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Published: October 5th 2022
Gili Air – water (Air) Island (Gili)
We love this little island! We were tempted to explore Gili T and Gili Meno, but once we landed, we finally found the sweet pace of nothing. The hardest decision is what to eat and should we watch the sunset? There are no vehicles, just horse and carriage or bike. The people here are friendly and lovely and really do have that island feel. Lots of smiles and easy going attitude. To point where one of the cashiers was napping on the floor of the store using napkins as a pillow. And no one cares. The work gets done and people just get to be people. It is noticeable here, and in Bali as well, that rules are from we can tell, take of yourself and each other. If want to rent a bike (which I recommend) you give your $4 for the day and ride away. There is no waiver, helmet, id, DL and credit check before you are allowed to even touch the bike, you are trusted to bring it back and take care of it. It feels safe here and people are trustworthy. We have only seen fair and honest
exchanges with people. On Gili Air you pick your beach bed and linger for hours with no pressure to leave or move on. You get beach bed service throughout the day and people are interested in where you are from and that you are having fun.
The weather here is hotter then Bali and we don’t seem to get the rain. Apparently it’s because we are between the bigger islands of Bali and Lombok and 2 major volcanos. (Mt Rinjani to the east on Lombok, and Mt Agung to the west on Bali) and close to the equator making it a bit of a microclimate.
The island is certainly different from when last here and we see the effects of COVID. We also see the resiliency and hope as there is construction happening and new businesses that seem to be doing well. Walking back to our cottage after a lovely night of live music, sunset and food, we see local folks chilling, laughing, playing guitar, and wishing us a good night as we walk by. We found an amazing place to stay called Banana Cottages which focuses on Zen atmosphere, fresh juices and will be having yoga classes
in the future. It has new owners and just taking shape and we love it. How can you go wrong for $23 Canadian a night including breakfast! And literally a 1 min walk to the beach. It is perfect. And the Muslim prayer over the speakers several times a day is soothing and calming. My guess is we will extend our stay here and finally stop and refill our cups for a week.
Some interesting history of Gili Air – In WWII it was occupied by the Japanese and used as a look out and had a prison camp on it. Gili Air gets its name because it was the only island out of the 3 that had subterranean fresh water. The current population is about 1,800. And there are still land disputes about this area that have been going on for decades. Gili has survived war, earthquakes, COVID and more. For more info and history on this little bit of paradise, I have included this link;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gili_Islands
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Alietha
non-member comment
Paradise!
Simply beautiful! Looks like heaven on earth! You all look so relaxed. 😘