Gili islands and Lombok

Hello everyone! 

I‘m currently writing from Lombok, the island next to Bali. But before I tell you about that, I should tell you about our stop on the Gili islands.

The Gilis are three little islands north of Lombok. Gili Trawangan is known to be the “party island”, Gili Meno is the “couple island”, and Gili Air is the “relaxing island”. On all three islands, there are no motorized vehicles. You can get around by bike or by horse carriage. As opposed to the busy streets of Bali, the Gilis are really quiet, perfect for relaxing. J

First, we went from Semyniak on Bali by bus and fast boat to Gili Trawangan. You could see the turquoise water and the white beaches from afar, and I was really excited! However, my first impression when we arrived was that the island was crowded with tourists and kind of dirty with piles of trash everywhere… We went to our hostel and then walked along the beach for some time. The beach was really beautiful! White, soft sand and many pieces of coral and shells, so we stayed and enjoyed the sun. In the evening, we went to a night food market. Some locals put up their booths with typical Indonesian food around a small market place, it was awesome! J

On the next day, we went to Gili Air because we didn’t like Gili Trawangan as much. A small boat brought us to the harbour and from there we walked around and looked for accommodations. (We could just walk up to the reception and the staff would show us the rooms and everything. That was really good because we could compare the different hotels and decide which one we liked best.) We picked out some bungalows with a pool right next to the beach. We decided to go with a better one which was a little more expensive because Taddi was sick and needed some time to lay down and relax. After that, we swam in the pool and at night, Sofie, samu, and I went to a really cool beach restaurant.

On our second day on Gili Air, Taddi was still not feeling better, so we called a local doctor. Despite our expectations of Indonesian medical care, the doctor was very competent! After giving Taddi the right medicine and telling her to relax, Sofie, Samu, and I went to explore the island. While the two of them rented a mask and fins and went snorkelling, I decided to walk around the island. It is very small, so I needed like 1-1.5 hours to do so. (Although I walked really fast because the sun was about to set and I was afraid to get robbed… We have heard some stories about that happening to other people who were outside by themselves when it was dark.) Luckily, nothing like that happened and I could enjoy the sunset from the beach of our hotel. J Later that night, we went to a restaurant by the harbour which was really good!

The next morning, Taddi was feeling a little better, so we decided to go on to Lombok. Again, a small wooden boat brought us to Bangsal, Lombok. From there we hired a driver to drive us to Kuta in the south of the island. We stayed at “Batu Bambu”, a little hotel with some rooms and a bungalow which is led by Elisa, a super nice girl from Germany. (if you ever plan on going to Lombok, stay there!) The hotel was located in the middle of the forest between some hills. The nature here on Lombok is even more beautiful than that on Bali! After getting settled, we recuperated from the long journey and decided to cook something in our bungalow, rather than going out to eat. (We’ve been doing that for literally every day now…) More or less successful, we managed to cook some pasta with vegetables (afterwards we decided that it’s just better to go out to eat :D). 

On our first full day on Lombok, we rented two scooters and drove to Mawi Beach. The drive there was absolutely gorgeous! J (except for the last part… it was like a muddy path with many holes and a real challenge for Taddi and Sofie!) The beach was worth it though! A little bay surrounded by rocks, white sand and clear water. We stayed there and just relaxed for the day.

We went to a beach called Tanjung Aan on the next day. It was a lot bigger than Mawi Beach, but equally beautiful. On the end of the day we walked on top of a hill next to it and could overlook the whole bay and some other beaches nearby. In the evening we had dinner with some other guests from “Batu Bambu” and Elisa. It was super cool because she studied at the university I wanna go to next year and told me a lot about it. :D

On Friday, we went to a beach called Selong Belanak. We were told that that beach is a good spot for surf lessons and beginners. We didn’t do lessons, but we rented two boards and tried surfing by ourselves. We were not very successful, but it was a lot of fun anyways. J So we have to do it again some time, maybe with an instructor. That was our last day on Lombok, so we went out to eat with Elisa one more time. We went to Kuta to a restaurant called “Nuggets Corner” with amazing Indonesia food.

The next morning, we were picked up by a driver we hired on the previous day and he brought us to the harbour in the North of Lombok. After waiting two hours for the Fast Boat, we are now on our way to the island Nusa Lembongan. 

Lots of love,

Anne :)

Gili Air

Gili Air, view on Lombok

Mawi Beach, Lombok

Tanjung Aan