Up early and ready for a coffee. Lina kitchen is not open for a while, so I am sitting at the Hotel over looking the beach and on the right is a little shack/hut and the old guy in there is selling coffee to the locals.
So that's the place for me. 3K for a ‘Lombok Kopi' I made the mistake of asking for a ‘Bali Kopi' and he curtly corrected me.
After another kopi it was breakfast time at the Lina.
Already packed and ready to get the boat to Gili Trawangan. The boat picks people up at 11am on the beach in front of where we are having brekky. As it turns out it is about 45 minutes after that we leave. So had a good vantage point and didn't have to leave the accommodation early as a few impatient and irate passengers mentioned to the Perama people. No hassle for us, just sit back and chill.
It took 1 and bit hours to get to Gili T. and it was smooth all the way. The boat was only about 7m long with a rigid canopy over to keep off sun and rain. Would not relish the trip in rough/wind weather. I don't travel well in those conditions.
By the time we got off at Gili T. it was a mad dash for a slash. With that out of the way we wandered up the road to look to Trawangan Cottages. Recommended by my friend that gave us the Lina info.
We find it after a while only to discover it no longer operates.
Never mind a beer will help. It is stinking hot and spy a pool at the front of the Beach House accommodation. The price per room was a bit high at 440k per night but as we were only staying 3 nights and the Lina had us well under budget we took in.
Chuck the bags in and have a dip and off to the bar.
Walked along the main road next to the beach. Good eats and coldies all the way along. Everyone was genuinely friendly and the whole place had a good vibe. We were definitely going to enjoy this place.
Well ate drank and relaxed for the next 3 nights, which was exactly to plan and the itinerary we had in our heads.
Highlights.
Friend staff and local people at all places we went to.
Beers all come out of freezers, so well set up for tourists.
Sama Sama bar and bungalows had a fantastic reggae band/singer, if you shut your eyes you would swear it was Bob Marley singing. The accent and intonations of the words were spot on.
Story:
Having a swim at the southern end of the Island and spot an old pair of crocs just lying on the beach. One shoe was held together with a white piece of wire.
So we get the shoes and scrape the sand into a long mound like the top of grave and stick the shoes straight up half buried in the mound at on end and form a cross from drift wood and string and stick it in the other end. Looks like a grave and we write ‘Surf Widow' on the top of the mound.
Well we thought it was funny and tickled our sick sense of humour.
Back up the beach to the beach House bar for a beer and food.
We spy this surfer walking along the road with a pair of crocs on held together with a white piece of wire.
Nice shoes mate yells I, he looks at us us puzzled for a second and laughs.
‘So it was you guys, very funny, but I had some money buried in the sand under one of the shoes and dug up half the beach to find it'
Low light
Got Trawangan Tummy ...... not Bali Belly. Same though.
Only lasted a night but missed out on last night party. Crook as a dog with the squirts.
Boat trip back, you guested it, rough as ... there was a lady hanging out the back of the boat spewing her ring up, then it was being washed back over her. I sat there and started at the horizon for an hour and a half and was covered in sweat with the concentration by the time we got to Benoa.
The boat trip cost 550k one way, this was a special price from a guy we befriended. This was the fast boat and included Transfer from Benoa to Champlung Mas in Legian.
We are going back to Gili T for a week in June and will be going by this boat again as it takes you straight there and no time wasted with flying to Lombak and getting to Gili T from Bansal or wherever. And definitely not a slow boat from Padang Bai.
Get to Champlung and we book in for 2 nights extra, this takes us up to our last 2 nights that were part of out original booking. 300K between us per night.
I am over Trawangan Tummy and so down to Posers for food and Margaritas.
Checked on the t-shirt progress, Honest John had a sample for me to look at, not very good quality but OK. In the end the T's were costing 60k each with printing both sides. So no point in complaining too much.
That night we ate at an Indian Restaurant on Eats Street in Seminyak - Queens Tandor??????
Have eaten there on other trips and find it very good and authentic flavours.
Back to Posers and had a beer then a Margarita for the Road, 4 more roadies and it was closing time. Got a lift back on bikes to Champlung. Night cap and bed.
Cheers,
Ray