Gilifornia

The almost two-hour crossing from Padang Bai to Gili Air was quite uncomfortable, but problem-free. My knees were next to my ears on the narrow seats...comfortable is not exactly the right word. When the speedboat reached Gili Trawangang, we moved to the open upper deck to soak up the island feeling. After a short stop on the neighboring island, we finally docked on Gili Air to cool beats from the boat's speakers. Our last stop on our trip is the second largest island on the small archipelago in the Bali Sea and lies off the northwest coast of the Indonesian island of Lombok. Blue skies, white beaches and tropical temperatures make every arrival beam with joy. After we had paid our 20,000 Indonesian rupiah (1.20 EUR) "entrance fee", we were refused entry. We could have boarded a small horse-drawn carriage at the harbor, which would have taken us to our accommodation. However, for animal welfare reasons, we chose the 15-minute walk.

After we moved into the villa and cooled off in the pool, we set off on our first exploration tour. The island is small, can be walked around in an hour, and is pleasantly quiet without being completely isolated. After a walk, we stopped at a nice beach restaurant. The tables were right on the white sandy beach... the music, the roaring sea, and the indescribable island vibes made for happy faces. We enjoyed our meal and buried our feet in the sand while we ate. Simply wonderful! The service staff on the beach walk barefoot, are quick and helpful. In general, it is striking how nice and friendly all the staff in the bars, restaurants, and shops are.

On the first morning on the island we took it easy, before the people were ready to go out it was already lunchtime...

The group then split up. The men decided to play a round of golf on Lombok, while the women preferred the white beach.

Due to the aforementioned different ideas of "finished", the men just missed the first public boat. When asked when the next boat would depart, they were told that it would be three quarters of an hour. As a result, the next boat would leave when there were enough people to fill the boat. 15 minutes later, with a landing on the beach without a jetty in the best D-Day style, the vehicles to continue to the golf course had to be found. The choice fell on two scooters. Since we had internalized the system of honking by now, we made our way to the golf club audibly, without any problems or accidents. A hotel and clubhouse are still to be built there, currently it was an improvised counter.

Like almost everywhere in Southeast Asia, we had two caddies with us, the boys drove the carts, including a small bumper car collision in the form of a minor rear-end collision with the cart. We'll keep quiet about the game of golf itself, it's not a sport based on results. The course itself has its moments, the holes on the beach in particular are visually attractive, but the condition of the course could certainly be improved. I finished the round with a confident par on the last hole. Back to the harbor, where the last public boat had of course already left, so we took a charter boat to Gili Air. You don't treat yourself to anything else... ;-)

When we were reunited with our three ladies, we went to dinner together and then it has to be good...

Enough for today!