Sep 23

Sep 23 Gili Meno

This is the boat we took from Padang Bai to Gili Meno. It's called a "fast boat", and I suppose it more or less lived up to that name. It took an hour and half to reach the island, which is a LOT faster than the cheaper 6-8 hour ferry ride. We sat on top and enjoyed the views of the Indonesian coast before we veered towards open water and eventually the islands.

Look at all the fine young Australians mentally preparing to rage at the discotheque.

This is Jazmyne's "look I'm enjoying this and not feeling at all sea sick" face. Jazmyne does not love boats, but sitting up top with the view and the breeze definitely seemed to help.

Island selfie time! Woot.

The Indonesian coast is pretty lovely. All jutting cliffs and steep hillsides. Every once in a while you will see a temple and some huts perched precariously on a piece of land better suited to a billy goat.

Bali getting smaller as we get closer to the islands.

This is the main party island of Gili Trawangan. We opted to stay on the quieter island of Gili Meno because we're old and boring now. The interesting thing about Indonesia when you get out of Bali, is that it is primarily Muslim. They project the daily prayers over loudspeakers 3 times a day, even on an island that is solely dedicated to partying. So, this means if you stay on Trawangan, you are partying (or being kept up by the partyers) till very late, then being woken up by the daily prayers booming across the island at 4am. I guess the goal is to soak yourself in enough Bintang that you sleep right through the morning prayers. Ear plugs are working just fine for us.

The island of Lombok in the distance.

Gili Meno is so small that motorized vehicles are not allowed. This means there are all these rickety old horse drawn carriages that seem to bounce more than roll as they ferry lazy tourists to their bungalows.