To end my holiday and celebrate New Year’s, I headed for the Gili Islands east of Bali. This is a popular spot during this time of year, but luckily, I had booked my bungalow months in advance. My luck didn’t end there either. A very good friend from my days of living in San Sebastian, Spain was also in the area and joined me. I love these little coincidences, when I meet friends all around the world. I’m never really traveling alone.There are two ways to get to the Gili Islands from Bali. The first is to take the slow moving ferry that stops in Lombok. The second is the much more expensive (around $100 return) speedboat with transport directly from the airport. We didn’t want to spend most of the day on a ferry, so we took the speedboat.
Trawangan is the largest of the Gili Islands, but that doesn’t make it big. We walked around the entire thing in about an hour. Our bungalows were so cute! A high tiled roof covered a pillow cushioned terrace with a hammock, giving it a truly Bali look, but inside was modern, air conditioned, and eclectically decorated.
December is rainy season in this part of Indonesia, but we did get long periods of sunshine. This was the perfect place to relax before going back to work.
Horse drawn carts, bicycles, or walking are the only transport around the island.
The restaurants had a relaxed atmosphere and creative culinary delights that I had been missing in Myanmar. We preferred eating at a particular spot on the beach, but I also couldn’t resist the Mexican restaurant in the middle of the island. It was the closest thing to authentic Mexican that I have had in years. Everything was unrealistically delicious or maybe it was just how happy I was.
We made it to our favorite beach restaurant just in time to grab a drink and watch the fireworks at midnight. I couldn’t imagine a better start to 2015.
After all of the magic of a spectacular New Year, I had to go back home to Myanmar. Maybe I’m getting too conservative, but this woman was wearing what looked like a bra and a diaper to the airport. I can understand why places demand a dress code.
Accommodation: Puri Sayang Bungalows – Really cute bungalows, lovely staff, and close to all the action, but in a quiet neighborhood. Contact: purisayangtrawangan@gmail.com
Escape From the American Dream 