The Gili Islands, Lombok (part 2)

category: travelling
by Yun,

We started the second day in Gili Trawangan with breakfast at the hotel. Then we circled the island in one hour using a cidomo. Whereas the east side of the island is crowded and full of facilities, the other parts of the island are much quieter. If you seek a quieter place to stay, there are bungalows on the western and northern stripes of the island. We passed several secluded and beautiful white-sandy beaches. We stopped at the Coral Beach on the northeastern part of the island. The beach was not full of people at all. The sand was so white. The water was so clear. The sea color was turquoise. It’s beautiful! Sadly, we had to rush to catch our boat to go to Oberoi Hotel in the afternoon. Before ending our island tour, we stopped at a sea turtle hatchery, where baby turtles are kept in secure tanks until they grow large and healthy enough to be released into the sea. It is a part of some efforts to preserve the natural turtle habitat that was so abundant in Gilis. After circling the island, it is obvious that Gili Trawangan’s economy depends solely on tourism. The island is too small and too remote for industries other than tourism to prosper.

There are no dogs on the island, because the inhabitants are predominantly Muslims. There are no police on the island either. Consequently, illegal drugs are broadly available. They openly sell and advertise magic mushrooms and other types of drugs such as marijuana. Gili Trawangan is also known as the party island of Gilis, where you can easily find a beach party everynight on the island. Most of young tourists find themselves “lost in paradise“. With the absence of police on the island, the small community regulates itself. The punishment for commiting crimes is a beat-down, followed by banishment from the island.

Before I went to Gilis, I searched online information about Gili Trawangan. Eight out of ten people that I talked with told me to try ‘magic mushroom‘, to taste a few hours of heaven. I was perplexed, not knowing what ‘magic mushroom’ was. I naively thought it was some kind of a local food. Haha… They are called magic mushrooms because they are ‘magical’. Magic mushrooms grow widly throughout the island, and they are harvested and consumed to make people ‘fly’. The mushrooms are usually blended together with your choice of fruits, usually pineapple. Some said that a glass of magic mushroom juice would take you anywhere for up to several hours. The legality of magic mushrooms is questionable since they give physical and psychological effects. Try it at your own risk.

Many of coral reefs in Gilis are dead as a result of a local fishing method by dropping dynamites into the water and then collecting the fish. As a counter action to such irresponsible deeds, the government has created bio-rock structure projects aimed at conserving Gilis’ dive sites, regenerating coral reefs, and gravitating marine life around coral formations. During our snorkeling trip the day before, the boatman brought us to see the bio-rock structures, where some new corals were already formed after one-year installation.

A’s cousin (who was born and grew up in US) told us that Gilis accurately matched with her definition of a tropical island. She indicated that for her, Bali was not a real tropical island as it’s similar to any crowded cities in Java but with beaches. She said that she liked Gilis much better than Bali for the sunny weather, the nice beaches, and the place that was not densely populated. Her claim made me more appreciative of Indonesia’s natural beauty. It’s interesting to view Gilis (and Indonesia) from a foreigner’s perspective.

Comments

13 Comments so far

veny | 05 February 2009, 21:50
YUN , g ngiler liat Gili Trawangan .
ntar ah g mo ajak tmn g yg di Belanda kesana .
kt temen g >> org Bld krg tertarik ke lombok krn kesan nya biasa aja
ntar deh g mo kasih liat Blog lo ke mrk , ntar g linking ke dia suruh liat deh Gili Trawangan , jgn ke Senggigi beach doank ya !

kalo menurut gue si senggigi emang biasa aja, pantainya jg kurang… cuman ya lbh banyak hotel dan mknan daerah sana… kalo mo liat pantai bagus mending ke gili ato daerah south lombok, ada tanjung ann, pasirnya gede2 kaya merica… skr masi blm gitu rame cuman ini lagi dibangun airport di daerah sana, ntar kalo udah jadi pasti bakalan rame deh
Merryl | 06 February 2009, 02:32
OMG….I am totally convinced to go to Gili Island now..thanks for the info ci.
I thought it was funny when you mentioned in the article that you thought a magic mushroom was some kind of a local food. Thank God you realized what it was before you had different type of juices with it then it won’t be very funny anymore.
I love the little turtles!!

Ryl, what made you totally convinced out of the sudden? Is it the magic mushroom that will send you to the moon? hahaha….
Yes, I already suspected something weird about “magic mushroom” because one of my friends told me that I could feel happy, sad or anything after taking it.
amey | 06 February 2009, 04:20
Yupp gili trawangan emang indah..
Tempat hanimun gue tuh

gue masi inget kok kalo elo honeymoon di gili, dan stay di villa atas ombak hehehe… waktu itu kan elo pernah cerita2 ke gue )
veny | 06 February 2009, 10:22
Jadi magic mushroom nya lom di icipin /?? ha22 takut keterusan “fly” he222
bener2 lost paradise yah !

hihihi belum ven… ntar salah2 malah besoknya gue ga bisa bangun )
Im3th | 06 February 2009, 22:05
Lombok benernya pantainya emang lebih bagus dari Bali ya, dulu gw waktu ke lombok juga gw demen ama lautnya, beningggg. Terus makanan lombok yg gw demen tuh ayam taliwang yg di jl mataram-lombok, kangkung pelicing, wuiih pedesss n sedep nya pas bener. Yun, dari foto lo tuh bisa speak a thousand words

iya bangetttt….. gue yg kemarin ini ga terlalu bisa mkn mknan asli lombok soalnya ga tinggal di deket pusat kota sih… cuman pas mo ke airport aja mkn bakmi di ampenan, gue demen deh, pake pork hihihi
marynandea | 07 February 2009, 01:18
WOW. The photographs are beautiful breathtaking! I could smell and taste the sea air..wohooooo…Tks for sharing Yun.

Thank you Mar…
rina | 07 February 2009, 13:36
Yun, pasirnya bagus banget ya… putih banget
Dan kayaknya masih asri, maksud gue, belum se-hectic Bali. Sayang waktu itu gue nggak nyebrang ke sana, Yun Maybe next time…
Thanks foto-fotonya, Yun!

Iya rin beda jauh kalo ama Bali, pantainya jg lbh bagus disini… nanti kapan2 deh sempetin nyebrang bentar… Your welcome rin
jackie | 08 February 2009, 18:59
Yunikeeeeeeeeeeeeee kamu jalan2 melulu sih bikin ngiler ajaaa..

Dan yang pasti kamu sama hubby makin cakep dan ganteng juga..hehehe.
Sukses selalu ya say! Maaf kalo gue akhir2 ini jarang bersapa dan berkabar..

aiyoo yg abis plg dari indo siapa coba, kok ngiler ama gue hehehe
Makasih2 ya buat complimentnya, kikiki…
veny | 09 February 2009, 22:21
YUN g nyasar de ttg Kacang ijo pake kulit jeruk
itu resep nyokap , masak kacang ijo biasa cuman pake gula merah , kalo takut terlalu gelap bisa combine dgn gula batu/pasir biasa .
Ntar lo cemplungin kulit jeruk mandarin yg lo udah keringin brapa lembar , jadi wangi deh .
dirumah g kalo pas bnyk jeruk lokam/mandarin kulitnya kita kupas/buka jgn smp lepas lgs dibersihin n jemur smp kering lalu simpen di stopless , kalo masak kcg ijo lgs cemplungin brapa biji , wangii enakk seger .
mgkn bisa pake jeruk sunskist . asal yg kulitnya wangi aja .

Thanks ven, gue udah beli kacang ijo nih, cuman perlu keringin kulit jeruk dulu, kemarin2 lupa hehe… nanti gue kabarin kalo dah sempet bikin ya…. makasihhh
veny | 10 February 2009, 10:32
Yun ,
g bole minta email lo ga ? thx yah !

udah gue kasih kan ya )
haley | 24 March 2009, 05:19
magic mushroom… hahahaha… jamur tahi sapi tuuu :p
http://haleygiri.multiply.com/journal/item/232/Mau_Mabok_Jamur

haha iya aku jg baru tau itu dari tahi sapi… pantesan aja ya banyak di gili
autumn | 12 January 2010, 02:23
hi yun,

just wondering, how much does it cost you for the whole trip to gili’s island..?

thought of going there and try this ‘magical mushroom’ by myself..
Yun | 12 April 2010, 17:45
Hi…
The whole trip excluding air ticket was not that much… I am not sure, but probably around usd200.
Please share with me when you try the “mushroom”