Sumbawa is one of the 13,000 plus islands in the Indonesian archipelago. It’s a large island to the east of Bali and Lombok. Sumbawa, along with Lombok, is part of West Nusa Tenggara. There are hundreds of small islands in this area in addition to the two major islands.
Sumbawa is known to some tourists for its great waves and sandy white beaches. Due to the somewhat trying process of getting there and the scarcity of cheap tourist facilities, the island is not visited much by non-surfing tourists which is unfortunate as parts of the island are quite beautiful.
Sumbawa is a rugged island with an indented coastline that feature a number of peninsulas, spectacular bays and numerous off-shore islands.
There are two main languages. In the west people speak Bahasa Sumbawa (Samawa) and in the east people speak Bahasa Bima (Mbojo)
Sumbawa really belongs more to Eastern Indonesia than to to the West. The effects of Hindu and Buddhist cultures are minimal in Sumbawa; the majority of the population are Muslims.
During the dry season (April to November) a lot of dust is blown up and around. Strong winds blow in off the ocean, and the lush green hills, mountains and valleys turn a dusty brown. When the rainy season begins an amazing transformation takes place and the island becomes a lush jungle once again. Because of dryness, Sumbawa is frequented with crop failures, and even more so than Lombok, is subject to extreme poverty and starvation is not uncommon, robberies due to extreme desperation do occur. In October 2012, 20 children died in a single month on Sumbawa from malnutrition.
As most of the island is still developing, there is a very rural feel to just about everything, including Sumbawa Besar, the capital of the western side of the island. The mining company, Newmont, has a gold and copper mine down in the southwestern corner of the island around the villages of Sekongkang, Maluk and Benete. Their presence has speeded up the development process in this side of the island, though the vast majority are in abject poverty and claims of environmental destruction have been made against the company, which has had to suspend operations due to mass rioting.
Bahasa Indonesia is spoken widely in Sumbawa.
On Jalan Hassanudin at number 47 is Cipta Sari Bakery. This is a great place for snacks both sweet and savoury. Eric and Leah are lovely people who welcome travellers and are good sources of information. Badas port, about 6km west of the city, is a fascinating place if you like ships. You can see manual loading of corn into bulk freighters which transport it to Surabaya. It’s tough work raking out the corn trucks. The workers are very friendly guys. Sumbawa Besar is a clean town. People are very friendly. There are some good day trips in the area. At Semongkat there is a swimming pool built by the Dutch. There is good coastal scenery at Tanjung Menanggis and the beach at Aik Lemak is so tranquil. There are a couple of cool coffee lounges in Sumbawa Besar. Oases is just off Jalan Kamboja and Kedai Chit Chat is not far from Hotel Tambora. Funky decor and great music. There is a fine Chinese-Indonesian restaurant on Jln Hasannudin. Aneka Rasa Jaya has been around for years, has a huge menu and serves beer.
There is also a twice weekly ferry from Sape to Waikelo on Sumba
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