Travel Day 675 – Senggigi to Gili Trawangan, INDONESIA
What didn’t work out yesterday was obviously bound to work out today and so we once more set out to reach the Gili Islands…
Busy Tourist Beach on Gili Trawangan, Indonesia
Since there were three of the Gilis, we aimed for the most popular of the small islands, Gili Trawangan. But getting there by local transport from Senggigi proved to be more difficult than expected and so in the end we gave-in and bought a combination ticket for a shuttle bus to the harbor of Bangsal and a boat ride to Gili T. While the bus ride was only half an hour and the cruise over to the island was a breeze too, the tourist hustle in Bangsal about the horse cart transport that needed to be paid for extra, was something else…
Obviously someone had found a way to make additional money on top of the “all inclusive” ticket to Gili Trawangan, but luckily it was easy enough to simply walk the distance to the boats. Nevertheless this horse cart tourist nap was already the first indication that the Gilis were not the unspoiled backpacker paradise any more that they once used to be. And as we found out soon, this was especially true for Gili T. which was simply flooded with tourists who had arrived directly with the expensive fast boat from Bali…
Nice Sunset on Gili Trawangan in Indonesia
In fact, there were so many tourists around and so many expensive bars, shops and restaurants, that everything looked like and extension of touristic Kuta on Bali. Obviously all the prices were inflated as well and so finding a budget friendly accommodation on Gili Trawangan quickly became a mission impossible. Unfortunately the pushy and sometimes even rude locals were no big help either and so, before we even managed to put our backpacks down in what was our most expensive room in Indonesia so far, I already disliked this busy tourist island…
The walk around the little fancy restaurant town and the visit at the busy local beach didn’t really help to change the first impression and it finally took me some 40 minutes of walking escape the crowds. All the way north-west on Gili T. was still a quiet natural area with a small empty beach where one could lay down, read a book and even enjoy seeing the sunset over the ocean. This little quiet spot and the local night market became the only real highlights of my Gili Trawangan visit. Of course the freshly grilled fish at the market was great, but I was already looking forward to visiting a different Gili island tomorrow morning…
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