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About Lombok
Lombok (population 2,950,105 in 2005) is an island in West Nusa Tenggara
province, Indonesia. It is part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands,
with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas
Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east. It is roughly circular, with a
"tail" to the southwest, about 70 km across and a total area of about
4,725 km² (1,825 sq mi). The administrative capital and largest city
on the island is Mataram. The island's inhabitants are 85% Sasak (a people,
related to the Balinese, but mostly practising Islam), 10-15% Balinese,
with the small remainder being Chinese, Arab, Javanese, and Sumbawanese.
The Island still preserves the laidback charm that Bali lost already.
Live in the villages still goes as ever; nobody is in great hurry. There
is places where the people from ancient times specialize on pottery or
handwoven textiles. Most traditional are the fishermen in their idyllic backwaters.
The citizens of Lombok are very fiendly and if one gets in some bad wheather far
away from his own place they will certainly invite him into their houses no matter
whether he is indonesian or not.
The Landscape changes from the mountains and jungles in the west to the dry
planes in the east. Rivers float throughout Lombok and it is most exiting to
follow one of them into the highlands where it springs. The major export article
is Tobacco at this time; the big companies of the world have an eye on Lombok-tobacco
for some time already. Hand-carved furniture is also a hit on the island. Some bigger
companies produce considerable amounts of fine art furniture at very little costs.
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