Hi Everyone. It's been sometime since writing as we've been enjoying some R&R on the island of Lombok, "a holiday from our holiday", if that makes sense. We took the public ferry from Padang Bai, Bali over to Lember, Lombok. After a long 5-hr ferry trip we arrived. Our friend Bill tells us just follow the main road North and you will arrive in Senggegi. Driving through the city of Mataram was difficult as there was heavy rain and without signs telling us which way to go to the next city. After 2.5 hours we arrive in Senggegi, a popular tourist destination on the ocean. We ask around and find a small warung (local restaurant) with delicious fresh seafood. We travel up to the village of Teluk Nara to meet up with Bill (our Aussie teacher friend and his wife Yuli also a teacher from Java). Spectacular scenery winding up and down through the mountains seeing the white sand beaches lined with palm trees and sparkling turquoise water. It feels wonderful to be near the ocean again and anticipating swimming and snorkelling in the pristine water.

The next couple of weeks are spent meeting the locals in the village, exploring many amazing sights and of course relaxing on the beach. While on the beach we are dreaming about building our own boat one day similar to some of the ones docked in the bay. We hear that the boats are inexpensive to build on Sumbaya Island and Surabaya on Java. Teluk Nara is still a sleepy little fishing village, a beautiful undeveloped area.

You can see the 3 Gillis Islands from the bay. It's about a 45-minute boat ride to the islands, give our take depending on the speed of the boat. Gillis Trawangnan is the largest of the 3 islands and the most frequented. There are many accomodations and restaurants throughout the island. Horse-drawn carts and bicycles are the modes of transportation as there aren't cars on the islands.

The highlight of our trip to Gillis T. had to be swimming with a huge leather-back turtle and the many sights of the brilliantly colored flora, fauna and fish.

It's so laid back you can easily lose track of time and just "forget the world".

We found Lombok quiet, undeveloped (for the most part) and extremely beautiful. The wider, less travelled roads in comparison to Bali were a bonus to drive on. Alvin calls Lombok an "exotic pearl".

We hope to return to Lombok soon!