Gili Air - A place to relax

Our plans in Padangbai (a day trip to Tirta Ganga Temple) were canceled because Philipp woke up with a fever in the morning and couldn't go on the tour. So we had everything checked at the Medical Centre, slept, and then continued to Gili Air a day later.

The Gili Islands are actually three really small islands in the northwest of Lombok and they all seem to differ a bit. Gili Trawangan, the largest of the islands, has a reputation as a party island (unfortunately we weren't on the island but at the pier it already lived up to its reputation). Gili Meno, the middle one, is considered more backward and natural. We could confirm this during a visit to the island - beautiful, deserted beaches and a turtle breeding station. We decided on Gili Air, which stands for a bit of nightlife and beautiful corals right on site. When we arrived, we reached our accommodation, Coulor Cottages, after a short walk (it takes 2 hours to walk around the island) and settled down by the pool. The perfect place to recover.

Here we actually made our longest stop on the trip - 6 full days.

The beach bars, which served as beach chairs, became our second home. Long stretches of beach were only available at low tide and disappeared completely at high tide.

We dedicated a lot of time from the beginning to our big goal of seeing turtles - which means we were snorkeling continuously. Unfortunately, without success. At the end of the day, we always had to retreat to the beach bar feeling depressed and try to enjoy the barbecue on the beach. Not an easy task. At least once our gloomy evening routine was interrupted by a loud parade celebrating the end of Ramadan. A welcome change.

Only the dives at Sunrise Reef and Turtle Heaven brought us peace of mind. They were finally there in abundance - our long-awaited turtles.

As soon as we had ticked off this point, we could also leave the Gili Islands and drive to the airport to fly to Malaysia.

So it was time to say goodbye to Bali/Gili.

Conclusion:

• Different beaches than in the Philippines due to the waves

• Clearly more touristic, which means more shops and more Western food - definitely more luxury/offers

• Definitely worth a trip (especially if you want to furnish a big house)

Ps.: Of course, a big thank you to Fabi, Nine, Sandra, Marieke, and many others for the tips and experiences