Tag 87 - crooked

26.07.19

Day of departure. Even before coming to Indonesia, we had planned to visit the neighboring island of Lombok. Yesterday evening and this morning, we thought about it intensively and then, quite spontaneously, decided to 'just' go to the Gili's (very, very small islands off Lombok). There are no specific reasons for this - it was more of a gut feeling.

Before we set off, we quickly go shopping and book the ferry, as well as accommodation on Gili Trawangan (We originally wanted a specific accommodation, but it was fully booked for the first night this morning. So we book one night in another accommodation and then five days in our preferred one.)

Right in front of the guesthouse, we grab something to eat and then head to the pier (a two-minute walk). The ferry is already ready and we can 'board' after a few moments. At the beginning, it looks like the passenger area would not be filled at all - in the end, almost all 120 seats are occupied. The journey begins; since Jonna is not feeling well again (despite motion sickness pills) and it's generally very uncomfortable, we decide to go to the sundeck. There, you may get a little wet, but there is fresh air, more space, a better view, beer, and music.

The crossing flies by and we arrive at a small paradise island, completely surrounded by a sandy beach (Gili Trawangan is the largest of the three northern mini-islands - it can be circumnavigated on foot in 90-120 minutes).

We saddle up our backpacks and march to our hostel (There are no motorized vehicles on the island, but small horse-drawn carriages are offered when leaving the pier). We arrive at our accommodation within 10 minutes. We drop off our things and then go out again to withdraw money and explore the island a little.

We walk along the lively promenade when suddenly three black-haired tourists approach us. It takes us a few seconds for our brains to process their faces - they are the three Swedes we met in Uluwatu (southern part of Bali) and spent a cozy evening with. 'Wow, what a coincidence' we laugh. We didn't exchange any numbers or discuss meeting again somewhere. But we exchange contacts now in case we want to meet up for a drink and a chat. We continue on and shortly after, we stop at a restaurant where we have an iced coffee.

After another short break in our room, we go back to the promenade in the evening to visit the 'night market'. The three to four stalls cannot be compared to a night market in Thailand, but there is a beautiful and authentic atmosphere. As the lines at the buffet stalls are extremely long, we wander further into the interior, where we find an affordable restaurant and have dinner there.

Afterwards, we return to the hostel and go to sleep.

...

Well, we try to at least! Because from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., right in front of our accommodation on the street (about eight meters away), a group of tourists and locals have taken on the task of blasting the whole neighborhood with 'music'. If the guitarist could play halfway and the people present could sing halfway, there would be nothing wrong with it. But unfortunately, what the people are producing there doesn't have much to do with harmonious music. This crime against the ears prevents us from even thinking about sleep. When the 'wannabe Kelly Family' (somehow a double negative) disbands, we can sleep for a few hours, only to be woken up again at 4 a.m. by a group of very loudly arguing tourists sitting outside the room next to ours - haven't heard such an incredibly stupid conversation in a long time! Finally, at 5 a.m., peace and quiet return.

- Alex