Friday 1 October 2010

another day in a different paradise...Gili Trawangan...

Friday 1st October 2010
ok, so one would imagine that living in Bali, one would not need a holiday away from their holiday...well, think again! sometimes it does get a bit hectic here, especially during tourist high season, where the roads fill up with traffic and one feels like locking themselves away in their homes until the tourists have all gone back to wherever it was they came from...hence Gili Trawangan, one of three small islands off Lombok, the other two being Gili Air and Gili Meno. They are a short plane ride from Bali and a complete paradise in that there are no cars and motorbikes allowed on the island. this means transportation is down to bicycle, feet or something called a cidomo which is a horse drawn carriage.
it's pretty idyllic, with crystal blue waters and and white sandy beaches. life is very very slow and night times are one big party after another, with the location changing every night from one bar to the next. however, on the downside (if you can possibly imagine one!) food and drink is very expensive. with being such a small island everything has to be imported from the mainland, hence in some places there is a 21% tax charge! and most of it doesn't really taste that fantastic.
however, if you need to get away from it all and get a feel for what Bali might have been like 20 years ago, this is the spot. it's peaceful, you can find quiet beaches, swim in turquoise blue water and completely unwind. i'm thinking next time a trip to Gili Meno and Gili Air is in order as they are even less populated than Gili Trawangan.

2 comments:

Jeni said...

How sweet.... what do you sleep in? i am picturing a gilligan island style hut with open windows and no lock on the door. I'm now guessing it is very safe too?!

Unknown said...

hi jeni, ya it was pretty safe. accommodation varied between superstar villas to beach type huts. all very quaint...but next time i'm off to one of the quieter islands. we already get our fair share of tourists here in bali without encountering them in their hordes elsewhere...;)