The Cidomo (horse drawn carriage) carries passengers along the sometimes paved, sometimes sandy, and sometimes rutted, dirt roads. There are many people using bicycles to get around and many more walking. But . . . there are no automobiles or motorized vehicles of any kind here, not even motorbikes. Motorized vehicles are illegal on Gili Trawangan Island.


Saleh worked as a waiter at the restaurant near the hostel where I was staying in Senggigi . I could stop in for a cup of Indonesian coffee. The Indonesians love their coffee and when you drink a cup there are grounds left in the bottom of the strong cup of coffee!

After eating there a couple of times Saleh asked me if I would help him with his English. I did help him every chance I got. Sometimes before he went to work we would walk along the beach and find a place to sit and work on his English for a while. He would tell me about his girlfriend and family. 

 A day or so later he wanted to take me on his motorbike to see a different beach. It was a pretty place and we enjoyed some fresh coconut juice straight out of the coconut. After you drink the juice, you eat the coconut from the inside.

I was planning to go to the Gili Islands soon and asked him to give me some information about them. But, he had never been. Even though they are close by and he has lived here all his life, he had never been . "No money", he said. I have found most of the locals never have been far away from their own homes. And always, regardless of age, they say because they never have the money to travel.

Saleh has just started his job at the restaurant and his first day off is coming up soon. I ask him if he would like to go along with me to the Gili Islands. He is very excited and we start making plans.

We ride the van for a couple of hours. The views along the route are nice and run right along the coast. One time I spotted a couple of monkeys sitting on a guardrail!

The bus unloads us at a small building. But, we cannot see the water or dock from here. Then we get on a cidomo (horse drawn cart) and are taken to the boat dock for the trip to Gili Trawangan Island.

Gili Trawangan is one of three islands off the coast of Lombok. I left Senggigi in a van and after a two hour ride got on a boat to go to the island . The boat trip was 30 minutes and stopped at Gili Trawangan Island. The other two islands, Gili Meno and Gili Air are close by, but have to be reached by taking a boat ferry.

Gili Trawangan is the largest of the islands in Lombok and the only one that rises much above sea level. It rises about 900 feet above sea level and is 1.8 miles long and 1.2 miles wide. Saleh and I rented bicycles and road around the entire edge of the island. Much of the road around the circumference was paved but much of it was dirt or sand. In many of the sandy parts we would have to push the bikes because the sand was just too deep to bike through.

We stopped to view the scenery along the banks of the island and to have a cold drink or snack that we purchased from little stands set up along the path. Riding the bicycle was a good way to see the island and get some exercise, too.

The island of Gili Trawangan is too small for any agriculture and, because of it's remote location, there are no industries or commerce to support it's people . The only way to reach the island is by boat. The 500 residents rely on tourism and fishing for income. 

There is no fresh water on the island. It has to be brought in from Lombok and electricity is supplied by underwater cables from Lombok.

Drugs on Gili are openly advertised. Hard drugs are said to be in circulation here and are easily available. Drug laws are said to be harsh, though, and carry severe penalties for their use, including the death penalty. However, there is no outside law enforcement and the local policing is left up to the locals, so the drugs flow easily. Saleh and I were never offered any drugs, though, and i didn't see any signs of them. I think, like anywhere, you would need to go looking in the places where they are available if you wanted them.

We spent two nights on the island then headed back to Senggigi on the boat, because Saleh had to go back to work . I will visit the islands again, I hope, and go to the other two islands then.

After I left Senggigi, Saleh wrote me that he moved to the island to work there. I think he will enjoy living there and he has already found a job. He is a very nice young man and I enjoyed getting to know him and learning things about his country!

The time in Senggigi has been fun. All the Indonesian islands have their own charm. When I'm not at the beach I walk the streets here in this small place and hear the sellers call out to me, like they do in most of the Asian countries I have visitied. But, here in Indonesia they don't call out the name of their merchandise with "Sir" but they call me "boss". "T-shirt, Boss?" "Taxi, Boss?" Finally, after all these years, someone calls me boss!
 
NEXT: HOW CAN I GET TO LABUANBAJO?