Arisarmu - If you're wondering where to go in East Lombok, Tangsi beach or more popularly known among travelers as Lombok's pink sand beach is worth a visit.
Pink Beach, located in Sekaroh village, Jerowaru Sub-district, East Lombok Regency, it was considered my toughest destination when I made a trip in Lombok last holiday. Although in google maps the distance from Ampenan to pink beach is only 88 km or 2 hours 18 minutes drives, but in the reality was different. There are two main reasons, first I hadn't been there before so I wasn't familiar with the roads to get there. I mostly relied on Global Positioning System (GPS) if the satellite signal was available and asked to some people whom I met on the way there, especially when I thought I was getting lost.
I first knew about Pink Beach from Minah, my wife's sister in law, that there was a beautiful beach on East Lombok even though she hadn't been there, so I tried to find out any information about the beach by googling, it was done on the next day. I was really excited and imagined how pretty the shore was with its pink colour I thought. And it was my great opportunity to go there.
I didn't remember exactly what time I left Ampenan, a Sub-district in Mataram, where I spent most of my vacation at that time. Perhaps it's around 09.30 am. When everything was ready I started heading there. The scouter I borrowed from Wulan, my sister in law, was still new so it made my journey more comfortable. Driving in Lombok mostly is fast and comfortable as the roads are big and smooth. On the way there I passed through wide barren land which looked very dusty during dry season. And I should be careful since a herd of cattle sometimes cross or walk along the road. But they gave me amazing sight that is impossible to be seen in my region. My prediction was true as on the opposite direction I saw a local person herding buffaloes down the main road. The man looked busy and sometimes he ran after the buffaloes to keep them stay on the track as those animals tend to walk on the middle of the road.
Pink Beach, located in Sekaroh village, Jerowaru Sub-district, East Lombok Regency, it was considered my toughest destination when I made a trip in Lombok last holiday. Although in google maps the distance from Ampenan to pink beach is only 88 km or 2 hours 18 minutes drives, but in the reality was different. There are two main reasons, first I hadn't been there before so I wasn't familiar with the roads to get there. I mostly relied on Global Positioning System (GPS) if the satellite signal was available and asked to some people whom I met on the way there, especially when I thought I was getting lost.
I first knew about Pink Beach from Minah, my wife's sister in law, that there was a beautiful beach on East Lombok even though she hadn't been there, so I tried to find out any information about the beach by googling, it was done on the next day. I was really excited and imagined how pretty the shore was with its pink colour I thought. And it was my great opportunity to go there.
I didn't remember exactly what time I left Ampenan, a Sub-district in Mataram, where I spent most of my vacation at that time. Perhaps it's around 09.30 am. When everything was ready I started heading there. The scouter I borrowed from Wulan, my sister in law, was still new so it made my journey more comfortable. Driving in Lombok mostly is fast and comfortable as the roads are big and smooth. On the way there I passed through wide barren land which looked very dusty during dry season. And I should be careful since a herd of cattle sometimes cross or walk along the road. But they gave me amazing sight that is impossible to be seen in my region. My prediction was true as on the opposite direction I saw a local person herding buffaloes down the main road. The man looked busy and sometimes he ran after the buffaloes to keep them stay on the track as those animals tend to walk on the middle of the road.
On the way home I also saw a herd of cows grazing on a dry field which still had little grass. See the image below. I'm used to living on Java island which is the most densely populated island in Indonesia, so this view was exciting. It seems to be peaceful to live outside Java island.
Traveling to Pink beach was merely my single destination on that day. It was a nice day, the sky was bright and blue. Driving through the countryside was amazing as the roads were quite wide and smooth and I was presented with lovely views. There wasn't much traffic and I thought I would be there faster. However all suddenly changed for the last 10 kilometers. The road condition was very bad. It took me almost an hour drive to get to the location. Look the picture below. The reality was worse than in the photo.
Thanks God I finally arrived at the front gate and bought an entry ticket. Pink Beach entry ticket cost IDR 10.000 (USD 0.70) for a local tourist and IDR 50.000 (USD 3.50) for a foreign tourist. Then from here, the rest of the road to the beach was smooth concrete roads. Although I would take the same bad road on the way home. Then I drove down to the beach and searched a parking spot under a tree. And unfortunately Pink Beach wasn't pink at that time. It's white sand beach.The beach becomes pink depends on the times. I heard a local guide talked to some tourists that if the strong waves push the sand to the shore and the expose to sunlight, it will turn to be pink.
After strolling along the beach, I climbed up a hill nearby, but I don't remember its name. I saw lovely scenery from up there. There are beaches on the right and left side of the hill. There were many boats. If you wish you can get on a boat and explore Pink beach from the sea, it costs IDR 35.000 (USD 2.45).
At that time there was a group of Chinese tourists. They looked happy and enjoyed their time dan took a lot of photos. The other visitors that I saw were westerners, although the majority were still local tourists.
After exploring the beach and climbed up the hill. I felt hungry. There was a warung near the beach and I entered it and ordered a fried fish and a cup of coffee to keep me awake so I could go back to Ampenan safely. My late lunch totally cost IDR 40.000 (USD 2.80). It was enough to satisfy my hunger. And I am not curious about Pink Beach anymore. In my opinon it's beautiful even though I didn't see the pink beach.
