Advertisement
Published: February 26th 2024
Edit Blog Post
Gili Air has come back to life! What a difference since our last visit just after things reopened from COVID in 2022. In Oct 2022, there were so many stores and villa’s deserted, overrun with nature and closed shops. Now there is so much here! Spa’s (went from 2 to at least 10), new and restored restaurants, shops and villa’s. Even multiple medical clinic’s that I hear are very good. So great to see this 5 km wide island booming, now we just need the people to come back. There seems to be some unfortunate misinformation on social media and old video’s showing it quite run down… this is simply not the case. Yes there are parts that are still not occupied and have not recovered from the earthquake and COVID. But so many have, and with beautiful additions.
I see comments on various social platforms about the water not being clear enough (personally love the water here) or the garbage on the beach (from other countries as well brought by the tides) and run down properties. And yes, when you look for that you will find it (just like in our own Country). This is an underdeveloped
taksi's for the Gili's
No gas transportation allowed. Horse, bike, electric scooter or your feet are the options. country, and this needs to be understood. Before travelling to other countries, perhaps it is best to research the region one wishes to vacation, ask ‘what is my tolerance level for discomfort’, and withhold expectations so that one can take in the beautiful reality of what is actually here, not imagined, and the incredible culture, ecosystems and environment. To imagine what one
wants it to be and then complain that the image in ones head did not come true will only be frustrating to the traveller. There are options for those who wish to be a bit protected from seeing less than ideal environments and there are beautiful resorts that cater to ones every wish, similar to many countries people vacation in. It does cost significantly more then the $42 we spend a night, inc. breakfast however.
The food here is incredible and makes for a beautiful gastronomy adventure. I don’t know how they do it for this tiny island but they capture the flavours of Indonesia(of course), Mexican, Italian, Japanese, and western. The morning shopping for the restaurants is done by local people walking their wares in carts or wheelbarrows and locals buying from them.
Best sushi!
Hakuna Mataha - amazing food and presentation The people, well they are amazing as well. Friendly, welcoming, helpful, and chill. So different then the work environment of developed countries. Their days are long and they work hard, but they also seem happy, with very little material things and little sleep, working 6 days a week 8-12 hours a day.
Speaking of sleep, there is a culture here that if you hire staff you provide them places to sleep, even if it’s on the day beds after hours after guests have left. A lot of places hire families and provide space at the villa for the family free of cost, and their kids can be around them during their work day. You often see the wee ones tagging along behind their family as the mom’s dad’s, aunts, uncles and grandparents go about their work day. The entire family helps provide care while others are working and they trade off as needed.
Some history – Gili Air is the ‘middle’ size island of three. Gili Trawangan (known as GiIi T) is the biggest, Gili Meno the smallest. The 3 islands were briefly used by the Japanese during WWII for operations and POW camp. I
could not find anything remaining from this time as far as ruins etc. on Gili Air, and there is no museums or places that speak to this part of the islands past, but there is a shipwreck off Gili Air and a bunker on Gili T that remain as a reminder. Later Gili Air was a farming and fishing Island. The 1970’s there was a large coconut plantation. During this time the overcrowded Mataram prison in Lombok would send prisoners to Gili to help harvest. Some may have stayed.
The local language is Sasak, but there are many dialects. Most Sasak people speak 3 different languages, including English.
more pictures below 😊
Sources – the beautiful people we talked to, our own experiences and :
https://lestacworld.com/asia/indonesia/lombok/gili-air/important-to-know-about-gili-air/?currency=IDR# https://villaburunggiliair.com/gili-air-language-culture/ https://www.indonesia-tourism.com/west-nusa-tenggara/native_history.html
Advertisement
Tot: 0.082s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 9; qc: 50; dbt: 0.0285s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb