Gili Islands - relaxing on a mile long patch

Tuesday evening John and I went for dinner by ourselves and listened to some Singaporeans perform a Karaoke version of "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond. The whole place was getting into the groove with its catchy (or kitschy) "Sweet Caroline, Ba, Ba, Ba...". All the while we watched the Just for Laughs show from Montreal where pranks are pulled on Montrealers, without any speaking or commentary. I wonder whether this show is popular elsewhere. It seemed to be popular here - everyone was watching it, including the local staff. I always get a kick out of the Americana and sometimes Canadiana on display when I'm abroad. Yesterday in a convenience store I heard a couple of Balinese girls who were minding the till sing along to an Avril Lavigne tune. They hardly spoke English, but that didn't matter - they liked the song.

Wednesday morning we took a fast boat to our next stop, Gili Islands. I was a little concerned when the staff offered anti-nausea medication to everyone in the waiting area. I think this is the first time I've been offered drugs as part of a transport service. I declined, since Catheleen had her own stash of motion sickness medication, just in case. After the boat started up, I took one from Catheleen just in case. This was a fast boat which holds about 20 people and took only two and a half hours to travel around 100 kilometres. As it turned out the sea was relatively calm and nobody felt ill, which often happens on this ride. So we were able to sit up top and enjoy the thrill of going fast, white water splashing up the sides of the hull, all while watching the volcanoes, mountains and shoreline of Bali pass us by.

After a stop at a slightly larger Gili island, we arrived at the little island of Gili Air, which has a diameter of about a mile. The brochure for the speed boat said that these small atolls are a favourite paradise island escape from Bali. Which is odd, because I thought Bali was supposed to be a paradise escape. I must admit though that we did want to try a more remote and basic place with modest accommodations and small hotels - a vacation from the vacation so to speak

So here we are in Gili Air, a pretty basic island locale indeed. My first clue that things would be different was when the boat beached itself so we could get off from the bow of the boat, since there is no wharf. Our hotel was only 100 metres away, so we carried our luggage off the sandy beach and rolled it as best we could along the sandy cobbled roads to our destination. Along the way we gave way for a few bicyclists and horse drawn carts to pass. With no motorized transport allowed on this island, this is how people get around, although I have noticed a few silent electric scooters - they kind of sneak up on you. In any case, the lack of regular motorcycles especially makes for a more peaceful and stress-free time. Something in short supply in most of the places we've visited in South East Asia.

Even though it's off season, the tourist industry is booming everywhere we go in Indonesia. This place is no exception, with a number of new buildings going up in the vicinity. On this island I regularly see men carrying bags of concrete from the boats across the shallows, up onto the beach, and into waiting horse carts. I regularly see these horse carts going back and forth with rebar and other construction supplies, all pulled by small horses or ponies. This morning I saw men loading up garbage onto a boat for transport off the island. I'm glad to know the garbage isn't being piled up or burnt in the middle of the island somewhere. I also saw a large fishing boat being constructed out of long 2x4 and 2x6 lumber. The locals were making the hull using standard construction tools one might use to construct a deck or shed - they were making the hull flat and wide. This makes sense since the tides are big, and the boats are often stranded on their sides during low tide.

Last night John and I went out for dinner down the unlit road from our hotel. It was the first time I could see the real charm of this place. I'm sure if we ever come back things will not be the same, since more development will likely take place by then. But being here at this time in this place, it was special to me. I think it boils down to crowds (not a big fan), so the quieter the place is the better. We walked along a meandering path near the shore to the first place we could find with live music. Along the way we looked up to see the Milky Way in the sky, which was brightly illuminated this night. We experienced good music and good seafood, all within a basic restaurant/bar on the sand with tables, benches and lounging platforms made of bamboo. It reminded me somewhat of the first time we visited Koh Phangan in Thailand in the late '90's, when there wasn't much development and where we often ate at basic restaurants on the beach.

This morning we walked around to the other side of the island, which didn't take long, and found a place to spend the day. We sat on a bamboo lounge platform, ordered some food and drinks throughout the day, and enjoyed our time walking the beach, snorkelling, and just relaxing. When we were snorkelling, we saw a lot of tropical fish among the coral, and a few small jellyfish too. It was a bit disappointing to see the jellyfish, but we just stayed vigilant. I don't think they were a hazard anyway; I'm sure I must have collided with a few but I came out of the water unscathed as did Catheleen and Elizabeth.

I spent the rest of the afternoon in this spot, looking out onto the receding tide, with the jingling sounds of an occasional horse drawn cart passing behind me. Bob Marley music was playing faintly in the distance, mixed occasionally with the distant call to prayer from a faraway mosque.

Here's John, who showed up late in the afternoon for lunch, after doing some successful geocaching today.