Hotel Tugu, "the art, soul and romance of Indonesia" Part Two

Welcome to Hotel Tugu, "the art, soul and romance of Indonesia".

Immediately greeted at the car as if by magic by Henry who seemed so happy to meet us and made us feel like we were long lost family rather than complete strangers. Our bags were swept away and we were ushered in to a stunning entrance hall and guided to a seating area by a beautiful pond to relax. 

Presented with ice cool mocktails and towels to freshen our weary faces suddenly the weight of life, home and everything else disappeared, we were calm and relaxed, sucked into this mystical tranquillity which Tugu creates....

The days that followed were a mirage of decadence, happiness and astonishment at how one place can just make you feel so special and get everything right. They have thought about every single detail from little things like the morning floral greeting for all the women to the personal messages written on leaves every meal you have to every staff member always being so happy to see you and knowing your name! We were Mr John and Miss Emma for the duration and it all felt so precious. The Manager Fernando and his close knit team; Henry, Jacob, Dede, Faisal, Gede, Taman, Ruby and Wire were all but to name a few of the truly wonderful staff who make Tugu what it is and more and who we grew most fond of and miss terribly.

Needless to say we have kept all our token gifts of floral weaves and notes written on leaves and each time I look at them back here in cold wet England they just bring a great feeling of warmth and happiness.

Picture the scene, sun beating down, crystal clear waters, trees swaying, sea soaring, coral twinkling as it is softly tossed back and forth by the luke warm ocean. Tiny birds flying low doing loops and tweeting happily, lazy bodies lying in large colourful beds or shading themselves under parasols from the midday sun. The nearby sound of the afternoon prayer - sounds and rhythms of the Koran becoming the music of your afternoon. The occasional pop of a coconut being cut or child's cackle as it jumps into the pool or the splash as a fisherman makes his catch. The only interruption you are likely to receive will be one of the waiters asking of you if you'd like to try some complimentary fresh fruit or like to pick one of the fish that had just been caught for your dinner that night.

Tugu is all about the atmosphere it creates, from the architecture to it's locations to the simple things that can make such a difference to your stay. You can eat your breakfast at any time of the day / night - if you are a late riser there's no pressure to rush to a dining area for the last 15 minute of a diminished breakfast. The other wonderful thing that has to be noted is that you can eat your breakfast / lunch / dinner or snacks anywhere you want at Tugu. So if you want to eat in the lobby, the main outdoor covered restaurant, or your room's beautiful copper bath or at the beach - you have it there, your wish is their command! Some of the most memorable meals that we had were in unusual places that you could only experience at somewhere like Tugu!

My favourite drink, a watermelon juice. All the food and juices are homemade at Tugu and the menu is vast and deliciously varied 

A beautiful floral "gift" on our way for breakfast.

Having dinner in the main hotel restaurant, beautiful heavy Indonesian furniture that has been reclaimed and restored.

The hotel pool and the main restaurant. Covered but the sense of being open to the elements, a really breathtaking building.

One night we had supper on the roof of the 11th century Buddhist Temple.... Candle lit all the way up the steps to a beautifully decorated table, private waiter service and just the sounds of the ocean and an eager gecko calling out to his friends. Sitting under lit carvings of the Queen Maha Maya (Buddha's mother) from her youngest years through to her older days it was such a peaceful and invigorating experience.

We also had many a night on a table set up on the beach. The effort that goes into these set up is incredible- nothing held back on, each table a good 10 mts from the next, surrounded by your own private halo of candles that allows you to feel totally absorbed in just each other. If you are lucky enough, as we were on a couple of nights you will have the beach totally to yourself with no other diners. 

For a special occasion or just an even more memorable dinner you can have the Bamboo Beach Bed set up for you for a small extra charge of $10. One of the most memorable nights of my life so far.

Bamboo Beach bed.

4 pm in the afternoon is something we both thoroughly looked forward to at Tugu as it was tea time. The hotel provides from 4-6 pm complimentary tea for all the guests, incorporating a varied selection of delicious homemade traditional Indonesian savoury and sweet treats.  

Our favourite place to have tea was by the edge of the hotel pool lying on the large day beds watching the sun start to fade and playing cards. No tea time was the same, always something new to try, another thing Tugu doesn't fail to impress on. 

Part 3 to follow! 

A secret I have to share.....

So I am writing this blog to you with a somewhat nostalgic pang looking back at having just had the best twelve days of my life so far in Indonesia. I am going to set the scene for you in the hope that I can rebuild the magic that we experienced and just how incredibly amazing the place we stayed at was. As much as I want to keep this a secret between myself and P, I also want to shout about it from the roof tops and urge everyone who will listen to go and experience what we have been fortunate enough to!

I shall begin....

Monday 25 April 2013:
17:40pm (Local time)

No sooner had we hopped off the plane the differences between the glossy, clean cut Singapore and Lombok Airport stood to order. 40 minutes standing in immigration - consisting of one very jovial man, who seemed more interested talking to his security pal and not at all worried by the gathering queue of hot, tired and hungry people in front of him! We eventually made it through and tiredly collected our bags from the jolting carousel and made our way out.

The arrivals lounge was more like a hot and sticky social club where every man, woman and child you could imagine congregated- everyone trying to grab your attention to tell you something: offerings of taxis, food and accommodation.

Taken from: http://trekkingrinjani.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/how-to-get-to-lombok-from-bali.html 

Horns beeping, men shouting and a lot of very sweaty and tiresome tourists trying to get to their cars. We were greeted by a very smiley man from the hotel who immediately made us feel special and excited about where we were going. . . Getting in to the fridge cool car was like heaven and better still we were presented with a cooler stocked with ice cool water and fresh tropical fruit - compliments of the hotel- to help us through the 1.45 hr car ride ahead....

Driving through the roads of Lombok at dusk was a true experience, people everywhere - most of their transport motor bikes and occasional horse and cart. Random little shops popping up everywhere, selling anything from coconuts, drinks or bamboo furniture to motor parts, Indonesian clothing or ice cream. Mosques that you could hear for about 1/2 a mile before you could see them- something that you urged to happen again and again.  

Women walking along the dusty main road out of Mataram city centre with large buckets of coconuts on their heads - no hands, walking perfected; groups of youths congregating around roundabouts - a usual place to gather for fun our taxi driver tells us. Girls wrapped in saris on the back of bikes- some even riding side saddle; horses cumbersomely pulling tourists along - everywhere you look there are sites not to be missed! 

The uniqueness of this place grapples with your imagination, energy and excitement. From the business to the blackness we went from madness to quiet roads meandering alongside giant tree covered hills - even in the darkness the lush green stuck out suggesting that we were one step closer to our final destination. Less traffic, but still that bizarre scattering of people sat at the side of the road selling things or just chatting in pitch black.

As we climbed up the long twisting  road we could have been in the Welsh country side - if it weren't for the occasional hand built hut where young people again lay - laughing as the light hit their eyes. No sooner had my thoughts been taken to Wales and home my daydream was interrupted by our taxi driver "we are in the jungle.."

We must have been driving up hill, regular snake like twists for about 25 minutes - up and up and up! And then suddenly from nowhere there appeared to be monkeys, hundreds of them, families walking along holding hands, others just sitting on the side of the road eating bananas.... and one in particular eating a chocolate bar! The most human-like monkey's we had ever seen. Slightly concerned that neither of us had had our rabies jabs we decided against a potentially painful photograph experience and drove on. The light completely gone now we were back snaking down- a line or red brake lights in front disappearing around corners just a tunnel of trees and the occasional flash of eyes for immediate friends.

The journey went so quickly in hindsight as there was so much to see, so may changes of scenery: from the busy chaos of the city to the rural tranquility of the paddy fields to the monkeys to the darkness.... we hadn't even begun our holiday yet and already we had seen so much.

And then as the engine of the car slowed down and we turned off the road on to a long unkempt track we were sensed we were here..... Paradise.

Part two to follow!