Instead of taking the 8.30am boat to Gili Trawangan (another of the three Gili islands), we loitered about this morning and caught the 3pm island hopping shuttle boat.
We spent our last hour on Gili Air having lunch at an organic restaurant on the beach munching on an absolutely delicious pear, walnut and blue cheese salad with a view to die for:
While the day started off calm and warm, by midday it was literally the windiest I've ever seen in Indonesia.
Ironically, we got up super early in the morning to watch our last sunrise on Gili Air and then walked around the whole island before breakfast which we ate at 7.15am. We just hadn't gotten around to booking the early boat until it was too late. It was worth the early rise. The mountain in the background is Mount Rinjani which has an active volcano and a huge crater.
Here's the sun poking out:
The plan was to get to Gili Trawangan today for our pick up (by boat, again) to Bali tomorrow morning. Since we hadn't seen Gili Trawangan, it made sense to come to Trawangan and stay overnight to be sure to make the 9am boat in the morning. In retrospect, buying the return ticket on the Gili Cat was a mistake as there are several boats that operate direct from Gili Air to Bali. Doubly inconvenient was that they were fully booked yesterday when we would have preferred to leave. Ah well, you live you learn - and it's always a bonus to see a new place, even if it's just for a short time.
We didn't book any accom on Trawangan because being low season, it's not too busy and there are plenty of spare rooms. It took us all of fifteen seconds to grab a lovely cheap room with fresh (c.f. salt) water showers and air con - yay! I felt properly clean for the first time in days.
Phil and I, feeling all refreshed and ready to head out and see the town, opened the door of our bungalow. Or rather we tried to open the door of our bungalow. It took a few tugs before we looked carefully through the glass door and realised that the staff had locked us in, leaving the key dangling in the door on the outside. Nice one!
There was no other way out of the bungalow, no phone in the room, no internet reception.**
We banged on the door for a while but no-one came past, nor were they likely to; our bungalow is slightly off the road down a long path with only one other bungalow further down. I thought we may be in there for the long haul - there were pringles and diet coke in the minibar, so there's the silver lining.
But I think it occurred to both Phil and I, without either of us daring to speak it aloud, that we could conceivably be stuck in there until after our boat left in the morning, meaning possibly another afternoon trip!!
So quick action was required and it was superman Phil to the rescue. Truly, because in addition to GOMP there is also SUMP, or SUperMan Phil.
Usually SUMP is out performing some extraordinary feat or other which I personally don't find terribly useful; like running 10km before we go on an all day walk which leaves me in agony, and then telling me that he could still do a bit more...
But today SUMP really outdid himself. Our bathroom here is open air which means there is a gap in the roof - which SUMP hoisted himself out of, leaping from the roof onto the ground (in a single bound) and unlocking the door. My hero!!
Meanwhile, I had prepared this sign to press up to the glass window for the benefit of any passersby, which I scrambled to flash at Phil as he walked over to unlock the door.
I'll be honest - I was kind of disappointed that I didn't get to use the sign...
We went out for a walk, caught a spectacular sunset and a slightly less spectacular dinner. Since when can you pass off a cold fried egg in a bun as a vegeburger?? I knew I should have gone with the beef and onion.
So today we get up and out the door with no drama... Except it was EVEN windier than the day before!!! And instead of the big double deck catamaran we had travelled on from Bali, we had a boat about a third of the size. I nearly disembarked at Lombok to head to the airport and fly back and that was only 15 minutes into a 2 hour trip.
I knew I didn't like boats and now I remember why. I won't bang on about all the many and varied ways that the trip was unpleasant. I will say it wasn't a super fun trip. On the upside, we did briefly see a pod of dolphins swimming next to the boat, which was pretty awesome. Mostly because it meant you spent the rest of the trip looking for more dolphins rather than focussing on potential capsize followed by drowning! Hmm, they do say becoming a lawyer turns you into a worst case scenario obsessive.
So now we're back in the apartment in Legian for a little while. After a few quieter places, it's a shock to see all the traffic, but it's nice to be home!
Here are some pics from the Gili islands:
It takes a moment to make it out, but here is the cutest green starfish which was lying in a thimbleful of sea water.
This is the horse carriage or cidomo which is the major form of transport on the Gilis and also local transport in Lombok.
Some windswept coastline on Gili Air
A lone fishing boat at dawn
A little sand, a little sea, a little thatched roof shelter - Is this the ultimate tropical island photo??
It's been a long but fun trip since we left Legian - the central highlands, north Bali, Ubud, Lombok and the Gilis. Some of it planned, some not. I feel like I've seen and learned more about Bali than in my previous seven trips.
So, now no big plans for the next week and a bit. Guess we'll just take it as it comes...
**Phil thought my comments about his conduct on the boat were ungenerous and that he stoically suffered extreme hand squeezing in silence for me. Which is true. But he did also tell me to get a hold of myself, which I tactfully left out of the story... So I think it evens out.
**It actually took me right back to the last Landers retreat when I walked into my room to get a phone charger and had to lock myself in the bathroom because a giant freaking huntsman was sitting on top of the doorframe blocking my exit. There was no mobile reception, so I emailed Derek and Jacqui from inside the bathroom and they came to my rescue. It went something like: Hi Derek and Jacq. There's a spider in my room and I've locked myself in the bathroom. Please come and get me, Sus... It was pretty hilarious...
- Posted using more power than a locomotive
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