Mataram

The provincial capital of Mataram acts as one of the primary gateways to the paradisal beaches on the east coast of Nusa Tenggara’s Lombok Island. Everyday visitors arrive here from nearby Bali, coming in through the city’s port at Ampenan, or the nearby airport, to make a beeline for Senggigi, the Gilis or Kuta to the north. Though the selection of inner-city sights is rather limited, travellers spending time in Mataram will find a pleasant café culture and oodles of retail therapy beckoning at the city’s backstreet mazes as well as modern day malls. Ask your Mataram tourist guide for a local experience, to be directed straight to Jalan Udayana where clusters of traditional Indonesian warungs converge on the road. Not only is this the best spot to try culinary specialities like the peanut tempe or nasi goreng rice, but it’s also a great place to people watch as the locals whiz back and forth on their purring scooters. Mataram also does well to showcase the curious Hindu history that has survived in this corner of the Nusa archipelago, at the Pura Meru temple and the Mayura Garden at Cakranegara.