Lombok & The Gili Islands

Turtle Sanctuary - Gili Trawangan

We arrived in Bali and got picked up at the Airport by Andrew & Simone. It was really good to see them again. We spent their last 5 days with them in Kuta before making our way over to Lombok. We left Bali from Padangbai which is in the South East. From here we took the Local slow ferry over to Lombok. And yes it was slow! 5 hours later we were docking at Lambar. Approaching Lombok was breathtaking. It was a beautiful lush green islands filled with mountains. Unless you see it, it is hard to believe how lovely it really is. We found our driver who would be taking us to Senggigi. Another mini bus ride with more amazing scenery. We drove past local villages, Burning rice fields, waving children and a stunning sunset. Senggigi was just a stop over. We arrived in the early evening, ate in a tasty restaurant, slept bad as we were next door to what seemed like their only night club and left early in the morning to get to the Gili Islands. The drive from Lambar to Bangsal took us up the whole of the West coast. Bangsal is where you catch a small boat over to the Gili Islands. Gili Air is the smallest and the most populated Island closest to Lombok. Gili Meno is in the middle and is the quietest and Gili Trawangan is the biggest with the most accommodation and restaurants. Catching the small boat over is quite an experience. The locals are also using the boat as their main transport to and from the Gili's. So imagine 20 travelers and 40 locals battling it out to squeeze past the engine, climb on board the rocking boat, walk across the seats as the middle is packed with cargo and find a spot to sit without sitting on a pineapple. Oh and if your not quick enough to get on that boat then you will have to wait for the next one, which can take up to a few hours in low season. Our boat was meant to have 25 people max but we counted at least 41, not including the extra weight of the cargo, bags and double mattress which was balanced on top. With no life jacket in site, Sam was not feeling to confident on board. It took about 30 minutes but we survived and soon found a room in the village. From Gili.T you can see all 3 Gili Islands and Lombok. And on a clear day you can see Gunung Agung on Bali at 3142 metres high. With no transport on the island, it was good to breath in some clean air. Especially after Kuta! The only problem is that the only transport on the island is a Cidomo aka Horse and cart, so you do breath in Horse s**t but that made us feel a little bit at home in the countryside again. We walked the whole island in under 2 hours. It was hot but we enjoyed it. We only spent 6 days on Lombok & Gili.T but enjoyed our short time here. We are glad we popped over from Bali.