2017 was my first trip to SE Asia. I looked back at my Blog from that year ...i was a Woman on a Mission. I guess i thought i'd visit all 7 thousand Philippine islands, and 17 thousand Indonesian islands in 3 months time. Listing all the islands i visited is exhausting: Bohol, Panglao, Balicasag, Siquior, Dumaguete, Apo, Balicasag (again), Pamilican, Olango, and Moalboal, all in the Philippines. Then i went to Indonesia, Ubud, Nusa Penida, and Gili Air. Then on to Thailand: Ko Lipe, Ko Kradan, Ko Pha Ngan, and Ko Samui. Each island for only a few days, and 1-2 days travel to get there. Even I cannot believe i did that. Thankfully I learned that I could return and now spend more time at each location.
But I got distracted, ....my point was that when i arrived at Gili Air in 2017, there were NO motor vehicles: only Horse Drawn Carts and Bicycles on sand streets ... i sat by the water and REALLY felt like i had found my Happy Place. I have never forgotten the feeling that i had at Gili Air. In 2020 my intent was to return, but Covid had other plans. So, THIS year I wanted to make it happen.
I spent over 2 weeks staying at Matahari and diving in Tulamben; so decided to take a break and go back to Gili Air. There are lots of Gili islands, actually ‘gili’ means island in one of local languages. But when people talk about 'Gili Islands' they are usually referring to 3, just off the coast of Lombok. Lombok is the island just east of Bali. 3 Gili islands: Gili Trawangan, known for partying, Gill Meno, very quiet, and Gili Air, something in between. I chose Gili Air.
In 2020 it was possible to leave from Amed; but (for no doubt some monetary reasons), the government closed the port in Amed. We now have to travel 2hrs from Tulamben to Padang Bai and depart from there. As you can see, in addition to the 2hr drive, it takes twice as long to get there on the Ferry. Pena picked up Paco and I and took us to Padang Bai, got on the Ferry and i was back on Gili Air by noon! Thankfully it has not changed too much. Some of the main roads have been paved, but most are still sand. The Horse Drawn Carts and Horses line up, waiting for customers.
We got ours and we were off ...
Salim Beach Resort was my home for 4 nights. My bungalow was named Poseidon, set in a garden.
The Bungalow was large, and the bathroom huge, with slate floor and pretty engraved stone.
I went for a walk along the shore, Another thing i like about Gili Air is that all the beach shores are open. Resorts are across the sand street, and platforms have been built on the water for eating or resting.
Yes, those are storm clouds and it poured right after i returned from my walk. In fact, i think it rained a bit every afternoon. It was hot and very HUMID! Thank God for my powerful A/C !
The next morning i rented a bike to explore. And, I am just a bit better at riding a bike than i was in 2017, at least i didn't hit anyone. Picture this: In the middle of the roads are where the horses walk/run, and the sand is all fluffy there, so you have to keep the bike on the outside edges where the cart wheels are, and the sand is packed down, and .. on the LEFT side.... NOT right ! ... and if you veer anywhere near the middle, the bike tire sinks right in and it stops your bike dead in it's tracks. Not fun ! You can ride your bike all around the island in probably an hour, but I wouldn't recommend it. I tried in 2017 and was almost overcome with heat exhaustion. 1/4 of the perimeter is lots of heavy sand, impossible to ride through. Even on 'normal roads', there are patches where the ENTIRE roadway is heavy sand, and you just have to get off the bike and push your bike through it; and it's more work than you would think! So you are cruising down the road, mostly with no people, and all of a sudden come to this ...
...the rest of the road is up ahead somewhere, and eventually you can get back on your bike. It's fun exploring.
A lot of the shoreline has been eroded by storm surges. Many of the resorts and restaurants have had to improvise. And there were 2 sections of the 'ring road' that were especially bad. I heeded this sign >>> "Caution, Broken Road. Get Off Your Bicycle"
The interior of the island has shops, eating places, and less expensive places to stay. There are a few paved roads going through that are 'easier' to navigate.
and there is a lot of open land. They have to have somewhere to keep and graze the horses
Around 4pm I head for the west side to get something to eat, and a cocktail of course, to watch the SunSet. However, out of 4 nights, we never really had a sunset. The late afternoon clouded up, and sometimes rained, so this was about as good as it got. On a clear day, you would be able to see Mt. Agung, on Bali, just to the left of the sun.
It's a big event on this side of the island. Happy Hour, ($4/drink), lots of bean-bag chairs and small tables, umbrellas... with table service.
and live music
I really enjoyed this part of the day.
In 2017, when i snorkeled i was shocked.... there was NOTHING but rubble, broken pieces of coral, NO living coral. Obviously I was disgusted, then i learned that the locals had dynamited the reef so they could easily get fish! I actually retrieved these 2 photos from 2017, just to make sure my mind had not exaggerated the devastation.
I was anxious to see if the reef had been able to regenerate. I snorkeled twice, and WoW. 6 years later, the reef was back and there are lots of hard corals, and a few soft corals. But, absolutely NO anemone corals, which meant NO Nemos :( I don't know enough about reef regeneration to say what that might mean. But, much improved. Once again a living reef.
I saw a lot of fish, but I guess i'm out of practice of diving down and getting photos. Here are a few.
I said i saw no Anemones, nor Nemos ... but in the very shallow water i saw this Clark's AnemoneFish, but I do not know what he is living in ... maybe it is a kind of Anemone ??? And true to form, he was quick, cute, and entertaining.
And, i saw 4 turtles ... 3 very large ones that were very busy eating.
and a small one ..
that was busy looking for something ...
On one of my bike rides I met Moe-lay' .. a very friendly cat, neutered, long hair, and well groomed. He loved to have his chin scratched and i was more than happy to accommodate !
I stopped at a restaurant called Oranges, recommended by Darcy.
Here i met this little cutie, her name is Lucy, and i thought she was just a kitten, with amazing blue eyes.
she is a good girl, laid on my table and never once put her nose anywhere near my plate. Doesn't she have the saddest face. I saw her walking and noticed ....... she is nursing ... NOT a kitten and obviously not neutered, ... no surprise the face .. 'i am so tired' :(
Another interesting face .... there are NO dogs ! ... NONE ! ...just cats !
Another sunset evening !
And clear enough to see the Crescent Moon...
I loved where I stayed, they had a bar, Raja Bar, that had live entertainment. It didn't start until 8:30pm, because it is Ramadan. It lasts 29-30days, from one sighting of the crescent moon to the next. It means fasting from dawn to dusk for all adult Muslims. So they have to wait until later to start their partying. They even played music i knew and loved.
The last night i was there, i was eating at a restaurant on the beach, tables and feet in the sand. I noticed lots of people gathering at the shore.
I tried to ignore them, but my curiosity got the better of me. BABY TURTLES ! I have seen lots of turtles laying eggs, but only one ever on it's voyage to the sea. Tonight there were several !
No one seemed to know where the nest was, But every couple of minutes, they would find another one struggling. I went back to my table when a young girl approached with her light on her phone. You know how they say to turn the lights out, so the baby turtles don't get confused and go the wrong way. It's true, a little turtle had found it's way under my table! So she was using the light on her camera to illuminate the little one the way to the sea. Leading it all the way there with the light in front of it.
I followed him all the way to the water. What a struggle ! You can see foot prints and how large they are and the 'hills' it has to climb over .... WoW It's almost a 3min video, so you might want to watch it on YouTube and/or fast forward ... https://youtu.be/Mq_ZFxtsHFY
The video ends abruptly, but he did make it !
4 nights on Gili Air Island. I could stay longer, but my time was running out. This is not a well-known Muck Diving site, and I wanted to get a few more dives in before i head home. It's a very relaxing place to be, and I can still call it 'My Happy Place'.
My 'carriage' awaits ... to take me back to the Ferry Dock
Back to Tulamben and Matahari for a few more days, ....in the next post.
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