Indonesia Cultural Trip. Day 4-5: Mataram

A Sasak Traditional Village

I'm just going to combine the fourth and last day in Mataram into this post. Much of the sightseeing was on the whole Saturday, before packing back for the inbound flight the next day. That morning, Pak Ibrahim took us to the southern region of Lombok Island.

The oldest traditional weaving village of the Sasak people was filled with traditional wooden huts. Sade's village, located in Pujut, showcased pieces from the indigenous tribe, including fine woven cloth, woodcraft, and traditional architectural huts. An ensemble of musicians welcomed us.

We were guided by a local tour guide who was also a resident of the area. We gained a firsthand understanding of these people during the half-hour tour. Upon entering the huts, we found them to be somewhat compact, featuring only two rooms and a kitchen. What made it really interesting was that the floor was made of clay and cow dung. The activity is done to ward off the mosquitoes. :-P Nope, you won't get any shitty-stinky smell.

Learning the weaving technique is a must-do

Wearing a traditional Sasak outfit

On the left was the rice storage and a mosque on the right

A small room for newlyweds before they could built their own hut

We bought some souvenirs and the traditional clothes

A love tree, a romancing area of the Sasak couples

Taking picture with the local tour guide

We were further south of the Batu Payung, a unique rock ensemble resembling an umbrella or a cobra's head, which we didn't take pictures of. One has to take a short-trip boat if one wants to take a background picture of that rock. We gave a pass and continued ahead to Bukit Merese, which offered a spectacular view from the sea cliff. We rented two bikes with a chauffeur to transport us to the hilltop.  Then, we relaxed by the Tanjung Ann beach, a 15-minute drive from the hill.

An epic view from the cliff of Bukit Merese. (A panoramic view at the top of this post)

He was so eager to swim; lucky we did bring along his swimming gear

Back to central Lombok, we had a short stop at the Banyumulek pottery village. We witnessed the pottery-making process, and what amazed us was that the decoration was made of eggshells. We bought a water jar made of clay that kept the water cool.

The guy on the right is sticking the eggshells onto the pottery

We had our Asr prayer at the Islamic Center of Mataram. Opened to the public in 2013, it was among the thousand mosques built in Lombok. In fact, the island is popularly touted as Pulau Seribu Masjid. The center has a 99-meter tower that can be accessed by lift until 5pm.

The center stand tall with escalators provided going to the top floor

The architecture of this sculpture is blended with Lombok and Sumbawa character

A big drum for prayer calling, was donated by a private organization

It was our last meal, so we had dinner at Sate Rembiga Lesehan, a special culinary of Lombok. While Lesehan is actually a culture of buying food or something while sitting on a mat. So, we had two sets of sate rembiga that cost 25,000 rupiah each and a soup. Oh yeah, the satay set comes with a plate of rice, as opposed to nasi himpit or ketupat.

A nice restaurant that provides plenty enclosed huts

A variety of choices

An obligatory shot.. :P (can you spot the juicy alpukat?)

We reached the end of this post. We flew back the next morning. Probably this could be the last foreign trip this year and hopefully I can start planning for next year's trip. Hmm... where would our next trip be?