The Gili Islands, Indonesia

Getting to the Gili Islands was not as easy as we originally had thought. We knew there was only one boat a day from Lombongan and it fills up quickly so after our first attempt failed we bought our ticket ($59 each, ouch) in advance. The next day we headed to Mushroom Beach to board the boat, not at a dock – that would be too easy. We along with others struggle in the water to get on a small boat that will take us to a larger boat that could not come into the shallows near the shore. In the process our bags got wet and Bill cut his hand – not badly. The speedboat takes an hour and a half to Gili Trawangan, the largest of the three Gili islands. They are known for their emerald-green bathwater-warm shores and simply being tranquil and beautiful – They most certainly are!

Gili Islands: Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno, Gili Air (Left to Right)

We are excited about less tourists than Bali and no cars – the Island has no motorized vehicles whatsoever so what do they use for transport? Horse drawn carriages – seriously. It's funny to see little horses here and there and nothing else but bicycles. The island is so small you can literally walk anywhere and we like that. Also dogs are forbidden so no beach dogs here, just cats – lots and lots of cats with broken tails.

 
 
Our boat comes ashore and we jump off. We head in the direction of the hostel area our guidebook tells us about. The book recommends several places and a general area that has many guest houses and bungalows. We start asking around and they are all booked up – no room at the inn. We don't panic, there are still many others to ask so we continue with packs on our backs. We find a few with rooms but too expensive, this island is supposed to be cheap. We finally agree to just go to one that was offered at $25 a night, double what we were paying in Bali and that is stressful but we need a place. Just then, a young local man asks, “You need a room?” We say yes and ask how much, he tells us $17 and that's the cheapest we've heard on the island so we go and look at Pondok Pandy Guesthouse. It's perfectly fine so we take it hoping to take advantage of the rate drop due in three days at the end of the season. The man who had told us of the room turns out to be the hostel manager named Black. He gives us all kinds of helpful advice during our stay here.

 

Black, the manager of our guesthouse

We drop our bags and get settled in. We are happy to be in a new place so many have recommended. We go and have a late lunch finding out quickly that most all the restaurants stop serving food from 4-6 pm but we find a restaurant called Scallywag's that serve always – a little pricey but hey, when it's all you can find open it becomes an easy choice. We enjoy a nice lunch on the beach and relax. We like knowing we're here for a while. We walk along the main dirt street and check out some more places and notice all the animals; horses, goats, chickens, roosters, and cats and they all just seem to get along. Later we find a spot on the water for a light dinner then go to bed; it was an early morning wakeup with the earthquake and we're beat!

During the night the power goes out, not something we are surprised by but you never really know when it will return. The electricity isn't such a big deal other than it powers the fan... it can be very hot at times so we prefer when the power is off during the day rather than at night. Little did we know this would become a daily occurrence and unless your place has a generator (only 10% do) you're outta luck! Another peculiarity on the island is the single ATM. Here is an island completely about tourists, most the locals live on the big island Lombok to the east, so you'd think there would be more than ONE ATM! To make matters worse it only accepts Visa. My bank card is Visa but Bill's is MasterCard and most places only take cash. They have two places (whenever they're open) that will advance you cash on a debit card for a 10% fee—it's robbery but they know there's no alternative. We're here two weeks so we can't take too much money at a time, besides there are also no police on the island, crime is almost non existent but you never know.

Our guest house porch

The next morning I go out to get my bath towel from the clothesline on the porch to hear a ukulele playing and am greeted by James, our next door neighbor. Bill comes out soon and we are all talking about the surprise difficulty in finding a room. James seems to have an American sounding accent so I ask, “Where are you from?” to which James replies, “Canada.” We say it's been very rare to meet anyone from North America. We all just click. James is one of those people who is very personable and easy to mesh with. We compare notes as he was also just in Bali and we all have a lot in common. James is in his mid twenties and a writer. Annie, who works at our hostel cooking and cleaning, always smiling, appears and asks if we want breakfast and we hesitate until James says it's included in the room rate and it's delicious – OK! We have the option of omelets or banana pancakes. We choose banana pancakes to my own surprise—I can't remember the last time I had pancakes and we are shocked at how delicious they are. After a few days of them Bill is in love and is saddened at the idea of not waking up to them after we leave but is interested in learning how to make this particular kind – they're sort of a mix of a traditional American pancake and a French crepe with a sweet and salty flavor -fantastic!
Banana pancakes

Bill and I wanted to go snorkeling as it's a must-do here on the island. We tell James that and he says he was going to as well, should we all? We think this is a great idea and we all go, find a good deal on fins and mask ($3 for the day) and hit the beach. Turns out, it's James' first time and we all have a great time together! We see countless fish and a white eel. We wanted to go out again but the clouds came out and put an end to that. James shows us a good cheap place to get some local food, nasi garong and mie garong, and we grab some beers.

 

Mie Garong (Noodle Dish) 

We all talk more and Bill and James have much to talk about as writers and I as a reader. We end up spending lots of time with James as it just seems to fit effortlessly. We check out bars and find good fish restaurants. The grilled fish here are amazing– James and Bill one night have grilled barracuda while I tried Butterfish.

 
Bill and James

We are all fast friends. James is as interested in our trip as we are interested in his. He had been teaching English in South Korea for a year and now was traveling for himself. We ask him all about Korea as we plan on going soon, he's a wealth of information and gives us plenty of advice and recommendations – perfect! I was interested in Korea simply because we're near it; after James descriptions I am really excited to go!

One day Bill and I decide to walk along the shore of the island and circle the whole thing. We walk leisurely and it takes us only a few hours. It's truly a beautiful place. Later we are all headed to the beach and Black tells us to go to the hilltop in the center of the island and see the sunset. We like this idea and head that way, it's not far – the whole island is so small. We get to the top and can see the other two islands and a spectacular view.

View From The Top of The Island

Then Black shows up and asks if we want to see the cave the locals hid from the Japanese in during the second World War? YES!! We climb down the other side of the hilltop and he shows us the remains and we all like this. We climb further down the hill to Sunset Beach for guess what? A sunset.

Cave The Indonesians Hid In From The Japanese

Trail Down From The Top

We all have dinner together as we normally do now and decide we should go snorkeling again the next day. This time we see a shark, octopus and what James is most dead-set on seeing, the elusive Sea Turtle. They are famous here and not always easy to find snorkeling but we did! Bill and I are anxious to do some more diving so we check out local rates and decide the next day we'll do a dive. 

Comments

[Mom Everding]

Hi, Guys,

Bill, hope you took good care of that cut on your hand. Antibiotics can't be too easy to find in your part of the world.

Take care of yourselves and BE SAFE!

Love
Mom

[Bee Hobson]

Hey Bill,
I was helping your Mom with Technical support since you're out traveling. Great images, I have bookmarked your site :)
Looks like you're having a great time!
How do we contact you?

[James S]

That is a fantastic picture of Black! Those were good times on Gili.

[Bill]

Heya Bee!

Thanks for taking time out to check out our site ... We're flattered that you stopped by! We can always be reached right through here, or at RoamingUnemployed@gmail.com

Next time you chat with my mom, send her my love :)

Cheers,

Bill

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