Indonesia - Lombok - Ekas - Heaven on the Planet Resort - April/May 2010

Heaven on a Planet resort is situated at Ekas in the south east of Lombok on a hill overlooking a wide bay. It is an isolated place with a few nearby small rural villages.

The resort has a large entertainment and eating area. The menu has a large choice of meals. Down the hill from this level is another entertainment area with chairs, television and sound system. Below level is the small but nice swimming pool.

The rooms are situated in the gardens or overlooking the bay.

My room had a large double bed with mosquito net, television, DVD, various pieces of furniture and a bathroom.

 

 

The gardens have paths leading in various directions. At the bottom of the hill is a nice white sand beach with reasonable swimming at high tide. There are chairs and tables. The resort boat is moored on the beach.

The staff are westerners and locals. All are friendly and very helpful.

Power is provided by generator, which is turned off during the night. On a few nights, the lack of fan made the room extremely hot and uncomfortable. The roof is thatched so the nets are to keep out mosquitoes and critters from the roof. Scorpions are around and they search for damp places so shake your towel and costumes well before using.

There are other inclusions in the package deal stay or one can opt for the no package deal.

 

Overall, it is a great place to stay but expensive by Lombok standards. Drinks and certain activities are in addition to the package cost.

Indonesia - Sumba - Kelala, Mr David's Resort - April 2010

Mr David’s resort - 350 000 rupiah per night with three meals


Telephone - 081337873589 ask for David.

Sumba driver with reasonable English – Youdi – 085253497776

Waingapu to Kelala – 500 000 rupiah one way

Mr David’s resort is in Kelala in the east of Sumba. It is next to a beautiful while sand beach and reefs with reasonable surfing waves.

The sleeping area is a ‘villa’ made of wood on stilts. There are two rooms per villa. The two rooms share a wide veranda that has some chairs, table and hammock. The rooms are large and consist of a mattress and base with an overhanging mosquito net. The only other piece of furniture is an open cupboard to put a few things. There is also a power point. Power is only on while the generator is running. At the rear of the villa is a shared bathroom with a traditional showering area and a western toilet with a traditional flush system (that is, scoop up the water from the mandi to flush the toilet. Overall, it is basic but very roomy and clean.

There is a huge eating/entertainment area at the entrance of the resort. It is a wooden building with plenty of tables to sit at for dinner and heaps of chairs and lounges on the other side to watch television or DVDs.

The three meals are included in the price and are served at the tables. They are huge and if you are still hungry just ask for more. While I was there I had lobster, whole fish, beef steak and fish curries. These were all served with vegetables, rice and a variety of tapa type dishes like avocadoes, and hummus. The meals were excellent. This is good because there is nowhere else to eat or nearby shops. The kitchen was very clean.

David wasn’t there while I was there but his wife and three helpers looked after me very well without fussing or hovering. In fact, they were all pretty shy so if you want something, you need to ask.

The ‘package’ cost 350 000 rupiah per night, which is a pretty good deal considering the meals that were offered. I never did finish all thee meal and I’m a big eater.

The drinks – soft drink, beer and extra water – cost more but were fairly priced. Water was offered with meals at no charge.

Overall, I though the place was excellent. It was quiet, peaceful and clean.

I went twice to Mr David’s. The first time I was on my own and the only guest there. The second time, I came with Ross and there was another guest there, named Eric. Eric was a different sort of person with a lot of stories to tell.