On to the Southeast Archipelago (Nusantara “Nusa” Tenggara)

From Bali it's easy to reach the neighbouring island of Lombok. A 4-hour slow ferry, or a 2-hour fast catamaran brings you to what seems to be another country thanks to the influence of Islam. However, Lombok is still on the tourist circuit, and our first destination, Gili Trawangan, almost seems like it could be a beach resort anywhere – except for the 4:20am wake-up call of the muezzin and the cidomos (horse-drawn carts) that, along with bicycles, provide the only transport on the island.

Trawangan is known as the “party island” amongst the three islands off Lombok that tourists know as “The Gilis” (or often the Gili islands, except that Gili means “island” in the local language, so this is a bit of a faux-pas). Meno, in the middle, is the “laid-back” island, while Air is the resorty island. In reality, this just means that Trawangan has a few bars that cater to those looking for a party, Meno has nothing except a few guesthouses, and Air is somewhat in the middle. We came here looking for a few days on the beach and a few days under the water testing out our new dive gear.

It was also a good time to test out America's image in a Muslim country. Becca and I discussed being covert New Zealanders for the Muslim islands that we visit (Indonesia is the biggest Muslim country in the world). However this is a bit difficult, as each hotel requires you to fill out your passport details after checking in. Thankfully, it's 2009, not 2008, and the reaction we get when somone learns we're from the USA is quite surprising: “Ooooooobammmahh!!!” There are very few Americans here (Europeans are here in droves – even Aussies are rare outside Bali), so we've been amazed at how Muslim Indonesians smile and want to tell us how good of a person our president is.

Four beach days later, we left Trawangan as certified “Advanced Open Water” divers and began to slowly find the path less travelled (at least for tourists not from France or the Netherlands). For most travellers, the Gilis are all that they experience of Lombok as direct boats to Bali mean you don't need to set foot on the mainland. Needing some more beach time – some waves perhaps, as the Gilis are like swimming pools (with some impressive marine life, though) – we booked a boat/bus ticket to Kuta beach in Lombok.

Expecting a great beach with waves and other sun-loving tourists, we jumped off the minivan in a hot, filthy town that needs some serious help if it is to attract tourists. The provincial government is building a flash new international airport nearby in a bid to steal some tourists from the more famous Kuta in Bali, but it may soon sit idle if Kuta-Lombok can't find a way to rid itself of all the rubbish littered everywhere, packs of stray dogs, begging children that follow you all the way to the beach and poor access to the better beaches out of town (the waves off the beach in Kuta-Lombok are about 1km out to sea). Despite these drawbacks, the coastal scenery is quite dramatic and nearby surfing waves attract hard-core surfers from all over the world. But we wern't experienced enough at driving motorbikes (or being able to fix them when they break) to endure the potholed roads that lead to these better beaches, so we left Kuta the next day for a transport marathon across the whole of Nusa Tenggara Barat province to Labuanbajo in Flores.

Nusa Tenggara, the collection of islands starting in Lombok and continuing southeast to Timor is one of Indonesia's poorest areas. Travel thorough here is slow and sometimes very interesting (buses in Flores regulary feature goats, chickens, pigs, and other animals riding on the roof). East of Lombok, the next island is Sumbawa, an island that to most travellers is a bit more of an inconvenience than a destination. Many companies in Lombok offer multi-day “cruises” that sail around Sumbawa and on to Flores, but these can be rather expensive, so we went with plan B – an overnight bus and ferry adventure that takes just over 28 hours to reach Labuanbajo from Kuta-Lombok.

Pictures: Top is the beach on Gili Trawangan's north side, looking towards Gili Meno in the background. Bottom is the sunrise over Gunung Rinjani (on mainland Lombok).