After four relaxing days in Sanur, we were all relaxed and ready for our next adventure. We left the Gazebo Beach Hotel bright and early, and by 10 a.m we had boarded the fast boat headed toward Gili Trawangan, a beautiful island just off the North-Western coast of Lombok (the island next to Bali). The boat was very fast, and before noon we had arrived on the island. Upon arrival we were a little disappointed with Gili T. We had been to this island two years ago, and it looked nothing like the island we remembered. The amount of construction and people that were on the island was truly incredible. From what we remembered, the island was a quiet tropical paradise and not many people went through the 12 hour journey of ferries, buses and horse carts. We concluded that with the arrival of the fast boat (which was non-existent on our previous journey) more and more people were visiting the island. We were also really shocked by the price of everything on the island… it had sky rocketed to more than 5X’s what we had been paying previously! However, we were determined to make the most of our last destination with Jono’s parents, and we were soon settled into a place and doing our best to enjoy the day.
The second day on Gili T was a lot better than the first. Early in the morning, Jono’s dad went for a walk around the island and found a great spot for us to sleep. We called it the pirate ship hotel, because in front of it was a giant pirate ship which held a swimming pool beneath it. Four of us stayed there, while the boys found a place on the other side of the island called Sunset Bungalows, operated by Joe, one of the most interesting characters we’ve meet on our trip to date.
The next day we decided to get out and do some snorkelling, since the Gili Islands are known for there spectacular underwater life. We left mom to enjoy her day at the pirate ship, and the five of us headed out on a long boat with about 20 other people. Our first snorkelling spot was just off Gili T. and it was a huge success. Minutes before heading back onto the ship, Amanda spotted a sea turtle, and we were able to swim right along side it for an amazing five minutes. The magnificent creature was so beautiful, and a true highlight of the trip. From Gili T we went to Gili Meno, where we spotted another, humongous sea turtle (from a distance), which was also very cool. From there we made our way to beautiful Gili Air, where we snorkeled amongst some amazing coral and stopped in for a nice lunch before heading back to Gili T. The next day was our last day in Indonesia with Mom and Dad Laakso, and we spent it enjoying each others company. By four o’clock (only about 3 hours late!) the fast boat arrived to whisk them back to Bali, leaving the four of us to fend for ourselves. From what we heard, mom and dad had quite the journey getting back, as the the boatmen began passing out seasickness bags and arriving in the port under utter darkness! As for the four of us left on Gili T, we enjoyed our last two days at Joe’s place, on the beach, and just chilling out until our next destination.