Gili Trawangan
After a nausea-inducing ride on a ferry, my family and I arrived at a beautiful island in Lombok, Indonesia, named Gili Trawangan.
Cars are prohibited on this island; instead, they use horse carriages and bicycles. After we stepped off the boat, we heard the clip-clop-clip of horse shoes on cobblestones, and we saw a significant number of people leisurely riding bikes along the shoreline. (Soon, we would become some of those people!)
During our three days on Gili T, we spent some of our time relaxing on the beach and lounging by the pool, and a lot of time doing a few different activities. We biked every day, exploring the island. One day, we rode around the whole island and it only took a little under an hour. We snorkeled at Turtle Point, and my dad and I scuba dived at two dive sites.
Twice, my family and I biked along the cobblestone streets to Turtle Point beaches that are known for the numerous sea turtles that swim in its waters. Both times we saw loads of sea turtles, ranging from vibrant greens to dusty browns. Because the water is crystal clear, we could see turtles from the surface (without even needing our snorkels) since they were swimming just one meter below us.
My dad and I scuba dived with the company Trawangan Dive (Unfortunately, Sadie didn’t join us because she wasn’t feeling well). We dived with Zul, an exuberant dive master with insanely AWESOME hair.
Our first dive site was Shark Point. Here, we saw hordes of sea creatures including a moray eel, some clown fish, a few triggerfish, one scorpion fish, a lot of lionfish, one octopus and 13 sea turtles, not that I was counting.
The second spot was Turtle Heaven, where we saw less turtles but more animals including trumpetfish, pufferfish, more clownfish, some cool angel fish, butterfly fish, batfish, parrotfish, moorish idol, remora (the fish that lay on top of turtles).
Both were stunning sites and I would love to come back here, if possible.
This wonderful stay in Gili T was probably the best winter break I have ever had (we didn’t have to do school work once!). It was interesting to stay on an island with no cars, and I loved the overall experience.
The End!