Gili T

“My hope is that we continue to nurture the places that we love, but that we also look outside our immediate worlds." (Annie Leibovitz) 

On Wednesday I finally got out of the Marriott! I got up early and checked out and then headed over to Western Union to pick up some money my dad had wired to me. I needed a copy of my passport of course and went to go make one, but then I realized I already had one but by the time I got back the guy had obviously gone on break or something and I had to wait until he got back. Therefore I got started late and by the time I got to Padang Bai I had missed the last boat to Gili. So I found a guesthouse and checked in and then took a walk. I found black rice pudding at last and a really cool temple right near where I was staying. Then I went and relaxed and showered and was going to go to a place called Ozone that I had read about and then passed earlier, but it started to downpour! So I just ate at a place I was close to and had a quiet dinner and then went back to my room and had an early night.

The next morning I got picked up at 8:30 and got dropped off at the pier. While waiting I met E, a girl from The Netherlands and we started talking. We ended up sitting together on the boat and then decided to room together once we go to Gili! We found this really tiny guesthouse that was super cheap if not a little dirty. But it worked and we went right to eat and then to the beach! WOW! The water was so clear and was two different shades of blue from a distance. There were chairs and beanbags all over the beach with people hanging out and relaxing. The water was perfect and we spent the afternoon going in and out and I even took a great nap! Eventually we tore ourselves away and went to get showers. We had dinner at the night market (which I highly recommend) and not only had great food (the corn on the grill is the best!) but the atmosphere was really fun. Once we had eaten we took a walk and looked in some really cool stores and then ended up finding M and T (from Bangok)! We talked to them for a bit but when I realized I was falling asleep mid sentence I knew it was time I headed back! I passed out in a heartbeat!

Friday was a sleep in day. But I eventually got up and had brunch and went to the beach. I ended up meeting M, who was staying in the guesthouse across from us (we had actually him and his brother and friend the day before) and we hung out for a while at the beach. We went and took showers and then we went for a walk and explored some of Gili and had coffee at this place on the beach. Around sunset there was a drum circle and all these people came to the beach. Then we walked back and everyone (me, E, M, and his brother and friend) had dinner at the night market. After dinner we hung out for a while and then went out to a bar. Parties’ start really late for some reason but it was worth it! There were a ton of people and everyone was dancing. We saw M and T again and E saw some guys she had met before. It was really fun and we all just danced for a long time. After we danced a bunch of us went for a night swim! No bathing suits, just hopped in! Just like in India there were glow in the dark plankton! It was so beautiful! The only reason we got out was because these little white things we had seen earlier in the day kept stinging us. It was such a good time! Again, I fell asleep in a minute!

Unfortunately Saturday was my last day in Gili. I had breakfast with E and then went and had coffee with M. Then the 3 of us met up and rented bikes to ride around the island. We heard it took about an hour without stops and we were planning on stopping and swimming a bunch so we prepared for a full afternoon. Not much of a bike ride when you have to push your bike through sand for most of it! But even if there had been no sand, the whole ride would have taken maybe 40 minutes. We were a bit disappointed but we stopped at the place M and I had, had coffee and got something to eat and swam. We headed back in the late afternoon and I got a boat ticket back to Bali for the next day. Then after showers M and I went and looked at these amazing vintage clothing stores and found the bookstores as well! We had dinner and then had ice cream and sat on the beach (very romantic!) and ended up talking to some people from Switzerland. E went to bed but I went to a bar to finalize plans with M (we were going to take the boat back to Bali together) and ended up staying a little longer than I should have! But I had packed before so when I got back I just climbed into bed.

I am really upset about leaving. I really like it here and have made some good friends. I wish I had left the Marriott earlier and had come here. I wanted a few more days here and to go to Lombok but I guess that will have to wait until next time. I am also really starting to get it through my head that this is the end of Asia. I am trying not to think about it too much and just enjoy my last day and a half but it’s hard. I have really come to love this style of life even when it really frustrates me. I know that I will be back and I am so happy that I have another place in my heart that I feel so close to, but it is just really hard to say goodbye.

Signed,

Sad To Go