As a fillip to this holiday we planned to spend three days around New Years in the Gili Islands, off the coast the island of Lombok, east of Bali… 2.5 hours by a fast boat over the Bali Sea. The ride was mostly comfortable, with views of Agung, Bali’s sacred mountain, dancing with clouds like our Tahoma. This is deep sea so it can be rough, as we were to discover on the return trip. The windows were a bit high, to protect from the high waves, so making photos was difficult.
Gili is simply the word for island, of which there are many around Lombok, but these three are known as beach destinations, each with individual reputations, lively to quiet. We chose the side farthest away from the dock of the quietest island.
The Gili Air Resort happily facilitated a wonderfully laid-back time...
These islands have no motorized transportation... only bicycles [of which a few are electric] & sweet quiet pony carts! Which is how we got from the boat landing across the island to the hotel with our packs & the single bag we shared for the minimal beachwear we would need.
A cat welcomed us at check-in...
We had lunch of the traditional fried rice bowl with vegetables [one can add fish, chicken or beef as desired] under an open thatched roof right on the beach, with happy staff ranging in scuffs between the several pavilions functioning as bar or service stations spaced at generous distances from the kitchen, close to the breakfast space [with bean-bag seating]. We were convinced we could be satisfied with the kitchen.
We returned that first evening to the smell of a grill set-up on the crushed-coral beach sand with trays of fish displayed on ice. We were enticed to order the combination platter of fish… one each of the wide variety of which we learned... grilled deliciously, but ours could have fed four! A buffet of fruit, some pickled vegetables… & lots of very fresh salad.
All to be eaten at open bamboo platforms called couches, with a small table between cushions, arranged along the beach close to the surf.
Or... our choice of a similar platform under a thatched roof…
a lovely way to dine.
The resort, being on the beach, shares space with the public,
who are constantly walking, jogging, running, cycling
or being carted along at a trot!
We followed this path to our duplex abode, being the left half...
There some 30 of these duplex cabins spaced along... near, but not too close... to the busy beach, nicely spacious & cool, with deep shady porches. I loved sitting on ours to write, listening & looking up into the coconut grove.
One morning I heard chopping & went out onto the walk to discover a group of young men harvesting the coconuts, one of them 60 or 70 feet up cutting the heavily husked fruits to drop with loud whumps, along with the flutter of some fronds.
I’ve been practicing making videos, getting one which showed the climber coming down the tree barefooted, wishing I been there to see him climbing up.
Stephen made his own... & he combined both our views into this:
One of the guys brought one to each of us, cut open to drink the deliciously fresh water, then whacking them open to pry the sweet flesh out with a 'specially sharp-cut piece of shell as a scoop… “traditional way”, he explained.
It's deliciousness was enhanced by the show which produced it!
Does not one go to tropical beaches with hopes toward romance?!?
