Upmarket furniture and homewares retailer Lombok has launched its first range of light wood furniture as it seeks to attract a wider audience. The chain, which offers products inspired by and sourced in South-east Asia, has traditionally sold dark wood furniture. The lighter ranges are being introduced to two stores this week, and to the remainder of Lombok’s UK branches in the next fortnight. The range will be rolled out online next month. …click here to read more

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Three Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) students, members of the college’s Lawalata IPB environmental group, have set out on an arduous bicycle trip to the summit of Mount Rinjani in Lombok to commemorate Youth Pledge Day. Gilang Embang, Syukra Alhamda and Epi Saepi will cover a distance of approximately 1,800 kilometers from Bogor, West Java, up along the north coast of Java to Bali and Lombok, where they plan to summit Mt. Rinjani on the historic day, Oct. 28. …click here to read more

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High-ranking Indonesian government officials and Emaar International PJSC have denied that the Dubai-based development company has killed its massive $600 million project to turn a major portion of Lombok Island into another Bali. “The government of Indonesia and Emaar have extended a delayed joint venture agreement to get the project underway for another three months,” an Emaar spokesman said in an e-mail from Dubai. The spokesman asked that his name not be used. …click here to read more

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It was still early in the morning when we arrived at Lombok’s Selaparang Airport. As we set foot on the airport’s tarmac, our eyes were greeted by Lombok’s mountains and scenic lush forest. A postcard view it was. Indeed, Lombok has become the new, upcoming tourist destination in Indonesia. It seems that the gods from Bali decided to move away from that island, due to its ever-growing population, and migrate to Lombok instead. At least, that’s what we thought when we saw Lombok for the very first time. It really deserves the title of the new haven of the gods. …click here to read more

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Citing governmental paralysis and hinting that too many officials had their hands out, Dubai’s state-owned Emaar Properties PJSC has cancelled its massive $600 million property project that was to turn the pristine island of Lombok into another Bali. “We have closed our office in Jakarta starting Friday,” said Elly Savitri, Emmar Indonesia’s human resources manager. “Emaar has pulled out of its operations in Indonesia because the government cannot comply with the terms of the agreement with our joint venture company. …click here to read more

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Senggigi is the main tourist area on the mainland, with the town stretching along several fantastic bays on the west coast, and is only 20 minutes from the island’s Selaparang airport. It is the ideal base from which to explore the island, and all major tourist attractions can be reached by day trips from Senggigi, including boat trips from Senggigi Bay out to the Gilis. There is a wide range of accommodations ranging from the five-star Sheraton Senggigi Beach Resort to elegant private villas to comfortable small hotels and home stays. The main street in town runs parallel to the beach and is lined with restaurants, shops, banks, moneychangers and other tourist facilities. Nowhere near as developed as Kuta in Bali, Senggigi is a delightful place to stay while relaxing, dining and exploring. …click here to read more

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“Come and get shipwrecked,” advertised an island brochure, and that is precisely what it felt like as we followed a group of French, Russian, and Australian tourists off the speedboat after a 2 1/2-hour trip from Bali to this little island in the Indian Ocean.

There are no cars, no motorcycles, no police on the Gili Trawangan. There are, however, dollar Bintang beers, $4 rice dishes, and small gazebos where you can rest 20 feet from the bluest water you ever saw and watch the Lombok volcanoes get painted by the sun. …click here to read more

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Lombok island sits just across a narrow strait from Bali. But unlike its sister island — a travel Mecca that has become even more popular thanks to Russian and Chinese package tours — Lombok has remained largely in the shadows, save for a trickle of foreign travelers who have discovered its charms. …click here to read more

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It was a few days into my journey across Lombok when a strange, yet oddly pleasant, mental miasma descended upon me. My guide, Bahar, and I couldn’t figure out what day of the week it was. Bahar suspected it was Thursday; I thought it was Wednesday. And so, for a while, we remained lost in time.

Such temporal confusion is typical on Lombok, where the roads are rough and the tourists few. This enchanted Indonesian island is, after all, a place that seems to be perpetually arriving, yet has never quite arrived. Proximity to Bali is Lombok’s blessing, and its curse. Many residents bristle at the idea of basking in Bali’s reflected glory and point out that while only 25 miles separate the two islands, they are in fact worlds apart. …click here to read more

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For years it has lived in the shadow of its more famous neighbor, Bali. Now pristine Lombok Island of Indonesia is making a concerted effort to build itself up as the next Bali, while trying to maintain its natural charm. Slower to catch the tourism train than its neighbor to the west, Lombok has been promoted as an unspoiled Bali. But a future $600 million development may see it emerge on par with Bali as a world-class tourism destination, according to the United Arab Emirates-based developer. …click here to read more

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