The Gili Islands

So, weeks have come and gone without a post. This is certainly not because of any lack of interesting events during this time. I think maybe it becomes more difficult to garner novel insights on a life that has become just that, a life, a lifestyle. Friction is the force of one thing against another and often creates sparks. Not many people finish their daily commute and head to the keyboard to offer their take on the day and those that do we often refer to as self-indulgent, perhaps an ironic label coming from someone on a six-month vacation. It is also self-indulgent to call my insights novel.

The sun crests a new day at all times, sometimes mine and sometimes yours. The only notable aspect of this is that each new day we go on and new experiences - large and small - are presented. For our part we have had some impressing memories.

We have waded through days and floodwaters in Cambodia, celebrated our anniversary in a sleepy fishing village, watched a televion spontaneously combust in our room, explored Angkor Wat at sunrise, feasted on very cheap, fresh crab and tried to sleep during a violent and reckless night on a 'sleeper' bus.

We have spent a day flying from Cambodia to Bali and once there, many more on the beach. I have sliced my knee deeply on rusted rebar avoiding drunk motorists. We have rented a car and tested my driving skills (on the other side of the road) to find beautifully serene places just off the suicidal roads. We crossed an angry sea to dock on an island you can circumnavigate in an hour. We had a drunken stranger pay for that passage because of the memory of a friend's friend that perished on the alternate route we had chosen by budget.

So it is not a lack of events that has temporarily buried this blog under the sand of our footsteps but the overwhelming number of them. With that said, I will try to describe the very unique set of islands that we have spent the last eleven days enjoying. (Not my photo.)

Just off the Northwest corner of Lombok, an island adjascent to Bali, lie three relatively undeveloped, glorified sandbars called the Gili Islands. All three are roughly the same size. There is no motorized traffic here, only horse-drawn taxis and bicycles. Each Island is separated by about a fifteen minute boat ride and each has its own feel. (Left to right.) Gili Trawangan is the 'party' island in a loose definition of the term. Gili Meno has been described as the Robinson Crusoe experience and certainly fits that description better than any place I have ever seen. Gili Air is a sort of combination of the two, quiet with pockets of charming bars and restaurants, all on the beach.

There are no police on the islands, instead conduct is handled by overwhelming decency, the knowledge that the tourist trade is the only lifeblood and if need be by a village counsil. We heard the story of a young man that had stolen a camera from visitors a few years back. He was found quickly, beaten then permanantly exiled. It was the only such anectode on memory. We feel incredibly safe here. I have left my camera and money belt in the room, an unwise act anywhere else, and have an unburdened mind floating in the clear waters. There are not even dogs on the islands to inhibit nightly walks. Small credit is given freely - 'ok, pay me five thousand tomorrow', or, 'I give you twenty thousand later'. There is an air of honesty and friendliness unrivaled in our experiences thus far. It is both refreshing and familiar, a sense of the trust of home and the thrill of discovery.

It is from Gili Air that I write. Our time here has been steadily extended and our departure delayed by calls of, 'how about just one more day'. Five days after we planned to leave we have just decided to stay another night. There are no towns here, the area around the harbour is the most lively but I don't think five restaurants and a store will put a dot on the map. We are staying on the opposite side from there, the sunset side, and put off our big task of the day: walking to the harbour to exchange money, a thirty-minute, very pleasant stroll, for hours. There is nothing to do here if you don't dive, which we don't, besides lounge, eat, drink, swim or snorkel.

The people here must rank in the top five of the nicest on the planet. After just a few days we had friends all over the island. When Uwey asked what was in her drink, they not only explained, but took her behind the bar to mix one for herself, an act that ended in her bartending for over an hour. Everyone here plays the guitar and we have been invited to many beachside jam sessions where the curiosity of my backpacker guitar and its odd shape never cease to inspire curiosity. There is no 'E' on the island, that is to say no base note from which to tune so no guitar is ever quite right and it doesn't matter. The warm smiles and howling voices cover the inconsistency of the intonation.

We do have to leave, not just yet, but soon as there are no ATMs to be found. Our time here is unfortunately dictated by the amount of cash we have on hand. I know that when it does come time to say goodbye we will almost instantly miss this place. The Gili Islands are the image I had in mind when I thought of tropical beaches untouched. The warm, amazingly clear blue water is seemingly ripped from the pages of a travel magazine or depicted as September or October in one of those calendars you look at and say, 'one day'.

We are now planning a three day camping trip that will take us into the throat of a large volcano on the island of Lombok. The images we have seen online are breathtaking. We are excited for this next step in our trip but do so knowing that we may never see another place like the Gili Islands.