Day 9: Gili Air

Another lazy snorkeling day on Gili Air. Only this time we finally got a good price for our snorkels & fins, and went out for two amazing snorkels. Our first snorkel was in deeper water with rich coloured big fish. Every time I go snorkeling in tropical waters I always think back to playing the kids travel version of ‘Go Fish’ – the ones with Angel Fish, Clown fish, etc. And that, my friends, is my reference for fish identification. Not some sort of Audubon’s guide to fish of the sea. Nope. Kids Large Card Go Fish. What else do you need really?

Okay, maybe a proper guide that says don’t touch these fish or those fish. But those are minor details. I’m scared enough of fish as it is. I’m not about to go up and touch one, especially after hearing the sound of the largest smorgasbord of fish dining on coral while in the water. It was like being at a table with people talking all with their mouth full – only with fish.

The second snorkel we saw our sea turtle! Despite much sputtering, slight drowning, and many bad photo attempts made by me, the sea turtle couldn’t have cared less about us.

It did care, however, about trying to snack on as much coral as it could. We again ran into a few schools of small fish who only put us into a minor panic when we got too close and the fish split and started going towards us.

I got my second sunburn! I’m going to pretend like all of this sun is just prepping me for my first real tan – or skin cancer. I’m going to stay in ignorant bliss and call it a real tan. However, bathing in sunblock continues to be a morning, afternoon, and evening ritual.

Tomorrow we start our big adventure to get to the Isle of Flores. Not quite sure yet how we’ll get there, but 24 hours later, it should be a go! 

Day 8: Gili Air

We finally got a chance to snorkel and see what all of this whole “Dive Gili” thing is about. After another morning at a local ‘warung’ or diner, making friends with locals who love Bollywood (again), we got a deal on some snorkel gear and hiked our distance to a restaurant we’d been a day before to get out in the water and see if we can go and find some sea turtles that everybody had been saying you could see pretty easily.

I had no idea there was so much sea life so close to the shore! We saw sea urchins, rainbow coloured fish, grass-green coloured fish, some snake-like thing in the water, a whole school of fish (100s if not 1000s of fish), and some big fish (who I’m sure is actually not that big, but it sure felt like it at the time!). It was pretty incredible. The water is so warm to go

in there is no transition at all between sitting on the beach and being in the water. No awkward, uncomfortable getting cold when you get in or out here! Tragically, after we came out and had our fresh juices, the tide had gone out – and when the tide has gone out here, your ship has sailed on snorkeling. Remember those sea urchins? It’s so shallow, that if you try to snorkel over them and you’ve had a big lunch, you may be at risk of getting deflated by one of those sea urchins! No thank you! Tragically, we didn’t see any sea turtles!

Time to get out, try to play the ukulele I brought with, attempt to get better at playing chess and prolong the defeat that is going to be delivered to me by Pallavi, and have a few beers on the side of the water, looking at the volcanos of the isle of Lombok across the water from us.

One more day on Gili Air, try to see sea turtles, repack the bags, figure out how to get to Flores, and gear up for our early a.m. off the day after. But that is for future me to figure out. 

Day 7: Gili Air

Gili Air is not the island we were meant for. The Lonely Planet all said that of the three Gili islands, this is the one that is the mix of being happening and being chill. I think we were in the mood for more chill. Thus we spent at least the first half of our tropical paradise beach moping! I blame it on lack of caffeine.

The Gili Islands really do have beautiful water. They don’t allow

vehicles on the island, so all you hear are the bells of the horse carts and the dings of rented bicycles passing you on the sand roads around the entire island. The water here is that true aquamarine colour of blue and is rich with sealife. The Gilis is also one of the world’s best and cheapest places to learn how to dive. Our hostel is clean –but for the most part, the people are a bit stuck up. We have hypothesized that most of its inhabitants are scuba divers doing their 2 month instructor training course. What we have witnessed across the island is that scuba folk all seem like cool folk, but birds of a feather who stick together. They also seem to speak this weird scuba tongue. You hear it all over the island.

However, the entire island is filled with restaurant upon restaurant, but there isn’t exactly beach. Each restaurant has its own beach, so it appears that to pick the beach, you pick the restaurant you want to patronage first. We walked a fair piece away from the crowd to find traditional Gili Air food and a great place to just get into the beach. The restaurants all have these raised ‘huts’, filled with a small raised table in the middle and cushions for you to sit on while you wait on the food.
And locals who love Bollywood! Pallavi is like an Indian superstar. Every place we’ve gone, when the local asks where Pallavi says, and she says India, they respond, “India, Atcha, Atchaaaaaa. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai?” Atcha = ‘okay/good’ and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is a popular 1990s movie. Then they start discussing some Bollywood thing or another, and instantly they are friends. I had no idea that Indonesians loved Bollywood like this! Now that woman’s music on the boat yesterday completely made sense!