The Gili Islands was one of the highlights of my south east asia trip a few years ago and I knew I had to return. When I first set foot on the front strip I barely recognised the place, there was a hundred more shops, bars, restaurants and people! But within 5 minutes I heard the bells and squeeky horn which could only mean one thing. Watch out for the donkey taxi! Sure enough a donkey and carriage was still the main mode of transport and it was good to see. After a lot of searching me and Mike found a decent place to stay not too far from the action. A place called banana leaf bungalows that had an awesome bath room with a top of the range toilet that had a special button you press after a number 2. When pressed this little contraption popped out to deliver a super strong jet of water with 100% accuracy. It saved us loads of toilet paper and tickled so it was a win win situation! After a quick bite to eat mike wanted a nap so I was straight into the sea with my snorkel to see if I could spot any turtles like last time. BOOM! Within 30 seconds of snorkelling I've got one coming right at me, 10 seconds later I've got another one in sight which was even bigger. So I followed the second one swimming within inches of it as it came to the surface to breath. Then me and the hawksbill turtle set off swimming casually against the current. Amazing experience and a great welcome back to the island by one of the locals!
Later on me and mike went to the beach and found one of the boats from lombok docking and there he was, me little bro, ready to join the gang again! That night we hit up the irish bar that had a good atmosphere. Here we acted like true backpackers buying our beers from the shop opposite and sneaking back into the bar with them! We planned 5 nights on the Gili islands and me and our pete made sure they were 5 heavy nights! Mike alternated with a one night on it and a one off it policy. Disappointing, I know. We spent a lot of time with 3 Leeds girls who our pete met in vietnam. Boss girls, boss banter. Then we also bumped into terri, liana and ashley, the 3 jersey girls we met and travelled with for a while in Laos. It was great to see them again after a few months and we all had a story or 2 to share. We visited sun set bar a few times (at sun set believe it or not). Each time we were treated to an amazing golden sunset with the sun setting behind Bali in the distance. So relaxing. Some times the nightlife was a bit hit or miss in terms of atmosphere but most nights we'd end up in the irish bar. Each day we went snorkelling and saw tonnes of turtles, what a great way to cure a hang over. We also saw black and white banded sea snakes and I spotted a black and white moray eel. One day we took a boat tour to visit Gili Meno and Gili Air. When I say 'we' I mean me and mike as our pete couldnt make it out of bed (even though he'd paid for the tour the day before!). So before long it was time to say goodbye to Gili Trawangan once more and return to Bali in prepration for our flight to Australia.
So we took the fast (and more expensive) boat back to Bali for one main reason. The all you can eat buffet in sky garden and to secure one hours free beer to wash it down with! The standard of food and options available was amazing! It was difficult to say no so we ate up there on each of our last 3 nights. Then there was the free drinks between 9-10 so we'd go home for a quick wash then head back up later on. On our return to sky garden Mike took a little too much advantage of the free cocktails and for over an hour was slumped against the bar with his eyes closed. I managed to stumble him to alley cats bar but they wouldnt let him in so he had to go home. This was before midnight may I add! He never left our hotel room for the whole of the next day! Meanwhile me and our pete went surfing, well, we rented a surf board for a couple of hours and spend 15 minutes tops on it. Hungover with no energy paddling against a super strong current = failure! On our last night out we mixed it up and went to Bounty instead. Here I met a little ozzy stunner who was the spit of Mila Kunis so I stuck with her and her mates and ended up in a gay bar which was a bit different! Great night out though and awesome end to Bali. The next day we said our goodbyes's to Mike who was flying to Thailand to commence his divemasters scuba diving course. Meanwhile me and pete said our goodbye's to sky garden with one last visit for the food only. All you can eat chicken wings! Ironic that I done the exact same thing on my last night in Bali a few years ago before flying to Perth. And Perth is where we were headed this time too.
So, after a whirlwind trip that began in March and took us through the sites of India, the himalaya in Nepal then onto the jungle, waterfalls, stunning beaches, amazing food and paradise islands of south east asia we were ready to take on the next chapter of our trip ... Perth, Australia. I might be staying a little longer in Australia this time round ;)
