On our way to Gil Trawangan our speed boat broke down 30 minutes out from Nusa Lembongan. Thankfully the crew had all the replacement parts they needed to repair the engine.
After 30 minutes a drift we were back on our way towards Gili Trawangan. For the rest of the journey the sea was very rough and all the people sitting at the front were
drenched through. Kat ended up being covered in oil since the roof panel above her was leaking it. Eventually though we made it safe and sound.
On our first day in Gili Trawangan we headed down to the bottom of the island and enjoyed the beautiful sand. On the first night here we were annilhilated by bed bugs before
we awoke in the morning. Thankfully for us though we found a couple still in the bed in the morning and so knew that they were in the bed. We immediately checked-out and into
a slightly nicer place with sea views and direct beach access. Surprisingly it was almost the same cost. We then proceeded to decontaminate and investigate our pyjama's in case
they had been infested with bed bugs as we did not want to be carrying these pests for the rest of the year.
On the second day we walked around the entire coastal path on the island in a couple of hours enjoying the scenery and beaches on the way round. On the third day we spent much
of it relaxing and enjoying the beach outside of our lodging before we headed to the island of Gili Meno on the fourth morning.
We travelled to Gili Meno by local slow boat and the 1 mile journey took 15 minutes. Upon arrival in Gili Meno we had to walk to our hotel since there is no motorised
transport in the whole of the Gili islands. The only other means than walking to get around is the odd horse and cart. This however was not a problem as you can walk
around the entire circumference of Gili Meno in around 60 minutes. Gili Meno on the whole had much nicer beaches even if they did only fully appear at certain times
of the day. The beaches were crystal white in the south and partially coral on the west coast. This meant that you could find your ideal spot somewhere in the island
at any time of day by just taking a short walk. On the whole we found Gili Meno to be a nice change of pace from Gili Trawangan.
We spent 3 days in Gili Meno in total which was enough for us as it is very secluded most the time with only a handful of other people and a couple of restaurants to
choose from. This on top of only one shop on the entire island led to there not being much to do than relax on the beach and enjoy the good snorkelling.
During our time in Gili Meno we walked around the entire island twice. Once on the first day to see which spots on Gili Meno were the best and once on the second day
when we snorkelled at all the spots around the island looking for fish and turtles. Unfortunately we didn't manage to see any turtles, but we did manage to see many
fish off the south coast over and in Gili Meno Reef. On our last day we simply relaxed on a shaded beach so as to avoid the uncomfortable doxy (doxycycline - malaria
drug) burn that we both experience after too much sun and salt exposure.
On the next day we headed back to Gili Trawangan on route to Sanur on the island of Bali where we were to spend the night before we took a night flight to Australia and onto country number 13!
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