As I have not been able to get online for awhile I post few stories at once so just bare with me. My first day at Gili Trawangan is turning into night as I hear the fourth call for the prayer from the mosque. Most of the population here are Muslims or at least they should be. However a short talk with a local fruit seller tells me another story. He says: “why did you spend your time in Bali? We don’t like Bali cause they have too many gods. Here at Gili there is no god, just bananas.” Me the well know atheist am about to raise my voice for objection, but I just laugh.
The place is definitely different from Bali and I’m not quite sure if I like it at all. Overall it’s very touristic island. Everything is made for tourists that come here for the beautiful beaches, clear water, the coral reefs or maybe for something else. I have decided to take a dive to see what is this place so famous for. I’m afraid that if I don’t, I will leave disappointed that I came. The restaurants advertise fresh magic mushrooms and offer the way to eternal happiness. Each place have even sexier, fresher or more magical ones. “This is a paradise” they say but I’m not convinced. I didn’t come here to get high from mushrooms and I feel sad if that really is the only way to happiness here in Gili.
The island itself is beautiful though. There are no cars or other motor vehicles apart from boats. People go by bicycles or horse carriages. Tailless cats are everywhere. Apparently it’s some sort of genetic disorder and the kittens are born tailless. The water is clear blue and warm and full of corals and the weather is hot and humid. After yesterdays boat trip I’m happy that the day turns out to be a bit cloudy. My feet are burned badly and walking with thongs hurt. The roosters here are timed exactly as in Bali, they start at 6.15 so I was up at 7 again. Luckily I had an early night yesterday so I wasn’t too tired. I had a nice breakfast an onion-tomato-mushroom-omelet with cheese (can’t describe the satisfaction for finally having some cheese) served on whole meal toast and some coffee which looked really suspicious at first but turned out to be quite nice. I only paid 27 000 which is around $3 or 2.5€. I’m sharing a room with a Dutch girl which is convenient cause we save some money. The room is not that bad but the bathroom is shared and the shower salty water so we are looking to change tomorrow for a bungalow with its own bathroom and fresh water. It will cost a little bit extra but with 75 000 ($8.5/6€) per person I think we’ll survive.
