Gili Trawangan

After our brief time in Kuta, Bali, we moved on to the Gili Islands off the coast of Lombok. The Gili Islands are a small chain of three islands, Air, Meno and Trawangan. Trawangan is the largest of the three and is known as the party island. This is where we headed. Even though Gili Trawangan is the largest island, it’s still pretty damn small. It is only accessible by boat, has a population of approximately 800 people and there are no cars or motorbikes on the island. Once on the island the only means of transportation is either bicycle or horse and carriage. A generator powers the entire island, and most of the places have no fresh water, only salt water for showers and washing (except some of the fancy resorts which have their own filtration system). The population on the island is a mix of Hindu and Muslim. Three times a day the Island’s mosque blasts the prayers on a loud speaker than can be heard across the entire village. This, combined with the roosters around the island, makes for an interesting wake up call at sunrise.

The locals on the other hand have continued to be absolutely amazing. The people are so nice and they have an uncanny knack for remembering names. As soon as you introduce yourself it’s printed in their brain. Every day, Ahmed, Oaky Doaky (we think his name is Oaky, but he tells everyone Oaky Doaky) and the other guy (we’re not nearly as good at remembering names) stop us and say hello. They love to make small chat and hear about our day. It’s really nice to feel that people on the island know your name and want to learn about you. 

The island is pretty packed with tourists from everywhere in the world, we’re no longer only surrounded by Australians. The Euro Cup has helped us quickly figure out where people are from. Ireland hasn’t done so well; the English on the other hand have found reason to celebrate (get drunk), not that they were really looking for an excuse. We got a nice 5am wake up from our neighbours when England beat Sweden (the first game starts at midnight, the second game at 2:45am). What’s been really surprising is the number Quebecers we’ve met. We have come across at least 10. Many of the locals also speak French, having picked it up from different Quebecers or other French people they have come in contact with over the years. As soon as you let them know you’re from Canada, they ask if we’re from Montreal and then begin speaking to us in French. It’s really very cool. On a personal note, Anne-Julie met her Grandmother’s cousin’s son here on the island; he is training to be a dive instructor… small world!

Our accommodations have been pretty reasonable. Our first night we stayed at a place owned by a couple from Quebec. We were welcomed with a big Quebec flag outside (no red square); for breakfast they had eggs and toast, but the toast had maple syrup on it. Pretty nice touch! But, it was $27 a night for a double room with AC, so we only stayed one night and ended up moving next door for a comparable room at $15 a night. The place was a little dirtier, the bathroom was a complete mess, but it was ok with us as we had AC and didn’t really plan on spending much time in the room.

As for what we did on the island, well, we didn’t do that much partying. On our second day on the island, we decided to become PADI Open Water Scuba Diving certified. The classes were great, albeit a little draining. Up at seven every day for scuba diving practice in the pool at 9am and then the real stuff in the ocean in the afternoon, followed by watching theory videos in the evening (mind you watching them in a little open aired hut facing the ocean was pretty damn nice. We saw tons of fish, including clown fish, puffer fish and tuna, as well several sea turtles, which were absolutely amazing to see as they effortlessly coasted through the water. Definitely a highlight!

Another day we rented bikes for the entire day, 3$ each. We did a tour of the island hanging out on different beaches and snorkelling around. The beach isn’t that nice, there is washed up coral everywhere, but the positive side, is if you go in the water, you can start snorkelling just a couple of feet off shore and see some amazing fish. It took us about two and half hours to bike around the island, including the snorkelling stops and lunch. There is also a hill on the middle of the island that you can climb to see the sunset, we went up one day and got a nice view of the sunset over Lombok (which is the closest large island where most of the food, water and beer are boated in from each day).  

There are lots of bars on the island where you can eat and drink. There is fish being cooked up on barbeques everywhere, but for the most part, we use the bars for drinking. Every night a food court opens up in the middle of town where all the food stalls setup and you can buy great food on the cheap. Our favourite has been Anna’s and her Cashew Chicken, a huge plate with steamed rice for 3$, and of course, a large Bintang for another 3$. Anna is pretty famous on the island; all the dive schools and party boats order their food from her. When she mentioned this to us, we told her she was also in a book we have, to which she responded, “I know, Lonely Planet, I am more famous than Lady Gaga!”

Here is a little video we put together of some of the stuff we experienced on the island!

À la demande de plusieurs, spécialement Véro pour ne pas la nommer, voici le premier blog en français.

Après 1h30 de route entre Kuta, Bali et Pandangbai et 1h15 de speedboat, nous sommes finalement arrivés aux îles Gili, plus précisément Gili Trawangan. Sable blanc, eau turquoise nous acceuillait. Beaucoup de coraux rendent l'entrée à l'eau difficile. Par contre, ces coraux rendent le snorkling très agréable un peu partout sur la plage qui entoure l'île. Nous avons finalement décidé de faire nos cartes de plongée certifiée PADI. Trois jours de cours du matin au soir avec des devoirs. Trois jours plutard... c'est réussi ! Belle expérience, beaucoup de poissons et quelques tortues. Les coraux profonds n'offre pas beaucoup de couleur. Aprés un certain ouragan, il y a longtemps les coraux sont généralement "mort, mais beaucoup de poissons. Nous avons eu la chance de rencontrer le fameux Némo, qui se cachait dans son anémone ! En plus, des scorpion fish, trigger fish, rock fish, box fish, puffer fish, thon, Napoleon fish, concombre de mer, étoiles de mer bleue, et plus encore. 

Mis à part les cours de plongée et le snorkling, peu à faire que demeurer relax, se contenté d'une Bintang (bière locale) et d'entendre la Mosqué trois fois par jour. Comme à Kuta, Bali, les gens sont extrêmement gentil et aidant. Ils ont en plus une mémoire phénoménale pour se souvenir des noms. Finalement, tu finis par connaitre plusieurs personnes sur l'île et tu les rencontres à chaque jour et chacun s'informe de comment leur journée s'est passée. Gili Trawangan est très touristique, mais si familier en même temps et on se sent proche des gens qui y habitent. 

La majorité des aliments proviennent de Lombok. L'importation semble se faire quotidiennement et les aliments sont frais. Un petit food court est installé au centre de la rue principale. Il y a plusieurs poissons cuit sur le grill, des satays et des plats typiquement indonésiens. Nous avons goûté à tout. Merci à Anna pour son excellent service et joie de vivre du haut de son 4 pieds 11 pouces. 

Sur l'île, on y retrouve beaucoup de chats. Petite particularité, plusieurs d'entre eux n'ont pas de queue ou une très courte. Selon la légende, ce serait génétique.

Après avoir planifié que quatre jours, nous quittons après 7 jours ! 

Direction Sengigi, Lombok.