Everyone knows Bali in Indonesia. On my trip, I decided to head over to some offbeat places… Lombok and the Gili islands.
Lombok is a sister island of Bali, chilled out and without the crowds. To get to Lombok, we had to board the public ferry. It would take about 4 hours to reach.
After checking into the hotel, we decided to go for a trek through the rice terraces in Tetebatu. Lombok’s scenic interior is comprised of rice terraces, lush forests, tobacco fields and fruit and nut orchards.
All that trekking makes one hungry! We stopped for lunch in a small village restaurant that offered home cooked food. So delicious!
After lunch we wandered through the village. Women were picking rice in the fields, drying tobacco leaves, weaving colourful cloth, children were playing. They were all very friendly and welcoming folk.
We then drove up the road to Mount Rinjani, stayed in a pretty little hotel in Senaru. My balcony looked out over the valley. The next morning we visited the Sedang Gile and Tiu Kelep waterfall. The path was slippery and wet, but after some effort, we reached.
GILI ISLANDS
A wave splashed over the boat and sprayed my face. We were in a speedboat, heading towards the Gili islands in Indonesia. They are 3 tiny remote islands about half an hour boat ride from Lombok. Gili means ‘small island’ in the local language.
So what’s the difference between the 3 islands? Gili Trawangan is the biggest. Its basically the party island, known for its nightlife and bars. Gili Meno, in the middle, is the smallest. It is a magnet for honeymooners and couples, as it is more secluded and attracts less tourists. Gili Air is like the best of both… plus a lot of the rural community lives here so you can get a peek into the local culture.
We stepped off the boats, splashing through the clear blue waters onto Gili Air island. It’s quite the desert island! Gili Air has no ATMs, very limited fresh water supply and no motorized vehicles! Means of transport are bicycles and horse carriages, to keep the island unpolluted. I took a ride in a horse carriage to get to Gili Air hotel, the cart bumping over the dirt track that led through narrow lanes of houses, some restaurants and shops, little local kids waving and running after the cart.
Only locals and fisherfolk used to live here, until the Gili’s were discovered by backpackers in the 1980’s. Even today it is pretty much the same…. unspoilt white sandy beaches, turquoise waters and the laid-back charm of your quintessential tropical paradise.
The accommodation is comfortable but pretty rustic… no TVs or telephones in the rooms… but who needs a TV when you’ve got sun, sand and surf?
So what is there to do on the Gili’s? Of course beach bumming, swimming, snorkelling and scuba diving. You can rent a bicycle and explore the island, get a massage, try the local restaurants and bars. I had fried ice-cream for dessert… so delicious I ordered it the next day too!
We visited the Chill Out Bar for dinner and drinks where I sampled the local grilled fish… fresh and tasty! They have tables set up on the beach so you can eat dinner with your toes in the sand. There was a local band performing in the bar and they were singing well-known English songs… it’s amazing how music can bond people from different countries…. Our table had Indonesians, Brazilian, Germans, Irish, Scottish, Canadian, Indian (me), and still… all of us knew the lyrics to ‘Wonderwall’. Towards the end customers went up and started singing songs, and it turned into a karaoke night!
A lot of people generally do day trips or island hopping. On the second day we headed over to Gili Meno for lunch. Visited a turtle sanctuary! They keep eggs and hatchlings until they are 3 months old, and then release them into the sea. They were really small and cute, only disappointing thing is that we were not allowed to touch the turtles.
Against a gorgeous fiery orange and pink sky, the sun dipped into the sea behind Mount Rinjani on the mainland. I sipped on my cocktail (the same colour as the sunset) and listened to the sounds of Bob Marley from the bar. It’s rare these days to find a place where you can disconnect from your phone, laptop and devices and connect to nature instead. ‘To refresh and recharge your body and mind… On Gili islands you can leave the world behind’.
Gypsea Trip 