'Whoosh'

The drops of fresh hot water on my skin, felt like silk. It felt grand to be able to have hot water showers. After more than 2 weeks of just cold showers combined with salt water, this just felt dreamy.

We took the slow ferry (anywhere between 4-5 hours) to Bali (port of call: Padang Bai) from Lombok. The journey was long, almost a whole day in fact. Up at 8am, our transport picked us up from Kuta (Lombok) and dropped us off at the ferry terminal for the 12pm boat. Delays are nothing new and being delayed an hour didn’t hurt.

Welcome to civilisations or at least a place with lots of people. 

Gili Trawangan is the largest of the 3 island in this archipelago. It's known as a party island to the locals as it's favoured by younger tourist who seek entertainment and a bit of an island life. The main street is covered in shops, bars, restaurants and scuba diving companies. In the mids of all these you get cyclist and cidomo's passing through. 

Coming from the sleeping island of Gili Meno into this can be a bit overwhelming but I indeed welcomed the crowd. There are so many touts trying to sell us a place to stay for the night. The dive schools do provide accommodation but they are expensive and it usually accommodates two people to a room if not dorms. Places further inland are cheaper, you are looking at about Rp.150,000 a night for 3 but that might not be fresh water in the showers. Dive school accommodations can range anywhere between Rp.250,000 to Rp.800,000 a night for two including breakfast during low season.

Sun, sea, sand and surf. That is what Kuta-Lombok is all about. A small little sleepy town in the south of Lombok with an ironically same name as Kuta in Bali. But this is Kuta in Lombok and it's just beautiful.

Kuta-Lombok is still pristine and raw. Beautiful landscape, amazing clear waters and no high rise buildings except for the Novotel Hotel. Even then it is paradise especially for surfers. You'll need a scooter to get from one beach to another. The signs are not clear and sometimes the roads are really bad but it's simply beautiful. Unspoilt by mass tourism, this is exactly what I was looking for -paradise lost.

"Gili Meno, Gili Trawangan, this wey plaise!"

Got on board the island hopper and 20 minutes later we were on Gili Meno. We met a couple that runs a place here, Kike and Lucy, maoMeno. It's a bit of a walk. As soon as you get off the boat turn left and walk towards Blue Marlin dive shop, just after the shop, there is a right turn down a dirt road, take that and walk straight on. You'll come to a school and at the school you'll see a sign for 'Yoga', follow the road around and keep walking. About 10 minutes later you'll come to a house on your left, and on your right you should see a sign that says Meno Dream. At this point look up on your left, you'll see a door way frame that says maoMeno on the top. Take that dirt road down and you'll come to a field filled with cow poop. At this point you'll see some houses and bamboo fences. You've reached maoMeno, and now you have to look for Kike.

"You take ferry here"

Here? Hmm... Doesn't look like we're getting on a big boat. It was a small boat, more like a long-tail boat you get in Thailand but wider and double in length. I can't imagine taking these boats during rough seas as I'm sure it will just tip over, especially if the weight distribution is not even. 

20 minutes later we were on Gili Air, the second largest of the 3 islands is a perfect getaway after a long journey up Mt. Rinjani. The guys were beat, I'm still sore hence Gili Air was the best choice as we wanted to relax and take it easy for a few days.

As soon as we got here, managed to get a room for Rp.200,000 a night, free wifi with fan. Although we had a communal showers and toilets, it was really good for its price. Before we explored the island, I jumped into the shower only to realise that we didn't have hot showers (which was fine as the island it too hot and humid) but it was salt water! Fresh water is a rare commodity here so salt water is normal. Even after a shower, you're still sticky and my hair... Now I look like a proper backpacker.