Small dream island and wonderful encounters

Hello dear ones,

another week has passed and the last few days have been wonderful. Last Friday I took the boat from Bali - Padang Bai to Gilli Air. The Gili islands are just before Lombok and the boat ride took about 1.5 hours. There are 3 well-known Gili islands. Gili T. is known for partying, Gili Meno is more of a honeymoon island, and Gili Air is a relaxed mix of both.

I am really looking forward to Gili Air and Anika. In fact, my trip to Gili Air already started in Cologne.

I had left a gift for Uli (a regular guest who became a friend) at the Birkebäumche. Actually, I wanted to personally hand it over, but then I was invited to a birthday party.

But I left the birthday party early and took a chance to see if Uli was still there at the Birke.

And when I walked through the door, a whole group and Anika, who ran towards me with a beaming smile, greeted me and said, 'You're the one going to Indonesia? Everyone has been talking about you! I'm Anika and I live on Gili Air!' It was so heartfelt and I couldn't believe it, you meet someone in Cologne who lives in Indonesia. We had a nice evening, talked for a long time, and in the end Anika said, if you're in Indonesia, write to me and come visit Gili Air!

Said and done, 3 days ago I wrote to Anika, asking if she has time and wants a visit from Cologne. And then it was off to Gili Air.

I took a horse-drawn carriage to Anika's house. There are no motorcycles or cars on Gili Air, only bicycles, traditional carriages, or very few electric scooters. A wonderful change from the insane traffic and exhaust fumes on Bali.

The carriage dropped me off at the wrong place, but it wasn't far to walk and when I arrived at Anika's, I was greeted with joy and warmth. She has a beautiful little house not far from the beach and I had my own little room with a bathroom!

Off to the beach, pick up a bike that she had already organized for me, and quickly watch the sunset! It's paradise! Along the many beach bars towards the sea and bidding farewell to the glowing red sun as it disappears into the sea. What a welcome from the whole island ❤️

The next morning I wake up completely relaxed and full of energy. The air conditioning wasn't working, but I'm acclimatized by now and I was so tired that I slept well. Onto the bike and explore the island, have lunch, enjoy the beach and relax. The sea is turquoise blue. Depending on which side of the island you are on, you either look out into the endless sea, or gaze at the mountain landscape of Lombok or the coast of Gili T.

You can switch off and enjoy! Yesterday I heard - people who come to Gili Air, always come back, or stay forever. I can understand why, you just feel comfortable and at home here.

For sunset, I meet Anika, who is currently busy renovating her hut. I am amazed at how things are going here! She tries to coordinate the workers, there are occasional misunderstandings, but in the end, things work out well.

Yesterday we passed a restaurant with a beautiful wooden facade, Anika took a photo and sent it to her 'construction manager' asking if it is possible to organize something like that for her bathroom. Less than 20 hours later, a carriage appears at the door with the wood 😂 Everything is done by hand, Fatur, the 'construction manager', cuts bamboo into small strips to hold the woven leaf roofs together, no nails, only natural cable ties.

After sunset, we go to a small beach bar where there is live music. There we meet Zakki, he is Indonesian and has a hotel here. We talk and I am really impressed by his personality.

He tells me that he had nothing, suffered from hunger, and was busy every day finding work to afford food. It makes you reflect. I'm sitting here, I quit my job, traveling around, was unhappy with my work, didn't feel fulfilled.

Not feeling fulfilled and then searching for it, people who need their work and a place to live in order to survive, cannot even allow that. The conversation brings out my gratitude for everything I can do.

Zakki is incredibly funny, he has a wonderful sense of humor, he has traveled a lot and has seen much of Indonesia.

I say goodbye and go back with Anika. We also have a nice conversation before going to bed. The typical - going to bed and chatting for another hour - conversation, those are the best!

As a Human Design Reader, she has a good view of people and her words reach you exactly when and where you need them. I won't share it, it's very private, but I can only recommend getting in touch with Annika!

Human Design Stories - Listen on Spotify - Linktree

The next morning it's an early start for diving.

After 10 months, my first dive, it's always exciting and I always feel like I've forgotten everything. At the dive school, I meet my group for the dive. We have two dive masters with us, my buddy is Ilan, he is a 15-year-old French boy. I tell him that I'm a bit slow underwater because I'm always looking for small things, no problem, he says. The first dive goes surprisingly well. I still need to work on my buoyancy, but my breathing is going well. Ilan occasionally checks on me to make sure everything is okay, really sweet! Our dive master is also really good and I feel well taken care of! The other two are very new divers and have to resurface after 25 minutes because there is no more air in their tanks, but since we have two dive masters, we can stay underwater with Ridwan.

We encounter huuuuuuge sea turtles, I have never seen such big ones before, it's incredible. After the dive, we quickly return to the island and then go out for the second dive. There are really nice dive sites around the Gilis.

In the evening, I go back to the live music on the beach. The music here usually plays until 11 pm and then the bars close. I'm about to get up when Zakki and one of his guests, Paul (21, German), come by. They look at me and say they want to go to the reggae bar, do I want to come along. I look at the time, 11 pm, I'm going diving tomorrow at 11:00 am, mmmh I'm not sure, oh well, I'll come along.

We walk to the other side of the island and I'm amazed that the bar is still open, but there's a birthday party going on and you can imagine it like a mini-rave on an island, lots of dreadlocks, minimal to techno music, and certainly some substances 😂

We sit further away on the beach. Paul has just finished his training, he has been traveling with his girlfriend for a while and now he's traveling alone for a while before starting his studies. Another very impressive personality I've met. I really enjoy talking to both of them.

Zakki shows up with Maren, another German, who lives in Lombok. The three of them go snorkeling and we arrange to meet for sunset.

The days on Gili Air continue like this. Eating, drinking coconuts, beach, meeting new people, having good conversations, enjoying sunsets.

I'm starting to plan how to get to Sulawesi. I had planned to take a 3-day trip by ferry. But it's almost impossible to get a schedule. I would have to go back to Bali, Denpasar, where a boat leaves every two weeks. When, nobody really knows. But Zakki tells me that there is also a boat from Bima. And from there it only takes 1.5 days and one leaves every week. That sounds good. So it's Bima and look for a ship there. He laughs and says, 'you're the captain now, if necessary, just hijack one' 😅

When I go to watch the sunset, I meet Seline, we talk, she asks me about my plan and I tell her I want to go to Sulawesi. - 'Oh yeah, you remind me, I still have to send a drone to Una-Una,' says Selina.

I look at her and think, this can't be true. Una-Una is one of the islands in the Togian Island chain, where I want to go diving. So, guys, I'm now bringing her the drone to a diving school in Sulawesi 🤣

On Tuesday, I went on the 3rd dive. The best of all.

There is some current, but not too strong, many colorful fish, and then a small whitetip reef shark appears. It first lies on the seabed and sleeps, then it swims away, takes a round, turns around, and swims straight towards me. I can't believe it, sooo close, and when I lift my head, a giant turtle swims by. It couldn't have been better ❤️

After the dive, I ask my dive master if he knows how I can get to Bima - he looks at me - to Bima? I come from there, that's where I was born. I don't believe in coincidences anymore, but it's really amazing how everything just falls into place.

He makes a call, and shortly after, his friend arrives. He will take care of my trip to Bima - a total of 24 hours with waiting times. Okay, sounds good - is it safe for me? Yes, everything is safe! I have a good feeling and book it.

In the evening, I meet my little group again for the sunset.

Once again, I meet a great personality in Maren, and our conversation reaffirms some things for me. It's the last evening for Paul and me, he's going to Gili Meno, so we go to the bar and have a little party. We dance in the sand until the bar closes. Sweaty but happy, I fall into bed for my last night on Gili.

The next morning, the adventure begins, I ride my bike with my luggage to the harbor. I go to the pier and wait. And I wait at the wrong pier 🫠

At the pier, boarding is about to begin, and when I show the staff my ticket, they look at me surprised! The boat is over there! And it's about to leave! Oh man, the harbor workers are calling and I run to the dock, they turn back🙌 Luckily, everything turned out fine❤️

Here's where the trip starts:

From Gili Air by boat to Lombok, then by car from Lombok to Mataram, from there by coach to the other end of Lombok, to the car ferry to Sumbawa - and then 8 hours to Bima. I wanted an adventure and to get on this ship, here's the opportunity.

The boat ride to Lombok takes 15 minutes. There, I am picked up immediately and wait for the taxi to Mataram. The ride takes 45 minutes. Lombok is incredibly beautiful and definitely worth a visit! I was there for 3 days last year and can only recommend it.

In Mataram, I am also picked up immediately. I have to wait 3 hours until the bus departs. The guide sits with his children in front of the bus station in a warung. The children start playing with me, I don't understand a word, but it doesn't matter, we understand each other anyway. More and more children join us, I am the only tourist and everyone smiles at me and stares a bit. I am asked for pictures and so the time passes well.

And then it's time to get on the bus. 2 hours to the ferry. We have to get off and walk onto the ferry. There, I am immediately adopted by two older ladies. One of them travels with me on the bus and speaks a bit of English. She sits next to me and I feel like she is looking out for me. The same on the ferry, only locals, many stares. But I don't feel uncomfortable, it is very respectful.

The second lady doesn't speak English either, she also asks for a photo and then sits next to me. She just came from a wedding of one of her children and proudly shows me the pictures as well as pictures with other Western tourists, it seems to be something special for some to have Western 'friends'. I sit between the two moms for the whole journey and it's quite wavy. There's a Jackie Chan movie playing in the front. During the conversation, I realize that I have to adjust my hand signals. I always show the number three with my thumb, but then they always say 'Ah, 2 months' and I'm confused, I said and showed three. But here, the number three is shown with the index, middle, and ring fingers. Not that easy to do ad hoc - try it out 😅

After almost two hours, we arrive at the next island. Now it's an 8-hour bus ride. It's already 7:30 pm. I'm hungry, I received a voucher for food before the departure, no idea where and when.

After 3 hours, we stop in Sumbawa, there's a buffet set up at a rest area. Under the strict interested gazes of people, I line up and eat some rice. Quickly back on the bus, I have no idea when it will depart and I'm afraid no one really cares if I'm sitting on it. However, the guy who booked my trip occasionally asks via WhatsApp if everything is okay.

At first, I was a bit disappointed that the journey is overnight, otherwise I could have seen so much more. However, the journey is quite wild, the speed is full-on over every speed bump and it lifts me out of my seat several times, like really 😅 The rest of the passengers don't care at all, they even sleep during the roller coaster ride. I'm not afraid, but if I could see how close we're driving to the coast, it would probably be different.

I arrive in Bima at 4:30 am, since I didn't know the exact time, I didn't book a hotel. It'll be fine, that's really my motto and it is true.

First, I need a smoke after the journey, and then I negotiate the price with a driver, I hope to find an open reception at the biggest hotel here. I say goodbye to the nice lady who accompanied me and hop onto the driver's scooter, he doesn't have time, so I'm sitting on the back with half a cigarette in my mouth, but by now I know how to ride with my huge backpack on the back. Definitely a curious sight, backpack on my back and a cigarette in my mouth on the back seat of the scooter 😅

After just 5 minutes, we arrive and the entrance is closed. Damn, I think, I really need sleep. The driver knocks on the metal gate, and shortly after, the door is opened for me. I have to pay €25, but only until tomorrow at 12 pm, then I have to leave, doesn't matter, I really need sleep and I take the room.

The next morning, I look for a cheaper room. I organize a driver to take me to the port to organize my boat trip. However, since this is a Muslim island, they are celebrating Eid al-Adha - the biggest Muslim festival of the year - everything is closed. During the drive, I see a crowd of people. They are standing in front of a garden, my driver explains to me that a cow is being sacrificed there as part of the celebration, I can't get out, unfortunately, I don't know why.

It takes me 30 minutes to find an open warung and even at the port, everything is closed. No one speaks English and it's difficult with Google Translate. I know that the ship leaves tomorrow or Saturday, but without a ticket and exact time, it's impossible to catch.

I ride back to the homestay. I feel inside myself - should I try my luck at the port tomorrow with all my luggage?

I don't know, I feel increasingly uncomfortable here. People stare at me like I'm an alien, I rarely encounter a smile like before, and the fact that nobody speaks English makes me feel uneasy.

For the first time in 4 weeks, I feel alone and somewhat lost. I can't make any decisions and don't know what's right. The whole journey here to catch the boat seems pointless, there's also nothing to do here, everything is closed, and the boat tour is not meant to happen. After shedding a few tears, I decide that I want to leave this place quickly. Another small hurdle, no flights the next day, I have to stay here for another day.

It'll be fine, I'm still so exhausted and sleep the rest of the day.

Now it's Friday, I sit in a restaurant and wait for the next day.

Tomorrow I fly to Sulawesi and then everything will fall into place again.

Sending you greetings from the other end of the world ❤️ Send some positive thoughts for the flow to come back 🙌