Welcome to Gili Air, one of three small islands off the north-west coast of Lombok, Bali’s neighbor. The boat ride over took two hours, we were included in the lucky few allowed to sit on the roof of the boat for the first 45 minutes, tanning and watching the gorgeous coastline of east Bali, until the crashing waves got too much and we were drenched every few seconds! But good fun.
Gili Air is beautiful, I have never been anywhere like it. The perfect beaches, literally turquoise seas, friendly locals, chilled out bars and restaurants, and our amazing beach bungalow 10meters from the sea complete with a siesta bed on the porch and a hammack all make it the perfect start to our holiday. We’ll probably stay longer than planned. Paradise! Gili Air is the most populated of the three Gilis with 1800 inhabitants but it is very quiet and still seems deserted. There are no vehicles on the island, the only way to get around is by horse and cart or bicycles. Yesterday morning we walked around the whole island in 1.5 hours so no need for transport anyway. The locals are very friendly, when we say we are from France they say “ca va ma poule’ so I think they meet a lot of French!
Gili Air is beautiful, I have never been anywhere like it. The perfect beaches, literally turquoise seas, friendly locals, chilled out bars and restaurants, and our amazing beach bungalow 10meters from the sea complete with a siesta bed on the porch and a hammack all make it the perfect start to our holiday. We’ll probably stay longer than planned. Paradise! Gili Air is the most populated of the three Gilis with 1800 inhabitants but it is very quiet and still seems deserted. There are no vehicles on the island, the only way to get around is by horse and cart or bicycles. Yesterday morning we walked around the whole island in 1.5 hours so no need for transport anyway. The locals are very friendly, when we say we are from France they say “ca va ma poule’ so I think they meet a lot of French!
Ne vous fiez pas aux apparences ! Ici la vie n’est pas aussi idyllique qu’elle paraît , c’est un chemin de croix quotidien : entre les baignades matinales dans une eau turquoise , les mets locaux dégustés dans des paillotes avec vue sur le volcan Runjani et les bières consommées devant le soleil couchant , on peut dire qu’on est à deux doigts de plier baggages .
On nous oblige même à dormir dans une hutte typiquement balinaise et à faire une sieste dans le hamac. Je vous le dis : on est tout sauf en vacances ( … ou pas )
On nous oblige même à dormir dans une hutte typiquement balinaise et à faire une sieste dans le hamac. Je vous le dis : on est tout sauf en vacances ( … ou pas )
After three nights on Gili Air we took a boat over to Gili Meno, 1.5 km to the west, where only 300 people live. This island took us only one hour to walk around. It’s very deserted and we have the beach in front of our bungalow to ourselves! We’re lucky to be here in low season and also have great weather, 33° in the shade! We found a bird park today in the center of the island, we took a look at different parrots from Brazil and Australia, eagles, cockatoos (on my arm)…
Depuis notre arrivée , Stacey cherche sa vocation ; et il semble qu’elle ait trouvé son mentor en la personne de Yan , l’ornithologue du parc de Gili Meno . Non contente de les nourrir , il fallut qu’elle aille dans les cages afin de les porter en trophées tel Jack Sparrow . Néanmoins quand notre guide lui annonça qu’il fallait également s’occuper du crocodile et du varan de Komodo , Stacey eut quelques doutes quant à son envie de suivre le destin de Yan !
Depuis notre arrivée , Stacey cherche sa vocation ; et il semble qu’elle ait trouvé son mentor en la personne de Yan , l’ornithologue du parc de Gili Meno . Non contente de les nourrir , il fallut qu’elle aille dans les cages afin de les porter en trophées tel Jack Sparrow . Néanmoins quand notre guide lui annonça qu’il fallait également s’occuper du crocodile et du varan de Komodo , Stacey eut quelques doutes quant à son envie de suivre le destin de Yan !
We came across the local bookshop, books in all languages are available for exchange or can be bought for an agreed price. Here we met the owner, Ana, and ate in her 'warung' (small family-owned café) about three times, the food was really great, especially her version of 'Nasi Goreng', fried rice with chicken, egg and spices.
Last stop on our Gili adventure, Gili Trawangan, the larger of the three islands, the most populated which also means the most touristic. After spending time on Gili Meno, where you could walk an hour before seeing someone, it’s definitely a change to see sushi bars, high-end Italian restaurants and an Irish pub serving ‘the full monty’ for breakfast. We decided to spend two nights on Gili T., lounging by the pool, watching the world go by and planning the next part of our trip. Here there are lots of locals trying to sell their goods, pirated films, scarves, jewelry and “trips to the moon” in the form of magic mushroom milkshakes… these all seem to be successful businesses. I wish we were staying on the Gilis an extra week but there is lots to see in Bali, so, onwards!!!