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Claire & Steve's Excellent Adventure
After spending a day in Padangbai trying to get away from the very persistent hawkers (we finally caught a water taxi to an almost deserted beach but still ended up buying 2 silver rings one of which has turned Steve's finger green), we woke early to catch the public ferry over to Lombok. I think all of the tourists escaped to the upper deck to get away from the people selling watches and sunglasses - it seems you can either burn to a crisp in the blazing sun or face numerous attempts to wear you down until you buy a fake rolex or dodgy oakleys.
Steve came to the conclusion that we could have swum faster than the ferry....progress was painfully slow although seeing the beautiful scenery was something of a distraction. After a journey crammed into a minibus we got to Mataram where after being surrounded by locals and given even more hassle about the need for jewellery, mozzie cream and "my friend has a boat/car/donkey/cuddly toy" etc, etc. we caught a long boat to our final destination....Gili Trawangang. It is one of 3 small islands commonly referred to as 'The Gilis' and it was just what we needed after a day of endless travelling.
Basically they are paradise islands (think of the photos of white sand, coral reefs, palm trees and you pretty much get what the Gilis look like).
Gili Trawangang does not allow any motorised vehicles on land or dogs (cats are allowed although they are not the prettiest looking of felines) which was bliss. The mode of transport is either walking, cycling or getting a horse and cart. There are no tall buildings and everything has to be built in keeping with the rest of the island. GT is the most developed of the 3 islands with lots of cafe's, dive shops, bars, video booths and shops although it is so laid back and everyone is very chilled out. It does have a reputation as the party island and its easy to see why although there were definitely no limits on age - young and old come here to do exactly what they want.
Steve and I spent our mornings diving (shock, horror!) and our afternoons lazing around watching DVD's or sitting on the beach. Steve did get a bit energetic by joining the locals to play football on the beach but I was happy just to lay back and soak up the fantastic atmosphere.
We took a Nitrox Intro dive one morning to see the Japanese shipwreck. Nitrox basically allows you to stay deeper for a little longer than normal air and going down to 45 metres was great even though the initial currents were horrible and left us exhausted during the descent. The wreck was really cool; its from World War II and is now covered in coral and swarming with fish. You can see the hole from the impact of the torpedo and there are still crates of bullets on the deck. I had a couple of minutes where the effects of nitrogen narcosis took hold because of the depth, making me feel like I'd had one glass of wine too many - a very weird feeling when diving but it passed quickly.
We hired some bicycles to join the owner of the dive shop to go and see the site where he is having a complex of villas built. The villas are absolutely stunning and in lovely surroundings, the land is also so cheap at the moment that its a really good investment.....can you guess what's coming next? Yes, Steve's brain went into overdrive and we are now discussing buying land to build a villa here - watch this space!!!!!
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