There’s something about being on a tiny little island that gives you a sense of at ease, I don’t really know what it is or how to describe it but there’s just always something different about my attitude and approach to things when on these tiny little islands dotted around Asia.
I’ve spent two days on Gili Trawangan and what a beauty it is – granted it is now bustling with young tourists looking to party the night away but that doesn’t take away it’s beautiful blue waters, fresh light sands and chilled back way of life. But if you’re looking for a quieter more peaceful get away I would suggest Gili Air or Gili Memo – unfortunately I didn’t have time to visit all three this time round.
The journey itself from the Bali mainland to the islands is rather long and tedious – not so much due to distance but to a lack of coordination and organisation on behalf of the company. You spend a lot of time waiting around for the right bus, the right boat and then for the boat to finally get going or to have a place to park. After a bumpy start with my accomodation I was finally checked in, refreshed and ready to hit the beach! I indulged myself with a luxury massage with a sea view and settled in for a relaxing evening!
I had an early start the next morning to visit the local dive site named Manta Point – although oddly no mantas in sight! We saw around 6/7 white tipped reef sharks and a turtle just chilling (doing what turtles do best), a few box fish as well as the cast of nemo and my all time favourite – the parrot fish!
We got back on the boat and were asked what was our spirit fish, many people answered with a shark because they were misunderstood or a turtle because they just wanted a chilled life and when it got to my turn I decided I would be the parrot fish and my logic is that the parrot fish hasn’t quite decided what it wants to do yet in life so instead it’s just a mix of every colour possible!
I’ve got in the risky habit of indulging in an afternoon nap but luckily I woke up in time to head over to the other side of the island for sunset – and what a beauty it was! On my walk over it was cloudy but thankfully they broke just in time for the sun shine through as it got lower – perfect picture time on the famous Gili T swings!
I’ll be honest I’m no better than every other tourist and my travel dreams are often influenced by magical movies, fancy magazine pictures or luxury Instagram posts – the reason Bali made it into my mind and onto my bucket list was the movie (and book – which is much better!) Eat, Pray, Love and as if by magic it was playing on the outdoor beach cinema screen! What a perfect way to enjoy an evening in Bali!
eyes abroad 