Meno Madia Bungalows

28/08/2024

Today was Mandi Sapar 🧡
An annual traditional ceremony held on the Gilis and probably our favourite! Prayer, amazing local food, games, music and everybody dancing in the morning, how cool is that 🙌🏼 . ‘Mandi’ means to bathe and, for fun, today is a day when people can throw each other into the ocean 😂💦🩵

13/06/2024

🩵 This never gets boring 🌟☀️🩵

22/05/2024

It’s been a while since we had the uplifting & grounding goodness of Hindu prayers and blessings at Meno Madia 🙏🏽
So grateful to welcome Mangku back today to do the honours 🙇‍♀️

17/04/2024

09/04/2024

When I first came to the Gilis in Lombok, I loved the look, shape and feel of the local Lumbung Bungalows.

A Lumbung is a traditional Indonesian rice barn used for storing surplus rice, an agrarian practice in Indonesia. Also, the word “lumbung” means a space used to meet, celebrate and share appreciation for the previous harvest.

At Meno Madia we built bungalows in this traditional, appealing, comfortable style. But traditional buildings in a tropical climate like this generally wear out, break down, corrode or rot very quickly. Materials need to be replaced regularly. I’ve read that as architecture, a lumbung can only remain relevant and sustainable if its users continuously renew and refill its resources.

So that’s what we’ve just done. After 7 years, our alang-alang (grass) roofs have been renewed. We’ve noticed with sadness that almost all roofs in the Gili’s have been replaced over recent years with more modern materials (steel, plastic, multiroof) and it seems coconut leaf and alang-alang roofs are disappearing. We didn’t want to lose the natural feel and breathability of our bungalows, and given the layout of Meno Madia we felt it important to keep the traditional look, even though it’s more expensive and needs replacing more often.

We think our lumbungs are beautiful and hope they continue to be a space to celebrate and share 🏝️ 🌴 ☀️ 🌧️ 🏝️

03/04/2024

So happy with our dedicated guys! Our team has grown recently and we are so grateful for their enthusiasm to keep Meno Madia looking great and to provide their wonderful Indonesian hospitality to all our guests 🧡. Here our superstar leader Diding is briefing Sukarto, Ili & Eka on the list of jobs. The guys have been busy! We recently upgraded all our bungalows with brand new alang-alang (grass) roofs with soundproofing, and installed hot water showers in each bathroom. Keeping up with the ‘times’ 😅 🤦🏼‍♀️ 🤗 🏝️ ☀️

11/01/2024

A busy day at Gili Meno “harbour” (11/1/24, not much different to when Meno Madia started 7 years ago) 😜 🏝️ ☀️ 🩵

15/11/2023

Here comes the rain again! The first rain in months hit Meno yesterday to settle the dust and wash all the leaves on the trees green again 💚

03/11/2023

It’s been a while! So nice to dive again 💙🩵💙

06/05/2023

So lucky to live this endless summer lifestyle. Another sunset & full moon cruise thanks to 🙏🏽. Last night we sat on Bubble Smuggler and dangled our feet in the warm crystal clear water. Enjoyed good company, local & homemade foods and lots of laughs while the kids all kept jumping off the boat into the ocean. Amazing!

02/05/2023

“Ships are safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for. So set sail on the stormy sea of love. You’re going to get soaked at times, but at least you’ll know you’re alive.” ~ Dan Millman

We’ve had some storms again recently. It’s amazing what’s carried on the ocean currents, and how the tides and waves deliver stuff to our shores. Sadly it’s usually plastic, but often it’s trees and bamboo. Sometimes offerings. Today this was the sea’s offering to Meno. Not an item designed and produced by a multinational-owned factory on a distant land. Consumed and discarded by a local on the mainland. This one holds a mystery.

Who was it that handcrafted this small canoe? Where did the wood come from and was it made with love? Did it travel long, and far, and what are its stories?

12/03/2023

We haven’t seen much of this beautiful mountain on Lombok this year as it’s almost always been in the clouds. But on our walk around Gili Meno this morning we could say “good morning Mt Rinjani”!
Thinking wet season might mostly be over?

02/03/2023

Wet season skies gift us darkness & thunder rumbles to contrast the usual endless sunlight & vibrant colours. We love the contrasts (and swimming in the rain 😉💙)

19/02/2023

It’s hard to take 😉☀️🏝️❤️🧡💛
💙

01/02/2023

Back home in Meno!!💙
Love visiting friends & family overseas but it’s always wonderful to come home to this - even in wet season it’s stunning and so so peaceful 🙏🏽 🏝️ 🌧️ ☀️ ❤️

28/09/2022

Our Gecko Bungalow 💚💛🧡. It’s almost three months since we reopened post-pandemic and we’ve had the absolute pleasure of hosting more than 85 families, couples and solo travellers in our island bungalows ☀️🏝

🙏🏽 Thanks to our super lovely guest Jazmin 💗 for this cool pic 😍

01/09/2022

Seven and a half years ago I landed right here on this tiny island beach in Indonesia and immediately I felt I was home. I’m so blessed to still be here and despite loss and some hardships (‘life’), not for one second in those years have I ever regretted staying.
Never get sick of it. Always hard to leave it.
I’m so grateful each and every day for this bit of paradise 🙏🏽 🏝 ☀️

15/08/2022

Tom, our beloved cat, is still hanging around to act as Meno Madia’s ‘guard cat’. And he loves to welcome in all our guests and friends 🤎💛🏝☀️🐈‍⬛💛🤎