From Sunrises to Turtles: My Love Letter to Bali’s Gili Islands
Another one from my Bali trip while I’m posting about it 🙌
There are three Gili islands off the coast of Bali / Lombok, Indonesia 😍❤️ and while I only managed to visit Gili Trawangan and Gili Air (not Gili Meno - but this just gives me all the more reason to go back), I can say it is one of the greatest places I’ve been to, to get back in touch with nature. I mean, I’m quite literally surrounded by it here 😂.
It’s not just the aquamarine waters, ridiculous coral reefs and marine life though. Although this is truly amazing - you can just walk out from your accommodation, onto the beach and into the sea at 6am in the morning and encounter turtles having their breakfast! It’s everything about these islands - the fact that you can walk around the entirety of them along the sandy beaches… Gili Air in particular has a circumference of just 5km so there’s no vehicles on this island, you get around on foot, by bicycle - or if you have suitcases, by horse and cart which means no traffic sounds and time goes by more slowly because you don’t need to commute far EVER!
This closeness creates a communal vibe that’s hard to find elsewhere; where everyone knows your name really quickly. I could even cycle around and see where my new friends were by their flip flops being outside the restaurants / shops (taking off your shoes before entering someone else’s space is a custom in Indonesia to show respect).
And this great expat community includes many that have fully embraced the slow travel lifestyle because the Gili islands just do that to you - they make you want to slow down, and stay! I have a friend who says she came for a weekend and stayed for 4 months - and this seems to be a common story here, the beauty of the Gilis is all consuming, so be warned! 👀
Don’t even get me started on the sunsets and sunrises, you can catch both with panoramic views every day by just making your way to the opposite side of the island. It’s these moments, coupled with the genuine connections made, that were just the icing on the cake for my last fully nomadic trip.
