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Published: September 28th 2013
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The fast boat from Padang Bai on the east coast of Bali to the Gili Islands and Lombok takes around 2 hours and return tickets can be negotiated down to about half the first quote if your good at bargaining like us. For the fast boat you will need to pack your sea legs and courage because the ride is extremely hairy with side to side bounce making the windows go under water and noisy nose diving extremely unnerving.
Of the 3 Gili islands, Gili Trawangan is the party island, Gili Meno is the 'honeymoon' island (code for expensive) and Gili Air is relaxed, peaceful and the least invaded of the 3 so obviously Air was our chosen stop. Allowing 90% of the boat to get off at Gili T, a few more at Meno then disembarking at Air with just one other couple, we knew we had made the right choice. The island is just 2km long by 1km wide with no cars, no bikes, no dogs and no fresh water it is truly paradise. The entire 360 degrees of the island is surrounded by coral reefs meaning that you can snorkel straight off the beach and the row of fishing boats in the harbour meant that upon arrival we knew that a fishing trip was likely. The pace is something else here, sleeping is the main pastime followed by smoking and drinking. The only real work we saw was the men around the stationery engine making bricks, a sign of the impending development here.
Beach bungalows dotted along the sandy track which circles the island, are the main accommodation but we were after something even more rustic... we negotiated a pretty bamboo hut on the beach, otherwise known as a brugak, in a prime location for the sunset and on the quietest side of the island, interrupted only by a visit from the odd lizard. With a bamboo screen to protect against some of the wind, the coral mobile decorated bed was the most comfortable yet and we got to wake up with the sun and go scavenging along the entirely coral beach to see what interesting shells and creatures the tide had left behind during the night. An early walking tour of the island took around an hour and a half in total and is a good way to take in just how deserted this place is. Back at our hut with Nasi Campur for breakfast we started to note the patterns of the tide. The shallow water inside the reef meant that by 10am the water was amazingly warm - like taking a bath. A couple of rock pools provided almost spa like bathing opportunities with fish, sea snakes and star fish.
We arranged a fishing trip with the owner of our bar who took us on his own boat to some spots he fished as a kid but due to really strong winds the fishing was hard going at best and we were quite queezy in the boat but did catch a few small fish. The biggest was actually the first which we thought would go back in but no, it was to be eaten along with the smaller subsequent catches and the left over bait. Delicious too as an appetizer accompanied by a mojito at the bar, some good music and an exquisite sunset. Later, the apprentice barman (think Brain Flanagan, cocktail), who we had made friends with, got our local price 'Nasi' which we ate at the bar as the only customers whilst he showed off his newest bar tricks.
The best snorkelling was near the harbour and about 20m in near the drop off into the deep ocean. Bigger fish patrolled the edge of the deepest coral and were visible for about 20 meters down in the crystal clear water, medium fish fed on the underside of the ledge which we could see only by daring to swim a little into the strong current of the deep water and smaller fish with most of the best colours swam the shallower waters and most interesting corals. In one particular area we estimate that over 1,000 fish were within our visibility and more than 100 species. As well as many fish we had already seen in Nha Trang, we saw some well camouflaged venomous Lion Fish, a couple of larger Puffer Fish, some weird Reeftop Pipe Fish, 1 Trumpet Fish and some Needle Fish which, swimming close to the surface, are surprisingly hard to spot. We even found Nemo. Since I don't have an underwater camera, I have attached a link showing fish at Gili. Sadly, we didn't see any Reef Sharks or Turtles. http://www.lankanfushi.com/p/quick-fish-id-key.html
On moving day we were really quite sad to be leaving after such a peaceful, relaxing and perfect time on the island but one last treat lay in store for us at the harbour, a sighting of an adult Green Sea Turtle from the peer. We watched for half an hour or so timing its regular surfacing for air to about 4 minutes per dive and the distraction caused us to miss our boat but it was worth it. We easily caught a later boat and endured the rough ride back to Bali contemplating whether Gili Air Island had been a dream or not.
Bucket list items ticked off
1. Go deep sea fishing
2. See an endangered species
3. Sleep on the beach
4. Stay in a bamboo hut
5. Watch a sunset from bed
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sandra
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ahhh sounds just perfect
wow - that does sound like a dream island -- would love to go there --