Gili Air and Gili Meno

After the excesses which were Gili trawangan, we hopped onto the boat for a few nights on Gili Air to compare the islands ambience. The journey was 20 minutes and on a local ‘what’s health and safety?’ type boat and we were bundled off onto a much more relaxed enviroment of the harbour. This time we actually had the luxury of a jetty and didn’t have to wade through sharp coral laden beaches to get to dry land. The place we booked looked nice on the website but as always photos can be deceptive and this proved true when we were introduced to a grim looking hut which was filthy and had no toilet seat which was the factor that broke Kathy’s resolve. A quick banter with the errand boy they sent to greet us revealed that his ‘uncle’ had some other digs across the way for only a small amount extra which were superb on inspection with a hammock outside and an automatic squirty bum toilet which amused us enough to snap the upgrade up. Breakfast was the best ever as it was served on the beach with amazing views of the azure sea and the volcanoes of Lombok providing a dramatic background as we sipped our fresh Lombok coffee.

Breakfast ON the beach

There is not much to do on this island except snorkel which we did and it was exceptional and a short wade out from our breakfast beach so was easy. The fish and coral varieties were top class and kept us amused for ages. We then walked around the island which should only take 1-2 hours but slow as we were it took most the day as we stopped on deserted parts of the powdery white sand to play castaway in the rock pools of the retreating tide to bother crabs and sea anenamies.  

Gili meno beach

 Next day we took the island hopper boat to Gili Meno for a day trip. We loved Meno as it was the most uninhabited island and had the best beaches and had much less rubbish. It was also the smallest so easy to walk around in a day and swim in the sea when it became too hot. There is an inland salt lake we went to see but it was polluted and disappointing especially when Kathy agreed to buy some flip flops from a local store and then renegaded on the deal prompting the owner to shout Indonesian obscenities at us as we beat a hasty retreat when I reminded Kathy she did not need them and would have to carry then around the whole island.

The swingers are in town.

  We did end up having a pet in the room after we discovered a toad behind the wardrobe who used to sleep all day in our nice cool air-con room and then at night used to hop across the floor and then flatten its body to slip under the front door to return in the morning and back to it’s cool location. We decided to evict it at some point to the patio area but when we went out for lunch and came back it had managed to let itself back in so we decided it could stay and gorge itself on mosquitoes. We also had a pet gecko who used to dart across the floor occasionally looking for a tasty bite.

At dinner every night we used to watch the cidomo drivers (horse and cart) take their horses into the sea and wash them as there is no fresh water on the island, it is all imported, and one night a boat got stranded on the sand bank and we spent over an hour watching about 20 guys trying to launch the boat again by pushing it across the shallow sea as the tide retreated in a blistering red sunset trying to beat the fading light before they would have to concede for the night. Amazingly they did manage it so happy days.  

wish you were here?

 We both liked the Gili islands. My favourite was Meno as it was the most unspoilt and Kathy liked the hard drinking and mushroom haven of Gili T. It was a shame to leave after a week but it is easy to become bored of seeing such beauty all day long and deciding which is your favourite beach so we will let you decide with some photos here. Next stop Kuta, Lombok.

Eviction notice has been served.