In Reply to: Just back from an amazing time! posted by Debbie on Thursday, 19. August 1999 at 07:59 Bali Time:
Great report, Debbie! Sounds like you had a terrific time.
I've spent time on the Gilis during the past two Januaries, first with my brother and then alone. For any other women out there considering travelling to Lombok alone, I'd encourage you to take the plunge and get yourself to Gili Trawangan.
If you take a package trip direct to the island from the airport or main harbour on Lombok, it will be more expensive than attempting each section of the journey on your own, but it's worth it for the security of being with a group. Or you can be crazily adventurous (foolhardy?) like myself and travel alone from Jakarta (Java) to Gili Trawangan (and back) by train, bus and ferry... A 42 hour journey that I don't recommend, except if it's all you can afford. If anyone wants to know anything about making a similar trip, please ask.
Anyhow, a lone traveller to Gili Trawangan will no doubt cease to be 'alone' in the friendly atmosphere of this small island. You will probably find it easy to make friends with other tourists - everyone's in happy holiday mode and in fairly close proximity - and the locals are also friendly and love to talk. There's plenty to do on Gili Trawangan (in a laid-back kind of way!), you can sit and read on the beach, swim, check out the tourist market, watch tele-movies over dinner and have a boogie til 2am at one of the nightly parties.
If you prefer a quieter atmosphere and better snorkling, stay on Gili Air instead. It's beautiful too, but the one drawback is that there is no electricity after 11pm. But who wants to stay up late after a hard day's swimming and sunbathing?
Debbie, I was wondering if you got to know any of the locals on Gili Trawangan? I know there is a fairly high turnover rate of young guys working in the Dive shops and restaurants, but I wonder if you met anyone I knew! If you, Debbie, or any other recent travellers to Gili Trawangan have any island gossip, please spill the beans...
I love reading this site to hear what's going on in one of my favourite places!