Blogs from Gilli Trawangan, Lombok, Indonesia, Asia - page 8

On an Indonesian map the distance between Bali and the Gilis (just off the coast of Lombok) is essentially no distance at all. However, we were privy to one essential travel fact in Asia: distance does not correlate with travel time. As there seems to be no such thing as public transport in Bali, we were at the mercy of the taxi drivers again. We headed down to the main road in Ubud and hailed down the first we could see, after asking a builder if he would take us in the back of his lorry. Our private hire taxi cost 150,000 from Ubud to Padang Bai, and the driver didn’t want to give it for that. The journey took around 45 minutes and was quite luxurious in a car with upholstered seats. Arriving at Padang ... read more

Journey to Gili Trawangan Island. Travelling to the Gili Islands was completely unplanned and was decided over a Bintang by the pool with our neighbours at Dua Durra Guest House, Kuta. It was there I met an intriguing married couple, she was from Italy and he was from Sulawesi, Indonesia. I immediately struck up conversation with them as I was travelling to Sulawesi after Bali. So, together we decided to venture to the Gili Islands the day after next. This was their second trip to Trawangan Island and my first. I had heard from an Aussie backpacker the day before who recommended the Gili islands as a must see/do! But first we had to leave Bali, this is where the headache began.. literally! I am 40 years old and I like to think I have learnt ... read more

17/02/2011- 21/02/2011 For the ultimate days I decided to go to Gili Trawangan island, together with Diego. A good place to spend my last days, nice beaches, good food, and every night there was a party for the ones who enjoyed a good beer... Before leaving on this trip one of the things I really wanted to do was Diving. I actually had the plan to go for my Padi certificate in Thailand, but for some reason I never came around to it. But on my final day we decided to go on at least one dive, and Gili island is not the worse place to go diving. And to be honest it was one of my best experiences so far, it was mindblowing!!! diving, swimming next this big turtle, sitting around a giant manta, big ... read more

Ich bin ja nicht so erpicht auf wirkliche touristische Routen. Aber die Gili Islands vor Lombok wollte ich mir nicht entgehen lassen. Ich nahm sogar eine 5stündige Fährfahrt freiwillig auf mich (wer mich kennt, kennt auch meine äusserste Abneigung gegenüber Schaukelschiffen). Von Padangbai in Bali aus nahm ich also die 5 stündige Fähre, dann kam im strömenden Regen eine 2 stündige Busfahrt, dann noch ein 30 minütiger Spaziergang mit Sack und Pack durchs Gewitter und nochmals 1 Stunde kleines Schaukelboot. Und schon war ich auf Gili Trawangan. Dort durfte ich mir im Gewitter (meine Güte, wenn das hier regnet, da regnet es richtig - bin ja auch in den Tropen) eine Unterkunft suchen. Diese war ok - aber mehr auch nicht. An den Siff hier werde ich mich nie gewöhnen und freue mich jedesmal einfach nur ... read more

After much discussion in Ubud as to what our next destination would be we found an inexpensive bus-boat combo to get us to the Gili Islands, so Gili Trawangan it was! We heard and read so much about these islands off the northwest coast of Lombok; no motorized vehicles are allowed on any of the three islands, the snorkeling is supposed to be fantastic and it's a real laid back vibe, all of which would be proven true with a five day hang on Gili T.! Our pickup was late in the morning, and then it was a mad scramble to get to Padang Bai where we were to catch our boat but managed to make it in the nick of time...fast boat to the Gili's is the way to go, certainly more expensive but only ... read more