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.

Review: Scallywags, Gili Trawangan, Lombok, Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia!

Imagine crystal turquoise and deep blue seas, fine white sand beaches, chilled out sounds of reggae music, the tinkle of a bicycle bell, the sound of horse hooves trotting along, the laughter of playing children and the smells of sate and sambal….welcome to the Gili Islands!

The Gili Islands were our first stop in Indonesia and they were a fantastic choice to relax and prepare for our adventures in Asia.  To get to the islands you have to fly to Bali and then take a taxi and boat over. The taxi from the airport to Padangbai port takes about 2 – 4 hours depending on the time of day and the traffic.From Padangbai you can take a ‘fast boat’ which takes an hour to the Gili’s and arrive in 2 hours! There are 3 islands making up the Gili’s – Air, Meno and Trawangan and the boat stops the Air and the latter.  If you want to go to Meno you need to charter a boat or take the taxi boat from one of the larger two islands.

Picture from Wikitravel; Gili Islands

Gili Trawangan receives the most tourist traffic currently, but don’t let this put you off as when we arrived we were surprised that is was not overrun and had a great feel to it.  If you wonder to the left when you leave the boat you will come across the ‘noisy’ area of the island, where the bars are as well as guesthouses.  The luxury hotels are also at the far end when walking in this direction.  If you walk right as we happened to it’s a bit more relaxed and quiet and there aren’t really bars that come alive at night. There are more day time beach bars and cafes with cushions on the beach serving smoothies and beers.

We found a great little place to stay for under $5 and it was perfect.  From there we chilled out, could wonder over to the beach and snorkel off the beach which was idyllic, and walk and explore the island. The snorkelling here is stunning and I can't recommend it enough…you can swim with turtles if you are patient to find them, but definitely are guaranteed to see hundreds of beautiful brightly coloured fish.

As you are surely now picturing – it’s a hard life here!!  So after all this activity you will find yourself hungry, and when you do there are plenty of options.  We tried out a café called ‘Scallywags’ which looked really inviting and had some good reviews.  This was a good decision as it is comfortable, had a great menu and the food and service were brilliant.  I tried my first nasi goreng here and instantly fell in love with the dish.  As we discovered throughout Indonesia it is hard to find a truly bad nasi goring in Indonesia….however, you can find a few that are really exceptional and stand out and looking back I think this was one of those!  James sampled a more ‘international’ dish of chicken in mushroom and white wine sauce which although was very tasty, was very rich and a large portion so he struggled to finish the whole thing!

However, I would definitely recommend this café for a nice meal and if you need to get onto the internet you can also use wi-fi here whilst enjoying your meal or just drinks.