Oh God, the last backpacking trip I had was last year September. Me and Alina went for all girls trip to Lombok. However, there were many activities that we had to skipped cause she was a preggy momma.

My recent road trip to KL was a much needed one (although I still had to work remotely). My work life has been sooooooooooooo crazyyyyyyyyyyy, crazyyyyyyyyyyy and I had to work every weekend. So when Juan told me last year that we'll be driving down to KL in January, I was very happy. Although I didn't had the chance shop, but at least I had a few days off from the normal routine. This time, we packed as though we are leaving Penang for good (blame #babyjedi). We packed our clothes in a huge bag so that it could fit the 3 of us, a cooler box for my breast milk (who says breastfeeding is easy), #babyjedi's food basket and his bath toiletries (he travels in style *roll eyes*)

I was so happy that the trip was an easy one especially with a baby along. It was our first ever trip WITHOUT Cik Timah and Pak Yeo. I prayed sooooooo hard that God make it easy for us (phewww!) and it was.

As the name tells it all. 'Abu-Abu' means grey in Bahasa Indonesia and this home stay is painted in white and grey and this is the BEST accommodation/home stay I have ever stayed throughout my life. Definitely worth every RINGGIT MALAYSIA.

How do I normally search for accommodation? Well, first, I will look for the ratings (preferably 8 and above). Secondly, I will read the reviews. However reviews can be a little bit bias so it's better to search according to the rating. Rumah Putih Abu-Abu has a rating of 9.5 on average. A rate that you  rarely encounter on Bookings.com. I read the reviews and it has almost perfect reviews from the guests. Surprisingly the rate was really, really reasonable for a 3 night stay. So, I booked and decided to pay in cash during checkout.

I emailed Johm (the owner) that I was breastfeeding and I wanted to confirm with him about the mini fridge provided in the room. He was so accommodating that he allowed me to remove any drinks in the fridge so that I can keep my breast milk throughout my stay. I even kept my ice gel pack and ice brick in their kitchen freezer

This property is 3 minutes walk from the beach. Rumah Putih Abu Abu which is also a pet-friendly accommodations in Senggigi . The bed and breakfast has an outdoor pool and views of the pool (this is my favorite part), and guests can enjoy a drink at the bar. Free private parking is available on site.

Every room at this bed and breakfast is air conditioned and has a flat-screen TV. Some rooms have a sitting area for your convenience (family room that can accommodate 4 person at a time). You will find a kettle in the room. Every room includes a private bathroom equipped with a shower and there is a minibar too

There is a shared kitchen at the property where you can use them anytime. However this home stay is about an 1 hour drive from Lombok International Airport (33.8 km).













Total cost for 4 days, 3 nights stay: RM364 for 2 person

So it was our last day in Lombok before flying off on an afternoon flight the next day. Our itinerary for today was to visit the aboriginal village, songket weaving center and Lombok Islamic Center. We hired supir/tour guide for these activities as the places we were going was around 1 hour drive from our home stay. Our tour guide was recommended by one of the home stay staff. Fee was quite reasonable.

Sasak Village, Sade:

The first destination was the Sasak Village, Sade province. It was an hour drive from Mataram city. Souvenirs are quite expensive over here. You may request your tour guide to bring you to places where they're much cheaper if you plan to buy souvenirs for family and friends.


Once you have finished touring the area, it would be a courtesy to give some tip to the local guide. Tourist's tips are their only source of income.

Sasak tribe is a community that inhabits the island of Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara. This community is the largest tribe in the province that lies between Bali and West Nusa Tenggara. Survey population explained that the Sasak tribes who lived in Lombok approximately 3 million inhabitants.

Little is known about Sasak history except that Lombok was placed under direct rule of the Majapahit prime Minister, patih Gajah Mada. The Sasaks converted to Islam between the late 16th century to early 17th century under the influence of Sunan Giri and the Muslim Makassarese, frequently mixing basic Islamic beliefs alongside with Hindu-Buddhist beliefs, thus creating the Wektu Telu religion. Lombok was conquered by the Gelgel Balinese kingdom in the early 18th century, thus bringing a large population of Balinese to Lombok. The Balinese population of Lombok today is about 300,000, 10-15% of Lombok's population. The Balinese have also strongly influenced the Wektu Telu religion of Lombok.

Sade Village is a traditional Village on Lombok Island. This Traditional Lombok Village located on Central Lombok, Nusa Tenggara Barat. Their houses are still traditional, made from alang-alang and the wall made from combinations of clay and cow feces.. Cow feces are also used for cleaning the floor, washing and bathing.

If you've been to any Indonesian country before, you'll know that due to the currency exchange, you can afford to live like a millionaire there. With RM500 in your pocket, you can do tonnes of activities. The same when I was in Lombok recently. I went for a backpacking trip with a good friend. It supposed to be an all girls trip and it was :-). Relax and no rush.

We didn't had any itinerary planned. Just browsing through Google on interesting places in Lombok the night before. Everything is almost impromptu. Because Lombok is only made famous a couple of years back, I'd say it is not as commercialized as places like Bali, Jakarta, Bandung and other regions in Indonesia. It's a small island with not much things to do. So you can do your real chillax holiday here.

Blessed with exquisite white-sand beaches, epic surf, a lush forested interior, and hiking trails through tobacco and rice fields, Lombok is fully loaded with equitorial allure. Many are drawn to mighty Gunung Rinjani, Indonesia's second-highest volcano. Rivers and waterfalls gush down its fissured slopes, while its summit – complete with hot springs and a dazzling crater lake – is the ultimate trekker's prize. In the south, you may need to hold your jaw in place as you encounter one superb beach after another.Meanwhile, off the west coast, the fabled Gili Islands are three exquisite droplets of white sand sprinkled with coconut palms and surrounded by coral reefs teeming with marine life. Each has become a full-blown destination in its own right with oodles of great places to stay, eat and celebrate.

We went for an almost 4 hour spa session which is about 20 mins drive from our home stay. We rented a cab cause it was cheap. Our spa consist of pedi and mani, feed massage, hair spa, head and shoulder massage. Guess what, the moment we walked out of the spa, I had my nails bitten off (very bad habit I tell you :o). We walked about 10 mins down the road after our pampering session to have a look what's install for us at the Art Market. They have small stalls selling souvenirs. Affordable price and you can bargain some more. I bought twinning t-shirt for Juan and #babyjedi

Cost for our 2nd day:

Taxi from hotel to spa - 20,000 rph
Nasi lauk - 20,000 rph
Spa - 250,000
T-shirt for #babyjedi and juan - 150,000 rph
Drink - 7,000 rph
Dinner - 102,000 rph

*We went dinner to a fancy restaurant. You can have cheaper ones at the local food stalls. They're quite clean with more varieties.

Bringing back my breast milk:

To be honest, when I purchased my flight tix to Lombok last year, I've actually forgotten that I was breastfeeding! Yes, I forget that I was a mummy to a 7 months old #babyjedi  -__-' . I guess the travel bug just caught me after a year long of hiatus from travelling.

That aside. A week before our departure, I've never actually secure any accommodation for the both of us. I was contemplating of cancelling this trip because I realized that I had to leave #babyjedi behind and I'm worry that I'm gonna miss him. Uurrgghh. But apart from that, I was thinking that this will be a good time for me to get out of mummy zone and find some time for myself, away from my daily routine. Recharge and re-energize before going back to 'war' again.

I have prepared myself with everything I needed in order to ship my breast milk back to Malaysia. Because I produce soooo much of breast milk, I decided to check in a medium size polystyrene box. I didn't want to bring my 3.2 liter cooler box because the box itself could weight around 2 kg, excluding my luggage and other stuff. Alhamdulillah the process was soooo smooth and all my milk were still in good condition and they were still chill when I arrived home. So how did I do it?

Things you need:

1. A cooler box/ polystyrene box
2. 2 to 3 pieces of towel cloth
3. Newspapers to close the gap in between the breast milk bags
4. Cling wrap (just in case) to wrap your box
5. Scotch tape to tape around your box
6. A printed label
7. Ice gel, around 6 packs (Techni ice sheet is the best). You can get it from Lazada or 11th Street.




KLIA2 and Lombok International Airport do provide wrapping service. Lombok airport cost around standard price of 60,000 rupiah (RM18) for any sizes. While KLIA2 cost around RM15 for a medium size polystyrene box. Penang International Airport cost around RM21 for the same size. Wrap your box to and fro your destination to protect your box from scratch.

I stored my milk in the mini bar in our room while my gel pack were stored in the kitchen freezer (call your homestay/hotel beforehand in regards to this). I was so lucky that the staffs at the homestay were so accommodating and understand my situation.

Because I only travel for 4 days, therefore I didn't  freeze my breast milk. I didn't want to go through the hassle of having to maintain the freezing temperature during my flight back. So refrigerator temperature is good enough. The weight of my cooler box is around 5kg (include breast milks, newspapers in between, ice gels)

1. Layer the bottom part and around your cooler box with ice gel pack/Techni ice sheet.
2. Place your milk on top of the ice gel.
3. Place some scrambled newspaper in between the gap and layer the top part of your breast milk with 2 to 3 layers of clothes to trap the cool air inside the box.
4. Wrap the box with cling wrap (please check if the airport provide wrapping service) and label your box so that the airline staff is aware of the content.

Your cooler box will need to go through the Xray machine in Lombok and Malaysia airport but the Xray emits minimal rays and for just a few seconds. So your breast milk are still safe for baby's consumption.



Here's a simple guide on how to pack your breast milk. I've forgotten to catch mine on video


Pumping during outing:

Based on my recent experience to Lombok, it was a breast feeding friendly island. They encouraged breast feeding for new mothers in the first 6 months or when the baby is ready to wean themselves from latching. They don't really have pumping concept therefore don't be surprised if they asked you why do you need to pump. Most of them direct latch at night and formula milk when the mother are out for work.

I managed to pump in a massage center. They provide me with a small room to pump. But because my travel buddy was pregnant, we spent most of our time in the hotel. The culture also prioritized mothers with infant or toddler especially when you're queuing up at the immigration,
restaurant, public places. But for this time, I tried dragging my pumping time from 3 hours plus to 4 to 5 hours in between.

I even pumped on flight too. The flight attendant was kind enough to give a whole row of empty seats. I hand carried my pump bag with ice block. No issue during immigration check. They only wanted me to show them the pump because it contain rechargeable battery.

Places where there is no mother's room available, I will normally pump at one corner while wearing my nursing cover. Lombok has one nursing room at the departure hall (beside customer and immigration counter).

*Towards your travel date, make sure you call up your hotel/homestay to inform them that you're breastfeeding and you need a mini bar or if you can borrow their refrigerator to store your breast milk. As for mine, they're accommodating and understands my situation. I just removed the drinks in the mini bar to make space for my breast milk.

Things you need in your pumping bag when traveling:

1. NURSING COVER. This is very, very useful.
2. Power bank (at least 10,000 mH). Don't forget the cable that can connect the power bank to your pump. Lombok has different power outlet. make sure you check them first
3. Tissue and wet tissue
4. A very good ice pack/block
5. Ice gel and ice block
6. A small size tupperware to store your breast pump
7. Breast pump power cable
8. Hand sanitizer

I will share with you my current purchase of a breast pump bag that duo as my work/travel bag as well. So less bags to lug around *phewwww*. Very convenient