Blogs from Gili Air, Lombok, Indonesia, Asia

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Asia » Indonesia » Lombok » Gili Air February 26th 2024

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 ... read more
taksi's for the Gili's
Best sushi!
View off the west side of Gili Air

Asia » Indonesia » Lombok » Gili Air February 18th 2024

Kuta, the one in Bali not Lombok, was a lovely place to visit and the beach is great for surfing. It is a busy hopping place with people everywhere. Lots of options for eating, chilling and connecting over coffee. We stayed at Yulia Beach Inn with family as this place holds dear memories for Jackie’s’ sister and brother in law. We then headed to Lombok, flying with Citilink. It was so smooth, easy and comfortable to navigate the airport and security and the flight only took 40 min’s from Denpasar. I really like the way security is here vs home. Here people are relaxed, smile and are friendly. The intensity is not all like in North America where I felt like I have to prove I am not hiding anything the moment we step into the ... read more
Fresh coconut on Kuta Beach
Amazing Banana smoothie bowl with dragon fruit
Pool at Yulia

Asia » Indonesia » Lombok » Gili Air October 8th 2022

We have decided to stay on Gili Air for another week because we love being able to stop and breathe in the beauty. We have gotten to know a few of the locals and found an amazing and well known warung (restaurant) off the main streets here and it is amazing food! Local and fresh made to order. And cheap. We are living our days with the question, ‘what shall we do next’. Not what’s the plan. Just one moment at a time. We have watched 2 thunderstorms over Lombok. One in the evening and one midday. It is quite something. We sat under our grass hut on the beach having a snack and beverage and watched the storm clouds move over Lombok. It was such an intriguing thing to see. There was a ring of ... read more
View of Lombok as storm moves in
Gili Air Shore

Asia » Indonesia » Lombok » Gili Air October 3rd 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 ... read more
Morning Coffee at Turtle Hotel
Nathan taking in his world
Biking the island

Asia » Indonesia » Lombok » Gili Air June 22nd 2018

So many places that we travel to change in a short period of time, but none so dramatically as Gili Air. We were here just a year prior and didn’t expect there to be too many big changes. Nothing could have prepared us for what we found this time around. Just three weeks before our arrival, the military came in with heavy machinery and tore down every structure on the ocean side of the road that runs around the island, in accordance with the new rules. Whole buildings were torn down in a matter of days: dive shops, trinket shops, but mostly restaurants. Where there had once stood fairly fancy restaurants, there was now just sand and rubble with tables placed on it. Whole kitchens had to be relocated to the inland side of the road, ... read more
Horse drawn carriages are one of the main modes of transportation on the Gili Islands, along with bikes.
The fruit lady!
Putting the construction rubble to good use!

Asia » Indonesia » Lombok » Gili Air June 17th 2018

“Ever seen a young girl growing old, trying to make herself a bride?” Fifty years ago the Gili archipelago was an untouched, virgin paradise. Viewed from the right perspective the islands are still photogenic. But you’d better get that camera angle precise because, like Rod Stewart, that once youthful beauty is jaded and tired. The view of Gili Air as the ferry from Bali approached the jetty was in the ‘omg’ category; the azure sea, the creamy sand, the green coconut palms. It’s instantly obvious why the Gili islands are so popular, unfortunately it is that very popularity that is the problem. Gili’s Bohemian free spirits like to chill and hang out, but they generate a lot of garbage. The trip from the ferry to your accommodation is along the sandy lanes which criss-cross the ... read more
Typical beach
Typical rubbish
2 for 1 at sunset

Asia » Indonesia » Lombok » Gili Air May 5th 2018

For the last leg of my adventure I headed to Lombok, Bali’s sister island and specifically more for the infamous Gili Islands. I don’t think anything can top my adventures to date. It has just been IN-CRE-DI-BLE!!! ??? But it ain’t over until the fat lady sings ... and I ain’t singing just yet!!! ??? So I’m on the plane about to land in Lombok and then comes the announcement... “we regret to inform passengers that we are unable to land in Lombok due to military activity. We will return to Bali”. First thoughts... Then someone mentioned it was Labor Day so the military probably had some practice drill to do, but why oh why didn’t they inform the plane before it took off? Oh it’s quite normal, they just do these things! ??? So back ... read more
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Asia » Indonesia » Lombok » Gili Air November 9th 2017

A combination of jetlag, all-nighters in Tokyo, bedbugs and sleeping late, saw me end up with a nocturnal body clock in Ubud; more bedbugs and a power cut then combined with my grogginess for a less than ideal morning when it was time to finally leave Ubud. The power cut in the hostel meant that the card machine wasn't working, which meant that I needed to make a mad dash to the ATM in order to get the cash to pay for my stay, before getting picked up by my shuttle. This sort of thing can happen when you're on the road but after two years of it I was just sick of it. Thankfully, the hostel worker was helpful and gave me a ride to the nearest working ATM, which ensured that everything was done ... read more
Going Up For Air
Looking Out To Gili Air
Outside The Hostel

Asia » Indonesia » Lombok » Gili Air October 8th 2017

We had an early pick up from our beautiful villa to transfer us to the port. Char slept most the way and soon enough we were speeding across the sea to Gili T. When we arrived Tash and Jet decided to get a horse and cart taxi to their hotel and we walked to our budget accommodation. We got settled in, met the guys for lunch and then spent the afternoon lounging on the beach and swimming in the turquoise sea. We really noticed the change in Gili T, gone were the small shacks and tat shops along the main beach front area. These had now been replaced with swanky Roxy and Hurley expensive stores. Bit of a shame but understandable. That evening we met up again to go to Sama Sama reggae bar. We remembered ... read more

Asia » Indonesia » Lombok » Gili Air September 21st 2017

After our successful taxi ride courtesy of the most corrupt cop on Gili Gede (Iriwan) we arrived at the harbour and then hopped on a ferry to Gili Air. We said our goodbyes to Max and Teresa and headed off towards our bungalow. It was extremely hot and because we cleverly (not) booked our place on the opposite side of the island to the harbour we had worked up a good sweat walking it with our full backpacks. It was very far from the centre and when we spoke to the manager, Frenchman Jacque, we told him that we won't be extending. That being said the bungalow was pretty awesome. Massive king size bed, private bathroom, aircon, balcony, very very private and an absolute steal of a price (as expected). It was overlooking mango trees and ... read more




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