After our brief stopover we successfully made our trip to Gili Trawangan, better known as Gili T. The largest of three islands off the NW corner of Lombok, Gili T is known as a backpacker haven, and for a lively party scene. We were seeking a bit of this, as well as some chilling out on the breathtaking beaches, and fluorescent blue waters. I was also seeking to do my advanced PADI course, and had heard great things about the shops and the dives on Gili T.
Our home for the next 6 days would be the fantastic hostel, Gili La Boheme. A bit off the main strip, this place was perfect. A large space, with many chill areas for lounging on bean bag chairs, a shared kitchen with free coffee, and pancakes ready to be cooked all day, we settled right in. To top it off, next door was a great yoga studio buried in beautiful island scenery.
The first couple days, we settled in, and tried out a local dive shop, doing 2 fun dives. The dives were great, and we were treated to many turtles! We also made some friends at the hostel, Chehab from Egypt, and Nicolas and Lucie from France. We shared a mind expanding experience on our second night, indulging in a local delicacy on Gili T. I will leave it to you to figure that one out, but we had a fun giggly time together, and formed the beginning of some solid friendships.
On Gili T. time just melts away. There are no motorized vehicles, and the locals are super chilled out. Everything is in walking distance, and most people are in great spirits. I did sign up for my diving course, and enjoyed 5 adventure dives. They were fantastic, and Julie came along for the night dive, and for a wreck dive.
When not in the water, we enjoyed the yoga studio offerings, and it really felt like a perfect place to be. The evening of my last dive, two divemaster students had finished their courses, so the diving crew were eager to party it up. I had been taking it easy for a few days while I completed the course, but this evening would let me unwind. And unwind I did. Let’s just say I got a bit loser drunk, woke up next to a stranger, after having fallen into a swimming pool the night before with my very expensive phone in my pocket. Sigh…. I took a solid walk of shame across the island, and then had a long sleep to recover from my debauchery.
Julie had been soaking up the great company, and enjoyed herself immensely, but the road had come calling. I can’t say enough about Gili T, so will leave it at these few words. It’s a must see, and I think I could pass a couple months here just relaxing.
The next stop is a quick pass through Legian on Bali again, as Julie has the surfing bug, and that is the easiest place to scratch the itch.
Peace out.
