Wifi was only introduced here about a year ago and there was internet in only one place on the island, so hence i didn't blog for a while...
On the smaller islands, the smaller boats drop you off a few feet from the beach (not on a pier), so you get down in water. Having a rucksack really comes in handy in this situation...whenever i do this, i remember hearing of the time two of my friends, Mark and Jon turned up to a small island in Thailand (Ko Samui?) with suitcases, like the men from Delmonte...and had to then carry them on their heads to the beach, while all the teenage backpackers strolled along with ease carrying their rucksacks..they said they felt like a right pair of plonkers.... always brings a smile to my face.. :)
I had been told this was low season so you could haggle for accommodation and ignoring the touts, made my way to the 'Chill Out Bar' on the south side of the island. This had been recommended by the German couple i met in Bali. The bar and bungalows were owned by an Indonesian lady called 'Suzi'. I was really lucky as there was one free bungalow, and got it for £10.80 a night...it turned out to be the best accommodation i stayed in during my whole time in Indonesia..
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The bathroom was really charming and had an outside shower, decorated with the typical Gili floor pebbles ..
I dumped my stuff and made my way to Suzi's Cafe/ Bar where i found the room price included breakfast on the beach - WHOOHHOOO !! !!
(..and Rob, i may have left Cheyne, but im still eating poached eggs for brekkie, and they make them PERFECTLY RUNNY every time - unbelievable !!! :) - they could teach the Fuzzies chefs a thing or two..)
There's not a huge amount to do here except dive and snorkel. A book's also essential..All the main dive centres on Gili T are here as well - Manta Dive, Blue Marlin Dive plus a few others..
..diving's $38 US a pop for qualified divers. Dave J, you, the Mrs, Adam and Linda would love the Gilis (if you haven't dived here already?) - i met people who saw amazing things, turtles, huge manta rays, sharks and lots of fish. You can go on night dives here too with torches and see Moray eels etc. Just for info, a mexican diving instructor i met at Suzi's bar said that the Philippines and Ecuador were also amazing for diving and the Philippines was also very cheap to stay...
I did a bit of snorkelling here and saw some amazing fish. I even saw a small stingray swim right up to the sand...unfortunately i had no underwater camera...
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This is the view in front of Suzi's bar/ cafe (Chill out)...
This island's very quiet and party night is saturday only, where only one bar has a live band playing. Naturally, i turned up there and met a load of people including a French lady called Rosa and her sister Josepha. The band was excellent and played a few Pink Floyd numbers which i've heard are quite difficult ...
Rosa used to live in Ibiza and had sold up and opened a homestay 2 months ago on the island...she was happy living off the rent from the four rooms of the homestay and like many french people i'd met on the islands, chain-smoked throughout the night like a trooper...she invited me round then next day to see the rooms and have a coffee..which was very nice..
All other nights, i went to Suzi's bar/ cafe for dinner and a beer.
Suzi's a lovely host (and very pretty too)....i noticed a lot of the women on this island were very beautiful..
Suzi also cooked the food on the BBQ and her food was delicious (and consistently so night after night)...
There was red & white snapper, jumbo prawns, huge tuna, seafood, chicken and beef kebabs and even lobster on one night..
The jumbo prawns were expensive, you can get them cheaper in sri lanka, so I had white snapper here ... yummy...
...the 2 sauces with this meal are garlic and lombok (red) sauce which is kind of like mild chili sauce. It goes very well with fish...
.. i'm beginning to think backpacking lark isn't really as hard as people make it out to be...
Indonesian women don't tend to drink as they are muslim (though the men do...).
Beer (and food) was cheaper than on Gili T (a large bintang being £2.17).. Suzi's husband was a guy from Cornwall called Vinny, and he, myself and a few other bar flies who congregated at this venue had some really funny chats those evenings...Vinny even had white zambuca at the bar so me and this american guy Eric had a slug each on the last night i was there :).. reminded me of the days at Merrills in London....
If anyone goes to Gili Air, i'd have to recommend Suzi's bar/cafe for good company, accomodation and delicious food..
