Door 2 - Gilis

After our tour of Bali, we started from Padangbai with a speedboat to the Gilis (Gili = small island). Gili Trawangan, Meno, and Air are the three largest and most famous "small islands" of Lombok Island, the eastern neighbor of Bali. First, we reached Gili Trawangan, or Gili T, the party island, with many clubs, bars, and other tourist spots. Motorized vehicles are prohibited on the islands, so we explored everything on foot. On our way, we met Azmy, one of the bar owners on the island. He invited us to come by in the evening to watch the sunset, sing some songs by the campfire, and drink rice wine. Said and done; after one of the most beautiful sunsets ever, we visited him in his bar and sang all kinds of songs. Azmy played the guitar and Clara played her ukulele. There was also homemade rice wine and a few Bintang beers. On the nighttime journey home, Azmy accompanied us, as he had the same way through the cow pastures of the island. There he showed us that you can also find delicious mushrooms on the islands.

The next day, we started early in the morning for a snorkeling trip between the islands, which Azmy had organized for us. Unfortunately, due to strong dynamite fishing in the past, there are not many healthy corals in the area anymore, and the warming of the seas doesn't help either. Nevertheless, the trip was very beautiful, with many fish, some living corals, sunken warriors, and large sea turtles. In the evening, we met again with Azmy, who was already waiting for us to show us how he prepares the island mushrooms. After a few more Bintang beers and another campfire session, we decided to go partying with some other people and Azmy to end our last evening on Gili T in style.
The next morning, we continued by speedboat to Gili Meno, the honeymoon island. Here we had a beautifully prepared bungalow and right next door, one of the best warungs on our entire trip. Since it was shortly after Valentine's Day, I gave Clara a horseback ride around the island. We were picked up in front of our door at eight in the morning, and off we went (first time riding alone in my life...easy). Luckily, I had an experienced and very calm stallion, otherwise, I would have certainly ended up in the sand a few times.
However, not much else happened on this day, as Gili Meno is a very quiet island. We tried to find a massage, but unfortunately, we walked around the entire island without success. So we decided to paddle to Gili Air the next day to look for a couple's massage there. In the morning, we set off with two canoes booked from a hotel, and within an hour, we were on the other side (including capsizing, which Clara found very amusing). The massage was fantastic, as was the subsequent pedicure. Two people for 30 euros, not bad.
After a final small cocktail, we had to head back, back over the waves at the coral reefs of the island. This time it was Clara who capsized; poetic justice. Back on Gili Meno, we had the best dinner in Indonesia to date, with a huge side dish of a thunderstorm and our feet almost in the water, which kept rising under the pavilion where we sat. We were the only guests, and the waiter served us the food with an umbrella. The next morning, we packed up our things again to continue to Lombok, one of the - and I can already reveal this much - most beautiful places I have ever visited.