Finding Perspective in the Simplicity of Lombok

Bali is home, but Lombok was a time machine.

After visiting Bali for 20 years and living here for almost 3, Nick Clift and I finally made the short trip across the water to Lombok.

It was a stark reminder of why we fell in love with this part of the world in the first place.

We stayed in a beautiful resort, but the real magic happened when we traded the air-conditioned comfort of a car for two rental scooters.

Lombok today feels exactly like Bali did two decades ago.

The main hub of Kuta is small and buzzing with the usual mix of bars, restaurants and massage shops.

But the moment you ride past the town limits, the noise stops.

The landscape opens up into something serene and untouched.

We rode through villages where life moves at a different pace.

Kids were running through roadside puddles after the rain, waving and calling out to us with genuine curiosity.

They were pretty cheeky, shouting things in Indonesian we couldn't understand.

Honestly, that might have been a blessing.

The roads belong to everyone there.

We carefully passed water buffalo wandering happily along the road or grazing on the shoulder.

There were goats, plenty of chickens and even a community of monkeys watching us pass.

I almost had a heart attack before even leaving the resort grounds when a decent sized monitor lizard bolted across the road and I nearly ran over its tail.

There are no "tourist offerings" out there.

No western comforts, very little English and certainly no polished facilities.

It is raw, real and incredibly refreshing.

As a business owner & EOS Implementer, I’m always looking for clarity and alignment.

Sometimes you have to strip away the complexity of modern development to remember what actually matters.

In business, we often over-complicate our "customer experience" until it feels clinical.

Lombok reminded me that there is immense value in simplicity and authentic connection.

We are already planning our next trip.

It will be longer than just a weekend, we’ll stay in a villa and we will definitely be back on those scooters to see the rest of the island at our own pace.

When was the last time you stepped away from the comforts of the "known" to find a bit of perspective?