On the boat to the Gili Islands |
Lombok Island, Bali's closest neighbor |
Currently as I write this, I'm sitting at our villa's restaurant at my favorite table on the beach in a tropical heaven called Gili Trawangan.
Seriously, I had breakfast, lunch and dinner at this table 3 days in a row. |
View to the right, still sitting at the table |
It's reported that this is the smallest island in the world with an Irish pub.
Gili T is a small white-sand island that has a population of under 700 people,
and It's only 4 miles from Lombok and about 65miles from the east coast of Bali.
We took the Australian fast-boat service from Padang Bai, which is a small fishing village less than 45 minutes from our house in Ubud.
The fast-boat service turned out to be really, really fast. |
After a very pleasant 1.5 hour boat ride, we arrived at Gili Trawangan. We found an Eco-hotel that cost $35 for the night, and Simone was very excited about the fact that it was right on the beach, and I was excited that they served organic coffee. However, we ended up abandoning our bamboo treehouse only hours later... The appealing offer of a complimentary organic breakfast wasn't enough to keep us there after I discovered mold on the pillows- and Simones bikini and flip-flops were stolen from the clothesline on our front porch. These events actually worked out well for us, because I ended up negotiating
an incredible deal with Ko Ko Mo hotel, the islands finest accommodation and restaurant;)
It was an epic negotiation that involved a little bit of luck, a little bit of skill,
and a well executed act of being on our honeymoon. It's now our third night here, and I can truly say that it will be hard to leave. We eat amazing food, kayak to remote areas of surrounding islands to snorkel in the reefs, and we enjoy a 1500sf villa right at the ocean... All for less than the cost of my average speeding ticket in Los Angeles.
A true paradise, Gili is also truly a party island. The average age of travelers
to this island is 27, and the cost of a hotel (beach hut) is $15-$30 per night.
Last night was a full moon party on the beach, and it lasted until sunrise.
To ensure that the tourists have adequte party-fuel, magic mushrooms are sold
in every bar on the 1.5 mile strip. It was fun to watch almost 1000 people
party on the beach, many of them taking their own special 'trip to the moon'.
I provided the naked (and confused) people that were dancing in the ocean
with a light-show, as I illuminated their private little dance party with
my military issued tactical flashlight (which has a two million candle equivalent output)
Every store tried to out-do the next with tempting signs to advertise their mushrooms... |
While I was walking 1/2 way around Gili island during the full moon, Simone
was off on her own adventure. She managed to convince a horse-carriage operator to disassemble his rolling business and let her take his pony for a midnight beach run, followed by a leisurely 1/2 hour swim in the ocean. Most people would consider swimming in the ocean at night a very scary thing to do. Simone did it on a horse.I have no idea how she coaxed the animal into swimming in a pitch black ocean.... I couldn't even get her horse to take a step towards the sewer-lid that was a part of the road next to Runyon Canyon.
I highly recommend Gili for anyone looking for a tropical party island that is both affordable and safe (unless you're a pair of flip flops or a nude ocean-dancer)
Tomorrow we go deep-sea fishing with a local Indonesian fisherman that I hired.
With the flash-rainstorms and unpredictable winds that can develop between the islands here, and with the less than sea-worthy condition which our boat appears to be in, I predict that our outing could resemble a tropical episode of 'The Deadliest Catch'. Assuming that we survive the expedition, our hotel manager has promised to cook the fish that we catch. I'm hoping for Marlin, but apparently they're not in season during the summer months. Simone has requested that I catch a lobster or a Dungenese crab. I told her we have a better chance with the Marlin.
On the last day on Gili, we found a litter of motherless kittens on the beach... this made it extremely difficult to leave |