Journey to The Gilis

Well.....Morning had came and we prepared ourselves for the next journey to Lombok. We checked out from the hotel and picked up by a taxi to Ngurah Rai airport. The flight was at 9 AM. We checked in and waited in the executive lounge (yay, free breakfast !! ). when the time was almost 9 AM we went out and waited near the Gate we were supposed to go through to our plane. I was so excited and this imagination of beautiful Lombok appeared in my mind....I really couldn't wait to get there! and couldn't wait to see The Gilis which the pictures I always saw on the internet. While imagining so excitedly, suddenly there's an announcement that the plane to Lombok was delayed until 2 AM ! Oh nooo....what should we do in the airport for 4 hours !!! It was so boringggg.....we just did boring stuff walking around the airport, looking for food, windowshopping. Ahhh so boringgg....
Finally the plane arrived and we could board on the plane now. The pilot spoke to the passengers to say sorry about the delay and the duration of the journey. He said the journey would take 15 minutes!!! Lol....5 hours waiting for 15 minutes journey?? Perhaps if we took the boat from Bali to Lombok we would already in Lombok by that time coz going by the boat take 6 hours.
15 minutes in the plane....I was about to sleep....but the pilot said that the plane was ready to land. LOL.
So here we were in Selaparang airport in Lombok!
We directly headed to the north of Lombok to Tanjung for the boat to Gili. The journey took 45 minutes.We passed the forest way called Pusuk (The monkey forest). Because it was raining, the monkey won't show up.
So, 45 minutes journey...and we were in Tanjung!

On the north of Lombok there are 3 little islands called The Gilis. Gili means island. The Gilis name are Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno, and Gili Air. Gili Air is the closest island to the main island of Lombok. Gili Meno is the second farther from the main island. Gili Trawangan is the farthest from the main island, but it is the biggest island of all the Gilis. The Villa Ombak Hotel I was going to was located Gili Trawangan.

Arriving in Gili Trawangan I was amazed that there's no car or motorcycle on the road. The people ride on bike or Cidomo (local traditional vehicle) as daily transportation. Gili Trawangan can be explored 2 hours by bike and 1 hour by cidomo. But never ever try exploring the island at noon when the sun is at its highest, you'll burn your skin, the sand is very hot that you'll burn your feet, and riding bike on the sand is really heavy. It's much better if you do it before sunset...you can relax and enjoy the sea breeze without worrying about burning skin.


The hotel room we were staying was a cottage. The cottage was made to look like Sasak (local Lombok people) traditional house and it's called Lumbung Hut. Lumbung is a place where Sasak people store their harvested crop. The cottage looks very unique, it has 2-level floors. The upper floor is the room, and the lower floor is an open space such as "bale-bale" (used for relaxing) and behind the "bale-bale" is the bathroom.

The water from the shower is salty water. It is because of the difficulty getting fresh water in the island. Fresh water has to be stored from the main island of Lombok, but because the distance is far, Gili Trawangan can not get fresh water. People in Gili Trawangan take a bath with the salty water. It feels very sticky on the skin. The taste is even more weird when the salt water is mixed with toothpaste in the mouth. But luckily the hotel provides fresh water in a bucket next to the shower though the amount is limited, at least we can wash away the sticky salt after showering with salt water.


GILI TRAWANGAN AT NIGHT

Gili Trawangan at night is very festive. There are bars and cafes with loud music along the streets. The food offered is mainly european food and seafood. I was really hoping to see Ayam Taliwang (Lombok traditional food) in the menu, but I couldn't find any. I and Rian stopped by to a cafe where they have more Indonesian food. I ordered Ayam Plecingan (it looks like Lombok traditional food from its name, lol).


Gili Trawangan also has electricity problem. Electricity shut down is usual in daily life. That is why each hotels and restaurant has its own generator, so that they can continue night activities normally. The generator is provided by the government.
Such an exciting experience staying in small island and know more about locals daily life.
The next day I'd got to go snorkeling! The story is to be continue...