You can get here by slow boat or fast boat (i took the slow one which the locals take and is far cheaper). What i didnt realise is that the slow boat from Bali to Lombok harbour, a car journey to the port nearest the Gilis (Bangsal) and the fast boat across took a total of 8 - 9 hours ! Still it cost me a tenner so was ok...
By the way, if you ever go to the Gilis, try and avoid Bangsal where the touts are noted for their aggressive behaviour. Ive heard it from loads of people & the travel agent, kept us in his office till the boat was ready to go, so we walked straight onto it without having to hang around the port...
The Gilis are basically snorkelling / diving destinations. There are dive centres everywhere here....
There are no cars allowed only 'Gili ferraris' as the locals call them (horse drawn carts) and cycles...
Basically, during the day, you can hire a bike for £3 for 24 hours and cycle around the island to seek out nice snorkelling spots. I really enjoyed this, it was the first exercise id had for ages..(Phil you would have been proud of me...) though to cycle around the whole island only takes 2 hours :)
If you can't be bothered to cycle during the day, you can laze on the beach or go for a dip in the turquoise waters...
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I have to say (albeit grudgingly) that the snorkelling and reefs off these islands are better than in the beaches i know in southern Sri Lanka...
During the evening, the decisions i was faced with were which fish barbeque to eat at and which bar to drink at...
The guy running this resto was a real character and insited in posing for the camera.. :)
The food's expensive here, i had this cuttlefish (you can actually see it in the bottom right corner of the above photo) barbequed in garlic butter and baked potato and salad for £5.40...
..but oh my god, that was the tastiest barbequed cuttle fish i'd ever eaten...
The beer's also expensive here - £2.80 a 500ml bottle. I can hear the guys in the UK gafawing at this, but for Asia, that's mega expensive & its amazing how quickly you forget how expensive things are back in the UK.... the fact i found a comfortable room for £10.80 a night eased the situation...
The fact there are lots of beach side bars and the whole island seems to full of scandanavians also makes this a very nice place to spend time... ive already been here a week :)
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Two things ive noticed about scandanavians is that they like their tatoos and they also like to keep in shape..i havent seen a fat woman in ages.....
..may check out another island tomorrow...if i get up in time...
