Gili Trawangan and Gili Meno, Indonesia

After living the high life in Bali for the previous week and a half, we donned the backpacks again and set off for the much anticipated Gili islands off the Eastern coast of Bali. The budget mode of transportation to the Gilis includes a long journey of two buses, a cargo ferry and a single engine Jukung (a boat with traditional bamboo outriggers). On average this trip should take about 8 hours... for us, it took about 24 hours. The driver dropped us at the ferry terminal around lunch time on Tuesday, July 15th and we were immediately bombarded with tour agencies even though we wanted just a local ticket. After our pampered lifestyle of late, we weren't on our "backpacking" game and were pushed into buying an overpriced ticket for the ferry leaving 'RIGHT NOW'. Right now turned out to be 2 hours later and after we realized we were burned on the deal, Jacques confronted the local head on, resulting in a screaming match. They had us with the fine print of NO REFUNDS on the ticket. With nothing left to do, we boarded the ferry with our tails between our legs. We rushed to claim a limited seat and found some at the back of the ferry in direct sunlight. No one else wanted these scorching hot seats until a young Slovenian couple boarded the ferry last minute and joined us. Jacques noticed they had the same tour company ticket that we had and started a conversation with them regarding their deal. For the same price as our half way ticket, their tickets were for the entire journey to Gili Trawangan. We devised a plan to all travel together and changed our ticket to look like theirs.



After a long 5 hours on the hot and sticky ferry, we arrived in Lombar and were greeted as a group and driven another hour to Sengigi where we had to overnight. We were all very cautious of the tourist scams and tour agency but in the end they assisted us in finding overnight accommodation. We put our bags down and went for a much deserved beer and dinner with our new travel companions, Igor and Ana. We had a lot of laughs and enjoyed the outcome of the day's events after all. The next morning, after our pancake breakfast, the tour agency picked us up early and took our group on another bus ride to Bangsal where we were hassled again before finally boarding on the outrigger to Gili T! The water was crystal clear and we enjoyed the spray on our faces as we made the 45 minute ride to the small island. Gili Trawangan is one out of 3 islands and is the largest and most popular, however, it is still very small and without motorized vehicles. The small boat pulled up to the shore and we offloaded with all of our bags and waded in knee deep water. Luckily, we left the big packs back in Bali and we were each only carrying our day packs. Of course, the local business people were already on us like flies about hotels, but we all decided to head to the right to look for rooms. Hotel after hotel were expensive and often full and we tried not to be discouraged. We split from Igor and Ana briefly and walked further inland to the village in search of cheaper accommodation. In the end, we met a local and he took us to his home stay where we had a basic room with a bathroom including a pancake, coffee and fruit breakfast in the morning for $10 a night - PERFECT for us! We settled in and met up with our Slovenian friends for lunch. As it turned out, they found a place less than 50 meters from us. After lunch, we were all tired so we found a nice spot on the beach for a snooze in the sun.









Even though Gili T is a remote island, it is very much set up for the tourists with loads of restaurants and bars. We found a "cinema" which turned out to be our favorite spot for the next few days. The cinema was "free" as long as you spent at least $3 on food or drinks and had a big screen with bean bags or private cabanas with smaller TVs for a movie of your choice beach front. Our first night in Gili T, Jacques and I settled in for the main screening of the evening - "Into the Wild". It was so nice to sit back, relax and enjoy a movie with delicious popcorn and a beer. After the movie, we went to Igor and Ana's room for a party with the locals. The favorite Indonesian drink is called Arak and when mixed with various juices and lime, becomes something called an Arak Attack. The Arak was flowing and shared among locals and tourists alike. As the night went on, more and more locals joined and brought their musical instruments and we all sang late into the full moon lit night. Araaaaaaaaak Attackkkkkkkkattackkkkkkkkk.....





After a great night's sleep and good breakfast, we enjoyed some beach time before going for an afternoon dive to Halik, off the Northern Coast of Trawangan. Igor and Ana joined for an Intro dive, but we were diving with a certified group for a drift dive. Out at sea, our group rolled off the back of the boat and began our 43 minute dive. I had a hard time with my buoyancy and wasn't able to sink at first, but Jacques gave me a weight and off we went into the current. We dove to 23 meters and saw Sea Turtles and Moray Eels among many other colorful fish and coral. Unfortunately, the coral in this area is badly damaged due to dynamite fishing earlier in the century. At times, we would encounter areas that resembled a grave yard of coral. Very sad, but with time hopefully the coral will recover. After the dive, we hung at the dive shop with the instructors and truly felt like divers. Jacques and I went back to the cinema for a viewing of "Hancock" then had a quiet dinner in a cabana seaside.

The days following, consisted of very little - we woke, ate our banana pancakes, walked to the beach and soaked up the sun. As the nights would come in, so would our movie nights. We saw "Blackjack 21" and after the rugby game between South Africa and Australia, we watched "Sex and the City" as the trade off. Every night was spent with our $1 box of popcorn in the movie cabanas with the sounds of the lapping waves in the distance.







We were ready for a little more serenity and a quieter, less touristy islands so we took an island hopper boat to the island across the way, Gili Meno, the smallest of the Gilis. Upon landing Sunday morning, we set out on foot looking for a room. Meno had limited rooms, especially in our limited budget. The only place we could find at first was a bungalow set away from the water and they weren't as nice as the simple room we just came from in Gili T. We decided to walk the entire length of the island, which takes a little over an hour to circle. We walked in the hot sun along the west coast of the island and only saw old bankrupt hotels and then nothing for what seemed like miles. Finally, we approached an area of the island with three properties next to each other. We were told the first two were full and finally the third one showed us a second floor open air hut overlooking the water for only $6 per night!! We were so relieved and happy with the cute hut that we overlooked the fact it didn't have a door. We were told we could pay an extra $1 for a fresh water shower (which seemed luxurious compared to the cold salt water showers we had been living with at Gili T). SOLD! We settled in for the next four days... We tried the lunch at the restaurant where we were staying and that was our first and last meal we ate there after seeing the abundance of flies in the kitchen and the dirty dishes piled in the back yard. When it was time for our "fresh water" shower, we were surprised to be handed a bucket of water and sent into the outhouse to bathe. It was quite different and I just had to close my eyes and accept it!







To avoid the limited choices on the North side of the island, we walked 30 minutes into town for our dinner that night and then 30 minutes back. We walked along the moonlit path and under a sea of stars and were quite happy to be making the nightly trek into "town". We were looking forward to our first night of sleep listening to the waves come ashore right outside our hut. It didn't quite turn out as relaxing as we originally hoped. Before crawling into bed for the night, we spotted a cockroach darting across the pillow. Jacques quickly took care of him and then tucked us in under our mosquito net tightly and assured me we were safe and sound. In the middle of the night, we both woke up to mosquitoes buzzing in our ears and scratching our feet and hands - Jacques accidentally kicked open the net and let in a swarm to feast on our flesh. After killing as many as we could, we were back to sleep for a brief time before our enemy, the rooster, started alerting us it was 3am, then 3:05am, then 3:07am and soooooooooo on.......... Hmmmmm, this wasn't quite the paradise we envisioned when we stumbled across the open air hut earlier that day. Finally, morning came.

The following three days were spent doing EXACTLY the same thing and it was wonderful. We woke in the morning, usually after not so great of a night's sleep - after the mosquito night, the next few nights our hut became the bat hang out with bats flying in and out of our room and screeching over our heads in search of the mosquitoes that loved to hang out in our room as well. Once we were up, we walked 15 minutes up the coast to a lovely Muslim woman's house for a home made breakfast in a beach cabana. We were usually the only people there and changed our breakfast selection between banana, coconut and pineapple pancakes. One morning, we tried special coconut spring rolls - a must try! Every breakfast was delicious and well worth the long wait. While we waited for our meal, we sat in the cabana and read our books. When our full tummies finally felt up to it, we walked back to our hut to laze more in our dueling hammocks on the deck of our room overlooking the water (we LOVED our room when we weren't showering, eating or sleeping there)! The boats from the other islands would bring the snorkelers in for the day to our side of the island, as it was the best snorkeling - the Meno Wall. We watched the tourists unknowingly eat the overpriced and disgusting food prepared from the restaurant below. Once we found the energy again, we would get out of our hammocks and swim out for our snorkel of the day. Again, the coral was badly damaged but if we swam far enough, we could see the regrowth coming to life again. We were always in search of the turtles and finally on our last day we saw one (Jacques had seen his own "turdle snake" later that day further down the coast). After 45 minutes to an hour of snorkeling we would head directly for the hammocks again. One of us would usually pull the other out of the hammock and we would walk 30 minutes down the eastern side of the deserted island to a private spot to soak up some sun before lunch. Our breakfasts were so filling and good that we usually didn't walk to town for lunch until about 3pm where we would find ourselves in another ocean side cabana with our books again. After lunch settled, we completed the circle of the island and walked back to our hut for the bucket shower experience. One day, Jacques made another attempt at climbing a coconut tree along our route home and this time he was successful in knocking down three coconuts for us! Our location on the island wasn't only the best spot for snorkeling, it was also the sunset spot. We spent every evening in yet another cabana with our Bintang waiting for the sun to set in the horizon. After our relaxing sunset, we walked the 30 minutes back to town for a nice dinner of fresh grilled fish or pizza at the same restaurant we had lunch in. Our meal, of course, was enjoyed by candlelight in a cabana before our stroll back to the bat hut. Three days of pure relaxing and doing the same thing every day really flew by!

















We departed for the 8 hour journey back to Kuta on Thursday morning, July 24th. We were ready to go after 4 nights of bugs, bats, roosters and cats. We rose before sunrise and walked to the harbor in the town for our last breakfast of banana pancakes. We stopped along the way to take in the serenity of the sunrise over the water. We departed Gili Meno at 8am on another small boat back to the main island of Lombok to repeat the journey we had done the previous week and that had taken over two days. On the 4 hour ferry ride back to Bali, Jacques strung up his hammock and we took turns laying in it and swaying with the ferry. We took another bus ride back to Kuta where Thea picked us up and returned us to the sweet life with hot fresh water showers and a soft bed. We were so happy to be back. On Friday, we hit Kuta beach for a little more of the sunshine we have gotten so used to and our final shopping excursion. We went out with Thea and Hengky for Friday night fun to a wonderful Italian restaurant and then for drinks at a posh Bali bar. Ahhhhhhhhhhh... what a relief and how spoiled we have become! We stayed out late enjoying local cocktails, talking and even a little dancing the night away. Our backpacking days are closing in on us and we are looking forward to more of the 5 star life in the coming months. First, we have a week of backpacking in Thailand before heading to South Africa!









A special thanks to Thea and Hengky who took great care of these poor and tired backpackers!! Our final days in Indonesia, they continued to wine and dine us as we relaxed with their wonderful family. We look forward to the future dive trip to Kamodo Island!

Bali, Indonesia

Our first week in Indonesia was far from our back packing days! We arrived on Monday, July 7th, very fatigued from our long day of travel from Sydney. After an hour in a clustered visa line, we finally found my cousin, Thea, waiting for us at the airport. It was so wonderful to see her after many years! She drove us through the bustling streets of Bali in her SUV, overtaking the many scooters. We arrived at "Hut Sweet Hut", their endearing nickname for the appropriately titled house behind their internet cafe off a busy street, late in the evening and the rest of the family was fast asleep. We caught up poolside with Thea and hit the sheets.

We awoke early on Tuesday to meet Gregor and Gavin, 6 and 2 years old, and Thea's husband, Hengky. The nannies/house maids brought us our morning fruit and coffee poolside and we felt like true royalty as we planned the coming week's activities with Thea. Thea and Hengky took us to a true Indonesian lunch called "Steamboat", two pots cooked at the table with whatever vegetables and meat we wanted from the buffet. After stuffing ourselves, it was back to the hut for some veg time in the hammock. Jacques also had to pay up on his bet and shaved his mohawk that has been with us for months now. After the mohawk came off, we jumped in the pool with the kids for some swim time and exercise for Jacques by throwing the kids in the water. Dinner was once again served pool side and was a delicious meal of Indonesian food.








On Wednesday, we got into the dive course in preparation for the dive trip we had planned for the weekend at the north part of Bali. Thea is a dive instructor so one of our planned activities for the week was for me to complete the rigorous dive course and become certified. This was a big fear after my attempt in Australia! Jacques is already certified so he had lots of reading and hammock time in his future schedule while I prepped with videos, homework and pool practice with Thea. Of course, the morning was greeted with our coffee and fruit, again served pool side. We also had the wonderful blessing of having someone else do our laundry for us. We are truly living the high life at "Hut Sweet Hut Dotulong"! While I studied and Thea worked (she works from home teaching English online), Jacques and Hengky ran errands in the town, including getting our tanks ready for the practice dives in the afternoon. I watched three videos by the time we started our first skill session in the pool. Again, I struggled to gain confidence in the water and went into it with a racing heart and anxiety. We made it through the basics before calling quits for the day.

Thursday was a planned free day and we wanted to spend the afternoon in the tourist district of Kuta for some shopping and local flare. First, I had to get through pool skills between Thea's classes. Again, I went into it anxious but made it through! I was rewarded with my prepared breakfast of fruit and then again lunch before we hit the busy streets of Kuta. Everywhere you turned, there was a shop selling goods for so cheap and it was just a matter of bargaining to get them to a low price to compete with their neighbor. The people were constantly trying to get you into their shop and offer to "sell it to you cheap". We bought some goodies but mostly enjoyed walking the streets and taking in the hustle and bustle of the area. Thea picked us up in the late afternoon and we went to a family party at a villa outside of town. Hengky's cousin Evi was visiting from California with friends and stayed at a gorgeous and modern villa overlooking rice fields. The food spread was amazing!

On Friday, Thea and I did more of the (dreaded) pool skills for the dive course, but this time I conquered some fears and came out thinking I might actually enjoy diving! After the accomplished session we met the girls from the States at a Spa in Kuta for a three hour pamper session including a facial, massage, hair treatment, manicure and pedicure (all for $30)! Jacques opted out of the spa and went to the beach with Brent (from the States as well) for body surfing and sunning. We all met up after our afternoon of relaxation for a drink on the beach before racing off for dinner reservations with Thea and Hengky's dive group. Pork Knuckle night is a big get-together for the group and we were lucky to share in the fun!



Mimi, Hengky's mother, invited us to her mountain house in the rice fields of Jati Luwih on Saturday, so we were up and out of the house after breakfast for the hour drive (did I mention we had a DRIVER?!?!) We had Gregor and Gavin with us for the trip as well but dropped the kids at the hut before heading deeper into the mountains to visit an ancient Hindu temple. We had to rent sarongs in order to enter the sacred grounds (and luckily passed the other requirements of not being a mother whose children hadn't lost their first teeth yet or a mad person among others). After strolling the grounds, we headed back to Mimi's property with our lunch of vegetables and spices cooked in a banana leaf. We made the long trek down the rice field and over bamboo bridges to a small gazebo by a river and hot spring. We ate our lunch with our fingers and washed our hands in the passing river. Jacques decided he wanted some coconut for dessert and attempted to climb a coconut tree. The locals (our driver) decided to show him how it is done and climbed the towering palm tree barefoot and sent three coconuts to the ground. The coconuts burst upon hitting the bottom and we poured the milk into our mouths, letting it run down our faces and clothes. It was so refreshing after our spicy lunch! We were late for our afternoon activity and raced back to town to pick up Thea and Hengky and drive to the Southeastern side of Bali for horseback riding on the beach in Saba (a forever dream)! The stables were located on a black sand beach and the four of us saddled up for our two hour ride along the coast. We each had a guide matched to our skill set which was great as Jacques and I were anxious to gallop again. The ride was amazing not only for the galloping on the beach, but also to see all the locals sifting through sand looking for stones and carrying the heavy bags on their heads. The children would run and greet us as we strode by on our horses. After the dream ride on the beach, we accompanied Thea and Hengky to a house warming bbq party at a friend's house. There was food and drinks galore and the group of guests were so welcoming and friendly. A mix of Europeans and Indonesians (and of course us Americans/Africans) made for a great party! We couldn't stay too late as we were leaving early the next morning for the dive trip.

















We departed for Tulamben bright and early in order to complete two dives on Sunday. The drive up North took 2 1/2 hours, but of course the scenery and drive kept it interesting. Evi joined us in order to complete her certification course as well as Mario, newly certified from the week before. We arrived in Tulamben and after drooling over the 5 Star resort (the outdoor stone bathroom was our favorite feature), we set out for our first dive. As part of the certification course, the first dive doesn't require any demonstrative skills. They just let you dive with your instructor and fall in love with the world below. We were doing a shore dive and just walked right into the water. It was breathtakingly beautiful to see the coral and fish at great depths. The boys went in first and to deeper depths, but Jacques found us and we held hands on our first dive together. Back on land, Thea and I had some more pool skills to complete before lunch, which I passed with no fears. After a lunch ocean side, it was time for our second dive and the first ocean skills. The anxiety was back but I overcame my fears and we set out for our second true dive. We saw lots of beautiful fish like clown fish living in their coral houses (Nemo), blue & yellow ribbon eel, needle fish and even held a star fish! We were down for 40 minutes this time but never ran into the boys as they were diving much deeper depths. Back on land and feeling accomplished, Thea and I enjoyed an ocean side hour massage ($8 each) while Jacques went out snorkeling. He came in after spotting a white tipped shark! After a late dinner, it was time for bed as we had an early dive call in the morning - first dive out at 7am.



Up and at 'em and ready for Dive 3 on Monday morning. We geared up and walked along the rocky beach to a distant spot to dive USAT Liberty - a US cargo ship that was deserted on the beach then blown into the sea by a volcano and now is a great dive spot. Our tanks were carried down the beach for us by the local women who would stack two tanks on their head (using a towel for padding)!! While completing more skill tests, a school of huge parrot fish passed us by which calmed me and helped me to get through. Diving the ship wreck was like nothing either of us had ever seen before. We were still diving separately but both of us were amazed by the fish "city" that lived in this area as well as the coral that took over the ship in the sea. We dove to 23 meters for 40 minutes and I didn't want to come up but the air supply was running out. We had a three hour break before our next and my final certification dive. After a full breakfast and some time in the sun, we hired a boat to take us and drop us further in the sea. I overcame my fears once and for all and completed every task to certify! I was finally diving as a Certified Diver!!! We joined with the boys and Jacques and I celebrated under water! The boats picked us back up after we surfaced and took us back to the resort for a short break. Our final dive was as a complete group and so relaxing and fun! Jacques and I dove together both certified and official "Dive Buddies". It was so amazing! We saw a barracuda immediately upon submersion and further down, saw coral that looked like an artist's canvas. Hengky and Thea showed us their trick of opening their mouths and letting the cleaner shrimp enter to do their work before blowing them out and back to the coral. Truly amazing and funny! After a 40 minute dive, we surfaced and swam back to shore for a much deserved lunch and shower before the three hour drive back to the Hut. Our first week in Indonesia has been SO much fun and we were spoiled rotten by all the kindness of the Dotulongs. We set out today for more backpacking adventures as we head to the small islands off of Bali for some serious relaxation!

Australia - Sydney and Cairns

We arrived in Sydney around lunchtime on Tuesday, July 1st. We previously booked our hostel at Jolly Swagman's in the Kings Cross district and they provided us with an airport pick up. Upon check-in to our booked 6-bed dorm, we found that they were generous and put us into our own 3-bed dorm without another roommate. We were thrilled for this as we were coming back into backpack mode after staying with friends and family recently. We set out on foot to explore the new city and area. Kings Cross is a backpacker district and also can be a little rough around the edges with prostitutes and some sketchy looking people, but we loved the area and all the food and beer specials they had to offer. We roamed Kings Cross with our lunch of kebabs in hand, then found ourselves venturing out further to walk along the water near the naval base. Eventually, we rounded a corner and across the bay, the Sydney Opera house and Harbor Bridge came into view. What a site to see! We headed toward the famous spots and stopped along the way at the Botanical Gardens in the middle of the city. Here we saw several colorful birds and loud cockatoos and to our surprise, an abundance of bats hanging in the trees. They were everywhere! Flying bats during daylight?? Once through the botanical gardens, we found ourselves at the foot of the Opera House. We climbed the steps, making our way around the massive Sydney icon. It was very windy in Sydney but much warmer than the destinations we came from. We doubled back to where we came from for a sunset view of the Opera House and Harbor Bridge in the background. Time for beer and pizza night at the hostel - $3 bought us 2 slices of pizza and a warm Victoria Bitter. Not a bad deal! We went to O'Malleys for a $6 jug nightcap but practically fell asleep at the table. Time to head in for a good night's sleep.







On Wednesday morning, we woke early for a city tour, a true tourist/gaper experience of the "hop-on, hop-off double decker bus". We were tired with little time, so this was a great day for a quick overview of the city. We saw all the city hot spots and then caught a second bus out to Bondi Beach where we got off to explore. After taking a quick and windy walk on the beach, we stopped in a local seafood market for some fresh fish and chips - best ever! We boarded the bus again back to the city and intended on stopping at the IMAX theatre for a movie, but the movie we wanted to see wasn't out, so we walked back to Kings Cross for our last evening. We enjoyed a local special of steak, mash and salad for $10 and then back to O'Malleys for our last $6 jug of beer.





We woke in the morning for our flight up to Cairns. Three hours after departing Sydney, we landed in the tropics. It is high season and Australian holidays, so accommodations were somewhat hard to come by. We finally settled on a "resort" by name by hostel by accommodation. It was outside of the main city so we walked to town daily (but we needed the exercise). Our first day was spent as most first days are in any new city - exploring. We wandered the streets and planned out our next few days in Cairns. A travel agency gave us a great deal on an all day snorkel trip and also a local recommendation on where to see kangaroos. After a cheap dinner at Rhinobar (our dinner spot for the next 3 out of 4 nights in Cairns), we headed in for the night.

On Friday, we caught the local bus to Kewara Beach outside of Cairns to see the kangaroos and spend the afternoon at a quiet beach. Within minutes of getting off the bus on the side of the highway, Jacques spotted a group of kangaroos lounging under a tree in a field. We approached the roos and they immediately took notice of us and stood up to watch us watch them. After some time, they bounced away into the woods and we started our long walk to the beach. The afternoon was relaxing and quiet, the sounds of the water lapping on the beach and kids playing in the distance. We enjoyed a nice picnic lunch on the sand before walking back to the main road to catch the bus back to town. The kangaroos were awake now and could be seen in abundance along the main road. Back in town, we stayed in for movie night at the hostel and a home cooked meal. The movie of the night couldn't be more perfect for Australia - Crocodile Dundee I and II.







Saturday was spent poolside at the resort. There was a young rugby team staying in our hostel the previous days and causing such a noise and mess (including trying to get into our room at night) and they departed on Saturday, which made everything much more enjoyable. We played Uno by the pool with our hidden drinks (none allowed unless purchased through the resort) before going out again to watch rugby - South Africa vs. New Zealand. This was a highly anticipated game for Jacques and unfortunately South Africa lost. This also resulted in Jacques losing his mohawk because of a bet he made with Matthew in New Zealand.

We walked to the pier in the morning for an 8:30am departure on the Falla, an old timber sail boat that would take us out to the Great Barrier Reef for our day trip. I opted to add an intro dive to the day in addition to snorkeling. The weather over the outer reef was questionable so we headed toward Fitzroy Island and calmer waters. The trip out was very rocky and I was a little sea sick heading into my first dive experience. Once the boat was moored, I jumped in the water and the instructor deflated my jacket and took me under the boat for 3 exercises before the actual reef dive. In my nervous state, I started breathing too hard which made me panic and I scrambled to the surface. After about 15 minutes of this and struggling to complete the tasks, I finally made it and calmed down enough for the instructor to take me into the waters to see the beautiful coral below. She allowed me to touch some of the softer coral and before I knew it our time was up and we were back on the surface. I met up with Jacques to snorkel before a lunch on the beach. After lunch, I had to leave Jacques behind for awhile, as he wasn't quite ready for the cold waters again. Finally he joined me in the water as we snorkeled hand in hand enjoying the final breathtaking views of the Great Barrier Reef. Prior to getting back on the boat, we saw a stingray. The day was complete with a sunset sail back to Cairns.









We woke early again the following morning to grey skies and our sign that it was time to leave. We had to fly back to Sydney for a 4 hour layover before flying to Denpasar (Bali). In Sydney, we walked nearly an hour along the highway (due to the lack of Australian currency and needing the exercise) to connect from the Domestic Terminal to the International Terminal - a poorly planned airport with a poorly planned flight itinerary. Luckily, it was a beautiful day in Sydney and we enjoyed the walk. Glad to be off to Bali for more beautiful weather!