Indonesia is said to have over 17000 islands, only 6000 or so of them inhabited. After traveling a couple of hours northeast on Bali to the beach-town of Padangbai, we took a boat to the Gili Islands vía Lombok. This is the western beginning of Nusa Tenggara, a chain of islands that extends past Timor heading toward the north coast of Australia. The lure here is quiet beaches, unparalleled diving, volcanic landscapes and, in the far east of the chain, the iconic Komodo Dragon.

When the boat hit the sand in Gili Trawangan, bags were passed hand to hand over the clear blue water and placed directly onto the beach. A few feet away, horse drawn carts (cedomo) lined up, ready to take passengers to a guesthouse. The beach is lined with dozens of small restaurants, each with a set of bure, little, open, thatched-roof beach huts on stilts with a low table and cushions for sitting, eating and relaxing.

Even with a population under 1000, Gili Trawangan has the reputation of being the party island, so after looking around a bit, we decided to head to more laid-back Gili Air. (Just a note on names: Gili is translated as island; Air in Bhasa Indonesia means water.) There are no motorized vehicles on any of the islands, and no police. We found another couple of people who wanted to head to Gili Air, and chartered a boat for a rough half-hour trip. Most of the local boats have outriggers to help with the surf. This one did not, and the windy afternoon made for some worrisome moments, especially when it started to rain.

Diving in the Gili Islands

On Gili Air we dropped our bags at the very friendly Manta Dive shop, where we would later end up spending lots of time. We negotiated a low-season price at the newly-opened, locally-owned Banana Cottages, and moved into our thatched-roof, A-frame, traditional Sasak-style bungalow. Over the next week, we dove the majority of the days, completing a Nitrox (Enriched Air) course; Donny got his advanced certification. This means both of us will now be pretty unrestricted in the types of dives we want to do. The dives here were beautiful, and the waters are full of a rich diversity of sea life. We visited dive sites such as Hans Reef, Shark Point, Mirko’s Reef and The Helik. Corals on the reef are reasonably healthy, especially deeper. We saw a couple of white-tipped reef sharks, blue spotted stingrays, lots of huge sea turtles (Freenet and Hawksbill) and too many species of fish to mention. When we weren’t diving, snorkeling was an excellent alternative.

When you’re not underwater . . .

On land, it doesn’t take much more than a couple of hours to amble around the perimeter of the island. Sunset over Gili Trawangan is lovely. We were also on Gili Air for the full moon, which was big, orange and gorgeous for two nights. The rest of the time it made way for a sky full of twinkling stars. Meals here were a delight as well, always within sight of the sea, with lapping waves and a boat or two chugging by. Every evening the catch of the day is set out, ready for barbecuing and being served with some flavorful Sasak preparation or other local spices and sauces, fresh vegetables, rice and a cold Bintang. We ate tons of squid and snapper, but there were also barracuda, lobster, tuna and grouper. The curries, noodles, and soups are not to be missed either, and make a great budget alternative when saving money for more diving. In the middle of the island is the village and the mosque, where even cheaper eats are to be found.

Gili Air was hard to leave, one of our favorite stops so far, and one that someday we’d love to revisit.

Photos HERE,