We got up at 6am to catch a boat to the Gili Islands in Lombok. (Lombok is the island east of Bali in Indonesia).
It was a 2 hour boat ride (via Lombok) to get to Gili Trawangan- an Island just off Lombok’s northwest coast. We had booked a villa on Gili Meno- an island less than a kilometer away from where we were, but the public boats only left twice a day, so we had to wait on Gili Trawangan until 4pm.
We spent some time on the beach and swimming in the relatively CLEAN ocean (compared to Kuta)!
After our swim, we went to a little café for some snacks and some bintangs while we relaxed in a beruga. 
While we were there, the police were searching for marijuana and heroin on the island with dogs! I was glad we didn’t have to worry- especially since they were carrying machine guns. Apparently they arrested 28 people on the Gili Islands that day.While we were waiting for the boat to leave (and sitting in the berugas) there was the HUGEST thunderstorm I have EVER seen. It felt like lightening was hitting our little beruga! I was pretty scared and we got soaking wet.
Eventually we made it over to Gili Meno and checked into our beautiful villa (at Villa Nautilus) overlooking the ocean. They were huge split level villas with air conditioning and private outdoor bathrooms and patios.
There was no TV and not much to do on the island, so it really felt like we were at the cottage. We were so tired from our day (and I was starting to feel a little under the weather), so we played one game of chess and headed to bed at 7pm (just after dark) with no dinner!Day 9- Saturday, March 22
We woke up pretty early (even after about 12 hours sleep) and had breakfast beside the beach.
We did some snorkeling (which was ok, but not nearly as good as Fiji was) and some swimming on the ocean and then relaxed on the beach for a while.
I got a one-hour massage for $5 on the beach too! I kept trying to get Brent to have a massage, but I don’t think he thought it was ‘manly’ enough. He he he. 
In the afternoon we had some pizza for an early dinner and walked around the northern part of the little island we were on. That night we went to bed around 8pm and I was really starting not to feel very well. :(Day 10- Sunday, March 23
Easter Sunday: I woke up feeling VERY sick. Luckily, I didn’t have a fever with my cold- but pretty much had everything else. When I went for a shower in the morning, Brent hid Easter eggs around the villa for me and I got to go on a hunt before breakfast.
He he he. It was pretty funny.We had breakfast by the beach again and went scuba diving at 11am. It was a nice dive, but again, not quite as good as Fiji.
We did see some lionfish and scorpionfish (some of the most poisonous fish in the ocean),
as well as some clownfish, angel fish, an Indonesian prawn, a moray eel and some nudibranches. My ear was bothering me (since my sinuses were plugged and I was having trouble equalizing), but I made it to the end of the dive ok. We decided not to go on another dive- even though they only cost $35 each!!! (the cheapest diving anywhere in the world)!
We spent some time on the beach in the afternoon, but the vendors on the island trying to sell us stuff were getting so annoying that we decided to retreat to our room for the rest of the day. We did come out for a nice dinner by the ocean before bed tho!Day 11- Monday, March 24
I was getting sicker! :( but still no fever :).We got up early again and had another great breakfast beside the ocean. Afterwards, we headed for a mini-hike across the island to an abandoned resort where they said there was some good snorkeling around an old pier. The walk across the island was really interesting tho! There are about 300 Indonesians living on Gili Meno permanently, so we walked through their village, past their school, through their rice fields and past their cows and chickens.
We got a little lost, but eventually found our way to the abandoned ‘Bounty’ resort.
The snorkeling ended up being pretty awful and the ocean on that side of the island was full of jellyfish- so I didn’t last long. Brent had to chase me back to shore after I spotted a few!
We walked back to our villa along the coast, but when we made it back I really wasn’t feeling well, so I spent the afternoon in bed. 
It was raining again- but in the late afternoon, we made a last minute decision to go deep sea fishing (since it was our last day on the island). It ended up being a great idea, despite the fact that I was feeling pretty awful and Brent ALMOST got sea sick again.There ended up being a lot of garbage in the ocean, (even out there!), so I think after snagging a few pieces Brent was getting a little discouraged. Luckily, about an hour into the trip, Brent caught us a barracuda (along with some more garbage). He was pretty happy about it!!
And he was even happier when they told us that we could keep the fish and that they would cook it for us for dinner that night!
I have to admit- it was a very yummy fish!Day 12- Tuesday, March 25
I was still sick, but we had to get up early to catch a boat back to Gili Trawangan at 8am. We had a few hours to kill before heading back to Bali, so we took a horse-drawn carriage tour around the bigger island for an hour (for about $4)!
The trip back to Bali was a little painful because of the fumes in the cabin of the boat and because we were stuck in a small area with 2 extremely drunk, Balinese hippies (who were about 50 years old). When we got back to Bali, we went straight to a hotel in Kuta, which we had arranged through a Balinese travel agent that we met in Legian the first week. The hotel ended up being awful- the service was brutal, the rooms were dirty, and there was loud jack-hammer sounds coming from every direction. We decided to cancel our reservation there- and we ended up booking a room at the Hard Rock Hotel Bali for our last 4 nights.I was feeling like I needed some North American food after being on the island for 4 days, so I dragged Brent to Pizza hut that night for dinner. :(
It was JUST perfect and I was so happy to be there. The pool was the largest in all of Bali and it was just amazing.
The hotel was also right across from the beach, which was very handy for Brent and his bodysurfing.
We spent the afternoon around the pool and on the beach and had a really nice dinner at an Indonesian restaurant called Made’s down the street from our hotel.
It was pretty fun, but no Wild Water Kingdom. We went around the lazy river about 10 times and went down tons of slides.
On our way home we did a bit of shopping and Brent bought me a few early birthday presents! :) We went for a quick bodysurf before dinner- but I didn’t last very long because of all the garbage in the water. It was like swimming in a garbage dump full of water!!!
That night we had a beautiful dinner at a really nice and busy Italian restaurant along the Kuta strip.
It turns out it would have been a really good place for us to go tho! The water was clean and there was an area where there was a beach break where lots of people were surfing. It looked like so much fun and we were wishing we had spent the whole day there instead!
For dinner, our driver took us to Jimbaran Bay- the area where all the nicest and fanciest hotels in Bali are (Four Seasons, Intercontinental, etc.). At night, the entire beach is set up with tables and you can get fresh seafood weighed and cooked for you- while you sit at tables on the beach. We tried getting a lobster for dinner- but after finding out that it was $75 USD, we decided to stick with sea prawns and mussels. It was absolutely amazing tho- and we both loved it!
In the evening we did some last minute shopping and bought 100 DVDs for 60 cents each!! We just couldn’t help ourselves. I’ve had to hide most of them in my apartment so that I won’t be tempted to watch them! I also bought about 5 summer dresses for $2 each!!
That night we walked by the bombing memorial from 2002- which was pretty interesting, but very sad. For our last dinner we went back to Made’s- the nice little Indonesian restaurant close to our hotel. Our dinner that night (2 beers, 2 bottles of water, and 2 meals) cost about $11.
After he left, I spent the rest of the day around the hotel by myself and did a little reading. The staff kept asking me where my ‘friend’ was, which didn’t exactly make me feel better- but they obviously didn’t know.
My flight was delayed and didn’t end up leaving until after midnight that night. I got back to Sydney the next morning just in time for class.
Tyler Simpson, another beach lifeguard, was in Sydney for about 6 days and he and a friend stayed with me for 3 or 4 nights while they were here. I saw quite a bit of them and even managed to get to the beach with them one day.
This past weekend I went to the Sydney Wine Festival in Hyde Park with a few girlfriends from my class. Lots of food, good wine and music. :)
Anyway, I guess I should run, but I will write again when I’m back in Sydney. I hope everyone has a Happy Easter! Miss you!
