To The East We Go part 2

As any other normal men in this world, Reo packed very lightly. I was amazed because he managed to pack all of those things needed for 2 weeks trip into a middle size rucksack.

I, on the contrary required a 45 litre pack to squeeze the whatever itsies bitsies.  Yet, additionally,  I still have a tote bag containing maps, directions, wallets, glasses, and another pack of tripod. Now you can imagine how hassleful I was.

Reo and I took taxi from the airport to Bangsal harbour. I once read that sometimes getting a taxi in there can be risky because of the brokers. Blue Bird taxi does operate in Mataram, but unfortunately just like in Ngurah Rai airport Bali, they’re not permitted to enter the airport area.  So we can only use other taxi services which can be booked at a counter near the exit gate. They have a range of taxis, and you just pick which you want to hire. 

The new airport is located at Praya regency in Central Lombok. From Praya to Bangsal took about 1.5 hr, passing through paddy fields, Mataram city and Senggigi beach.

Fortunately we got a good driver, who was very nice, informative, and most importantly, didn’t seem to blackmail us with ridiculous fare.

He dropped us at the entrance gate of Bangsal, which was the last spot where automobile can gets in.  It was a weird regulation, but the driver said that it was permitted by the government so the locals get chance to make money by operating cidomo (horse cart) to serve the 200m distance.

Most of the bule tourists would just walk, but since the sun was blistering hot  that day, and for the sake of keeping the energy, Reo and I took cidomo. We paid for IDR 20K and got in Bangsal in few minutes.

We bought the ticket for public boat to Gili Trawangan for IDR 10K each. The public boats serve the route to Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air.  Each boat leaves when the passengers are full, hence in order to reach the quota, a local bloke equipped with megaphone would stand near the boat and announce the remaining seats. Acting just like an auctioneer, his sentence was mostly start with the numbers, "4 seats left for Trawangan, yes 4 seats left. You sir? Or you madam? Come come come we need 4 people!".

After waiting for couple of minutes, our boat finally departed. Inside,  we were packed along with cans of beer, livestock (chicken), boxes of egg, fresh water, and even a giant fridge!

Compare to other Gilis, the sail to Gili T takes the longest time. We were floating on the sea for 40 minutes before we saw beautiful beach covered with pristine sand and amazing clear blue water in front of us.
That my friend, is Gili Trawangan. 

Life in Gili T

Gili T is the most famous Gili. Some people call Gili T as ‘Gili party’ as you can party anytime you like in there. The term is also associated with mushroom which you can easily buy in there. 

The island has no source of fresh water, so they fulfill the demand by importing it from the mothering island, Lombok. They import food materials from Lombok as well, which explains why the public boat is always packed with them. Inside Gili T, automobiles are not allowed, therefore people would just walk, ride bicycle or take cidomo to go around.

Accommodation varies, from the millions rupiah per night private villa to tens of thousand rupiah simple room. From the ones that have gorgeous pool and private beach to the ones that don’t even have fresh water facility. 

During our four days of stay, Reo and I tried two hotels: The Beach House and Tir Na Nog. They’re mid-range accommodation which are located in ideal distance from the jetty. The room in both places is comfortable, has breakfast lounge that offers magnificent view, and owns private lovely swimming pool.

Our days in the island were filled with laid-back activities that we wish we could do everyday; walking around the island, snorkeling, island hopping, eating good food, sipping coffee in the afternoon, chilling and drinking beer by the pool.

In one perfect afternoon, I tried a yoga class and fell in love instantly with the place: a spacious hut in the backyard overlooking a wealth of greenery. And what makes me enjoy Gili T even more, is how everybody wasso nice to each other. Stranger would say hello to stranger. I guess probably because the sun is so warm in Gili T, all the big city’s coldness just melt away.

Both of us really enjoyed our stay. We totally had a good time,  though on the second day, Reo received a phone call  informing that he had to go back earlier to Jakarta, leaving me all alone for the rest of the trip. It was right after that, I took the decision to prolong  my holiday, by adding Surabaya on the list.

According to my initial plan, after Gili T, I would travel to Mataram, have a 4days boat trip to Komodo Island & Labuan Bajo,  then go back again to Mataram, and fly to Bali before heading home to Jakarta. Now as I added Surabaya, I need to think of the cheapest way to travel from Bali to Surabaya and from Surabaya to Jakarta. I browsed the internet to get cheap flight, but was surprised because the ticket for  Bali – Surabaya had the same price with Surabaya – Jakarta. First I thought Bali – Surabaya would be cheaper since the distance is close, but apparently, things didn’t work that way. 
Thankfully, one of my friend told me that there’s this economical and quite comfy way to get to Surabaya from Bali: Cipaganti shuttle van. 
IDR 170K, air con-ed, door to door Denpasar – Surabaya. Just exactly what I needed. 
(to be continued)

Bangsal harbour

Squeezed

Gili T!

We met Reo's friend, Deva in Gili T. Such a lovely surprise!