We also had to walk on and off the ferry with all the traffic and this was horrendous, due to the amount of car fumes I inhaled in such an enclosed area, I am sure I lost 10 years off my life! I'm not talking a small boat, but a boat almost as big as a P&O ferry!
So, we arrived at the port in Lembar in good time but for some reason we ended up letting other boats dock before us. It looked like we were waiting for a slot to dock. We must have been waiting for around 40 mins. When we were finally given the go ahead to dock we couldn't move, we were stuck in the sand at a rather funny angle. Nothing hugely drastic but we were definitely not level. The crew began to appear with walkie talkies checking the back and the front end of the boat to see where we were stuck. There was a lot of shouting and arm waving going on and then we noticed that the other passenger ferry going the other way was coming back to rescue us. The rescue happened by one of the crew members on the other boat throwing us a rope and signalling for us to tie it around something. They did this and went to edge the boat away ready to pull us out but the first time they attempted it, the rope snapped. They then attempted it again, this time with two ropes and we were successful. We were all laughing on the boat though saying that if this happened in England we would have been made to wear our life jackets and stay seated. It would have definitely trended on twitter and an investigation taken place. Here, they were letting us walk right up to the edge and take photos!
Once we had finally safely docked, we caught a minibus to Sengiggi where we stayed for 2 nights. Nothing really to report on there apart from some great scenery en route from the port to where we were staying. Oh and we also ate in an Italian one night and asked for a four cheese pizza but when it came it had no tomato sauce on it. James and I asked why it didn't have any on there and the chef came over to tell us that he was Italian and that it is how you should eat a four cheese pizza, he even said he would show us his passport. We said that was fine and we were sure he was correct and we didn't mean to offend him, but the menu says that it comes with tomato sauce. In the end they changed them for us and we found out he was a guest chef for the evening as the usual chef was taken ill. You can't be a guest chef and just start making up your own rules! Who eats a pizza that consists of just dough and cheese? Anyway in the end it was one of the best pizzas we'd ever eaten!
After Senggigi we had to get a short boat ride across to the first Gili Island we were visiting called Gili Air. Before we got the boat across, we met a really nice local lad at the port called Ali. He told us he goes to school in the mornings and then makes bracelets to sell in the afternoon so he can afford to go to school. He was such a sweet boy and I will never forget him! We gave him James' hat so he could either sell it or wear it- up to him.
Everything works in funny ways out here. We bought a ticket for the boat to get over to Air but we were then told that we had to wait for six more people to buy a ticket before we could leave! That would be like the equivalent of booking a coach to London and it not leaving until they had sold a certain amount of tickets, regardless of what the scheduled time was! It does make me laugh. When we finally got on the boat (without the extra six, I guess we had waited for over an hour and they obviously decided that was long enough) we were so tightly packed on due to the amount of supplies we were taking over to the island- about 20 large egg boxes, 6 barrels of water etc that I don't even know how we would have got another six people on there anyway!
Our first impressions of Gili Air were good. The island is clean in comparison to the rest of Indonesia and there is no traffic. You can only get around by horse or bike. The water around the island is crystal clear and the sand is lovely and white - perfect!
The first afternoon we were there we walked around the island which took around 1 and a half hours. We then went snorkeling which was great. Saw loads of tropical fish and colourful coral. We had some lovely food on the island as well. We ate barbecued red snapper and tuna kebabs one night and then chicken kebabs the next night and they were so cheap! We did a lot of lazing around on the island which was so nice after the hectic couple of weeks we had had in Java and Bali. The island was so relaxing although there were a few weirdos about! I guess that comes with the territory of it being a 'calming' and 'relaxing' place. They also sell magic mushrooms which James and I were constantly asked if we would like to try. There are a lot of things in life that I will try once but drugs is not one of them! We met a lovely couple called Bryan and George from Seattle while we were on the island. We had a few drinks with them one afternoon and then lunch with them the next day before we left for the next island- Gili Meno.
Gili Meno is the smallest of the three Gili islands and therefore the quietest. This was my favourite island though as I got to help out at the turtle sanctuary for the day. Boulong set up the sanctuary because he was sad to see how many baby turtles were being killed before they had even made it into the ocean. Literally the turtle eggs would hatch and all the baby turtles would run towards the sea and then get eaten by fish or birds before they had even entered the water properly. Considering the decreasing amount of turtles in the ocean nowadays Boulong was concerned by this and decided to raise the little turtles for a year before he put them back in the ocean, this gives them an increased chance of survival, therefore the work Boulong is doing on the island is imperative to the survival of these amazing animals. He also gets a lot of stick from the locals as they eat turtle eggs and they can't understand why Boloung puts so much of his own time and money into helping the turtles. I think he is amazing!
We fed the turtles at 9am and 3pm and then after they had been fed we would clean out all the tanks and give them fresh water. I got to hold so many of them and had such a good day.
Boloung also took us snorkeling in the morning and afternoon and the water around Gili Meno was better than Australia and the Great Barrier Reef. Absolutely stunning! It also helped that I saw about 6 turtles!
Whilst I was there I also released one of the older turtles. I named him Henry after my friends little boy and this sounds so cheesy but it was such an amazing moment. Something which I will never forget. I felt like a mother letting her teenage son leave home for the first time!
That night because I was in love with the turtles I took James on a hunt to find a turtle coming to shore to lay eggs. Boloung said you can sometimes see them come onto the sand to lay eggs at night but usually only with a full moon and a high tide but I told James this didn't matter and therefore we were going anyway. If there was even a tiny chance I was going to see one then I was going to take it. James and I walked around the island in the pitch black at midnight trying to locate a turtle. I don't think James was too impressed to be honest. Apparently he was being bitten everywhere and it was ridiculous- we were never going to see a turtle, 'It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack'. Turns out he was right and we didn't end up seeing one, but I wanted to just check anyway. We weren't going to have time to go to Turtle Island in Malaysia so this was my only chance to see one!
The next evening we went to watch the sunset from the other side of the island and had dinner over there too.
I forgot to mention here as well that the hotel we stayed in on this island was new and they had all sorts of problems with the water. The first night we didn't have any water at all to shower with or use the toilet so as you can imagine that was nice, and then on the second night the water that was coming out of the taps was bright green so I think we went two days without having a shower! Yes I know that is gross and believe me I was not amused but I guess that is what happens when you are 'travelling'.
The next Gili island was the biggest and the liveliest of the three called Gili Trawangan. Again we spent a lot of time sunbathing and relaxing (yes I know it is tough being a traveller)! We met a crazy local barman in one of the bars that we were drinking in and he kept us amused for two of the three nights we were there!
The last full day we had we rented bikes and did a little tour of the island. Little note to you all- don't cycle in 35+ degrees of heat because it is not pretty! I was NOT looking good by the end of the day. We also tried to find a viewing point on the island but we couldn't find the correct way to get up so in the end we gave up. The directions in Asia are a nightmare. One minute a place or an attraction is signposted and then the next minute you have driven/cycled another 5k without it even being mentioned. You normally find that that is because you were meant to instincrively know that you needed to take a left at the traffic lights 3k before even though it was NOT signposted!! Hilarious!
We had a great time on the Gili islands- they were one of my favourite places so far. Another thing that made them so memorable is the stars at night and the moonlight. The moonlight was so bright that you could almost navigate around in the dark and the stars at night were so bright they were like nothing I have ever seen before. Incredible!
The next day we caught a ferry back to Bali, where I saw turtles and dolphins. We visited the Bali bombings memorial which was really sad, even more so as I think 22 of the people that died were British.
It definitely does make you appreciate things when you visit these kind of memorials and serves as a reminder about the times we now live in. We then got a transfer to the airport ready to get our flight to Kuala Lumpur.
Ian says whatever happened to the 'NO BLAME ENVIRONMENT'. Does it only apply when its not James' fault?!
ReplyDeleteI love the bits about the turtle! I would have loved that
Love Tina and Ian xx