Gili Air - Paradise Found!

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So, we couldn't get a boat straight to Gili Air, we had to go back to Gili T and then over to Gili Air on the afternoon boat so off we went back to Gili T, then after a few hours drinking too much coffee we got a very choppy boat over to Gili Air. I know it must sound really strange going back to the Gili's after our initial disappointment but as the boat from Bali had cost so much money and the general cost of transportation was pretty high along with the time it takes to get anywhere in Indonesia, we decided to try and make the most of it and find exactly what we had gone there for! And, at last we weren't disappointed! We struggled to find somewhere to stay the first night so we stayed in the middle of the island which was pretty loud, it felt like being in a birds nest, the noises were so loud! On day two we were up early and found ourselves a very sweet bungalow right next to a beautiful bit of beach with sea we could swim in and everything. Unfortunately later on that day Tel managed to mangle another one of his toes which involved a trip to a very basic clinic with the Cidomo driver helping the doctor to cut off the sliced bit of toe. I felt awful for Tel as he has made it so long without injuring himself so I spared him the indignity of photographing the incident - i think you have all seen enough of his feet for the rest of your lives so i saved you from it again!!! So, due to the lack of the best part of half of his toe we declined any snorkelling trips and just lay in the sunshine reading and doing not much else. I did really struggle with the food while on the Gili's, in the main it's all about the white rice so by the time my tablets were running out and we were getting ready to make our way back over to Bali I was looking forward to some decent food that didn't involve a banana pancake!!! Gili Air was much more beautiful than Gili T, much quieter and much less spoiled. I'm very glad we went back and tried another island as it was exactly how it had been described and we managed to find our own bit of Indonesian paradise in the end. We met some brilliant people while we were there and we are both really glad we persevered, I would highly recommend a trip to Gili Air to anyone, it was gorgeous! Having found somewhere so beautiful I was a bit annoyed at myself for leaving my tablets and having to go back to Bali so soon but we left after 7 perfect days and treated ourselves to the speed boat back to Bali rather than the 6 hour jobby! The speedboat ended up being way too full and consequently everyone on the back, us included, got pretty much drenched for the entire two hour journey, it was pretty comical in the end with the staff handing out sweets and water as the water was just lashing down everywhere! From here we got a minibus and made our way back to our new Balinese family in Ubud to be reunited with our other bag and lots of lovely brown rice and good food!!! Th Gili's had been a bizarre experience, at first totally frustrating and disappointing and then in the end exactly what we had wanted, it was emotional to say the least!!!!!!!!

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Photos

Tel reading................
Wonders will never cease!

Two Parrot fish
Can you see what it is yet???

The wettest speedboat in the world
Hilarious!