Dear English-speaking readers, this page is an automatic Google translation from a post originally written in French. My apologies for the weird sentences and the funny mistakes that could have been generated during the process. If you can read French, the original and correct version can be found here:
Français Indonesia: Lombok + Bali + Bangka - July 2015
The beach, the light, the blue ... I take you back to the south-west of Lombok, filling your eyes with the beautiful bay of Belongas.
Another part of the world
July 2015. After Gili Asahan and my dives in Sekotong Bayhere I am in Belongas Bay, about an hour's drive away, to dive at the famous site The Magnet.
I discover a new end of the world, very peaceful, very isolated. Hyperactive travelers and tourists in a hurry, go your way ... There is only the comings and goings of tides and fishing boats to punctuate the days. Enshrined in the hills of Lombok, this small inland sea encourages slowness and contemplation. That's good, it's my hobby, between two dives!
Here, the race of the sun and clouds transform the landscape from hour to hour. It's spectacular. And from one day to another, the bay is never the same ... Under the intense sun, the water takes the turquoise color of a lagoon. When the mist rises, the dim light turns yellow. And at very low tide, the stranded boats give the strike a melancholy atmosphere.
From one bank to another
The eastern part of Belongas Bay where I am is called Teluk Sepi. The sea forms like a deep indentation inside the earth. I live near the tiny village of Pangsing, home to a handful of Sasak families. An Australian built there, in a coconut grove in front of the beach, the Belongas Bay Lodge, which hosts rare tourist-divers.
The village of Pangsing is not on an island, but it's just like. There is no very practical road to get here. Everyone crosses the bay, shallow, by boat, from Sepi opposite. There are small wooden pendulums everywhere, often brightly colored, and fishing platforms with big yellow floats.
In front of the sea
In Pangsing, a piece of land separated from Lombok by the sea, you have to accept being really far from everything. There is nothing to do except savor the time stretching. Be hypnotized by the changing light on the waves. Run the sand slowly. Get in touch with the village kids who love to admire on the digital screen of the camera. Baragouiner a few words of Bahasa Indonesia. Pretend not to be afraid of cows on the run. Push to the rocky point, where waves arrive from the sea. Turn back to explore the mangroves of the beach ...
Over long walks, I do not get tired of strafing this incredible little inland sea, so beautiful, always moving, always restarted. And I'll give you some of my countless pictures brought back from Belongas ...
To find all the articles on this trip, click on the image below ...: roll:
Indonesia: Lombok + Bali + Bangka - July 2015