So Sanur, done and dusted, next stop Gili T...yeah, never been before and so much looking forward to it.
We booked to go over to GT with Gili Cat fast boat, why, cause, although slightly dearer, the general consensus was they had the best safety record, plus the Gili Cat III (enterprise) would operate during high season and this was a pretty big boat, all aluminium, aussie built..etc,etc. Now i booked this over the internet back in April and was given the choice of "premier class - inside, air con DVD, blah, blah blah or "tourist class", outside and cheaper. my wife being the seasick type, chose to be outdoors...which i much prefer as well.
we were picked up from our hotel and drove for about an hour to padang bai for the 1.5hr crossing via Bangsal harbour in Lombok. upon arriving, we could only see the Gili Cat I and II, after asking about the Gili Cat III....and i was far from the only one who asked, we were told "it's sleeping in Benoa Harbour and has been for about a year "...you could just see how amny people were just a bit p!ssed off!. Apparently, it was too costly and it's up for sale.
Oh, and while i'm thinking of it, i just remembered that a Gili Cat office is in Sanur. i decided to just make sure we were to depart 2 days later ( confirmation). whilst there, i asked if i could pay now, instead of when we got to Padang Bai as advised, sure they said, and to boot we got 15% discount for paying early...for me that equates to about $35aud !...thanks for advising us that Gili Cat !!!
Anyway, back to the fast Boat...we went on Gili Cat II an aluminium hulled Rubber dinghy shape/type boat with about 25 pax on board. All was going well as we travelled up the Bali coast, swell about 1 metre when all of a sudden we lost half our power. frantic work by the boys as we putted along for about half an hour, then...no power at all, half an hour later we got going again at half speed, then no power again...in the end we headed straight to Gili T...no Lombok first as scheduled. We got there in 3.5hrs !, many people seasick, but glad it was all over.
Thank god we didn't go to Lombok 1st, as it would have added another 1.5hrs to the journey!...just to think, the main reason most people take the Padang Bai - Gili T trip was to keep the water part of the
journey to a minimum...oh well....luckily our boys slept for 2+hrs of it and my wife took a seasick pill and felt fine.
So safely on Gili T, we hopped into a cidomo and 50000rp and 500m later, we arrived at Samba Villa in the North East corner of GT.
We had booked a family suite for 7 night for $120.00usd per night. The room had a king and 2 singles plus a lounge chair and TV/DVD and decent sized fridge, hot water and free Wifi and Breaky included.
Our first thoughts of GT?, we loved it, crystal clear water, white sandy beach, cute little shops, restaurants on the beach, no cars or scooters....reminded us of our backpacking days around the islands of
Thailand.
Then all of a sudden, we hear the call to prayer at the nearby mosque, some 200m away...gee that's rather loud i thought, but not as loud as when they call to prayer at 5am in the morning!...Ahhh!!. I must admit though, you do get used to it and it's not as bad as being in a villa that has Roosters starting up at 3am for next 5 hours! (as per last year).
Breakfast in the morning on a Bale, a stones throw away form the waters edge, overlooking Gili Meno and Mt Rinjani in Lombok was bliss.
we spent our days just reading swimming and snorkelling off the beach out front, seeing many fish and the odd turtle in amongst partially destroyed reef, although a program to rectify this has already begun.
Riding around the island ( took me 30min) with the kids, stopping for a swim or a bite to eat...happy days.
Oh and of course, sunset cocktails out the front of the hotel, still on the sun lounges, each evening was a must!
We would walk (30min with kids) into the "downtown" LOL ! area of the island and have dinner at either Tir Na Nog, The Beach House or Ombak most nights.
We did a Glass bottom boat trip around the 3 Gili's one day. cost 100000rp adults and 50000rp for the kids. stopping at 3 places to see turtles, good coral and plenty of fish whilst snorkelling, before stopping for lunch on Gili Air...a fun day was had by all.
We had a massage at a newish spa not far form the hotel, but as is with many things on GT, prices were inflated compared to Bali.
the Massage was 150,000rp...although my wife thought it was one of the best she'd had, so much so she returned the next day!.
Other prices on the Island:
Push bike rent 40-50000rp per day.
Cidomo 40-50000rp per trip....125000rp around the island
Snorkel/Mask/fin hire 35000rp per day.
Food and Drinks at the restaurants were all good and comparable to Bali in quality and price wise.
Gili T, like Bali is full steam ahead with construction, with many new places to both stay and eat, going up.
Many europeans frequent the place and although we met aussies, they were few and between compared to Bali.
We loved our stay on GT, the kids had just about had enough of it by the 7th day...not being one's to while away the day on a sun lounge
under the shade with a stunning view reading books....when will they learn ;o)
We will return again, yes, but next year...maybe, as there is plenty more to explore in and around Bali.
next stop Bali/Legian/Seminyak....
Cheers S