Island Lifestyle = The Good Life ;-)

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Hello again to everyone - hope you all having a good start to 2009!

So after the busy week in Bali, we have been based on the isalnd of Gili Trawangan; Lombok! & it is exactly what needed & what we been searching for! It could not have come at a better time on the trip! After the busy week in Bali, we now feel extremely well rested after being beach bums for the past week already ;-)

Wary of the safety of the ferries in South East Asia, & words from back home still ringing loudly in my ears ("becareful/catious on the ferries on that side") we decided to take the fast boat to Lombok, Gili! For nearly three times the price ($50 vs $18 on public ferry) we felt our lives are worth more than a few extra $$! The boat ride was bumpy to say the least! A couple of passengers were unfortunate & could not avoid throwing up! Unlucky for them!

Gili Trawangan, the island & its people, are fantastic! The only mode of transport is by horse & cart or bike! So it is very peaceful! On the islands I do not wear a watch so there is no real time - especially since we never really have an agenda! My/our daily activities include waking up anywhere between 9am & 12pm (depending on the previous nights activities ;-)), running around the island which takes me roughly 30 minutes (Jay managed his 1st bit of exercise today;-)), we have brunch, lay on the beach for hours, snorkel like 10m off the coast for hours, have dinner & hang out with other tourists & locals! & of course party when there is a good party happening (which is very often).

The only tourist activity we have done since being here is the 3 Gili (Trawangan, Meno & Air) day snorkelling trip. We spend about 30 - 40 minutes at each island snorkelling the best spots while the boat waits for you. The trip also inlcuded a short stop over & lunch at a restaurant on Gili Air. The trip was fun! & hard work when we needed to swim to get to the boat after drifting away from it.

We have made a few mates here which has been good! We have also been fortunate as it has not rained much despite being rainy season! But when it does rain we catch a beach hut & watch dvd's ;-) There is also a really cool sport bar/pub - Irish Sports Bar! This has become our local hangout spot. It shows the footie but the time time difference is crazy! But we make a plan as we don't have much to do other than lay on the beach & snorkel etc ;-)

Gili Trawangan is also a fine balance between mellow, relaxed, semi upbeat (during the day) & definitely knows how to throw a good party in the evenings! Our week here so far has been awesome & we probably "stuck" here for a short while longer ;-)

Till next time, take care & hope you enjoying the blogs!

Teramakasih (thank you) for reading ;-)

Zubs

Impressions of Gili Trawangan:
the good:
- great snorkeling just off the coast
- know how to throw a fun party
- local coffee is called "koppie Lombok" which is great (thanks for the tip Richard)

the bad:
- electricity load shedding happens daily = no electricity during the day only at night for areas off the main strip, except they sometimes get confused between day & night ;-)

the ugly:
just plenty mosquito bites ;-)

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Photos

Zubs & Daniel Kuta Beach - Bali
Dis 1 ist vir du Daniel ;-)

Fresh fish braai ;-)
fresh delicious salads & drinks inlc for under $7

Another view local hangout
Daniel: Reichlich noch van dies; Cape Town;; June; 2009 ;-)

Sea turtle
10m off coast

Snorkel Pic 1
Morgz plenty more for you ;-)

Comments

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questions about gili
cool pics! i love the turtle one! I am planning a 3 days trip to gili trawangan and wondered where is the best place to stay and dive/snorkel? north/south etc? I am looking for accomodation and do not know where it would be best to stay... thanx