Gili Islands

No luck on the major internal ferries out of Labuan Bajo, most of which are cancelled or delayed until the end of February. We caught a short hop flight from Labuan Bajo to Denpasar, Bali, and made a run for Padangbai to catch the last fastboat to the Gili Islands. We missed the ferry by about 35 mins, which means that it was the only ferry in Indonesia to depart on time. Sad to have missed out on a piece of history.

A languid afternoon in Padangbai for Chelsea’s birthday ensued, and we jumped on the 9.30am to the Gilis the next morning. Lots of hungover Brits and Aussies passing round Red Bulls and packets of Imodium, getting off at Gili Trawangan (the party Gili). We’re in ‘easy Indo’ now, where the tourism infrastructure is good enough that a 21-year-old with a surfboard and a runny tummy can get where they’re going. Touch wood, we’ve yet to acquire Bali belly – feeling both smug and a little cheated.

We were the only people from our fastboat to alight on Gili Meno, and soon discovered why: it is blissfully quiet (excepting the omnipresent call to prayer). Meno is the 'relaxed Gili'. Three nights in a gorgeous bungalow, on a paradise island. The water is bright, perfect blue, thanks to the white coral which surrounds the island.

This was, however, the stop where the wet season finally caught up to us. After promising weather on arrival, high winds and driving rain quickly confined us to covered areas the majority of the three days. The stop ended up being mostly about reading, writing, relaxing and rain-watching.

Our limited activities included: Chelsea walking the 1.5hr island perimeter, Chelsea snorkeling, Chelsea visiting the turtle sanctuary for 5-day-old hatchlings, Chelsea swimming out to the ‘Nest’ underwater sculpture in torrential rain, and Dan staying at the hostel to watch football highlights. It's good practice for our eventual return to the UK.

We also found a local cafe called Jizzy Warung, which meant we had to eat there for dinner. It ended up being one of the best (and cheapest) meals we've eaten in Indonesia. Perhaps they have a secret ingredient?

We're now en route to our next stop, which we've been promised is even rainier. Wish us luck! ⛈️Læs mere