LOMBOK: Gili islands

The Gili Islands were definitely our favorite part of Lombok. We took a slow boat out to the islands to snorkel for a day. We loved it so much we went back a second day.

But no slow boat the second day. We figured we could pay a dollar a person instead and take the public boat instead of hiring a boat for the day. Wow! Very Lombok. 40 people climb on with their chicken cages, propane tanks, kids and cigarettes. Not exactly what we were expecting. But got us there just fine!

3 islands off of Lombok. Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan.



The boys stayed busy digging and building and collecting coral. I could barely get them to look up for a picture or stop for lunch.

Dave and I stayed busy snorkeling. It was amazing!! The best snorkeling I have ever done! You could step right off the beach and see huge sea turtles and a million different kinds of colorful fish.

Have I told you snorkeling is my new favorite thing? I can float and watch those fish forever. Especially relaxing with this big belly. I had a Zen moment out there all by myself watching a big sea turtle floating on the edge of a reef with the call to prayer in my ears.





That is the color of the water, I promise. I didn't edit any of these photos. It was crystal.

The boys were reluctant to snorkel even though we'd be practicing in the pool at home. They didn't want salt water in their eyes. I understand. It stings. So we patiently persuaded and encouraged and then finally bribed them to just put the mask on and look down!

I saw a blue fish!!! screamed Gage
There's Nemo!!
Woah! I love this!!! said Noah.
Those ones have stripes!!
Did you see that Mom!!!
Now he says his favorite part of the trip was floating in the Gilis and snorkeling.

On Gili Trawangan, down the beach a little ways from where we were snorkeling was a Turtle Sanctuary. They hatch the baby turtles and then help them back out to sea. 

love stuff like that. 

Gili Trawangan also had lots of boutique hotels, shops, restaurants, diving shops, and of course a mosque being built. I had the yummiest nasi goreng for $2.

need a lift? no motor bikes allowed. 

We stayed until the sun set. Making friends. 

on Leap Day no less. 

Noah loved the idea of leap year. An extra day? That's crazy! So we had to get a leaping picture. 

LOMBOK: r and r

We spent a lot of our time at the hotel. Hopping from pool to beach. 

This funny kid was ordering food like a pro. He can read the menu now. And is not afraid to talk to anybody. His usual : "Superman hotdog please with a side of french fries and A LOT of tomato sauce. Thank you!" 

They played crocodiles and monkeys in the pool. Can you guess who the monkey eating crocodile was? 

Take a break to ride the pony

or to grab some sand toys from the room to head to the beach.

If you need a snack the Pineapple Lady could always be found. 

Time to go to dinner

and we wouldn't miss the sunset.

We could see Bali's volcano across the way. 

LOMBOK: Pura Meru

Lombok has some Sasak villages on the east side that sound fascinating (to me). Villages were you can see the Sasak people handweaving cloth or baskets, or spinning pottery, or carving wooden crafts. But I knew the 3 hour drive in the back of a taxi with no seat belts would put the boys in our family (all 3) over the edge. So we satisfied my cultural cravings with a 20 minute trip to Mataram. The guide book said we could find a handweaving shop and a pottery centre right next to the temple. 

But this was Lombok. 

We could not find a thing. 

And nobody knew what we were talking about. 

Eventually we did make it to the temple. 

Pura Meru - the largest and oldest Hindu temple on Lombok. Build in 1720 by Balinese prince

The temple keeper welcomed us in, handed us sashes to tie around our waists and gave us a tour, his kids leading the way.  He was very knowledgeable about the history and stooped down to write in the sand, explaining the number of tiers and how they relate to the gods and the 3 big volcanoes of Indonesia.

3 towers for the 3 gods of Hinduism - Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva

offerings

suckers for the kids

After the tour we mentioned to the temple keeper that we were looking for a weaving workshop from our guidebook that could not be found. "You want to see handwoven cloth? Come see my mother in law." We walked just around the corner and down the back alley to his neighborhood, the kids running ahead. 

Their neighbor had their own private temple in the backyard. 

And sure enough there was Mother in Law weaving cloth with Old Blind Granny, skinny dogs and noisy roosters keeping her company. The temple keeper said it takes her 2 days to do 1 meter of cloth and she sells them at the local market. 

So off we went to the local market. The only gringos in sight. Stepping over piles of mangosteens and durian for sale, past stacks of baskets and onto towers of gorgeous handwoven cloth. It was the kind of place I always wish I could have taken more pictures, but felt too conspicuous with my huge camera. Not the best scenario for good negotiating, but at least I didn't pay the first price : )  

a typical thursday

 
7:30 am breakfast
round one- corn flakes with fresh mangoes and box milk
round two - eggs and toast, juice



8:15am take Noah to school bus



8:50am walk Gage to preschool

9:15am back home to clean up, dishes, start laundry, check email



9:45am walk to yoga



10:00 - 11:30am yoga

love the instructor's Singaporean accent (raise your left arms, sit on your bums, move your arms close to your years)

11:45am return library books, stop at outdoor market for bananas, apples and more mangoes

12:15am home again - pack a lunch, get swim stuff ready, switch laundry




12:40am pick up Gage from school



12:45am stand on the curb and grab a taxi



my prego belly sitting in the taxi with Gage
 




1:00pm playdate with Larsen buddies, eat lunch



3:25pm home in time to get Noah from school bus



3:30pm empty school bags, after school snack, homework, reading, piano

Then a whirlwind of 

laundry
dishes
dinner
dishes
bath
bedtime

where I don't know where the time went and didn't take any pictures

8:30pm email, calendaring, planning, computer time

with chocolates of course

9:30pm watched Arizona republican debate with Dave

with ice cream of course

10:45pm bed