Gili

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Bali

I was given an indication of what to expect in Bali while in Sydney waiting to board the flight. Every flight I normally catch has a cosmopolitan mix of cultures and purposed however today my fellow passengers seemed to be exclusively australians going on holiday, giving me a vivid recollection of the few package holidays I have taken in europe. Pre 'Gen Y', 'Ryan Air' 'Easy as you like' world when one packaged foreign holiday was perceived a luxury - squadrons of brits would head to a crowded Gatwick to catch a delayed flight to a Spanish or Greek resort which would provide its guests with English Food, cheap alcohol and guaranteed sunshine.
Australia has beaches, guaranteed sunshine and is miles away from anywhere so you could assume there is costa del sol equivalent? While there certainly hasn't been an Australian armada holidaying abroad they have managed to colonize and cultivate this Indonesian Island to the same extend the brits have a Corfu or Majorca.

Landing 10pm I was thankful that I had booked a hotel with a courtesy pick up. As a disclaimer at this point I spent my entire 36 hours of Bali in Kuta so things that I found should be treated with a pinch of salt. I'm fully aware that such write off (or write up) and could be compared with going to Benidorm with out seeing Gaudis Barcelona.

So Kuta 11pm.... Paul was arriving the following night but I love the challenge of going out on my own in and such a place should be easy just to find a few bars, have a few drinks as reconnaissance for tomorrows expected antics. I did a quick turnaround in my hotel room and left with a map in hand knowing the nightlife to be only a few blocks away - but yet I got lost by missing a simple turn. Normally in new places I enjoy getting lost and finding stuff then getting my bearings back as the best places are not in the lonely planet or maps. As such I've been lost in some quite intrepid places and certainly way more intrepid than Bali. This experience though was not going to plan it is one thing to know you are lost it is quite another for every passing car, bike and bystander to also know you to be lost. After 30 mins of not seeing one western face and being aggressively harassed and handled I was ready to admit defeat and make a backtrack to the hotel. Fortunately I was confident in finding my way back and even more fortunately about 5 mins from the hotel I bumped into two Australian guys who pointed me in the direction of the bars.

Kuta has one main strip and it could compete with Magaluf in terms of noise debaurtry and tackyness. Although target of two terrorist attacks it also has a unnerving state of fear. Bouncers come with standard issue AK47s and hotels have security which would normally be reserved for Foreign Embassies (security guards check under cars with mirrors and bags are passed over with metal detectors). I like to think irrational fears are beneath me but I can't deny the thought of terrorism didn't play on my mind.

For the night I had a few drinks before seeing my two Australian samaritans again and ended up drinking with one of them till the early hours. What started as a bad night ended up ok. The next day slightly jaded by drink and the previous nights experience I opted to stay by the pool and start my holiday book. At 5pm I ventured to the beach finding a large but dirty sand mass where every 2m as far as the eye could see there would be someone trying to sell you something. The Harvard business review once sighted that a top salesmen should not be congratulated by the sales he/she makes but by how many sales they lost, overcome and still proceeded to make them sales. I like the idea, I like the logic and for that I won't totally lambast people that having just seen me decline one of their competitors soft drinks and thinks i may suddenly become in need of a cold beverage in the prevailing 20 seconds. There are some countries which I've avoided for the sole reason that when i'm holiday I don't like to be harassed and like to if anything drop my guard where i can. Indonesia was one of these countries and as far as Kuta, Bali experience goes I was proved right.

Gili Islands

Quite a number of people never seem to have never heard of these islands and wonder where i came up with the idea of going but I'm a serial asker of backpackers where they have had the best time and quite frequently the answer is the Gilis. Thus they have been on list for quite a while but given the 8 hour ferry trip from the nearest international airport (bali) they were out of reach for my 10 day holiday routine. However there are now 3 speed boats services which do the trip in a uncomfortably bumpy two and half hours. Paul and I had done a vast amount of reading about the Gilis but it was still a surprise to see the crystal emerald water circling Gili T like Saturn has its rings. There are no motor vehicles allowed on the island so transport is limited to foot, push bike and horse drawn carts. We'd booked a villa at The Beach House and choose the horse chariot option to take us there. The Gilis are going through a transition the past is a off beat backpacker destination for diving and the occasional party their future seems to be an off beat boutique hotel destination. At different ends of the spectrum there is wide range of accommodation, clientele and food. I'm not too sure what to make of this transition other than it will intensify when Lomboks international airport is completed.

Our Beach House 2 bed villa with private pool had lived up to everything the website had promised and more. The Beach House itself is in a perfect location and seems to have the busiest restaurant which serves fantastic fresh fish marinated and bbq'ed to perfection.

As Gili is essentially a sit by the pool and relax holiday I don't have much to say so maybe just some postcard esq anecdotes

Nightlife: Before I went couldn't find my info on the nightlife other than there was an occasional party which bars took in turn to host. The dignified way of doing business actually does exist. With the islands population of nocturnal party goers limited it makes sense and works very well.

Friday for Rubys - this was the venue for our first night on the Island. Great open air bar with a dance floor. ok so it's quite basic but impressive at the same time and supplemented with quite a few locals.

Monday Blue Marlin - This is the main dive resort on the island although there are loads!!! upstairs has quite a professional nightclub playing good funky house and atmosphere to match.

Wednesday TirNanOg - Officially it's party is wednesday and this where they really spice it up but almost every night this is the bar to have a warm up drink or when there is no party to just have a drink with a few others. The name is actually Celtic... yes unbelievably Gili T is the smallest island in the world to have an Irish Bar!!!! Don't let it put you off though as there are none of the usual tacky franchise memorabilia and apart form the occasional U2 song you would be none the wiser.

Yoga: I also couldn't find anything about yoga before going but there is a teacher doing some classes there which were quite good... no Ashtanga but no place could be that perfect

Snorkeling: The Islands are famous for the sea life and it reminds me a little bit of koh tao in the way so many people are there for just a few days to do some diving. It is very easy to do some quite amazing snorkeling by just taking your mask and fins off the main beach. However I wanted to do a snorkeling boat trip and when Paul left the island it seemed the perfect way to meet people and see some better sea life. After booking my trip I was speaking to a guy in the sunset bar who'd just been on a trip and it was him and 12 girls presenting me with a picture of the fact I was quite encouraged by tomorrow. Luck has a large part to play when you travel as places are often about who you share them with and what happens by chance. I turned up to my snorkel trip the next morning to find a elderly couple in their 50's a dubious looking guy with an asian girl accompanying him and a couple with more piercing than punk rocker. Luck was not on my side. Given the prospect of spending the day with just fish to speak to I made an semi true excuse about having a troubled stomach and I would opt to go tomorrow instead. Although by the next day I had already contemplated moving my flights forward so not to fly overnight and go straight from the airport to work so when presented with only a slightly better mix of people I decided to cut my losses and fly home.

I'd read on another blog before going that the Gili islands have it all... I wouldn't disagree with this the food is excellent, it is cheap to get a 5 star room/villa, it has nightlife without being tackey and generally is a very relaxed place. I felt the holiday was a little unlucky in parts but overall it was great to see Paul and have a rest.

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Photos

walking round the island
it only takes a couple of hours