MIRA LESMANA: (JP/Arief Suhardiman)

JAKARTA: Producer Mira Lesmana loves nothing more than enjoying the sand and surf on a secluded beach. She was to spend the New Year*s holidays with her family on Komodo Island, but high winds in the region led to a change in plans.

Instead she rekindled her long love affair with Lombok -- which she first visited in 1994 -- with a visit to Gili Nanggu, a small island in the southwest.

"We basically had Gili Nanggu to ourselves, it was awesome," Mira, whose most recent film, Laskar Pelangi (Rainbow warrior), opened to both critical and commercial success, said Friday night.

Though she has noticed changes in her five visits to Senggigi and Gili Trawangan over the years, and is worried about the impact of the construction of an international airport, she adds that Lombok was "so much better" than her first experience 14 years ago.

"I love the combination of the green hills and the beach," she says. "And it's not too crowded yet."

On Friday, a few days after arriving back from the islands, her Facebook status update read "missing Lombok already". -JP

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