doing other things.
I have bought a language CD and have downloaded it to my IPod. If I play the CD whilst I am asleep, will I absorb the information subliminally?
MR FIXER: A friend of mine tried that recently and the disc got stuck. He can now only speak Indonesian with a stutter.
Friends and colleagues from Nusa Alam International School farewelled Gregg and Leigh at a wonderful party hosted by Nadine and the team from Horizontal, Gili T,
and Heidi at the stunning Verve Villa in Mangsit.
Gili Air is gearing up for another busy Christmas. And, although Indonesia is a mainly Islamic country, Christmas here feels more like a universal holiday – everyone loves gifts and food and parties!
The festive peak season starts very shortly and the island feels almost expectant. I am really excited… I love Christmas; the lights, the sparkle, the cheer of it all! This will be my first Christmas on a tropical island and I am excited to see how many people get into the spirit.
