Next up Indonesia...
As we flew into Bali, where we decided our month would be best spent. We talked to people along the way about visiting Jakarta or the likes, but for our first time here we felt it best not to be travelling too much. there's only so much you can fit in! After flying in pretty late we stayed the night in Bali Caps Hostel in Kuta - great for a stopover for a night, but that's all we spent there, having heard it's party central and not much else. Sean thought it'd be worth a look, so we split up for a few days. For now it was just the two of us heading on to our first stop - Gili trawangan. We didn't die on the fast boat over from Bali island, which had us off to a good start - the 1/5 star tripAdvisor review from 2015 stating "engine exploded, two people died" had us worried, but given we made it in one piece, the nauseating journey gets a solid 3/5 from us. the beer we had beforehand probably didn't help matters, but still a great way to start our time here:
We said one final goodbye to the horses on the strip of Gili t, and set off for our next adventure. After talking to people who knew the best spots to visit in Indonesia, we decided on a little bit of a change for our next stop - Bali island itself would be waiting for a week, as we decided to visit Lombok - the next island over. Another nauseating journey awaits, and hopefully all we have planned works out - not quite the chilled out week we just had, a bit more adventure awaits.
Big love,
Dani & Stu.
As we flew into Bali, where we decided our month would be best spent. We talked to people along the way about visiting Jakarta or the likes, but for our first time here we felt it best not to be travelling too much. there's only so much you can fit in! After flying in pretty late we stayed the night in Bali Caps Hostel in Kuta - great for a stopover for a night, but that's all we spent there, having heard it's party central and not much else. Sean thought it'd be worth a look, so we split up for a few days. For now it was just the two of us heading on to our first stop - Gili trawangan. We didn't die on the fast boat over from Bali island, which had us off to a good start - the 1/5 star tripAdvisor review from 2015 stating "engine exploded, two people died" had us worried, but given we made it in one piece, the nauseating journey gets a solid 3/5 from us. the beer we had beforehand probably didn't help matters, but still a great way to start our time here:
Immediately after arriving we noticed how chilled out it seemed - no motorised vehicles at all, only bicycles and horse-drawn carriages are allowed on the island. We checked in to our hostel for the first couple of nights, Broken Compass, which was perfect - very chill, nice pool, and the room was more like a hotel room than a hostel. Result.
After a nights rest we decided to explore what the island had to offer off the main strip, and did a lap by bike - it's beautiful beaches everywhere, and gets even more chilled out over on the other side
We had to finish up our lap of the island quite quickly, as we had an important matter to take care of - we had one last chance to quickly catch up with Karlijn, one of the girls we met in Sri Lanka, before she left the island and wrapped up her own travels. Made it just in time and was lovely to catch up and hear how each of us have gotten on since we left each other 4-5 months ago!
Karlijn also kindly recommended we check out Banyan tree, a cafe just on the bottom of the main strip. Absolutely amazing food, but the worst service we've ever seen. People at tables look at each other incredulously for 30-40 minutes waiting for a waiter to bring a menu. We saw minimum three tables get up and leave within our first 20 minutes here.
Dani found a nearby yoga school, and we felt our time in Gili t was off to a winner:
Given we had a few days to spare until Sean was joining us, we decided we'd make a quick two night stopover at Gili Air, one of the three Gili islands - apparently the quietest of the bunch, and an even more chilled out place to unwind. On we headed down to the harbour we arrived from, and even had time to stop off for a coffee:
Before making the <30 minute journey to the neighbouring island, where we stayed at tipsea turtle, a new/developing hostel - cheap and did the job. Gili Air itself was amazing, better than we expected, having heard it was nearly "too quiet", it pleasantly surprised us and we loved our time here. Would definitely recommend. Very chilled, a place to go each night for some nightlife, beautiful sunsets, and plenty to do. treating ourselves to a steak dinner probably didn't hurt either.
After a successful little stopover we were back to Gili t, where we were catching up with Sean - we decided to stay at Gili Castle - just up the road from our last hostel, a bit more craic and pool parties on during the week. Again, would recommend. From here we saw the other side of the main strip of Gili t - once night hits, the chilled out vibe goes out the window, and party central takes hold. If you're looking for a night out this is the place to be.
A long night out was sorted by a snorkelling trip around the three islands, swimming with sea turtles and all the tropical fish surrounding. Absolutely brilliant, except for when the boat drove off leaving Stu nearly stranded in between the islands with no boats nearby. Health & Safety isn't top of the list on boat tours in Bali it seems.
the rest of our time was spent chilling around the island, enjoying the beer pong, pool parties, and general craic the island had to offer - jumping off the top of the climbing wall at the hostel seeming ever more attractive after each drink:
And Sama Sama Reggae Bar being our pick of the clubs on the strip. A great start to our time here in Indonesia, particularly Gili Air - it's definitely worth a few days if you get the chance to go.
Big love,
Dani & Stu.
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