GILI AIR

29th August - 1st September 2015

We arrived at a pier on the north west coast of Lombok around 7:30pm, the stars were up, the moon was high and a couple of mopeds had been following us from the main road. When the driver stopped three guys talked with him in hushed tones then they begrudgingly scooted off. Apparently they wanted to take us on one of their boats to Gili Air, however as we had booked our boat crossing, we avoided a potentially high priced situation. A chap appeared from the darkness at the end of the pier, who was from Lucky's Bungalows and Bar, our new home for the next few days. We hopped aboard his boat and glided out of the harbour with the moon lighting our way. As we drew further from Lombok the black silhouette of old Ringani loomed over us rising out of the sea into the stars.

We glided silently into a small harbour next to a scruffy little track. We followed it west past a few bamboo shacks that lined the coast then after about ten mins Lucky's came into view. When we arrived a psychedelic techno night was in full swing with a small odd ball crowd doing their best to follow the beat completely off their faces. The island apparently has a thing for magic mushrooms which can be bought as magic shakes in most places. We manoeuvred past the dance troop and checked in. The bungalows were fantastic and very picturesque. They consisted of a large bedroom under a tall arched palm roof, with an open air bathroom with shower out the back. However the best thing by far is the fact they were bungalows, as there was no chance any of us we capable of tackling any staircases after what we had just been through. They were just what the doctor ordered and only a stones throw from the beach and unfortunately at this moment the bar. As psychedelic trance wasn't quite what we were craving at this moment in time, we left in search of food. A few places five mins back towards the harbour was a rustic little place serving a great mix of western and Indonesian dishes. We found four bean bags scattered round a little table just up from the waters edge and collapsed. Not before ordering a round of mojitos I must add. We relaxed for a while looking back across the bay at Rinjani wondering how many people were preparing to do the peak. A round of beef burgers and beef Rendang finished us off and bed shortly followed.

The next day we all woke late and managed to drag ourselves to the bamboo sofas that lined the beach in front of the bar. The complementary breakfast was pretty good with poached eggs or fruit pancakes, as was the coffee.

We were all beginning to feel a little more human again. The Gili Islands are an interesting place, we learnt they are self policed. At one stage the authorities in Lombok came over and built a police station. However the people of Gilli Air liked things as they were and the night the station was finished something happened and the next day when the boat of police arrived to take up their new post they found nothing but rubble. Another little fact about the Gili Islands is there are no petrol or diesel vehicles. The entire island runs on horse and cart and a hand full of electric scooters. At first I thought it was a bit of a tourist gimmick, however as the days went on we saw shop deliveries, building materials deliveries, rubbish removal, even local families doing the weekly shop all moving around on the carts. The whole scene was quite enchanting with the past and present seemingly working together.

We went for a little explore along the coast apparently you can walk a lap of the island in a couple of hours. In return for the terrible surf lesson I gave on Lombok, Andy had his heart set on teaching us to stand up paddle board (SUP). We must have walked the entire length of the island before we found a place that had some boards, but luckily that was also close to a small patch of reef that would be good to paddle and snorkel over. We had a long late lunch by the waters edge and bought a couple of Bintangs to take out with us as light refreshment from all the paddling.

We hired a couple of 14 foot boards with some masks thrown in and headed for the shoreline. The tide was getting low so we had to aim for a break in the reef to paddle out through. After a few mins of splashing about in the break water we were through. The water was fairly calm with the odd lump testing our balancing skills, the only issue was a mean rip down the reef which we were constantly fighting against. Once we were over the main section of reef we dropped the paddles and dived in. There were a fair few fish and a massive old cage of some sort that had been reclaimed by nature. There was also many different types of coral scattered along the sea floor. It was mesmerising to look at. After half hour or so we cracked open the Bintangs and bobbed about in the late afternoon sun. Without warning a large brown and green turtle surfaced briefly then gracefully cruised past us. It took us all by surprise as we hadn't expected to see one. With a flurry of excitement and many shouts of "TURTLE" we were in pursuit following him away from the reef and into deeper water. I was so excited I had forgotten to let got of my beer as I dived in to swim after him, the thumbed beer bottle neck sticking out of the water gave the others a good marker to follow on the boards. He was the only thing visible illuminated by the suns rays in a blanket of never ending blue. They are stunning to watch, gliding through the deep, completely laid back and at ease. It is a sight I'll never forget. We stayed with him for a while then he descended out of sight. Back on the boards we were all blown away by what we had just seen. Then without warning another surfaced near by and the whole palaver started again. We were so captivated by the turtles that we had not kept our eye on the gap in the reef we needed to use to get back to shore and had drifted too far to make it back in time against the current. We battled with the rip for a while but then luckily saw another small gap a boat had just used to land so we made for that. It was a great experience and I'm so glad Andy was there to show us the ropes. I'll definitely be doing some SUP boarding again.

We flagged down a horse and cart back to the bungalows for a shower. Round 7 we met at the bar for a quick drink. A round of Tequila was ordered (thanks Andy) then we went in search of food. It didn't take long before we were reeled in by a large selection of fresh fish. After a barracuda, snapper, squid and giant prawns we were ready for bed again, however a few mojitos and and espresso martini sorted that out and we went in search of some night life. Unfortunately Sunday night isn't the most lively on the island and after walking half the island we gave up and went to bed.

The following morning after another beach breakfast we got ready to board Lucky's boat again for a morning of snorkelling and fishing.

After an unsuccessful cycling hunt around practically the whole island for an underwater camera me and Andy returned empty handed, well actually we bought ourselves new sunglasses as a consolation prize. We packed our swimming stuff and an ice box of Bintangs then headed out the harbour. We hadn't realised the night we arrived, but the boat had a glass bottom which as we left the harbour revealed loads of different sections of colourful reef. Our first snorkelling spot was near the island of Gili Meno west of Gili Air. One of the two crew jumped in with us. He had an amazing ability for finding turtles. Within about five minutes he had spotted one and we all swam along with it. It was just as amazing as the day before. Just as he disappeared me and H spotted another and raced after it. At first the turtle was quite deep but he slowly came up past us and surfaced for air then slowly drifted off into the depths. Our next spot was a section of reef around the west side of Gili Meno. It was pretty shallow which meant the sun's light could really illuminate the coral and local fish. It really was spectacular. Just before we had to get back on the boat me and H spotted yet another magnificent large turtle. We swam alongside it for quite awhile. As the reef was quite shallow we ended up getting really close. Overwhelmed with a childish sense of wonder I dived down right next to it and patted it on the back, it barely noticed and just carried on gliding next to me. I was running out of breath so bid him farewell and swam back to the boat.

Our next stop was a quiet stretch of water between the two islands where we could fish. We cracked open the Bintangs and sat in the sun eager to catch lunch... We didn't catch a single thing, not even a tiddler. However we were serving lunch to something as our bait kept disappearing. We tried one other spot but to no avail. Lucy had mentioned she wasn't really in the mood for fish before we left the harbour so we decided it wasn't that we were bad at fishing, she had some how sabotaged our trip so she could eat meat for lunch.

We got back round midday and went to Scallywags for lunch. It is a well written about place ten minutes walk the other side of the harbour. It's white wooden tables and deck chairs stretch from the massive BBQ grill on the street right down onto the sand. It was a lovely spot and after an amazing lunch we decided to go there again for dinner. 

In the afternoon Andy and Lucy went off for a massage and a pedicure. I've never seen a carpenters nails look so good. Me and H made the long and arduous journey from our chairs by the beach to the beach and instantly fell asleep. An hour later after a quick swim to wake up we were seduced by a dessert counter at a weathered little place just up from the beach. After eating too much chocolate pot we met Andy and Lucy at Lucky's. They were positively glowing after their afternoon and we were a subtle blend of sea salt, sunburn and chocolate.

Dinner was as good as lunch if not better as the BBQ that was just a fancy show piece at lunch was now in full swing and smelt amazing. There was a ridiculous amount of fresh fish laid out to choose from some we knew many we didn't. As it was our last night together we went all out, some of the giant prawns we ordered were like small lobsters. Afterwards we went in search of a beach party that had been advertised on various palm trees and boat hulls around the island. We arrived round 9pm at Paradiso Bar which was relatively early as our boat driver said most of the locals don't arrive till around 1am. We sat by the sea and drank the house spirits. The were dreadful, too much and that's what you would become. The gin was just about passable. The place slowly filled up and the guys hit the dance floor. I was being my usual grumpy self went it comes to dancing and opted for a nice bar stool and more gin. It never really got that busy and eventually me & H wondered off round 2 leaving Andy and Luce throwing their shapes on the floor with the locals.

The following morning with heavy heads and bags we checked out and had our last breakfast on the beach. Lucy and Andy arose a bit later with even heavier heads and bags (as we had given them stuff to take home). We paid up and walked down to the harbour, our boat to take us back to Bali was due and they had booked Lucky's boat to take them across the bay to Gill Meno where they were carrying on the island life in luxury. We said our goodbyes, the time seemed to have gone so fast, but we hadn't half crammed in a lot. The girls hugged the guys hugged hands and soon they were walking back up the beach and we disappeared into a clump of other people killing time until the boat arrived. About an hour and a half later it did. We both dosed off instantly however the choppy seas once out of the harbour made sure we weren't asleep for long as at times the windows looked like the glass bottom boat as water poured over them from the crashing waves. After arriving a couple of hours later we hopped on a bus back to Kuta Beach where we sat and watched the surf whilst enjoying a couple of Bintangs, a new swell had arrived and the waves were pumping. Once the sun had slid away for the evening we went back to our favourite restaurant Fat Chow for our final Asian cuisine in Asia, before catching a string of lights to Australia and Cairns.

Good bye Asia we will be back soon.