My boyfriend and i were not sure whether to buy tickets for the boat over to Gili Trawangan from Ubud in Bali. We were not one hundred percent sure if it was a malaria free zone and we had ran out of our anti-Malaria tablets. So if we were going to go, it would be a risk.
I was desperate to go, i had heard the island was paradise. I had to find out for myself. So with a large amount of persuasion, eventually my boyfriend agreed to get on the back of our Ubud homestay host’s moped and buy two boat tickets to Gili T. They cost us about £50 each which was slightly more than i expected but still very cheap compared to home, plus i was too excited to think of a more reasonable budget.
After a long, and rocky four hour boat journey across the ocean that seemed to have the biggest swell ever (thank god i do not suffer with bad sea sickness) we made it to Gili Trawangan. We found out later that only the Indonesian island named Lombok required anti-Malaria tablets, so my boyfriend could relax and lay off the deet.
We stepped off the boat on to soft, golden sand and we were greeted by a pony and cart. There are no cars, moped or trucks on this jolly little island, so transportation is old school. It is one of my favourite parts of the island. Hearing shaking bells and trotting ponies make their way down the little narrow lanes. The characteristics of this tiny place are one of a kind.
I spent four days on the island and did not want to leave. I’m not sure what it was about Gili T that made me love it so much. I have been lucky enough to visit most of Thailand’s tranquil islands, including Phi Phi which is the most similar, but i wasn’t cast under the wonderlust spell like i am with Gili T. I thought Phi Phi was a bit too commercial. Gilli T has not been ruined, so it still has its rustic natural charm. The Indonesians that live on the island are witty, gentle people who really surface a jolly, relaxed and happy aroma to the place.
As we were set to leave the island i found an old horse shoe buried in the sand. I was just walking down a land from my hotel to the main road. I decided to take it with me, so i have a little bit of Gili T alaways with me. It’s rusting quite a lotbut surviving well in my backpack. Once i am back in England i shall frame my Gili T trinket so i will always remember that jolly little island that has become my favourite place.
Trinket Edits 