We then spent the afternoon relaxing by the pool and I snuck away for a Tibetan bowl massage which is said to alleviate prolonged physical and emotional pains, and improves the overall condition of your body through sound.  I found it incredibly relaxing and put me in such a peaceful and mellow mood for the day.

We ate some amazing meals at Puri Mas but here are a few of our favorites. On our last night of our vacation, we ordered the Rijsstafel Set Dinner which was a delightful eight course Indonesian meal.  A few of our favorite dishes were the tender young bamboo shoots in curried coconut sauce and the lamb cooked in coconut milk, chilies and turmeric.  But truthfully everything was excellent and it was fun to have a chance to taste so many different Indonesian meals.

Lombok is also a melting pot of cultures with 70% of the islands population being Sasak which are the indigenous people of Lombok who follow the muslim religion. The remaining population are Hindu. Both of these cultures have many religious ceremonies, dances and traditions but the two cultures live harmoniously together. In the Kampung (village) in the Keradangan Valley where we stayed in Lombok there were Balinese Hindu and Sasak living side by side. Driving through this village one day we say a muslim tradition called "funny soccer" where the men dress up in womens clothing and play sock in a muddy wet field while the whole village watches and cheers them on. On another day we visited a Hindu temple and observed a formal Hindu ceremony take place.

Horse Cart on Gili Meno from Lynn Wood on Vimeo.




Lombok and Gili Islands 2014 from Lynn Wood on Vimeo.

Roosters Roosting in Gili Meno from Lynn Wood on Vimeo.

Here is my video compilation of our two week adventure to Lombok and the Gili islands with my parents.  If you watch all the way to the end you will get to see Kingsley and I looking ridiculous while dancing to "Hands up" the theme song for my video.  Trust me it is worth the wait!


Lombok and Gili Islands 2014 from Lynn Wood on Vimeo.

Villa Sayang is the small private villa where we spent our first 5 nights on Gili Meno island.  I chose Gili Meno out of the three Gili Islands because it is the smallest, quietest and least developed.  Also the fact that there were no cars or motorcycles but only horse drawn carts around the island was very appealing to me.  I was also looking for an accommodation with a decent kitchen where we could prepare meals together.  In order to accomplish this about half of my luggage was filled with food and cooking items. There are no modern grocery stores on Gili Meno.






I brought: pre-made gluten free bread loaf (which my mom made for us), gluten free pumpkin pancake mix, maple syrup, peanut butter, corn tortillas and taco seasoning, quinoa and brown rice, seasoning, hot sauce, cans of tuna, cheese (which I froze prior to our trip), rice crackers and trail mix.   Yes that seems like a lot for one suitcase but over 5 days we pretty much polished off all the food that I brought.

About an 8 minute walk inland from our villa there was a very small open air shop that sold a few vegetables and fruits where we were able to pick up some- ok looking- tomatoes, carrots, eggs, bananas, mangos and pineapples.  Though Kingsley complained bitterly about the size and weight of my check-in bag, I have to say we ate so well on the trip and had a great time preparing meals together in the simple but adequate kitchen.  After spending two weeks camping and cooking out of the back of a camper van in New Zealand this kitchen actually felt very luxurious to me.  My Mom and Dad were slightly less impressed but we still managed to make some amazing meals together and have a lot of fun doing it!

The Villa was was originally built from antique and reclaimed wood in a tra­di­tion­al Lom­bok open air style. The ground floor has an open living and din­ing room, kit­chen and a large open air bath­room. Upstairs there are two double bedrooms equipped with mos­quito nets and fans and a second liv­ing room with a bal­cony.

Sylvia and Saleh who own and run the property were very helpful and kind, even bringing pineapple fritters by every afternoon.  The accommodation was simple but I felt it was perfect for what we were looking for.  The few negatives would be the close proximity to the island mosque down the road which loudly plays the call to prayer 5 times a day.  The 4am one somehow seemed to be the longest and loudest followed promptly by the roosters!  Also it is an open air cottage so there is really no place to go to escape the mosquitos.  The mosquito nets around the beds are a lifesaver but even with the best mosquito repellants and coils the number of bug bites we walked away with after 5 days was a bit scary! Lastly there is no aircon in the villa and though the heat didn't bother me too much, it was a little much for Kingsley and my parents. I would just keep all of those things in mind if we were to stay there again, but other than that we truly enjoyed our time at Villa Sayang.

Gardens By the Bay Christmas from Lynn Wood on Vimeo.

Corn Bread Stuffing Serves: 8 Ingredients: 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 cup celery 1 1/2 cups onion 4 cups Fuji apple 3 Tbsp flat leaf parsley 1 Tbsp sage 1 Tbsp thyme 2 tsp rosemary 10 cups cornbread 2 cups chestnuts 2 cups cooked crumbles Italian sausage 1 tsp salt 1 tsp black pepper 1 eggs 3 1/4 cups chicken broth 4 Tbsp butter Directions: Preheat oven to 350. Coat 9x13 dish with olive oil. Heat remaining 1 tsp olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over med heat. Add celery, onion. Sauté 5 min. Add apple, parsley, sage ,thyme, rose merry, sauté 3 min. Combine apple mixture, bread, chestnuts, sausage, egg, hot chicken broth in a large bowl. Mixture should be moist but not soaked. Spoon into baking dish. Dot with butter cove tight foil, bake 350 for 30 min. Uncover bake for 25 min until top is golden brown. Let sit for 15-20 min. Serve.

The meal was delicious and the corn bread stuffing was a hit.  Even my gluten-free disparaging brothers had second helpings!