Imagine a serie of lost islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean, some of them not higher than a rock. Unique pieces, the biggest flower in the world, deep jungles where you can find tigers, elephants, snakes or cheetahs, and hundred of volcanoes. Welcome to Tanah Air Kita ("our earth, our water") or just: "Welcome to Indonesia".To discover this "new world", direction Bali then Lombok, staying at the Oberoi Hotels, in couple or in family.
Bali, you cannot miss it
A trip toIndonesia is the kind of one you prepare. It has to go through Bali, the Hindu section in a Muslim country. It is also a modern town, and good to see before getting inside the protected sources of a hidden island: Lombok.
A Bali, in spite of the tragic events of Kuta, life is going on easily, in piece, with the background of priest and presents to the gods. The island knows how to keep its ancestral customs. Do not hesitate to stay at least 2 nights.
Ubud, a visualchock
Ubud, touristic center of the island, it deserves to be seen a few hours, or at least a night. It is a visual chock for any European or western civilized. This village has green hills, in the middle of the country, with rice fields. In the centre, the palace of the Prince, with its plenty of open houses on stilts, has rich golden sculptures, amazing rock statues, and inhabited by his staff. After this, back to the calm at the Oberoi Bali.
Oberoi Bali
Based on this famous beach of Jimbaran, the hotel shelters a few pavilions along the beach, or hidden in the tropical park. They offer nice terrace at the shadow of banana trees. Very nice when the temperature gets too hot. Supreme luxury, the private suites have their own swimming-pool. This hotel shows its 30 years in a discrete way, in an ecological environment. Contemporary lovers will have to step back.
Oberoi Lombok
At Lombok, the view shows a jungle where bamboos, ferns, and any wild plant are living together. In the middle of it, the Oberoi Lombok, has a very exotic site. Zen atmosphere, water basins with view on the ocean, all the promises of luxury have been kept for the villas, and let us not forget to mention the ecologic pact of the whole Resort, in total agreement with the jungle. The elegance of this place is expressed through its mix of wood, stone, water, and old precious items.
The famous rhyme of Baudelaire "Luxury, calm and pleasure" means everything.
An « ecotourism »
Comfortably settled in a car, on the road of Senaru, in the middle of the famous Gunung Rinjani park, open wide eyes can discover landscapes of another time, far from the 21st Century. Rice fields carpets are layed down between bamboos and gigantic banana trees, where in the back, you can catch sight of the top of the Gunung Rinjani mount (3726 m). Farmers with their big hats are going down to the earth, back and forth like an ancestral ritual.
A service Oberoi, beyond compare
At the Oberoi of Lombok, there is nothing insurmountable for Marc Denton, the manager of the hotel. Their catch phrase proves it: "nothing is impossible"
A non-tiring trek? Marc Denton organises to be dropped off in helicopter.
A romantic lunch? A BBQ picnic is being prepared on one the Gili islands.
Feel like discovering Lombok? Direction the cascade of Sindang Gile, where the water is considered the purest of Indonesia.
At you return, a massage at the Spa by Banyan Tree will give you a welcome relax for the falling night, then a dinner on open sky ends perfectly your day.