No Cars Go

With Bali behind us, at least for the time being, we docked at Gili Trawangan lacking any real plan for onward travel. The vague idea was to hop around the three Gili islands, maybe check out Lombok and possibly head back to see more of Bali.

Yeah. About that...

A full week later, we'd moved roughly a kilometre a day. The round trip to the beach didn't draw that many grumbles.

Before Gili T, we hadn't stopped in any one place for more than a couple of days and nailing down a single reason for our extended stay is tough. Edy's Homestay, though, is probably culprit-in-chief. Being warmly welcomed 'home' every time you step into the courtyard, having breakfast offered even if you woke up at 2pm and singing along with genuinely talented guitarists every evening is a Michelin Star-winning recipe for comfort. Of course, the attractions of Edy's sucked in a host of like minded folk and we spent time with some of the friendliest and most fun travellers we've met since touching down in Delhi 10 weeks ago.

It would have been easy never to leave Edy's, but the rewards for mustering the strength to get out and about on Trawangan were nothing short of immense, day and night. Walk for no more than ten minutes and you're met with deserted, palm-lined beaches, views of the other Gili islands, Bali and Lombok (all from one spot!) and unparalleled sunset scenes. One of the best things about Gili T is how the locals have consistently resisted the introduction of motorised transport. Taxi services and deliveries are all horse-drawn, it takes a while to get used to! I can't remember another time in my life that I've gone an entire week without seeing, hearing or smelling a car. It makes for a relaxing walk down the street and, better, outrageously clear night skies. Will the opposite sex ever be less suspicious of the high-on-life English/Welsh guy suggesting a trip down to the beach to look at the stars?

No one wants to star-gaze alone, right?

Talking of night time, any description of our stay on Trawnagan would be incomplete without some talk of our evenings. There we were - in one of, if not the most beautiful places any of us had ever been. An evening could start with watching the sun go down, continue with dining on the catch of the day, and culminate in a little read and a chat with the sea lapping at your feet. So what did we do? Alas, with the reckless abandon of a sixth former in Tenerife, we tore that place up. Whoopsie!

I don't think we can be blamed - the night life was immense. Each night held a new party and each new party brought with it a story that this blog is not quite ready for... For my part, on our first night I was semi-aggressively harassed by a prostitute with suspiciously large hands, feet, and Adam's apple. Fear not, I escaped in the nick of time. At least nothing embarrassing happened the next night. It would have been horrific if I'd got chatting to a Swedish girl and drunkenly decided that it was appropriate to tell her (and all of our respective friends) that she was the best person I'd ever met and I loved her within a couple of hours. Wait...

Fortunately, the embarrassment of having your every word/dance move recounted the next morning hurt more than our heads. The days, then, were free to enjoy Trawangan for what its really all about. Snorkelling was a constant fixture and between us we saw some incredible stuff. Along with the ban on cars, officials on the Gili's strictly impose tight rules on fishing to protect the coral and it's inhabitants. The coral is recovering, slowly, from the days before the restrictions. Happily, the fish are in better shape - out in force just a few swim-strokes from the beach. Paddle for half a minute and the sand disappears from beneath your feet and is replaced with seemingly bottomless pools filled with stunning tropical fish and, if you're lucky, the occasional turtle. Getting your head around the cost of the equipment, though, takes some doing. A quid a day. Thanks.

'Going for a walk' takes on a completely new meaning in this place. You can complete a circuit of the entire island in less than two hours. It's tiny, and yet huge stretches of beach are completely deserted. Gili T's permanent population is 600 - the backpackers must at least double this at any one time. We probably made it over here a year or two before the place starts to spoil, judging by the rapid development of the east coast - home to all the bars and dive schools. It's already a very different place to the one described in our 2010 guidebook. Get there quick!

Before I sign off, it's worth noting that we're a way behind on this thing at the moment. We left the Gili's two weeks ago and have since been in Thailand (after a lengthy transfer wait in Singapore airport). We will catch up, honest, but we've been busy guys. Lying on the beach and drinking smoothies is time consuming stuff.

Up the Mighty Cobblers.


Will