By Nico Prins
It was the view that sold me. I can still remember first visiting the cafe at the top of the hill three years ago and being completely blown away by the view. From the top of the hill, you can see the whole of the valley before you, the miles of sandy beaches and the ocean stretching out to the horizon. Stretching out in a semi circle surrounding the valley is a ring of hills. The view is simply breathtaking and I promised to myself that one day I would return to Kuta in the South of lombok.
This week I am fulfilling my promise. An old friend from my university days is passing through South East Asia and although we’ve been badly organised, we eventually arranged to meet in Kuta. In fact, we decided to rent a house at the top of the hill overlooking Kuta and the bay. The first night we stayed here it was my birthday on the first day of my 31st year I woke up at sunrise to this incredible scene.
My plan has actually been to catch up on some work and try and get some of the projects I am working on off of the ground. Unfortunately however the internet in Kuta sucks – it took me fifteen minutes to open a page on a website and for the last two days I haven’t been able to download my emails. So instead of working hard, I have been enjoying life.
In fact, over the last few days I’ve managed to do a lot of the things that I love and have forgotten about. For the first time in four years, I got back on a surf board and caught a few waves. I managed to go under the water and do some incredible diving – more about that on Tuesday. Then to finish each day off, I have spent the evenings sitting in the hammock, with a beer in my hand simply taking in the view and catching up with my friend.
After two weeks on the road and three months sitting in front of a computer working away at different things, I think I deserve this. Next week I will start working again as I head off for Sumbawa on my next leg of my road trip, but for now I’m just going to sit in the hammock and take in one of the best views in the world.
kuta kuta lombok