Gili Islands, Indonesia
We made our way to the Gili islands from Lombok in the morning. The boat was a bit on the wobbly side and full of locals taking food to the islands.
We arrived at our hut on Gili T at around 10.30am and so had plenty of time to relax that day. We decided to stay in accommodation which had pools for the last leg of our journey so we could relax a little. The morning was spent reading and enjoying the sun. Later in the day, we headed to the beach to see some turtles. We were fortunate enough to see one or two; it was so cool!
The next day, we decided to book a snorkelling tour visiting all three islands. The water was so choppy I didn't think we would make it back. As if that wasnt enough, we barely saw anything on the tour. Our time in Gili Air was spent at a restaurant and in Gili Meno the turtles were sleeping so we didn't get to see them properly. We did see a a group of statues under the water which was pretty cool. I think that the snorkelling tours in Koh Lipe and Koh Phi Phi had spoilt us. After the disappointment of not seeing any turtles, we decided to head back to the snorkelling spot from the day before to see if we could find some more. It was the best part of the day for me seeing two turtles swim next to each other. This time we remembered the go pro and so we were able to get some photos and videos too!
It being low season at the time meant we could be pretty flexible with our plans. We didn't fancy staying another night in Gili T as it was a bit too busy for us. We decided to splurge a little and stay at a nice hotel on Gili Meno. Our hotel was called Gili Meno Getaway and it was just that: a perfect getaway. We had a really nice day chilling at the pool and the beach as well as doing a little exploring of the island on our bikes. It is the smallest out of the three Gili Islands and is known for being the honeymoon island. This meant it was nice and quiet which was exactly what we wanted. We went to a nice restaurant and enjoyed a big telly with netflix!
The following day, we went on the boat to Bali. Luckily for us, the sea was calm and the two hour boat journey was pleasant.
I was surprised at the amount of earthquake damage that can still be seen in Lombok and the Gilis. There was lots of rubble around and collapsed houses that were never rebuilt. It is now seven months since the earthquake happened. It must be so difficult for a lot of these countries that live along fault lines as earthquakes happen frequently. In Gili T, around 30% of the buildings were destroyed and 40% damaged. Our hotel in Gili Meno was also affected. It is a new hotel that originally was meant to open a few days after the earthquake had hit. It didn't end up opening until March! This must be so difficult for people financially as a lot of locals depend on tourism for income. I'm glad that we visited and supported local businesses during this time and I hope that other tourists will return to these destinations too.
