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Published: March 15th 2011
Journey to Gili Trawangan Island.
Travelling to the Gili Islands was completely unplanned and was decided over a Bintang by the pool with our neighbours at Dua Durra Guest House, Kuta. It was there I met an intriguing married couple, she was from Italy and he was from Sulawesi, Indonesia. I immediately struck up conversation with them as I was travelling to Sulawesi after Bali.
So, together we decided to venture to the Gili Islands the day after next. This was their second trip to Trawangan Island and my first. I had heard from an Aussie backpacker the day before who recommended the Gili islands as a must see/do!
But first we had to leave Bali, this is where the headache began.. literally!
I am 40 years old and I like to think I have learnt lessons in my life I will never repeat so why I chose to party the night before I knew full well I had to travel by bus, boat, bus & boat again with a hangover is beyond me. I indulged in Cocktail after cocktail whilst time was ticking and drawing closer to my 5am alarm to be up and showered ready for a shuttle
bus;the first leg of the journey.
Am not quite sure what time I arrived back at my guest house but it felt like only 10 mins had passed when my alarm mercilessly screamed at me to get out of bed. The next half an hour was a constant negotiation between myself and my alarm...5 more minutes...5 more minutes. It wasn't till I finally lost the battle and stood up did I fully relise the extent of my hangover. Every movement my head made, ever direction my eyes looked was met with a short, sharp stab followed by a dull throb in both temples.
This is going to be a long day!
Still in last nights clothes with both front & backpack I made my way down the stairs.
Our shuttle bus was fashionably late (an hour) and it wasn't until later was I to relise the rammifications for his tardiness.
The bus ride was two hours and as usual I had to nurse my front pack which at least gave me a platform to rest my head. With no painkillers on hand I just had to bare the throb in my head that refused to permit me to even open
my eyes and observe the beautiful countryside.
Finally, we reached the port to catch the slow boat (yes,another slowboat) which would take 4hours to reach Lombok. We were met with some very cranky tourist operators that were frustrated with us for being and hour late (of course this was not our fault). Our booked slow boat as it turned out, had already left. After a 5 minute tug a war over whose fault it was we were told that another boat was about to leave and if we RAN, we would catch it.
The other boat was 200 meters away and running with a 12kg back pack and an 8kg front pack is no easy feat let alone suffering from a hangover of potent cocktails. Nevertheless, I ran and ran and my head split and ached. Locals were all calling out, "Hurry Hurry" as we ambled towards the barge. The four of us looked like a scene from the television series "The Great Race" For me the prize was a flat surface where I could die horizontally in peace.
When we reached the boat we were than met with some deckhands who spoke to my Indonesian friend in Indonesian about buses. The word bus was all I could understand and it wasn't long before I realised that my exhaustive hangover was about to go under. Litterally!
The barge as it turned out was already loaded ready for departure and the back deck in which the passengers would normally board was now occupied by 4 buses side by side. If we wanted to get on the barge we had to pass through the buses which were parked so close to each other that the only way was to crawl along under them.
So, one by one we made our way through the buses and it was now for the first time all day I let out a big belly laugh. If someone was to say to me, "What is your worst hangover" This would be it!
With one scraped shoulder and grease all over my face and hands I was grateful to be in last nights black clothes. I sat down ready for the 4 hour journey in which I hoped to sleep.
Huh, no chance! The barge, as big as it was, was slowly tilting a little to the left and a little to the right and it wasn't long before I found myself facing down in a squat toilet that reeked of urine and "driving the porclein bus" as we say in Australia.
It cant get any worse, could it?
Arriving in Lombok didn't happen soon enough (4 hours later) where we then had to board another shuttle bus to take us to the other side of the island, needless to say this involved a mountain and a range. Answer to my previous question is, yes!
Once on the other side, we then boarded a long boat packed with other tourists to Trawangan Island (45min).
As the sun disappeared, the thunder & lightning cracked & roared and the rain fell into the abyss of the now dark sea. The long boat was fully covered however it managed to leak in one place and that was on my head.
Now most would have been annoyed but I turned my face toward the rapid drip of rain water and let it cool my face whilst thiking of an Aussie saying "Shit Happens"
A beautiful paradise was only minutes away and tomorrow was going to be bliss and today was going to be lesson number 9.
"Never drink heavily the night before travelling by car,boat,bus,horse,donkey,elephant etc, etc, etc.
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Lessons we learn the hard way
Hey Min...Once again I've enjoyed your journey...had a great belly laugh myself...inner jogging, great stuff...40 and still learning...sweetie, we learn something everyday of our lives....its what we do with that knowledge is what counts...happy travels...luv & miss you...xxx ooo.