Our German friends, Mat and Chichi, from our China crossing group connected us with a Swiss family (Leo and Nadia) that lives in Cambodia who then connected us with another Swiss family that lives in Lombok. Mat, Chichi, Leo, and Nadia all told us how incredible Lombok is so Austin and I were very eager to get there! We chatted with the new Swiss friends over WhatsApp and planned to meet up with them for a beach day. Levi and Jael haVe 3 adorable boys (Jonah 5, Ari 3, and Rio 1). We ended up spending every single day on Lombok with them playing at the beach (surfing, making sand castles & homes, swimming, snorkeling, and everything in between). Lombok is a very special place, it is still developing but isn't too touristy yet so it had the perfect balance of beach holiday, local culture, and some western flair with their delicious cafes.

Levi and Jael are heading up a project of building a hospitality school so they can help train locals to work in tourism as the island expands. As part of their hospitality school, they are building some guest home villas and just got some property on the beach for a beach front cafe. They have an awesome setup here and I am excited to see it all come to fruition!