I'M 8 HOURS AHEAD

Gili islands are my new definition of Paradise, and my new destination on the top of the MUST VISIT AGAIN list.

One day and a half in Gili Trawangan wasn’t definitely enough time.

There are three of them, Gili Trawangan, the one we stayed and more touristic, Gili Air and Gili Meno.

You can see the other island coast from the beach. Gili Trawangan is also where the majority of hostels, hotels and diving tours are located, and the party.

Gili Trawangan for one day: what to do

We arrived there after two hours on a fast ferry from Bali. After finding a hostel and checking in we hit the beach.

All the beaches have little fishermen boats anchored near them, and lots of dead coral in amazing shapes in the sand. The coral is protected and you cannot take any piece with you.

We enjoyed a really good meal for 4$ in a cool restaurant by the sand, and then it started to pour rain. Like 5 hours of heavy rain.

The island was covered in 20 cm of water when we were able to go out again. We were basically walking barefoot because there was no point in walking with flip-flops.

That night we drank at the hostel (2dollar cigarettes, 2.5 dollar beer and 3.5 dollars the big beer, 2 dollars shots and 4 dollar spirits) with everyone that we met, and we went to Jungle Bar.

The next day we woke up at 6:30 to rent bicycles and bike around the island. It takes you 1 hour and 15 minutes approximately, and you can stop and take pictures.

There are three places where the path is so sandy that the bicycle can’t run, so we had to walk with them, but it was worth it. Exploring early in the morning gave us the chance to see the whole island before it got too hot or crowded.

While waiting for the ferry, both in Bali and Gili, I met this Indonesian man living in the Netherlands. He explained to me the meaning of Jam Karet. Means elastic time in Indonesian, and they used it a lot every time they have to wait for something. We had to wait almost 3 hours at the beach to get the ferry back to Bali. They think “it’s time well invested, not wasted”.

What else would you do if you had one day to spend in Gili Trawangan?