Greetings friends and family. We are pleased to report that we continue to be having an amazing time on our travels. We are currently in very cool little spot in Indonesia called the Gili Islands. Time goes by fast, and it’s hard to believe that we are now about 10 weeks into our trip. We have already done so many amazing things and have so many things and places on our wish list before we finish, so we have been feeling truly lucky to have this opportunity. In keeping with our journal format, I will recount the events since the last post in chronological order.
At last blog, Kim was typing from our flight to Perth aboard Jetstar Airways. Perth is the biggest city in Western Australia and is all the way down near the bottom of the country, so we were again reminded of the vastness of the Australia during our five hour flight from the northeast to the southwest. It was incredibly hot there (about 38 c), but it was dry heat and actually felt cooler than the Tropical north of Queensland (Eastern Oz). We had a nice few days in Perth and found the city to be nice, clean, and very ‘chic’. It seemed the main attraction of Perth was the shopping in the numerous pedestrian malls around the city. The city was incredibly sprawled out, and did not feel crowded at all. In fact at times it seemed deserted in many parts of the city centre…..it was kind of weird actually. It seemed to be quite a wealthy city, and good thing for them, because wow it was expensive for us. Now being in Indonesia on the beginning of our time in Southeast Asia, we are very appreciative of having our dollar go a little further. Australia cleaned us out! It was insanely expensive to buy food and other items, and accommodations were quite dear. Australia was also the last of our ‘familiar’ destinations for a while, with the bulk of the remaining places we will travel being far more ‘exotic’ which we are excited about, but we did take the opportunity to stock up on all the little necessities that may be hard to come by in more remote places. We also took in some of the sights of Perth and tried to find some museums showcasing Aboriginal Art, but were unsuccessful after our journey down to the University of Western Australia, which had closed the museum. Here are a few photos of our time in Perth.
Government House, just one of the many nice buildings around the city….
Ye olde London Court, a pedestrian street that is a mockup of an old time London street. You can see that Christmas is a big deal in Australia as well, with holiday shopping seemingly in full force…
Murray St. Mall, one of the many pedestrian malls….
Just havin’ some fun…..
After a nice few days in Perth, and getting what perspective we could on life in Western Australia, we were very excited to begin our more ‘unfamiliar’ travel to Southeast Asia (SEA). I’m not sure if Indonesia technically qualifies as SEA, but that’s okay. Indonesia is a large collection of Islands north of Australia. We were hoping to visit a number of them, but due to recent volcanic activity and some travel advisories about perceived threats of terrorism in the muslim-concentrated islands, we decided to limit our visit to the small island of Bali, with a side trip to Gili Trawangan off of Lombok. We started off in Bali, and as we were excited to have our money go further, we decided to indulge a bit in a series of massage treatments as our Ramada hotel. We booked a package including daily massages and we really enjoyed the pampering. I know what you’re thinking, we lead a rough life! We also had a banquet dinner and a show of traditional Balinese music and dance. The dancing was pretty neat, and they even encouraged us to participate, which we reluctantly tried. The most intriguing thing for me is the way the ladies move their eyes…..very neat. And them men wear pretty creepy masks with the crazy eyes….it makes for an entertaining show. Some photos for your understanding…….
The colorful costumes……
Crazy eyes…..
Shocking
We give it a go….
A look at our digs in Bali at the Ramada Benoa. We told them we were on honeymoon and they put us in a sweet room and did it all up for us…..nice touch!
The umbrella covers what is an offering to the Hindu gods….each day they would burn incense and put some crackers and rice and stuff in a little packet near the umbrellas and could be found everywhere – out front of stores, houses and even on car dashboards.
We were right across from the beach, and found the atmosphere similar to our experiences in the Caribbean around resorts, but it was also noticeably different, feeling Asian.
One of the vendors, a heavy load in all that heat……….
There was TONS of people parasailing. It was amazing how the many boat drivers were able to prevent getting all tied up with other boats…..
Apart from the pampering, we also took the time to explore Kuta, one of the the main tourist destinations in Bali, and a very popular surf beach. We were very surprised to learn also, through the magic of Facebook and status updates, that Erin, an old skating buddy of Kim’s, and someone I went to school with, was also in Bali with her husband Mark, so we made sure to meet up with them before they had to head back to their current home in Dubai. We were impressed with the coincidence, and we were really glad we got to see them, as we had a great day in Kuta together. Mark was determined to try some surfing, and he did quite well catching a few waves and also inspired Kim and Erin to give it a go. Amazingly, in only a short time, both of them were able to catch a short ride. I opted not to try this time as I’m not sure I’m cut out for it, but they sure made it look fun, so maybe next time. The upside of my not participating was that I got to take some photographs of their attempts. Check it out…..
Kim, Erin, and Mark getting outfitted from one of the many people at Kuta Beach renting boards to tourists. He had nice beginner boards that were larger and softer and apparently a easier for learning……
She was up…..but not for long and unsure how to fall once the ride was over…
Clearly having fun…..
And someone who has graduated to a regular board showing us all how its done….
Kim and Erin at the Hard Rock after their surfing accomplishment….
After exhausting themselves surfing and my melting in the sun taking photos, we headed out to the Hard Rock Hotel to check out their pool to rinse off before finding a place to eat. The surfing crew got to rinse off and we headed out for a nice meal of traditional Indonesian dishes. Kim and I had a tight schedule to keep, as we needed to get back for our daily massage! So we said goodbye to our friends and headed back. It was so nice to see someone from home and to meet her husband for the first time. Bali has been a nice introduction to travel in the more exotic locales, as although foreign, it really caters to Australians and English is widely understood. We really like the vibe of the place so far, and can see why so many expats have taken up residence here.
As I mentioned earlier, we are currently in the Gili Islands, a group of three pretty tiny island off the northwest coast of Lombok. The Gilis are famous for great diving with an abundance of Sea Turtles. It is a strange and beautiful little place. There are no police on the islands, and problems are instead handled by a council of elders. The lack of police makes for a very unique set of standards and codes of conduct, as the law is nowhere to be found. The restaurants and bars do not charge tax, vendors walk around selling bootleg DVDs, and it is quite easy for a person to find a collection of psychoactive substances at a moments notice, and the vibe of the place in general feels as though most inhabitants do choose to imbibe on a fairly regular basis. This particular island (Gili Trawangan) is known as the ‘party island’ of the Gilis and for us it lived up to its reputation, as we didn't get to bed until sunrise last night after a long night of dancing and fun with some friends we met here on the island. This is the type of place where you don't find the ‘tour bus’ crowd, and it attracts a lot of alternative and interesting travelers. Its actually quite refreshing to find a place so different and it all makes for a very relaxed atmosphere where we have felt very comfortable. We like it so much that we extended our stay here by an extra night tonight instead of heading back to Bali for the next instalment of our Bali explorations. We hope to get to Ubud, the cultural center of Bali, and also to see some temples and expect to be harassed by monkeys while we do that. So should be fun. We have not been overly good at getting photos here on Gili, and actually suffered a bit of a tragedy with our smaller camera when we took it snorkelling with us trying to find the turtles. It seems that since our last use the water[roof bag we use to bring it underwater got a hole in it, and the camera got wet, and is still yet to be functioning. We are holding out hope but it looks like we lost a camera
. Here are a few photos of our time in Gili. After taking the BlueWater Express ferry service from southern Bali, we arrived at Gili T after a two hour trip. There are no motorized vehicles on the islands, so pony carts are the taxis. This was our ride to our accommodations…
We’ve arrived….heaven on earth at Scallywag’s! We were so lucky to have been tipped off about this place from our friend Heidi, who we met in Fiji and visited in Sydney. Her advice was good, and Scallywags did not disappoint….
We immediately loved the vibe of the place, and within hours of arrival we had already extended our stay….
We were amazed at the value. For about 1/3 of what we paid for a basic room in Perth, we got his fantastic mini Villa complete with outdoor shower and bathroom. It was fantastic!
Nice pool of course too…..
Satisfaction @ Scallywags!
But of course we didn’t just stay at the hotel all the time, even though it was comfortable enough to do that. We toured the island on foot, which can be done in less than two hours. Some photos of our travels…
One of the many stores and bars openly soliciting psychedelics…..
And that’s got you up to date. We always love to hear from our friends and family to hear what you are up to as well, so don’t be a stranger and drop us an e-mail or leave a comment, we love to know who is reading. Best wishes to all.
The Knotty Travellers, content and comfortable in Gili Trawngan!
Cheers,
The Knotty Travellers
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