Review: Malias Child Bungalow and Restaurant, Gili Meno, Lombok, Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia!

After spending a couple of days relaxing on Gili Trawangan we took a boat across the Gili Meno which is the smallest of the 3 islands and can be seen clearly from Gili Trawangan.  We had heard that you could see a komodo dragon in a small bird sanctuary on the island and as time was not permitting us to visit Komodo and Rinca island themselves we thought this would be second best for now!

Once on Gili Meno it was much less developed.  We took a horse and cart to show us around and first stopped at the bird sanctuary.  There were many birds there of all kinds…but sadly no komodo dragon anymore!

We next went over to some of the beautiful beaches which really are stunning and a little piece of paradise.  With just a few bungalows to stay in and a little bar on the beach it would be a lovely place to get away from everything and just enjoy the surroundings.  We chilled on the beach with a Bintang beer and went for a snorkel – again seeing lots of different fish although the water was a little rougher than it had been the previous two so we had to be a little aware of being pulled out.

We then took the cart the rest of the way round the island back to where we started.  It was a gorgeous journey, past the beaches, small rice paddies and a little village.  Once back at the main area we settled in a small hut on the beach and had a drink and went for another snorkel.  It was much better here than on the other side of the island and we got to swim with turtles again.  After we had a lunch at the small Malias Child Bungalow Restaurant.

I tried ‘gado-gado’, another popular, traditional dish.  I actually didn’t enjoy it that much…I found the sate very strong and a bit gritty, not so smooth, although I did enjoy eating some vegetables.  James ordered a pizza and that was superb!  We also saw other people eating potato skins filled which looked delicious.  Regardless of the gado-gado not being too hot, this restaurant was in the perfect location and I can see how you could loose hours sitting in the hut, reading, having a juice, some food and then jumping in the beautiful sea to cool off.