Two Years Living on Lombok
Our Island Journey
I follow many travel vloggers and often hear some of them say, "I’ve lived in 10 different countries." But how long must you stay in a country to say you've truly lived there?
Is a month or two as a digital nomad in Bali enough to claim you have lived there?
Some people believe you must spend at least a year in a place to say you've lived there. This at least allows you to experience all the seasons of that country. We know some places look and feel completely different in summer compared to winter. Here in Lombok, we have the wet and dry seasons. The wet season, from November through February, is extremely humid. Daily activities change significantly during this period. If you're planning to visit Lombok during this period, prepare for rain and high humidity.
Staying a year usually means taking a long-term lease, which gives you a feeling of residency. It also gives you the experience of entering into a legal contract with a local. Lease contracts in Lombok are very casual compared to South Africa. When you lease a property for a year, you take full responsibility for it. So, no calling your landlord about the water pump not working. You sort it out at your expense.
June 2024 marks two years since we moved here, meaning I've seen two cycles of seasons and entered into two long-term lease contracts.
The two cycles of seasons have been very different. I don't remember our first year in Lombok being as humid as the second year. The first year, we stayed high on a hill in a forest environment with beautiful views overlooking the Lombok Strait. The higher altitude always brought a gentle breeze through the house.
In our second year, we moved to the coastal town of Senggigi. Our new house was within walking distance of the beach and close to restaurants and shops. It was a very convenient location but lacked the ocean breeze to cool our house. It’s amazing what a difference of 200 metres in altitude can do in a tropical environment.
Or maybe it was just climate change because even the locals were complaining about the heat during the last wet season.
Beyond time frames other aspects qualify you to say you've lived in a place.
One is if you can drive around without using Google Maps. This shows you've stayed long enough to know the area. We used Google Maps a lot when we first moved here, but our dependence on it slowly decreased over the first year. I can now comfortably get in the car and drive somewhere without actively thinking about the route. It feels like being a local.
Another aspect that qualifies you as having lived in a place is regular use of their healthcare system. Since moving here, I've been admitted to the hospital twice. The first time was for a suspected heart-related incident, and then the second time was earlier this month for dengue fever. Dengue fever is a bugger of a disease caused by a simple mosquito bite. My symptoms included a high temperature, low blood pressure, and low blood platelet count, which can lead to internal bleeding. It took me two weeks to recover.
An interesting thing about being hospitalized in Lombok is that the hospital expects a family member to stay over with you. They have special rooms where family members can sleep. In my case, my wife slept on a sleeper couch in my ward.
However, personally, the big one that qualifies me to say that I have lived in Lombok is that I feel at home here. This feeling comes from many factors, including our lifestyle, the natural environment, and most importantly, the people.
The island of a thousand mosques aligns with our Muslim lifestyle. We stay close to the mosque, and five times a day, we are reminded that we are in a Muslim environment. The PA system at the mosque switches on about fifteen minutes before the call to prayer with melodious reciting. It is hard to miss your prayers in congregation in Lombok. Besides the mosques, there are prayer facilities everywhere, including in malls, restaurants, and hotels.
The pace of island life is also a notch or two down from the big city lifestyle. Everything operates at a different pace here. It is normal to find vehicles driving at 40 km/h. This was a big challenge for me when I moved here. I constantly tried to overtake slow drivers. But then I realized, "Where are you rushing to? You live on an island."
When you ask someone to come to do repairs at your house, they will eventually get there. As we say in Cape Town, "You must learn to sabr." Sometimes they arrive at 8 pm, but eventually, they do show up.
The people in Lombok are some of the most caring, kind, and friendly people I have met. In Cape Town, we had a word, "sopang," to describe a soft, humble and normally elderly person. The people in Lombok are very sopang. This word originated from Indonesia and is so apt in Lombok.
We have been embraced into the local community, which has been heart-warming and humbling. When I take my morning walks on the beach or through the village, people wave and greet me by name. Most of them know the tall guy who looks like a local. When I was hospitalized, locals from the village visited me and brought me bananas and bread. These are people who have very little and had to take a 30-minute scooter ride to come and visit me in the hospital.
The people of Lombok are special, and they have embraced our family and made us feel at home. We are still very much on our journey of reconnection, and we don't know what lies ahead.
Living here has been more than just an adventure; it's been a transformation. Every day brings a new lesson, a fresh perspective, and an opportunity to grow. The slower pace of island life has taught us patience and mindfulness. The natural beauty that surrounds us is a constant reminder to appreciate the simple things.
Our hearts have been touched by the kindness and generosity of the local people. Their smiles, their warmth, and their willingness to help have shown us the true meaning of community. We've made friendships that will last a lifetime, and we've been welcomed into a culture that values respect, harmony, and togetherness.
As I look back on these two years, I am filled with gratitude. Gratitude for the experiences that have shaped us, for the challenges that have made us stronger, and for the serenity that island life has brought into our lives. Lombok is not just a place we live; it's a place we cherish.
After two years I can comfortably say, "I have lived in Lombok."