Trewski

My ferry for Gili Tranwangan (or Gili T) was at 10am so my transfer collected me from Echoland at 6:30am. I arrived at Gili T at 11am and stepped off the boat onto what can only be described as a paradise Island covered in travellers. The pure white coral sand beach was lined with boats collecting and delivering a variety of produce and travellers from all over the world. At the back of the beach was a concrete path lined with trees on one side and a plethora of restaurants, hotels, dive shops and bars. The strangest thing about this busy area was the lack of mechanical noise i.e. cars and motorbikes. The only forms of transport on this island were push bikes and horses....... I liked it already! After collecting my bag and meeting up ... read more

After spending a semi-sleepless night in Tirta Gangga, with the suicidal fan which spent the night attempting to self destruct, we jumped into the minibusses and headed for Ubud in the rain! I think this was the first time I had seen rain since arriving in Indonesia. On the way, Nyoman had planned for us to stop at White sands beach but, due to the rain, I didn't expect this to happen. I was reminded that this is Indonesia, not England, and my expectations for rain and how long it lasted needed reallignment as it stopped not long after we set off. An hour later we arrived at white sands with the minibus heading down a road which would have been challenging for a 4x4. To the drivers credit, we arrived with us and the minibus ... read more

On Saturday the 9th of July, the group were packed, fed, watered and ready to go by 8:30am!! Not my usual Saturday morning but this is far from normal life. As I have come expect, no journey is short and this coach trip was no exception. The only difference was that the coach was comfortable and, at every possible opportunity, people would get on the coach and walk up and down the isles selling there wares. This consisted of mostly snacks and drinks but there were the occasional newspaper. After buying a large pack of coconut sugar coated peanuts (yum) and finding that the middle few layers were cardboard (D'oh), I learned a valuable lesson; check what you buy is what you think it is before the woman gets out of sight - It was only ... read more

After an 11 hour journey on a minibus in heavy (and, again, completely mental) traffic from Jakarka to Pangandaran with the only highlight of the day stopping for lunch at this traditional Indonesian restaurant overlooking a valley of lush green rice fields, we arrived in Pangandaran. On the first day in Pangandaran, a few of us went for tour of the area on becak which can only be described a seat with a bike strapped to the back of it where some guy cycles you wherever you need to go (usually used as taxis). This allowed us to go off the main roads and venture down some of the back alleys and through some of the local estates. At the end of the becak tour we stopped off at the sea to watch the village people ... read more