Guided tour and dinner at Shangri-La’s Dukezong Old Town

14 September 2024

We came back to Shangri-La’s Dukezong Ancient Town after visiting two of Shangri-La most popular tourist destinations, namely the Potatso National Park and Songzanlin Monastery. By the time we arrived, it was already slightly past 5 PM.

We entered via the North Gate.

North Gate of Dukezong Ancient Town.

This 1,300-year-old town features traditional Tibetan homes, ancient temples and pagodas, and narrow, winding alleyways. We had already seen some parts of the town the previous evening. The ancient streets and quaint alleys are lined with various local souvenir shops.

Street leading from the gate to Sifang Square.  

Stone-paved streets of Dukezong Ancient Town.

Our guide brought us to Moonlight Square and from there, we climbed the steps up to Guishan (Turtle Hill) Park (龜山公園) where the Big Buddha Temple (大佛寺) and Giant Prayer Wheel (轉經筒) are located.

Guishan Park is a good place to have a panoramic view of Shangri-La city and the Dukezong Old Town.

   View of the old town from top of Guishan.

Prayer flags attached to one of the houses.

We went inside the Buddhist Temple where our guide explained the significance of the various statues of Buddha, deities and dharma protectors and murals on the wall.

He also explained the meanings of the prayer flags. Prayer flags originated in Tibet, but are used in many countries in the Himalayan region, including Nepal and Bhutan.

My T-shirt with the prayer flags is actually a gift that my son bought after his Everest Base Camp Trek in Nepal.

The flags do not carry prayers to gods. Tibetan prayer flags are used to promote peace, compassion, strength, and wisdom. Tibetans believe the prayers and mantras printed on the flags will be spread by the wind and bring goodwill and compassion to benefit all beings. The five different colours of the prayer flags represent the air, fire, water, earth, and space. 

Continuing our walk in a clockwise direction on the hill, we arrived at the landmark of the Old Town, the Giant Prayer Wheel.

21 meter tall Giant Prayer Wheel.

Turning the Giant Prayer Wheel at Guishan, Shangi-La to get blessings.

It contains millions of the traditional six-syllable Om Mani Padme Hum mantras inside. Locals and visitors would turn the prayer wheel 3 rounds by hand using straps handles provided at the base to get the blessings.

Compared to the previous evening, there were less people around. It was harder to turn the 16 ton prayer wheel but we still managed to do it.

After seeing the highlights, we descended from Guishan to explore the town further till dinner time.

We wanted to do some souvenir shopping and found that the shops in Shangri-La were quite different from those in Kunming, Dali and Lijiang. The shops in Shangri-La focused mainly on local products such as yak. Yak milk nougats, yak meat jerky, yak this, yak that. Our guide told us some the products, especially the cheaper ones, are made with beef since yak is more expensive.

Shopping for snacks to bring home.

We saw the Big Buddha Temple (大佛寺) on top of Guishan that we visited earlier. It looked so majestic when viewed from afar. Crows were circling over it. I learnt that monks would sometimes feed the offerings in the temple to the crows. Hence these intelligent birds knew where to hang out.

The Big Buddha Temple perched on top of Guishan.

Crows circling over the big Buddha Temple.

 

Many of the stores in the old town have pet dogs that came out to play.

A Retriever with toy.

While exploring the town, we chanced upon the Flying Tiger Cafe. My wife had read about this cafe when we were searching for places to have dinner and this cafe has good reviews.

For me, I knew about the Flying Tigers from WW II history.  They are US airmen that flew with the Republic of China Air Force in late 1941 and 1942 during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Flying Tigers were based in Yunnan are operated the Curtiss P-40 fighters planes. 

The Flying Tiger Cafe serves Western style dishes and also yak burgers. Since we had already planned to have yak hotpot for dinner at the Three Brother's Cafe, we bought a takeaway yak burger to eat with our hotpot. 

Various options of yak burgers in the menu.

While waiting for our order to be prepared, I took a look at the memorabilia inside the cafe.

Resting at the Flying Tiger Cafe while waiting for our yak burger to be cooked.

Photo of P-40 Warhawks painted with shark face.

We returned to the Three Brother's Cafe for yak hotpot as planned. Yak Hotpot is a popular dish in Shangri-La. The yak meat is sliced thinly, tender and flavorful served in a rich flavour broth that is clear or spicy. There are also rice noodles and vegetables in the hotpot.

It is rich in nutrients and provides warming and invigorating benefits, making it especially suitable for nourishment during the cold winter of Shangri-La.

Watching the local dancing in the town square while waiting for our dinner to be served.

Yak Hotpot Dinner at the Three Brother’s Cafe.

There are also rice noodles and vegetables in the hotpot.

Relaxing time at the Three Brother's Cafe.

We chilled at the Three Brother's Cafe with a couple of beers until it was time to transfer to the Diqing Shangri-La Airport for our 22.50 PM Eastern Airlines flight to Kunming.

The Diqing airport was quiet and relatively empty. Ours was probably the only flight leaving at that time of night.

It was a short domestic flight to Kunming.  We arrived shortly before midnight. Compared to Diqing, Kunming Airport at near midnight was still bustling with activity. Our local Kunming guide was waiting with a car and driver to transfer us to the Cachet Boutique Hotel.

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Trip Overview – First visit to Lombok, an Indonesian island that could rival Bali

I first heard of Lombok from an Indonesia colleague about 20 years ago. He told me Lombok is a laidback island that could be even better than Bali, an Indonesian island that is rated regularly as one of the best travel destinations in the world.

I did not take him seriously that time. It was last year that I became interested in Lombok again. That was when my son took up the challenge to scale Mount Rinjani. Mount Rinjani is an active volcano that rises to 3,726 meters, making it the second highest volcano in Indonesia and a magnet for hikers and adventure seekers. 

Besides Mount Rinjani, Lombok is famous for its beautiful beaches and has many natural wonders to explore and unique wildlife to see. After some research, I made up my mind that Lombok would be worth a visit and suggested a trip there with my friends who have also not visited Lombok before.

No, we are not doing trekking to Mount Rinjani. We are too physically unfit for that now. Instead, we planned to visit the Gili Islands for some snorkeling, trek to see some waterfalls and spend some time relaxing in a beach resort.

Lombok is less than 3 hours away from Singapore via direct flight using Scoot. Scoot flies to this island only 3 times a week, so we had to work with this constraint to plan a 5D/4N itinerary.

Where we stayed

There are numerous beach resorts in Lombok. We decided to book our stay at the Jeeva Klui Resort, a beach resort located in Senggigi. The resort is set in a spacious tropical garden on Klui Beach, overlooking the sea and the island of Bali in the horizon. Each couple booked a suite room; some with Ocean facing rooms and some with Pool facing views.

Our Ocean-view Suite at the Jeeva Klui Resort.

Senggigi is about an hour by car from the airport. Located on the north-western part of the island, Senggigi is the best place to stay for those wanting to visit the 3 Gili Islands (Gili Trawangan, Gili Air and Gili Meno) and waterfalls in the northern part of Lombok (near the village of Senaru).  It also offers good views of the sunset.

Jeeva Klui Resort at Senggigi.

With a draft itinerary in mind, I contacted a local guide named Omar (Mobile: +62 81907623594) to make arrangements for transport and activities for the 8 of us. Omar was very responsive and we agreed on the itinerary and services to be provided at a reasonable price.

The services include the following:

Private van with driver to transport the 8 of us for activities on Day 1, 2, 3 and 5.

Private glass bottom boat and snorkeling gear (life vest, mask, fins) for trip to the Gili Islands on Day 2.

Documentation with GoPro camera underwater during the snorkeling trip.

Entrance fees and parking fees.

Local guides.

Mineral water.

Day 1 – Arrival and travel to Senggigi

We took the morning flight from Singapore, arriving in the late morning. Omar (our guide) and Andie (our driver) picked us up as planned.

On the way to our hotel in Senggigi, we stopped for lunch at Lesehan Taliwang Nada, a restaurant in Mataram that specialises in a local dish called the Ayam Taliwang. Ayam Taliwang is a spicy Indonesian ayam bakar (grilled chicken) dish from Lombok.

Taliwang Nada serves Lombok cuisine that includes the Ayam Taliwang.

The rest of the day was supposed to be “free and easy” at the resort. We requested Omar and Andie to drive us into Senggigi town for a massage at Orchid Spa before dinner.   

Enjoying the seaside vibes at the Jeeva Klui Resort.

Sunset at Tanjong Bias Beach.

Omar then brought us to a beach to see sunset. We had dinner at a beachside restaurant called the Yessy Kitchen.

Trip report: Makan, Massage and Sunset at Senggigi, Lombok.

Day 2 - Day trip to the Gili Islands

After breakfast at the resort, Omar and the driver picked us for a snorkeling trip to the Gili Islands (Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air). Situated only a few kilometres off the northwest coast of Lombok, the Gili Islands is a hugely popular tourist destination.

Snorkeling in the clear waters of the Gili Islands.

A day out to these islands by private chartered glass bottom boat was the highlight of my first trip to Lombok.

We saw plenty of corals and fishes and we got to swim with the turtles!

Trip report: Boat Trip to the Gili Islands of Lombok.

After returning from the boat trip, we had time to shower back at the resort and enjoy evening cocktails by the sea before dinner.

Jeeva Klui offered 1 for 1 cocktails during the Happy Hour.

Omar brought us to the Yessy Restaurant which is owned by the same owner as Yessy Kitchen.

Delicious food at the Yessy Restaurant.

Day 3 – Explore Lombok’s waterfalls at Senaru Village

Sendang Gile and Tiu Kelep Waterfall are two incredible waterfalls in the north of Lombok. The waterfalls are located in the town of Senaru, about 77 km from our hotel in Senggigi.

We took the chartered van with driver and guide for the day trip to the Sendang Gile & Tiu Kelep Waterfalls. It took us about 2 hours to get to Senaru. On the way, we saw plenty of villages, countryside, beaches and padi fields.

We had lunch at the Rinjani Lodge before trekking to the waterfalls. The first waterfall, Sendang Gile, is easily accessible from Rinjani Lodge.

Sendang Gile is an impressive two-tiered waterfall with massive force.

The trek to the Tiu Kelep waterfall was more challenging and interesting. We went through lush tropical jungle, rocky trails and had to cross the shallow river that leads to the Tiu Kelep waterfall.

Tip: bring aqua shoes or hiking sandals if you do not want to wet your hiking shoes.

Tiu Kelep waterfall.

Trip report: Day trip to Sendang Gile & Tiu Kelep Waterfalls from Senggigi.

Day 4 – Free and easy at the Jeeva Klui Resort

This is the day where we made use of the resort’s facilities and chilled by beach.

We gathered as usual for our morning breakfast at the resort’s restaurant. The restaurant serves cooked to order breakfast and we took our time to savour the various items in the menu.

Chilling at the beach next to the resort.

After breakfast, some went to the gym while the rest of us took a stroll on the beach and went for a swim in the resort’s pool.

In the afternoon, we took taxis to the Orchid Spa for massage before returning to chill at the resort again.

We had dinner at the resort’s restaurant. It happened that there was live music at the restaurant on Saturdays. We enjoyed a night of excellent food and live entertainment. 

Trip report: Free and Easy at Jeeva Klui Resort in Senggigi, Lombok.

  

Day 5 – Travel to airport

Our return flight was scheduled for 11 AM. Our guide Jali and driver Andie picked us up from Jeeva Klui Resort as planned.

Good bye Lombok. Will be back soon.

Overall our first trip to Lombok has been fun and a little too short to fully appreciate what Lombok has to offer.

During our ride to airport, our guide Jali shared other areas in Lombok that are worth visiting for our next trip. This includes the beautiful beaches in the south of the island such as Kuta Beach or Pink Beach, and also the many other small islands (e.g. Gili Asahan, Gili Gede, Gili Nanggu) off the south western coast of Lombok.

I think this travel destination has a lot of potential and worth coming back again. Our guides (Omar and Jali) and driver had been excellent and I would likely engage them again.

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Makan, Massage and Sunset at Senggigi, Lombok

29 May 2024

We had nothing really planned for our first day in Lombok except to makan (“makan” means “eat” in Indonesian language), get a massage perhaps and watch the famous Senggigi sunset.

Sunset at Senggigi, Lombok

Our day started with a short morning flight from Singapore to Lombok. Just when I started to feel the ache on my neck due to the poor seat design of the budget airline’s A320, the captain announced the start of our descent into Lombok.

Our Scoot flight arrived slightly ahead of time at 10.15 AM but the immigration at the Praya International Airport took ages to process a small planeload of visitors. This was an early indication that time move s-l-o-w-l-y on this laidback tropical Indonesian island. We finally managed to exit the airport at about 11.30 AM.

I had pre-booked a van with driver and guide for our group of 8 persons. Omar, our guide for the next few days, was waiting patiently for us. He told us he is used to such delays.

“Just relax and take things slowly”, he advised with a smile.

Shortly after leaving the airport, we travelled along clean and well paved roads through the countryside. Padi fields and small villages with wooden huts are a common sight. Lombok is like the Bali that was twenty to thirty years ago. Lesser development, much less touristy, with little or no traffic jams along the roads.

We passed a roundabout with a building in the center. Omar told us this building has unique architecture combining features of a Christian cathedral, Muslim mosque and Chinese temple.

Bundaran Gerang. Can you spot the minarets of a mosque, the arches of a cathedral and the red square doors of a Chinese temple?

Compared to Bali where the majority of the population is Hindu, Lombok’s population is about 80% Muslim, 10% Christian and the rest a mix of Hinduism and Buddhism.

Our hotel for our entire stay in Lombok is the Jeeva Klui Resort, located at a secluded area in the Senggigi Beach area. Senggigi is about an hour by car from the airport. Located on the north-western part of the island, it is the best place to stay for those visiting the 3 Gili Islands (Gili Trawangan, Gili Air and Gili Meno), waterfalls in the northern part of Lombok (near the village of Senaru) and those who intend to trek to the peak of the Mount Rinjani.  

No, we are not doing trekking to Mount Rinjani. We are too physically unfit for that now.

On the way to Senggigi, we stopped for lunch at Lesehan Taliwang Nada, a restaurant in Mataram that specialises in a local dish called the Ayam Taliwang. Ayam Taliwang is a spicy Indonesian ayam bakar (grilled chicken) dish from Lombok. The spices are made from red chilies, onion, garlic, tomatoes, fried shrimp paste, brown sugar, salt and other seasonings. It is usually served with steamed rice.

Ayam Taliwang.

The chicken served in this restaurant is unusually small. The restaurant uses young spring chickens that are about the size of adult quails for this dish.  

My wife and I ordered an Ayam Bakar Taliwang, an Ayam Bakar Madu which is grilled chicken coated with honey and a Bebalung soup to share.

Although the spices in the Ayam Taliwang are tasty, I found the chicken meat a little chewy. That is because the chicken in Lombok are free-ranging “kampong chicken”, not chickens reared in cages. Hence, the meat of the “kampong chicken” is slightly tougher but it has more flavour. It is probably why the dish uses young chickens. The meat of the adult chickens would be tougher.

Bebalung soup.

The Bebalung Sapi is a local version of the ox ribs soup, cooked with spices consisting of chili, garlic, shallot, galangal, ginger and saffron.

Omar told us the locals drink this soup to energize them and boost their vitality. The beef in the soup was well cooked, almost falling off the bone. The broth was quite tasty, full of beef flavour and collagen. Yum.  

Enjoying our lunch at the Lesehan Taliwang Nada.

In addition, our group ordered 2 fried gurame (a local freshwater fish) and mixed vegetables to share. Indonesia is well known for their “Flying Fish” or Gurame Goreng, a deep fried fresh water fish marinated with a special sauce. The fish is usually prepared with their flesh sliced off the bone so that both sides of its meat are curled up during frying to look as if it has flying fins.

The restaurant staff warned us that we would have to wait 30 minutes for them to catch the live fish from the pond, clean and cook them. It was worth the wait as the fried fish was delicious although it did not have the looks of the “flying fish”.

It tasted excellent, especially when eaten with the sambal chilli that was provided. Every part of the fish was super crispy. My friends ended up munching each bit of it, including most of the head, fins and tail. They claimed it was better than the Ayam Taliwang.

Our gurame goreng without the flying wings!

Another local Lombok dish we tried is the Pelecing Kangkung, a water spinach with spicy sauce. What made this dish special is the pelecing sambal, made from ground red chili pepper, shallot, garlic, bird's eye chili, candlenut, kaffir lime, shrimp paste, salt, and sugar.  

Spicy pelecing sambal on top of blanched kangkung, bean sprouts and garnished with roasted peanuts and fried shallots.

All the ingredients are given a good toss and mixed before eating.

After our first taste of Lombok cuisine, we continued our drive on a coastal road towards Senggigi. We could see nice views of the ocean as our van weaved its way up and down, through small hamlets and coconut plantations.

Jeeva Klui Resort is located a little out from Senggigi town center. We had to drive through the town to get to it. We made a quick stop at the Orchid Day Spa to get a brochure.

We checked into our Ocean facing suite at the resort, had a shower and took some time to check out the surroundings.

My Oceanfront Villa in the Jeeva Klui Resort, Senggigi. 

Although the rooms in the resort looked aged, the grounds of the resort were immaculate. There was greenery all round, giving the vibes of a luxury tropical resort.

View from the beachfront terrace of the suite.

Loved the sight of many tall coconut trees just outside my room.

I could hear the roar of the surf from my room, beckoning me to have a closer look and snap some photos.

Plenty of daybeds by the pool and facing the ocean.

Waves breaking on the reef about 100 m away from shore.

Nice beach in front of Jeeva Klui Resort.

Although the hotel offers spa service, we decided to head to the Orchid Day Spa we saw earlier in the town center. The Orchid Day Spa offered various kinds of massage at good prices.

It was just before sunset when we finished our massage. We arrived at the nearby Tanjung Bias Beach, just in time to watch the sunset.

Sunset at Tanjung Bias Beach.

While my friends were focused on the sunset, I was snapping photos of the local kids enjoying the surf and the sand. There were also two small white ponies available for rides. 

Kids playing on the beach.

    Kids enjoying a ride on one of the super cute and tiny ponies. 

     The locals seem impervious to the dangers of the quite dangerous surf   

The orange globe of the sun quickly went behind the cloud and Mount Agung in the horizon and it was time for dinner!

Silhouette of Mount Agung appeared as the sun sets behind the mountain. Mount Agung is actually a volcano located in Bali, a neighbouring island located west of Lombok.

Dinner was at the Yessy Kitchen, located right on the beach.

Yessy Kitchen serves good seafood. We ordered the set dinner menu for 6 persons and added more dishes. This came with an assorted of seafood and local dishes that included ikan bakar (grilled fish), Crab in spicy sauce, fried battered prawns, cap cay (mixed vegetables), pelecing kangkung, tauhu and tempe (tempe is a traditional Indonesian food made from fermented soybeans), omelette, drinks (coconut water), and cut fruits.

Enjoying Lombok’s seafood and local cuisine at Yessy Kitchen.

Our favourite dish was the grilled Ikan Barona, a fairly large sized rabbit fish, served with a spicy dipping sauce. The deep fried fish provides a crispy skin with a delicate and slightly sweet flesh inside.

Overall, the dinner at Yessy Kitchen was good value for money. The friendly boss even came and served us complimentary Lombok coffee after our meal.

Lombok coffee is made from robusta beans grown on the rich volcanic soil found on the slopes of Mount Rinjani. According to my local guide, the coffee beans are roasted with some rice to give it a unique smoky taste. The very dark, almost pitch black, coffee was served unfiltered. So the trick is to not stir the coffee and let the residuals settle at the bottom of the cup before drinking.

There are local vendors selling souvenirs like pearls and T-shirts along the beach. Somehow, they respected the boundaries laid down by the restaurant and did not approached us at our dining table. Instead, they would hawk their wares outside an imaginary boundary. A few of my travelling companions went to support the locals and bought some bargain-priced T-shirts (30,000 IDR each), under the watchful eyes of the restaurant owner.

My first impression of Lombok in Day 1 has been positive – friendly people who are respectful, clean streets, relaxed countryside and seaside vibes and tasty food.

Looking forward to Day 2 where we had booked a boat trip to the Gili Islands!

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