Lombok & Gili T

Monday, April 16, 2012
Gili Trawangan, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia
There aren't many places in the world which bring me to tears on arrival..tears and goosebumps. Actually I can only think of two..
I used to get this reaction back in the day when I backpacked the Greek islands in the early 80's . When that big old boat used to crawl from Pireaus (port of Athens) to Ios in 13 hours. Maybe I was just so exhausted from the long hot uncomfortable crossing, so relieved to see my destination that I had an exaggerated response to my arrival. But more likely it was because I knew how happy I would be in that place. I knew I would meet great people and morph into one of those laid back travelers..that time would slow down and I would become the best version of myself once more.
On reflection, I thought perhaps it was because I was young and naive, still innocent and blissfully unaware of the burden of responsibilities life held in store for me, that I could be so excited merely on arrival at a particular location. What a wonderful surprise for me then to recapture this sublime feeling as the local outrigger boat from Lombok pulled in to Gili Trawangan after a short ,albeit bumpy, crossing.
This was my second time to this spec of an island. The previous trip just 6months before and I couldn't wait to get back. There's just something about the place that makes me very happy .
It's tiny! I can walk around it in less than 2 hours (not power walking..strolling, with the occasional stop for a dip in the warm crystaline sea). There are no motorised vehicles. Apart from walking and cycling, the only transport is the cidomo (pony drawn carts). There's nothing particularly stunning about the island itself, though it does have a beautiful view towards the other Gilis to the East and Bali to the West. No, I think it's the people who make this place so special. The locals and the tourists/travelers who come here.
Gili T attracts people who are more drawn to the vibe than the facilities. Fresh water is limited so most of the showers are brackish. The power supply is unreliable often flickering on and off at night. There are no 711 all night convenience stores, no tacky souvenir shops...yet!
What you do find is a totally laid back atmosphere, welcoming locals and the friendliest tourists I've ever encountered. or is it that I am more open to meeting people when I'm there?
I'd been in Lombok (the main island) for almost a week before getting to Gili T . Perhaps I had already wound down, but that first night back there, sitting at my favourite Irish bar in the world, a Swedish girl asked me if I lived there. She later told me it was because I looked at home with the local staff at that place, and in many ways ..I was.
I'm not normally a fan of Irish bars but Tir Na Nog is an exception. The staff are amazing and not one night have I gone there and not met an interesting friendly tourist. As a solo traveler, it's a Godsend!
Apart from reading, relaxing and a sprinkle of partying, I had a few things planned for my week in Gili T. A walk around the island, a walk up the hill to the lookout. A snorkelling trip, and a discover scuba diving day. Little did I know, this day would be the first step on a path which would take my life in a whole new direction.
It was by no means perfect. My instructor was a humourless German who was better suited to scuba boot camp than encouraging a rookie like me to take up the sport. But it probably wouldn't have mattered if Jack the Ripper had taken the class, because as soon as I felt that sensation of weightlessness, when I became part of that incredible underwater world, as my thoughts slowed and focused and my breathing became slow and rhythmical .. I was hooked.
That in itself would have been enough for me but fate had a wild card to play just when I least expected it! What was the line in Casablanca? Of all the gin joints, in all the towns of all the world and she walks into mine! (or something like that) Well, he did! There I was , sitting at the Irish bar, chatting to a couple I'd just met and one very handsome French man strolls in and pulls up a stool. I knew he was trouble as soon as I laid eyes on him, so I made a sensible decision for once in my life, made my excusues and went home early.
He turned up again the next night. It wasn't so easy to leave this time. I was high from diving, and he turned out to be charming, gentle and really good company. My defences started to crumble.
I used my last reserves of dignity and self preservation to go home before I drank too much and forgot why he shouldnt come too! The third night..I had nothin'...
I only had a few days left but we spent them together. Days in a bamboo cabana on a near empty beach with clear shallow water in front to snorkel in and a small beach cafe close by for cold beer and local food. Balmy evenings flew by too fast as happy times do and it was over far too soon.
I can still see him standing on the beach, with his hand on his heart, watching the boat which took me from paradise, pull away from the shore. He stood there till I was out of sight and then I let the tears fall. I had been reminded in such an exquisitely painful way how much better life can be with companionship and love in it. Now I would have to learn to be single all over again.


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