After the chocolate factory, we spent a week around Seminyak getting settled in and taking care of necessities – renting bikes, buying boards, surfing, etc. Yes, surfing is a necessity. .. but I digress. Our friend Jules came out to visit us on the 12th, and for her birthday wanted to visit the Gilis, so off we went.

The word “gili” actually means “small island” in Sasak, an Indonesian dialect. Though there are many gilis around Bali and Lombok, when people talk about the Gilis they are referring to the three small islands off the northwest coast of Lombok. Gili Trawangan is known as the party island, and this they do well. They are quite fair about it too; the bars take turns hosting a party every night so that each place gets its turn. Coming from Maui, where the town of Lahaina shuts down around 10 pm, it was funny to see people leaving to go out at midnight. Of course, we had gone earlier, and were returning to our hostel around then. We passed the young crew from our hostel on their way out, one of the British girls asking, “Was it rubbish?” Presumably because we were returning early. Little did she know it was already way past my bedtime.

Other than partying, Gili T is also now for its pristine and uncrowded white sand beaches as well as diving and snorkeling. The other two Gilis, Gili Air and Gili Meno, are known for the same things minus the party scene. It was a nice change from the crowded beaches of southwest Bali, so a big thanks to Jules for suggesting the Gili adventure!