My family visiting Bali and the Gilis

Finally, the time had come. My family came to visit. For 16 days they drove me crazy:p It was so nice to see the three of them again. I picked them up from the airport and then we went to Ubud for 3 days. There we went to the market, watched the traditional Balinese dance at the Ubud Palace, ate a lot of delicious food, visited the Monkey Forest and of course the rice terraces again. Then we continued to the Gili Islands off Lombok. We left early in the morning and arrived in the afternoon. First by shuttle to Padangbai harbor (about 1.5 hours drive) and then another hour by fast boat. The first island of three was Gili Trawangan or simply Gili T.

The island is certainly nice, but we were there at the wrong time. The government has caused all (especially local) stalls (juice bars, warungs, etc.) on the outer beach road (which can be circled around the island in 3 hours) to be demolished. New restaurants etc. are going to be built there. So it was a construction site all around the island and there was hammering and drilling. That took away all the flair and it just looked terrible. The locals mostly stood next to their ruins and put up a table to sell a few bracelets or offered crepes..
Gili T is the largest of the 3 islands. All of them are Muslim since they belong to Lombok. I think Bali is the only Hindu island in Indonesia. In the morning, we were awakened by the mosque on Gili T. We only stayed for 2 nights and then went to Gili Meno. It's about a 10-minute boat ride and only 3.50€ per person. You can walk around the island in 2 hours and it is the quietest island of the 3. The Robinson Crusoe island. We were able to relax here and stayed for 3 nights. You can snorkel right off the beaches and there are 3 popular snorkeling spots. The people here are also super friendly. In the evenings, many people play guitar in their restaurants. Very cozy. We usually had to sing along with our mouths full:) We were able to take many beautiful vacation memories with us.

After Gili Meno, we went to the smallest island, Gili Air. It is supposed to be a mix between the 'party island' Gili T and the super quiet Gili Meno. That's true. It was very relaxed there, but there was still more going on in the evenings and during the day. There were also a few more shops and even more restaurants and good coffee. Overall, we stayed here for 4 nights. You can also snorkel from the beach here. Except for the big reef, the Gili Air wall. You have to take a boat to get there. But we didn't do that. We had seen enough. The fish garden spot is definitely worth recommending. Do you know when a few tourists feed the fish (which they're not supposed to do!) and you're surrounded by hundreds of fish and feel like you're swimming in an aquarium? That's what it was like there, without them being fed..
The only annoying thing there were these little jellyfish that you can't see, but can feel. Like small needle pricks. The worst was on Gili Air. But only in the north of the island, otherwise, it was fine.

The Gilis are beautiful. I can't say much about Gili T. Who knows what it will be like there in 1-2 years. But it was good to be surrounded only by water and to recover from the traffic on Bali. We stayed on the Gilis for 9 nights. I uploaded a lot of pictures:) Also, some not so nice ones.. construction sites, plastic. You always show only the beautiful things, but it's not always perfect. There is often a flip side. Just like the paths that lead to the great places. It's often exhausting to get there.. but you are rewarded when you made it:)

Our last stop was Canggu in Bali. The cute surfer town. Here we were at my favorite restaurant La Laguna Beach Club and we went swimming in the mega waves. Another nice ending.

On March 28th, it is 'the day of silence' Nyepi in Bali.
The Balinese New Year. Ceremonies are held days before, and holy objects are taken from the temples to the nearest source of water (ocean, lake or river), where the statues are cleaned. The deeper meaning of Nyepi is a new beginning in as much purity as possible.
Our last day the ceremonies had already started. While Jule and I were packing at the hotel, our parents were at the beach (the overachievers had already packed the night before);) They were lucky and saw it..
Jule and I only saw the masses passing by after it was over.
On Nyepi, there are no radio or TV stations. The airport is closed to all air traffic, no vehicles drive on the roads (except emergency vehicles). You are not allowed to leave your house and you are not allowed to speak (except in a whisper). There is no light on the streets at night. In addition, religious policemen dressed in black and white checkered sarongs patrol and control compliance with the rules. The ban on going out is also expected of tourists.
The silence and darkness are meant to trick the passing demons and evil spirits into thinking the island is deserted so that they move on.
I stole part of it from Wikipedia:) But I was also told that. I once had a long conversation with a taxi driver about it. I think it's pretty cool on that day.. But now I won't be there at that time.
By the way, the evening before March 28th is celebrated on a huge scale.

Oh, and on our last day, we experienced an earthquake. At 7 o'clock in the morning on March 22nd. We were all awake because our hotel wasn't the best. Jule and I were in my parents' room when it started shaking. Just at that moment, a scooter started downstairs. And my dad said, 'it's so loud here at night and it always vibrates so much' and I just thought 'so much?' The ground was shaking a lot. I still remember that from Cali. I already suspected it was an earthquake, but he was totally sure it was from the scooters. When the pictures on the wall also shook like crazy and I said 'no, that's an earthquake', he believed me:) We all ran outside. While my mom was going downstairs, she just shouted 'our backpacks!' Of course, we made fun of her afterwards:)) Everyone was awake. The locals ran out, tourists stood sleepily in the doorways.. but it was only a short earthquake for 20-30 seconds. Magnitude 6.4. It was quite noticeable. There was no tsunami afterwards.. according to the news, only one temple was damaged. So the day started excitingly.

The 16 days were over so quickly:( In the evening, the three of them drove to the airport after another tearful goodbye (I love you♡) and the next morning I flew to Java.

This entry should actually end here, but one more thing comes to mind. The toilets here always have bidets or water hoses for cleaning. Toilet paper must not be thrown into the toilets here.
And on the Gilis there was a sign in the toilet that said 'bum gun'. Hahaha, I thought the name was so cool. I had to write it down again. Since then, I always call them that:))

18.09.2017 small update: when I think back to my trip, Bali is now the place I miss the most<3 I wouldn't have thought that. Especially Ubud with its rice terraces and yoga studios, the healthy colorful food, the silent retreat. I will probably have to go back again:)