Gili Meno again
Gili Meno is a beautiful shithole. Yes, the beaches and water facing views are the very picture of tropical paradise, but the rest of the island has some exhausting quirks. A few of my favorites listed below:
- The food is crap. Western, greasy, not tasty. It's like eating at a knockoff Panda Express.
- ALL establishments appear to be run by pre-teens, which might explain the shitty food situation. We were offered "happy juice" at multiple sketchy looking beachside bars, happy juice being a mushroom smoothie, like the groovy kind. I would be down to do mushrooms back in the states supplied by a reputable source, but maybe not from a pimply Indonesian baby who goes by Eddie Murphy. We stuck with Bintang.
- It's just really small. Nothing to do besides read on the beach and snorkel.
My advice for anyone staying on Gili would be to splurge on accommodations (the shitty looking bungalows, are in fact as shitty as they look), and to have a very healthy alcohol budget. Staying drunk most of the time is key here. It's easier to disregard lots of annoying things like horse shit, flies, people trying to sell you shells, etc.. if you are slightly submerged in Bintang. Also, it makes the food palatable. Just like anywhere else in the world!
Below are some beautiful pictures that do not accurately reflect the experience of staying Gili Meno.
Walking by the nice bungalows.
This is a beach swing outside of the bar where the kids tried to sell us mushroom smoothies.
This was actually a very fun afternoon. Our Bintang levels were correct.
Weeee swings!
This was a very beautiful and expensive place we did not stay.
Boat building. Pretty cool actually.
This is a giant sign for a resort that will probably never be built.
Lizards are a constant companion in Indonesia.
Storm brewing over Lombok. Later that night, it soaked us to the bone.
Lots of cats on the island.
Another very nice southern plantation looking place we did not stay.
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