Gili Goodness

The Gili’s are 3 little islands just off the coast of Lombok (which is the island to the east of Bali in the Indonesian archipelago). It’s about a 90 minute fast boat ride (7 hours if you take the slow boat) from Bali. I had no idea about them, but one of Jacques’ friends had told him going there was a must. And thank goodness for that! The three islands are called Gili Air, Gili Meno (the smallest one) and Gili Trawangan (the largest one). We headed for Gili Trawangan – which in the high season is the ‘party’ island. This being the low season, it was pretty quiet, with just a couple of bars busy at night.

When I say it’s the largest of the islands….it’s still very small. Jacques and I went for a run one day, along the road that hugs the shore around the island…7 km total – that’s the distance around the island. There are no motorized vehicles on the islands (thankfully) so everything is done with man, woman and pony power. It’s an interesting mixture of the tourist crowd with locals who live a pretty simple life. Have a look.

Fresh off the boat and onto our ride (pony express) to the hotel, which is on the north coast of the island.

Transport? Transport? Does anyone need transport?

Our hotel offers us a 'welcome drink' upon arrival - pineapple orange juice. Delicious. And yes, please, I'll have it on the beach deck

Again I've traded one paradise for another.

View from my bed.

When you're tired of swimming in the Bali Sea, you can swim in the hotel pool. Most of the time it was like we had it to ourselves.

The hotel restaurant, seen from the pool deck.

All in all, a pretty luxurious place. A vacation from our Bali vacation. Relaxation, sunshine, food.Then we walked around the island and I found myself wondering how the locals really feel about all this. Here’s a snapshot of their lives.

I am amazed how much these women can carry on their heads - and always with such grace!

Really, every shape and size - carried on their heads.

Manpower. With a load of freshly cut bamboo.

She said hello to every tourist that walked by, wanting only a hello in return. They learn young who the tourist is and what that means to their economy.

Just hanging out on a sunny morning. He gave us the thumbs up as we walked by, and a big smile. So damn cute!

Just about everything needs to be brought over from Lombok. And with all those tourists to keep happy and hydrated....that's a lot of bottled water. Everything that comes on the island needs to make its way off. How do you keep up with the never-ending pile-up of empties? Makes a girl wonder... Tourism gives a lot to their economy, but at what cost?

Feeling a little better seeing some of the empties make their way off the island. Just after passing us by, these were loaded onto a boat going to Lombok. There must be a steady stream of these shipments.

Typical local street.

Families have roosters, chickens and goats on their land.

Even the tourist beaches have rules - no going topless here. Good thing I brought more than one bikini and managed to hold onto my tops (and not lose them like I did in Spain....)