Lombok is noticeably different in several aspects to its close neighboring island, Bali. The northwestern part of Lombok is mountainous and lush with tall trees, whereas the southeastern part is much dryer with less vegetation forming a Savannah-like ecosystem. The flora, and in particular the fauna, of Lombok are also different from its western neighboring islands. It lacks the large mammalian species (elephants, tigers, rhinoceros). Instead, it is inhabited by other species, in particular birds, which appear to be of Australian descent. This was first noticed by the well-known 19th century naturalist Alfred Russell Wallace, who proposed the theory that in the ice period, when the sea levels were low, the western Indonesian islands (Sumatra, Java, Bali, Borneo) were connected to the Asian continent by the Sunda Shelf. Lombok and the necklace of the eastern islands of Nusa Tenggara remained separate. The low sea levels made migration of Australian bird species from the closely located Australian Sahul Shelf to these islands possible. The division between the eastern end of the Asian Sunda Shelf and the islands of Nusa Tenggara is now referred to as the Wallace’s Line. This imaginary dividing line runs through the Straight of Lombok, the deep sea channel between the islands of Bali and Lombok.
The original inhabitants of Lombok consist of about 80% of the Sasaks, who speak a different language and live mostly in the central and eastern parts of the island. They are Muslims and have their own unique culture, traditions, and festivals. They are agriculturally oriented in producing rice, vegetables and tobacco.
The west coast area shows a much more divers population. There the Hindu Balinese are in the majority, who are living together with Javanese, Chinese, and Arabs.
Lombok is an interesting island to visit and explore. One can make a stiff hike up to the top of Indonesia’s highest volcano, Gunung Rinjani (3726 m) and watch from the summit the spectacular views during sunrise on early mornings; enjoy the beautiful vistas to be seen along the coastline and the entertainment offered at the sea resorts; observe the great contrast in climate and vegetation between the northern and southern part of the island and visit some traditional Sasaks communities, as e.g. Bayan, Rembitan and Sukarara. In short, Lombok offers a great variety of exciting experiences for tourists to enjoy.

Community
The people who live in Lombok are mostly Sasaks, have long, proud cultural traditions. They speak their own language and are followers of the Islamic Faith. One of the traditions is the ritual in which women are often “kidnapped “to elope by their future husbands. This practice called “merariq” still continues, especially after harvest season when people have money. Divorce is also common, as is remarriage for both men and women. Thus, it is not unique to find children from different fathers or mothers living in the same household. However, everyone is a family member and no distinction is made for “step brothers or step parents”. There is no strict rules governing the naming pattern. Normally children are given one name only, and only sometimes they are given two names. It is also a custom here that parents change their name after the birth of their first child. The father will put a prefix “Amaq” in front of the name of the first child, while the mother will have a prefix “Inaq” instead. Amaq means “the father of” and Inaq means “the mother of”. Therefore, if the first child’s name is Harun, the father’s new name is Amaq Harun and the mother’s one is Inaq Harun. This may be confusing for some people, but it certainly works well here.

The Family and The Home
The people of Lombok are mostly farmers, fishermen and labor workers. The farmers work on there owns small plots of land, which is dry, or work as farm laborers on other people‘s land. Traditional crops are corn, tobacco, onions and other vegetables. In the coastal area there are many fishermen with small fishing boat.

The rain only falls for three months of the year. The next season comes, and short of cash, they are forced to borrow seeds from a local loan shark. Later, if their crop survives the short rains, they must return a portion of their crop to the loan shark, but 5 times the amount they originally borrowed. Very little is left over to carry them through the next 9 months. What little they have left, they lack the management skills to plan wisely the best use of limited resources. We can easily imagine the effects this cycle has on basic family and village development, like health care and education and the many other needs of their children.

Daily Life
The activities begin early each morning with primary schools start their classes at 07.30 a.m. School hours are staggered with senior classes of High School being held late in the afternoon. There always seems to be a constant flow of children within the village. Most adults are involved in farming activities therefore many of the adults’ go out to attend to their crops during the day. Activities slow down in the afternoon when the day heats up and people come out towards the evening for sporting activities and socialization. The typical diet consists of rice, vegetables and fruit. Fish and meat are uncommon because they are expensive to buy.

Market
The market place the people have to walk several kilometers early in the morning to reach the market time for selling or buying the daily needs. In the local market we never find the fast or junk food. All are sold and bought for only a day need. The Indonesian cultures bargaining for are still practiced in the case to find the possibilities of lower price. They don't use refrigerator or freezer. They always consume fresh food but is not always guarantee that the food is healthy but it's depend on how they cook it as the people are lack of health education.

Education
Had you arrived earlier in the morning, around 7:30, you would see the children in their red and white uniform walking together to the school. Like anywhere else in the world, as they get into the small, simple schoolyard they start playing, catching a quick game of impromptu football, joking, teasing and yelling. School is over for the day by 12:30. Primary and secondary school is technically free in Indonesia, although there are many ' hidden' costs such as uniform, school books, monthly school administration fees etc. that can make it difficult for some families to put their children through school, especially in a time of economic crisis, like now.
Lombok is a 20 minutes flight from Bali and four hours by ferry from Padang Bay the eastern part of Bali. We convince that you have been accessing a lot of information about Lombok but the following directories are compiled to assist you in finding the basic information required when choosing your holiday accommodation in Lombok. Whatever your plans, whether just relaxing on a beach or exploring the countryside, GIA Holidays “Leading the Green Spirit” will help you to accommodate your holiday.