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Published: August 18th 2008
We weren’t sure what to expect when we arrived on the island as people we’d met along the way had said how busy and expensive it had become.
As we stepped off the boat most things seemed the same, quite a lot more people around maybe. We went in search of accommodation, our favourite place last time we were here was Edy Homestay, unfortunately it was full, after lots more searching and haggling of prices we found one nearby that was similar to Edy’s. 5 little bungalows around a cute well-kept garden. The price was over double what we’d paid 3 years ago but was still one of the cheapest around. We quickly discovered one downside to these bungalows though. A mosque was right next-door and woke us up every day at 5 am then again at 6am. Of course the cockerels also got woken up and joined in the chorus. Surprisingly we got use to it and hardly noticed it a few days later.
After more exploration around the island we discovered that much more building has gone on since we were here 3 years ago. Along the beachfront some new swanky hotels have sprung up with prices
to match. Most of the charm of the town has remained the same though and we had no problem finding good restaurants with live music, reasonable food and entertaining staff. The Irish Bar, Tir Na Nog, was lively every night and so was Rudy’s, especially during happy hour between 3pm and 10 pm.
Despite there being more people around, the beach was never overcrowded. The strong current was as bad as we’d remembered from three years ago but at least it made made for some good drift snorkels. Unfortunately the coral is showing signs of deterioration but there was no shortage of fish. We saw huge shoals of several varieties of fish and on one day alone we came across five turtles. We were able to swim right along side them as they came up to the surface to breathe, they seemed to be enjoying our company and made no attempt to swim away from us.
One day we took a trip over to Gili Air, it’s reputed to be quieter than Gili Trawangen. It was sprawled out along a long dusty roadway and didn’t hold much appeal to us and we instantly made the decision to spend
the rest of our time on Trawangen. We treated ourselves to 11 days of complete chill out, lazing on the beach and snorkelling in the sea by day, dining out and enjoying the company of fellow travellers and the Bintang beer by night.
This life is becoming addictive!
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Sharon
non-member comment
Addicted!
Yes, it is addictive isn,t it?! That,s why we are still on the road! Will have to get back to reality at some point, though!