Gili Air & Lombok Were the Islands I Wanted Bali to Be (Indonesia Finale)
This is it! I’m back in the United States (though I wrote most of this in Taipei). I can’t believe it. But it the meantime, I’m going to be chugging out these blog posts, before I forget all of the crazy memories that the trip has given me. You can read my other posts here.
Gili Air
Now for every part that Bali was supposed to be Paradise it’s infamous for, Gili Air was that Paradise. The three Gili islands are all located about a 90 minute boat ride from Bali, just off of the shore of neighboring Island Lombok (which was equally as fun!). We opted for Gili Air, as Gili T was all parties and Gili Meno was still a little new on the block. Man, it was lovely. The entire island could be walked in an hour, there were no cars(!!!), the scenery was exquisite, the food was some of the best we had, and our hostel was buzzing and social with new friends. Gili also had the advantage of being relatively inaccessible. There was no road or nearby airport link to get there, one had to schmuck all the way from the Bali or Lombok airport, hire a car, and then take a boat to get there, which helps keep the rampant tourism in check.
After my first failed snorkeling attempt in Gaya Island, Malaysia, my second one made up for it, and more. The corals and fish were beautiful, and all of it was right along the beach, as easy to get to as it gets. Lena even brought her GoPro, so we got some great shots of some of the fishes down below (even some of Nemo!). We mostly idled away our days, soaking in the quaint island vibes, whether it was at our hostel pool or the many beach-side bean bags that the various restaurants provided.
Lombok
Heading to Lombok was an adventure. As our hostel had another operation across the strait in Lombok, they let us ride with their boat that headed home each and every day with workers, laundry, and supplies. The boat was delayed as it broke down, but we were off by sunset. The waves were choppy and the boat small (a repurposed fishing boat), and we were soaked and laughing in the dusky evening light, the lights of the Gili Islands on one side and the mountains of Lombok of the other. At one point, the engine cut off, and we all started laughing in disbelief. After 3 or 4 suspenseful minutes, the engine sputtered to life, and we made it across the strait. Our grumpy taxi driver made no delay in complaining on how late we were; but thankfully he was still there to pick us up.
If Gili Air gave me the beach vibes that I wanted from Bali, then Lombok provided the adventure. There was so much to do, and so many places to visit, all by motorbike. We spent our nights in the Surf Town of Kuta (a different Kuta than Bali), but spent our days roaming around the island.
Pink Beach
Our first stop was at Pink Beach, which included the bumpiest road I’ve ever motorbiked on. It was a tricky balance of going fast enough not to top over, and slow enough to manage each and every bump that came our way, every meter or so. It felt somewhat like moguls on the advanced ski slopes, but less organized and predictable. Even though the beach was not actually pink (those liars!), I still enjoyed the sleepy cove and our mee goreng (fried instant noodle) lunch. There was a fun swing that someone had built, so we got some enjoyment out of that. Driving home at sunset was a delight, all 90 minutes of it.
Pantai Mawun
Our second trip from Kuta involved a place that I had found on Google Maps scrolling around: Mawun Beach. I’m so glad I did. It was a topsy-turvy mountainous motorbike to get to this horseshoe beach, and it was sparsely populated, with aquamarine blue waters and vivid blue skies, white-sand beaches and mountains to enclose the area. Lovely place, and a fun way to end our time in Indonesia.
The Interview
As a sidenote, I ended up having a job interview in Lombok, one for a transit consultant company in Portland. Oh man, it was an adventure trying to get this interview happening. First off, my interview was at 10am. Portland time. That meant it would be 1am my time the following day. Second, being on a semi-remote island means that the wifi is not always ideal. I quickly found out that the 4G LTE on the island was not sufficient to make video calls, and that our hotel did not have good wifi (lots of Europeans streaming the Rugby world cup sucks up a lot of internet, as it turns out). I researched online, but information was sparse. I did stumble on one 5 year old tripadvisor post talking about a hotel down the street that they used, so I go walking there several hours before the interview. I plead my case, learn that the wifi was decent to good, and she talks with her manager. She asks for 30,000 IDR (~$2.10), and says that the security guard will let me in. So I come back at 12:30, nervous and sleepy, and do my interview outside in the restaurant area, with the security guard sleeping nearby.
I didn’t get the job.
…
Indonesia was quite polarizing for me. In short: Jakarta, Bali bad. Pontianak: meh. Jogja, Gili Air, Lombok: fantastic, and I would love to return to each and every one of them. Plus, I’ve heard a lot about how much better Indonesia gets as you get farther and farther away from the tourist hubs. Most importantly, I’ve only been to 5 of the 17,508 islands! I want to give the country a second chance, and get deeper into the mysterious, idyllic island life that Indonesia provides.
