Chasing turtles and Gili Island life!

Knowing that everything  good has to come to an end was especially hard leaving our Tugu paradise. Feeling like we had been there for a very long time and that we were leaving our closest family was tough! As our private boat to our next destination pulled on to the beach, I knew it was time to leave.

Again-without blinking an eye lid our bags were gone and it was just ourselves to force down to the boat. Saying our goodbyes to Jacob we climbed in to the boat, and as we took off, I looked back to see that some of the amazing staff had run down and gathered on the coast waving us goodbye. I may have then shed a little (big) tear- sad at the fact we were leaving but a 'happy-sad' with all the amazing memories!

It took about 30 minutes to get to Gili Trawangan marina, on a glass bottom boat which we sat avidly looking at - in the hope of seeing something huge...! After a rather bumpy ride across the surf channels and some big waves, the swell eventually gave way to an ocean of crystal clear water, we had arrived at our next island paradise.

Trawangan marina is right on the main strip - beach bar after beach bar and lots of tourists meandering through- walnut brown and a few strawberry red. We quickly found the local transport- a small pony and cart. There is no mechanical transport on the island - a horse and cart is your black cab for the duration, and would you believe, there are even some horse and cart traffic jams!! Alternatively- there are also bikes to hire from most hotels and as the island is relatively small you can in fact walk it in just over an hr and a half.  

Taken from: spencerrankin.wordpress.com

The horse and cart ride itself was not quite the Jane Austen experience it may sound, but a rather wild journey through the back streets of Trawangan. On occasion I did find myself questioning whether our chosen beast could take our weight, let alone all our bags and boyfriend! I did suggest running along side to aid the poor horse but the driver insisted that he was "o.k" and got "regular breaks" (!)  After a moments thought for the horse and personally apologising to it face to face, I hopped on and we flew (literally) to the other side of the island, laughing as we were thrown up and down, hanging on for dear life.  Our hotel was on the quiet side of the seemingly well known "party island".   " Very quiet and not so party party" our driver assured to us as we flew over potholes and one wheeled it around  blind corners.  After a rather heavy 4 days of party in Singapore  prior to Tugu we were pleased at the thought of being on the "quiet side".

Arriving at our destination - Desa Dunia Beda at around lunchtime was a welcome relief. Promptly given a freshly squeezed welcome drink we were shown around as our bags were whisked away to our room. Our accommodation was a traditional Indonesian style bungalow on stilts with an ocean view, comfortably spread out from the surrounding huts. The room itself had a HUGE four poster bed surrounded by mosquito net, an outside bathroom with salt water shower (!) and a large wooden barrel filled with fresh water and a ladle.  A very surreal experience having the bathroom outside but a definite sense of being closer to nature! A very different experience to that of the Tugu rain shower and fresh water a plenty, this was back to basics but very exciting as it was something so alien to us. There was no air conditioning in the hut that we stayed in but two rather powerful standing fans which helped us get through the long and sweaty nights. We both took a day or so of immense sweating but acclimatised pretty quickly.

Desa Dunia itself was affordable luxury for the island. Having lived on TripAdvisor for about a month "umming" and "ahhing" about where to pick and worrying whether we'd make a terrible choice, we decided just to book it and not think of it again. I'm so glad we did this because the other places we had been thinking of were right on the main strip which really is busy and a definite party dwellers atmosphere. Whereas for us, spending the day sunbathing by the beautiful salt water pool or snorkeling straight off the beach was perfection. Evenings consisted of watching the sunset on a virtually deserted beach with ice cool beers and vodka sodas playing cards on the beach bed and then walking to our favourite restaurant on the island 'Karma Kayak' for calamari, satay and pineapple pancakes!

One of the most notable things about the Gili Islands is the snorkelling and diving. Whilst on Gili T we snorkelled every day, straight off the beach. This was pure magic. P had been off once without me and had come back urging me to go. No sooner had I stepped into the warm, clear water and adjusted my mask I looked down to see a huge turtle meandering along through the schools of fish, a sight I will never forget. Flapping my arms in the air (probably looking like I had seen a shark) I eventually got my totally clueless boyfriend's attention and he came over to see the turtle for himself. Following him for about half an hour we eventually looked back to see that we had swum a very long way out  - yet were still able to see the ocean floor clearly. The tide strong and somewhat exhausted from our swimming tour by the turtle we swum back to shore and immediately went to book a private snorkelling trip for the next day.

  

Our snorkeling trip was unbeatable, such an incredible day. It was organised by Desa Dunia and we were taken out by the brother of one of the staff, who took us to the different islands Gili Meno and Gili Air and literally out into the clear blue ocean. We swam with turtles, saw bold bright coral and a huge array of fish; parrot fish, angel fish, trigger fish, grouper and nemo fish to name but a few. P was secretly given some bread which he took great pleasure in shoving into my bikini bottoms. Virtually drowning with petrified laughter, my vision and whole body was surrounded by every fish in the vicinity. A definite regret not having an underwater camera!

 

 

We had a delicious lunch on Gili Air with spicy guacamole, watermelon juice, club sandwiches and nasi goreng and I ended up buying a few of the local traders wares. 

As the sun was starting to waiver we hopped back on to the boat and headed back to Desa Dunia.