I know Glen regaled you with tales of how to get to Gili Air, and a brief introduction to the Island, so I will share a bit of my impressions of this place ~ which we may never leave!!!
Our first night we didn't arrive until about 6:30pm, as it was getting dark. It is a small Island, so we didn't expect to get accosted by the usual throng of people trying to get you to use their transport or stay at their homestay, but we were wrong! We waded on shore (No dock) and were immediately met by a crowd! We succumbed to the offer of a horse drawn cart to our intended bungalows, which ended up being a good idea, as many places were full, and we had to make a few stops. I am relieved I wasn't hiking all the way with my backpack on. We ended up just taking the first available place, which was not that great, but a large room, with a fan. When, we put down our backpacks and I went to wash my face, I found that there was only brackish salt water running through the tap! Our first night was not so great. We wandered down the road, found the dive shop which was still open, and arranged to go diving the next morning, which was Glen's birthday.
When morning dawned (And believe me, you do wake up with the sun around here) we packed up our stuff and set off toward breakfast and the dive shop. On the way, we passed Corner Bungalows, which was one of the recommended places in Lonely Planet, the rooms turned out to be quite nice (with FRESH WATER), so we took a room, went back to our other place and grabbed our backpacks, and had everything taken care of before we had to be at the dive shop. Our room is a bamboo bungalow with a thatched roof, sarongs for curtains, lace mosquito nets over the bed (Which we haven't used as there are no mosquitos), and a fan. Also a large hardwood deck with bamboo chaise and a hammock. All for 150,00rupiah (about $17.00US).
Since then we have been diving everyday, meeting great people from all over, and eating our meals in the beach front restaurants. The restaurants all have little bamboo huts with floors raised off the sand, and thatched roofs, where you lounge on pillows, and eat from a low table while seated on the floor. Great for relaxing and watching the moon rise, or the evening lightning storms which have been lighting up the skies since our arrival! Service is terribly slow, but who cares!!!
The islands is flat, but very green, with beautiful cows & goats grazing by the 'roadside' (SAND PATH), and chickens everywhere.
Electricity is fairly iffy here, there isn't really enough to power the entire island at once, so there are rolling 'brown outs'. Luckily, we have been fortunate to have electricity in our room at night, so we have had a fan!
Most of the restaurants have a back-up generator. Cooking is largely on propane burners anyway, but refrigeration can be a bit sketchy!
Well, off to dinner!
Salamet Malam,
Carrie
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