The Gili Islands

It took us a couple of days to get from where we were on Bali over to Gili Air, our first island stop. We arrived within a few days of the end of Ramadan, Islam's 30 day annual fast, so things were not exactly normal. These islands, much like Lombok are basically totally Muslim, unlike the Balinese Hinduism found on Bali. We rather enjoyed talking with the locals on the island and learning more about Ramadan and Islam in general. Steff was not a big fan of the seemingly never ending stream of prayers and singing (raher make that whaling) being pumped out of the Mosques loud speaker. Also, it was not like we could get away, these islands are tiny little things, we could even hear it snorkeling with the fish, what do they make of all this?. We have heard Muslim singing/prayers in other places and to be honest, these guys were far from the next auditions for X Factor, they were awful.

The singing was really a very minor thing, everything else was super and the snorkeling and diving were out of this world, amazing. These islands have a far greater variety of underwater life than we've ever seen anywhere, there is something like 3500 different types of fish here. Plus there were the Turtles, we had several wonderful encounters with Hawksbill turtles which are amazing creatures. Lots and lots of fish, everywhere you look underwater. One of the reasons that the underwater life is so interesting here is because of the strong currents that move through these islands, these currents can also make being in the water a bit humbling. Most of our time in the water would be planned to go along with a current. This usually meant dropping in the water on the North end of the island(s) and drifting south with the current, very nice once you get used to it. But once you try and swim into the current you quickly appreciate its strength. The beautifully coloured waters around these islands were the main attraction, the accommodation was simple, as was the food.

In total we spent 6 days on Gili Air, an afternoon on Meno (which was plenty given its reputation for Malaria and Dengue Fever) and 3 days on Trawangan before making the long day trip back to Bali, via Lombok Island, where we made our way to the Town of Ubud, Bali's artistic and cultural heart.