Getaway to the Gilis!

I would've loved to entitle this post 'Girls Gili Getaway' (due to my aptitude for alliteration (thanks to my mom for that!)), but there was a boy... so I couldn't.

With the dual purpose of escaping Bali's "Day of Silence", and having a fun birthday getaway, a friend organized a trip to the Gili Islands of Lombok for the long weekend at the end of March.

Gili actually means island, so I always feel redundant saying 'the Gili Islands', but I digress...

We had a blast! The Gilis are an interesting escape from Bali, and different in so many ways, and the best thing is, there are three of them, offering three different atmospheres, yet only a hop away from eachother! There is Gili Trawangan, the party island, which due to the lack of police in the Indonesian province of Lombok, has a great variety of 'happy shakes' and 'mystic pizzas' available! We didn't stay there. Although we transited there, so we got to see everything we were (NOT) missing (below, the red beer crate aftermath of one evening of partying)!



On the other end of the spectrum is Gili Meno... VERY quiet and subdued... in fact, we were told "there' nothing there"... except possibly some good snorkeling.

And the middle-of-the-road option, where we made ourselves VERY comfortable for 4 days, is Gili Air. Air meaning water in Indonesian (just to throw you for a loop). It was very relaxed, and had a little bit of everything, which was just perfect for a weekend rejuvenation getaway!

We were greeted by pods of hundreds of dolphins on our arrival!




It's a small island, so walking anywhere was certainly possible... but also available were a cute version of horse-drawn carriages, which had a certain charm and appeal... at least until you were rumbling along in one. But it was a great way to do a little tour of the island, and see all the sights!









But most of our days were spent between lolling in beach-side cabanas, drinking fresh juices, reading, and dipping in for a quick snorkel. Nothing too stressful here folks!







... and since my book wasn't very gripping, I even had a chance to delve into my camera manual and play with all the great features!



Sunsets were always stunning as well... especially this day when the reflections were perfect!







And of course, what birthday party, even on a subdued tropical island, would be complete without a little wine and birthday cake!?




The Villa Karang where we stayed was comfortable, and had a lovely pool and the restaurant had hands-down the best pizza on the island!






On Sunday, as we headed back toward Bali, I couldn't help but think what a special and fabulous part of the world this is!

Lombok



The lesser-known isle just a hop-skip from Bali in a Fokker is called Lombok. It is different from Bali in many, many ways... and in fact, seems to share nothing more than a geographic proximity!

The traditional culture of Lombok is Sasak, a local version of Islam, although with many notable exceptions to the Islam practiced by most Muslim-Indonesians. In the area we visited in the North, there were still people living in traditional Sasak villages, however, many have now moved to the larger centers in pursuit of money and a more modern way of life. We also saw a few motorcycles on the traditional footpaths!



The Sasak take their pinang chewing even more seriously than the people of Papua! There are special boxes and tools devoted to the consumption of this mouth-reddening 'delicacy'!



... however, like the Papuans... they start young!




Our trip... after hopping off the Fokker, we hopped onto some motorbikes (rented at the airport), and after a visit with the very friendly and helpful Renjani Trekking people in Mataram, were on our way to Senaru village in the North. The trip north was interesting; at times lush and green, then stark and arid... A few of the scenes we passed along the way:


The 'head-carrying' picture. I don't know how it is that I don't have a picture of the women carrying woven baskets atop their heads with incredible balance - they were everywhere!



These 'barn' rooves, as I came to refer to them are typical Lombok style.



We had to stop for gas only once along the way, at this 'gas station'!


Along the way, one of our travel-mates Lisa toppled off her motorcycle, and although she wasn’t seriously injured, she certainly wasn’t getting back on. So, we had a motorcycle with no rider in the middle of nowhere, and oviously, an imminent change in plans.

Our plan was to stay at the base of Mount Rinjani (the highest mountain in Indonesia besides Papua). I still hope to come back and climb this giant; when there is more time, and in the right season! As you can see, the views were spectacular!



This was the view from the breakfast table.




We stayed at the base of the mountain for one night anyway since it was certainly too late to start the trek back to find a doctor that could check out Lisa's arm. The next morning, after sending Lisa safely on her way with a Canadian we met who lives in the mountain village, and happened to be going exactly where she needed to go (isn't it wonderful how things just work out like that!?), Cecilia and I went for a nice hike that went from Rice Paddys to Waterfalls through traditional villages on ancient footpaths.

















After an invigorating bath at the waterfall whose waters are said to be therapeutic, we gathered up our things and headed to Senggigi to meet up with Lisa again. We opted for coastal road, which was windy but offered breath-taking views... of course, there were several construction zones along the way that made for an interesting jolting ride with two gals on a small scooter traversing potholes that all-but swallowed us up! Luckily we came out the other end of them all, a true test to my back-road dirt bikin' days! Oh, except that a heavy-equipment operator almost killed us with his swinging backhoe bucket! Just for that extra little adrenaline kick...

Because Lisa used to be the manager of a Sheraton hotel, she hooked us up with a great deal at the Sengiggi Sheraton, and we lived it up in true relaxation style for a few days on the beach! We used her 'injuries' as a good excuse to stay put, but really, this is just what the doctor ordered for all of us! Lots of beach. Lots of reading. Lots of lazing in the pool with the crocodiles. Aaah....






This goodness even included room service - WOW! (No, that is not the Indonesian pembantu with the tray of food! haha, sorry, Ceci!)

... and this was just the beginning...

Well, after getting off the boat at 5 am and doing a speed re-pack, I headed directly to the Sorong airport to begin my journey to Bali to meet up with friends, and start off on our tour around Lombok.

After several flight delays and cancellations, including an unplanned over-night in Makassar, I finally arrived in Bali. Because of my delayed arrival, we spent a lovely day touring around on rented motorcycles, the afternoon shopping at the Ubud market, and the evening at one of the traditional dance performances at a temple.

This was the first time our friend Cynthia had been to a cultural performance in Bali (a must-see for any visitor to Bali)... she chose the dance by the ticket-seller, and her instincts were right on... we saw several dances that are not the most famous in Bali, but very special, and certainly entertaining.



One new dance that I had never seen before was the 'Cendrawasih' (Bird of Paradise) dance, which I found a little confusing, since the Bird of Paradise is endemic to Papua, not Bali... but their movements were right on, and so closely approximated the mating dance of these birds, that I feel sure they have seen the original actors (ie. the birds themselves) perform it!






The other treat was the "Rabbit Dance", performed by young girls between the ages of 5-9... outstanding!




The next morning we all headed to the airport -- Lisa, Cecilia and I off to Lombok, while Sigit and Cynthia were headed for Flores... We shared a much-needed coffee (can you believe they have Starbucks in Indonesia!?), and set off!




(Cynthia, the coffee connoisseur)

Flying a Fokker

On an already shortened holiday, when given the choice:

20 minutes on a Fokker
OR
20 hours of bike, bus, ferry, mini-bus, and who knows what other obstacles

It seems like a no-brainer... and to tell you the honest truth, had I known it was a fokker, I would've made the snap decision even faster, just with the knowledge that then I could say "I flew a Fokker".





I have never been on such a short plane ride in my life! Anyway, that's how we got from Denpasar, Bali to Mataram, Lombok... caught our first glimpse of Mount Rinjani, and from there, started our Lombok adventure (which turned out to be somewhat of a mis-adventure - stay tuned)!





Read the fine print. Note the incongruency??? The worst thing they could hope to do is confuse people in an emergency situation; so which is it??? Is the life vest under my seat, or is it the seat itself!? No, this was not an April Fool's joke. Aaahhh... Indonesian air-carriers never cease to impress!