Life on gili

Gili islands were amazing. They are series of 3 small islands off the northern coast of Lombok in Indonesia. I arrived via a 90 min ferry from Bali, near the ashram where I was staying.

Stayed on most popular one, gili trawangan. To give a sense of its size, It's about 1 hr 20 min walk to circumnavigate the entire island. Very unique because no motorbikes or cars are allowed so you either walk, bike or take the local taxi, which is a horse-drawn buggy.

I arrived with no plan and was looking forward to sitting on beach and doing some reading. I got restless though, and with a dive school at my hotel, decided to take a refresher course for diving my since I hadn't gone in about 10 years. Was good to get back underwater and saw a giant sea turtle about 5 feet across, just feet away from me. Did 3 dives overall and while i rekindled an interest in scuba diving, the local aquatic life was somewhat lacking since local population had damaged reefs in past by fishing with dynamite!

Gili islands are known for nightlife but I took it pretty easy my first 2 nights. Dinners were amazing, as a bunch of restaurants bring in fresh seafood daily and you choose your own fish to be grilled like Milos in nyc, only here it wasnt expensive and full of mooks.

My 2nd full day, i went out to sunset bar on the southern tip of island to check out the views and spend the afternoon. Met an awesome group of guys from Australia and one from buenos aires. became an adopted member of their crew and chilled at beach bar for rest of the day. Eliot, one of the Aussies is a dj so did the music for the bar, which was nice respite from the bob marley every other beach bar played. That night, we hit up the night food market, which was similar to restaurant (grilled fish to order) but less fancy. Was still amazing. Also met some girls from holland who joined our group, so we had table for 7. That night, we had a large mahi mahi, local fish, prawns and squid and it was 8 dollars per person. Was cool how people from all different backgrounds came together and formed new social group.

Next day, elliot was asked to dj again at sunset bar so we went back after hanging out in town on the beach. Views ive attached below were incredible. Also hit up market for dinner again where I had phenomenal seafood noodles for 2.5 dollars. Went out again where I fell in love with Australian doctor babe who is volunteering in Bali. Unfortunately, we live about 24 hrs away from each other, so im afraid Dr Paton and I are not to be. By the end, had really great time with new friends I met in the Gilis. I dont regret any part of my trip; however, I do wonder what it would have been like to follow the backpacker route in southeast Asia. Had a awesome time meeting people and making friends which was very different from 5 hotels in India or ashrams in Bali.

Overall, highly recommend the gili islands. Partly, from friends I made and the laid back vibe of the islands, i had so much fun and miss it already.