The Gili Diaries

February 6, 2024

Today was a good day. I got to the Gili Islands with relatively little chaos. Of course I felt seasick on the ferry over. I thought the waters were rough, but the captain said when we docked he was happy with the smooth ride so I’d hate to see what waters he considers choppy. I’ve heard mixed reviews about the horse and carriages and after seeing the horses rib cages protruding through their skin, I decided to make the 45 minute walk over to my hostel. When I walked up, I was greeted with the nicest staff. I’m glad I stopped at the ATM on my walk because I totally forgot I had to pay the rest of my balance in cash, almost 1,000,000Rp. I settled in, took a shower, and lay down for an hour. 

After my Godforsaken hostel in Canggu, I was very happy to see the beds they have here. Who knew I’d be grateful to have a bed more than 1 foot off the ground one day? I guess traveling makes you appreciate the little things. I can’t wait to go back to America and drink water directly from the tap. I can’t wait for restaurants to give me ice without me having to ask for it. Until then I will enjoy the things Indonesia can give me that the US can’t. For example: Magic Mushroom Milkshakes for less than $15. Not on my first night though, maybe another day. 

At 7pm, I heard the music going. Even for a seasoned hostel vet like myself, it is always nerve wracking at your first night in a new hostel. You don’t know who knows who or anything about anyone. No one knows anything about you. I was a little too anxious to join the party at first, so I sat up by the pool on my phone. I would occasionally glance up to look around and take stock in who’s who. After about 20 minutes, I knew I couldn’t keep doing that. There’s only one way to meet people and it’s to use that dreaded sentence: “Can I join you?”

10/10 times this has worked for me. Travelers are typically really welcoming and I know that my anxiety just gets the best of me sometimes. I decided to sit at the end of the table and ask the two girls to my right if I could join them for a drink. Before I even had a chance to say anything, they said, “Hey! Would you like to join us?”

Perfect.

They were from Norway and so very nice. They wanted to go out that night. Now, I haven’t been to a proper nightclub since Puerto Rico, but I don’t know why I steer away from them. I don’t hate it, I don’t love it, but if it’s how you make friends then so be it. So off we went on our bikes down the road to Tequila Sunrise. The drinks were so cheap I couldn’t believe it. They played very American music. If I closed my eyes I would think I was on Ocean Blvd in Miami. Empire State of Mind came on and I got a twinge of homesickness. Not two minutes later, a British boy came up to me and asked me if I was Canadian, to which I corrected him. I don’t understand why everyone automatically assumes Canadian before American. He told me he was trying to kiss at least 10 different nationalities so of course I obliged. His breath smelled bad. I regret helping him on his quest. 

When we decided it was time to go, it started pouring out of the heavens. We were drunk, it was dark, and the visibility was awful. We also decided to take the shortcut through the middle of the island. Note to self: just take the long way round. Nothing wrong with taking the beaten path. My white pants were ruined. It was the longest bike ride of my life. Pitch black darkness coupled with puddles the US would classify as lakes. A fun night though x 

February 7, 2024

Hm. I remember why I don’t go out much. It’s the feeling of waking in the morning with a cotton mouth and nausea. Never really a headache besides that one time I drank an entire bottle of Sauvignon Blanc by myself. I was going to try to make it to the sunrise today. I try to make it to the sunrise everyday, but I seldom do. I’ve heard the sunrises are incredible here though, so I must make an effort on a morning that I don’t feel as though death itself is calling me home. 

The other girls must not have felt as garbage-like as I did, because they wanted to go snorkeling. I thought, “what’s the harm?” May as well do something with today. So off I went down the road. Upon realizing I didn’t actually have any snorkel gear, I decided to purchase some instead of renting. I hate renting things when I could just use that money plus a little more money and just own it! And I’m so glad I did because we saw a huge sea turtle in the water. I suppose that’s why they call it turtle beach. 

Later on we got some Mexican dinner at a little place off of that short cut road. Honestly, I hadn’t had Mexican food in a while, not since I left Mexico, so it was a nice change from all the hundreds of acai bowls I had been eating recently. We wanted to do the movie night in the open air, but one of the girls found the air to be too thick for her asthmatic lungs so we called it a night. 

February 8, 2024

Well, when you buy snorkel gear, there’s really only one thing to do- use it! I rented a bike for another few days and drove back to turtle beach with hopes to see my old friend. The Norwegian girls were checking out that morning so I went on my own, lo and behold I found my sea turtle friend! Well to be honest, I odn’t know if he was the same sea turtle, but I did see a huge one in the water. I never get too close, I’m scared they’ll snap and bite me, even though I know the likelihood of that happening is slim to none. 

No matter how many showers I take in Indonesia, I just never seem to feel clean. The moment the cool water stops showering you, you start to sweat. My hair never ever feels clean, just stringy and dry from the water. I keep saying I’m going to start washing my hair with bottled water and I think I really have to start. 

Later on, I went to dinner at The Exile with a Swedish girl I had met through the Norwegian girls at breakfast that morning. The food was good, but it took forever! Also I ordered an apple juice and it was not apple juice. I mean, I suppose it was, but not what I was looking for. I think they just blended a peeled apple with plain water. There were chunks of apple in it, and it tasted more like apple water than apple juice. So, I ordered and chugged a beer instead. Good choice. 

February 9, 2024

I had breakfast at Hello Capitano this morning. I actually got a lot of work done, too. The coffee was fine but the food was to die for, so SO good. I had peanut butter stuffed French toast. I mean doesn’t that just sound really good? I couldn’t spend my entire day in a cafe though, not when the weather was so good outside. I took my snorkel to the east side and I was not disappointed. The water was SO clear! There were so many fish, no turtles though. Probably for the best with the amount of boats on the East side. I think next time I head to Gili T, I will stay in a hostel on the East side. It’s where everything is, there’s not a ton to do on the West.

February 12, 2024

I didn’t do much the last two days, just meandering between cafes and using my snorkel. I decided to go on a snorkel tour today. It was only $12, so my expectations were quite low. The beginning was insane. I would’ve drowned or panicked if I didn’t have a life jacket on. The waves were waving and though the tour operator said there would be a maximum of 15 people on the trip, there were actually 34 people. The underwater statues were in complete chaos. Everyone was gunning for a photo and people were literally kicking others in the face with their fins. It was insane. Later on, things calmed down because everyone wasn’t pushing to be in the same spot all at once. 

We saw some turtles and coral reefs before stopping for lunch in Gili Air. Lunch was good, I got my usual Nasi Goreng Ayam. It was a little cafe, so I found it odd that they bounced back and forth between extreme club music and Ed Sheeran. 

We went on to Gili Meno where we went to a turtle sanctuary. There were so many baby turtles, I would’ve paid $12 for this alone. We had a very rough ride back to the shore, the water was completely splashing into the boat. I should’ve felt seasick, I don't know why I didn’t. We were being thrown around the place. Other passengers didn’t have as much anti-seasickness luck as I had. I’m a very lucky girl.

February 13, 2024

Yes of course, I started my day cafe hopping, but I decided to do something big today. I wanted to get my first ever massage. It was amazing. I got a manicure too, so I decided to go with blue. I thought it would go nicely with some snorkeling pictures. Though I don’t think I’ll be snorkeling again before I leave Gili T as my ass and my back are all thoroughly burned by the sun from yesterday’s outing! I could feel it as she was massaging me and my skin was on fire. Lo and behold I got a burn yesterday! Who knew?

February 14, 2024

My friend and I did a spa day today. We actually met one of the owners of My Mate’s Place, the hostel my friend was staying at. He had some choice words for the Farm, the hostel my friend and I met at, the hostel that I quit working at after 1 night because of how poorly I was treated. They completely need to redo their World packers situation. Anyway, we got into the sauna and I felt so detoxed. I really felt like I was sweating it all out. Then came the ice bath. The first one was less than 2 seconds, the second one was less than 8 seconds. The 3rd one was 3 minutes, and the 4th 11 minutes and 11 seconds. I feel very proud of myself for lasting that long. Then we jumped in the magnesium pool and got some food at the Irish Bar down the road. It was such good food. We said our goodbyes and then it was time for me to cycle back to Mad Monkey and get myself together for the ferry tomorrow. I’m excited for Thailand but I cannot wait to come back to Gili T one day.