Lombok and the Gili Islands, Indonesia

After our visit to Bali, our next stop was the island of Lombok. We hopped the 4-hr ferry ride form Padang Bai followed by the hour long shuttle to Sengigi. Sengigi was pretty much a let down the minute we arrived. The beaches were gray and not very clean, in comparison to Padang Bai. We also arrived without hotel, as usual, and spent the better portion of the early afternoon looking for a guesthouse. It seemed that everything in Sengigi was really overpriced for mediocre accommodation. But alas, we found something and decided it was not going to ruin our time there. That night we went to one of the many restaurants lined down the main road. Since there weren't many tourists in Sengigi it felt like we were being hawked at every few minutes. We couldn't walk one step before someone was trying to sell something to us. We also inquired about the hike to the infamous Mt. Rinjani, an active volcano that lies on the northern tip of the island. To our dismay, guided climbs to Mt. Rinjani were closed and did not re-open until April 1st. We both spent the evening debating whether we extend our trip (yet again) in order to be able to do the first hike up the mountain of the season. Begrudgingly, we decided to skip the hike and move on with our travels as planned. It will have to wait until next time... :)

The following day, we decided to spend the day at our guesthouse in front of the beach, away from the hawkers. We each got some massages from the local lombok woman, mainly because "No" was not an option. Although the forced massage was not so bad, we eagerly awaited the next day for our departure to the fabulous Gili Islands!

The Gili Islands are a true paradise where one could spend months. None of the islands have cars or motorbikes on them so there is no noise pollution. The only modes of transportation are walking, bicycling or horse drawn carriages! To access the islands you have to take small longtail boats from the small port on Lombok about 30 minutes to the 3 islands: Gili Air, Gili Trawangan & Gili Meno. The first island that we stayed at was Gili Trawangan which is crowned the 'party island'. This may be the case in the busy season, but what we found was a laid back beach paradise. White sand beaches lapped by clear blue/green waters all surrounded by coral reefs. From our bungalow we could walk down the only road on the island to a bunch of cool beach side cafes, restaurants and of course bars. There was even a movie theatre directly on the beach!

Our next few days were filled with snorkeling, bbq fish dinners on the beach and exploring the island. The first day we hiked to the top of Viewpoint Hill where we were rewarded with spectacular views of the three islands, Lombok and the surrounding seas. On our way back we found a secluded beach where we collected various sea shells and swam in the bay. The following day we rented bikes and biked around, finding a deserted bar/restaurant on the west side that was a perfect spot to watch the sun set. We grabbed a couple of beers and rode over to watch the sun set over Mt. Rinjani and the ocean.

Seashells collected on beach

Next, we moved over to Gili Air, known as a mix of the party Gili Trawangan and mellow Gili Meno. Where this small island lacks in number of cafes and bungalows it makes up for in it's charm. Small enough to walk around in an hour and a half, it is a great place to relax and unwind.....as if we needed that. The best place to stay is the new bungalow complex of Segar Villages. The bungalows are run by a super nice family of cousins and uncles who turned one of their uncle's farmland into an awesome bungalow complex. As we checked in and were relaxing on our front porch we were greeted by about 10 monitor lizards splashing around in the marsh in front. What really made this place special though was the open air bathroom, complete with the shower head coming directly out of a group of rocks. The bathroom even had a little fish pond in it with a bunch of fish swimming around! The dinners we had were unbelievable as well. One night we had some fresh authentic homemade pasta from the bungalow complex next door followed the next night by a seafood feast consisting of fresh tuna skewers served with rice, vegetables, salads and fruit. Not to mention the 2 for 1 drink specials.

The snorkeling has been some of the best of the trip.....much better than in Thailand. The colors are amazing and there is an abundance of marine life. Chartering a longtail boat for the day, we got to experience all three of the islands exploring many different reef formations as well as a ship wreck. Gilli Islands we will be back!!!

Link to Pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/rayann.torres/LombokGiliIslands#

- Shaun and Rayann