Indonesia Part 3: The Endless Beaches of Lombok Island and Gili Trawangan

When many people think of Indonesia, luxurious Bali is the first spot that pops into their mind. My geography of SE Asia was completely lacking before I traveled here, and I embarrassingly thought that Bali was a) in India and b) only a city. I decided, however, to pretty much skip over Bali and hop to the next island east: Lombok. I had limited time before I met Darryl in the Philippines, and I guess I wanted to go somewhere a little more remote and less well known.

Catherine had a more open timeline so kindly skipped over Bali as well as she would go there while I was in the Philippines. We took the most HORRIFYING PLANE RIDE ever on a prop plane from Bali to Lombok that consisted of me trying to crack jokes so Catherine didn't know how nervous I was, and Catherine beating me with a pillow to calm herself down.

I am pretty sure that we both thought we were going to die on that plane, but as we are both nervous flyers, who knows how much we were overreacting. (Later I found this airline is EU blacklisted and has a nice recent history of plane crashes that haven't made international news. That explains the $16 pricetag.)

Alive and well in Lombok, we caught a cab to a northern beach called Senggigi and settled into our luxurious accommodation. It was seriously exciting to have the following: a large room with two big comfy beds, CLEAN towels, a shower that was separated from the toilet, and satellite TV with English channels. Oh, and a really nice infinity-esque pool right on the beach across the street. 

The next morning the Seahawks were playing the 49ers so we stayed glued to my phone for updates from Google and more entertainingly, Darryl, who believed he and our group of friends were shaping the game's fate ("Oh my god we all held hands and there was a turnover!!").

Catherine and I agreed that if we won we were going to break all the rules and have a drink before noon, so everyone knows the outcome of that. We were cheering like madwomen; true American spectacles to those dining around us, and spent the rest of the day at the beach/pool and exploring the area.

Then poor Catherine got really, really sick. Like so bad we had to call a doctor to our hotel room. The hotel kept saying it was "very expensive" which turned out to be $40 - definitely affordable by US standards. So the rest of our time in Senggigi was spent recovering, and I couldn't complain because sometimes it's nice to have a vacation from your vacation, catching up on all the trashy TV shows I so love at home. :)

We then had a decision in front of us... which island to hop to next! From Senggigi you can go to one of the three Gili islands northwest, so we settled on the one that sounded like it was the most active, Gili Trawangan, and took a boat there.

We stayed in the most adorable bungalow full of lush gardens, about a 10 minute walk from the beach. They served us breakfast on our patio every morning and we even had our own bungalow cat who would sunbathe in our chairs - you know me and my animal obsession. What the island was lacking in was dogs. It's the first place I've been where I saw ZERO dogs.

Romance flowers on our beds

Gili Trawangan is a pretty small island with slightly coraled beaches (there is minimal garbage), and mostly crystal blue waters. The only things to do really are sunbathe, swim/snorkel/dive, eat, drink and island hop. Which is nothing to complain about.

The only downside to the island, or at least where we stayed, was that there was a mosque nearby that had recently gotten their hands on a powerful sound system. I have heard the call to prayer many times on this trip and think it is beautiful, but it is not so peaceful when it sounds like it is INSIDE of your room at full blast at 5am and then for hours throughout the day/night. The high ceilings in our bungalow only amplified the sound. Oh well, a cultural experience!

It rained for an entire day that we were there, leaving us a little stir crazy. It is wet season in Indonesia which doesn't really bother me, but if you are planning a trip to the area, it's best to plan it when there are less tumultuous showers. :) But I love a heavy rainstorm to cool down the endlessly hot days.

We both were in desperate need of new pedicures (first world problems in a third world place - Catherine's slogan) and wanted massages, and quickly found a place that would do both for about $15. Our first romantic couple's massage! The massage was amazing, but um, with an interesting twist. I don't think it's true for all Balinese massages, but at this place, the woman asked "Are you OK with me massaging your chest and stomach?" before she started. Sure, why not! I discovered this meant they massaged around and in between the special chestal region (scientific term) so that was definitely a first. I could hear Catherine stifling laughter at that point and later we ended up uncontrollably laughing about the whole experience. Because we are mature adults.

We left the little island after about 3 days and went back to Lombok, hiring a driver through our guesthouse to take us around the island before heading south to our next destination. By the way, the guest house owner was a fabulous Danish woman who also designs clothes, so she sweetly took my measurements for a bridesmaid's dress I need for Kim's wedding in June. :)

The tour through Lombok took us to a local market with vibrant fish and produce, but in contrast, also some of the worst smells I have encountered, probably from raw meat being butchered in the same areas for years without a real clean up.

There was a lot of garbage as well -  a big problem in SE Asia. Next we went to a temple that brought together all the religious groups in the area with shrines for all: Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists and Christians. We hired a guide to provide us with more background than I could ever possibly hope to recount!

We had two more stops that were really fascinating, starting with a woodshop where locals make everything from small bowls to large furniture.

The best part of this craftsmanship is that they place hand cut seashells in the wood in different triangular patterned designs.

We saw every step of the process and I would imagine that if these were made and sold in the US, they would sell for a tremendous fortune. Note to self: if I'm ever back in Lombok, ship furniture back to the states!

Expert weaving, gurl

Catherine and I were also set on seeing the weaving village where the famous Ikat fabric originates from. We got there and there were women weaving outside, who insisted (of course for a tip :) that we give it a try ourselves! So they strapped us and showed us how it is done.. I was not very adept at this so was glad they were ready to take over after a photo op.

The Ikat fabrics for sale that really caught our eye were very expensive, and none of the pre-made scarfs were what we were looking for, so we left empty handed. At least can now say we are semi-trained Ikat weavers. :)

Our driver took us to the beach we were keen at staying at for a few days called Kuta. There is a Kuta in Bali that is famous for its drunken Australian scene, but this Kuta is its polar opposite. It's apparently a world renown surfing area, but was pretty sparsely populated with no real night life. We didn't have a place to stay reserved, so our driver took us to a few spots before we found another ridiculously nice place with a pool, cable, large beds, etc. It was probably the nicest place in the area and still cost less than $35 a night.

The next few days consisted of catching up on travel planning, eating and suntanning... tough work. Both of us were happy for some continued downtime in the midst of our travels, but started to miss the hustle and bustle of a larger city.

I rented a scooter on our last full day and saw the real beauties of Kuta and southern Lombok. My scooter also had the fun quirk of a surfboard rack attached to it. ;) The view from the tops of the hills were incredible, and each bay I reached as I headed west seemed to be more vibrant than the last. This is definitely a place for romantic escape and removing yourself from the world.

Catherine and I parted ways after one night in Bali and I hopped on a flight to ... yay... the Philippines to see Darryl! That's its whole own chapter. :)

-Erin

Pit Stop In Malaysia - Penang Food Paradise and Langkawi Island Escape

"I talk a lot about getting lost in the East. About breaking away from the world you left behind. If only for a week, or a few days, it’s easy to do that here. To take pleasure in the unfamiliar. To be forced, just walking down the street, or ordering breakfast, to learn new things. Let me tell you – that feels good; especially in Penang." 

- Anthony Bourdain 

I have wanted to visit Penang since that famous Bourdain episode. I came and left with mixed feelings, but I also feel like we weren't properly introduced.

There definitely is a cultural shift once you hit Malaysia as a majority of the population practices Islam. It was visually apparent based on the many mosques and more conservative dress, and also something you could hear, with the call to prayer echoing throughout the area wherever we stayed. It is quite beautiful.

Our first day in Penang was a rough one. As we were walking (well off the street) a man on a scooter zoomed up onto the sidewalk past Eric and I, then quickly zoomed back into traffic, almost getting into an accident. I glanced at Eric who looked a bit shocked, and he told me that his gold chains had been ripped off his neck by the guy driving the scooter! What the hell?!

Calling for back-up

We were taken to an officer who must just sit and drink coffee at the same spot every day as a "police hub," who called for back up. A police van showed up and they gestured at us to get in - we definitely looked like American convicts on our ride to the (FIRST) police station. As it all happened so fast there was no way to ID the guy, but Eric filed a report for insurance reasons.

They said we had to go to another police station, and ended up in the "DETEKTIF"s office. They unsuccessfully tried to extract details about the assailant. Eric got his stamped report for insurance and one of the detectives, Azmi (a Corporal) drove us back to our hotel. I have to hand it to the Malaysian police, because they were very nice and easy to talk to and could have easily told us to find our own way back. Anyway... day kind of ruined.

This guy asked up front if we wanted a photo - of course!

We wandered around the town a bit more and I appreciated the colonial style juxtaposed with modern, and especially the abandoned buildings that they had let grow over with foliage.

It was something out of this History Channel special I saw called "Life After People," and while staring at some of the structures pretended it had been 50 years after humanity had been wiped off the earth.

We ate some non-Malaysian food - burgers! - with very unique black bamboo charcoal buns. They tasted pretty much like normal bread and are supposed to be a very healthy alternative.

Char Kaoy Teow

I wanted to head to Langkawi Island the next morning, which is a 4 hour ferry ride away, so while Eric stayed in the room that evening, I went off (a little nervously after the day's earlier events) on my own to track down some of the famed street food.

I first went to the Red Garden which is a well known food court, but as I had no way to save a table while ordering food, I abandoned ship and went to the vendors that were set up nearby our hotel. I excitedly ordered my first famed Malaysian dish - char koay teow and took a seat.

I realized I was definitely the only foreigner in the area and while I sat there taking in the sights, I realized what Bourdain meant. I felt completely removed from the hustle and bustle of tourist Asia, and like I had found my own little food paradise. I devoured my char kaoy teow - imagine a very peppery tick noodled pad thai with the extra goodness of the pan scraped onto it, and went home to prepare for the journey ahead the next day.

The ferry ride was pretty uneventful and at first we weren't too impressed with the beach near where we were staying on Langkawi. I had Phuket flashbacks from all the garbage, ugh.  I knew that if we rented scooters a whole other world would open itself up to us, so we did just that the next day.

View from the Langkawi Pier - huge eagle statue!!!

The island is absolutely gorgeous once you escape the touristy areas, and even felt a bit more untouched than many places I went in Thailand.

At one point we ended up at a police checkpoint, asking if I had a driver's license. Sure I did! and I gestured at my backpack, so they let me pass. They didn't have to know that it was merely my Washington state one and I lacked an international driver's license.

It boggles my mind that we drove past at least 30 checkpoints in northern Thailand (most unmanned) and at no point did anyone even talk to us, but twenty minutes into our first Malaysian scooter adventure and we had to interact with the police.

There were also monkey police, and I mean real monkeys. After the checkpoint I slammed on my breaks as I saw about 7 monkeys just hanging out on the side of the road. Outside of Monkey Island in Thailand, I haven't had much exposure, so it was an exciting moment.

We got off our bikes and started taking pictures when I was reminded about where Curious George got his namesake. I left a plastic bag hanging from my bike, and when I turned I saw a monkey pawing through the bag looking for food. Then he just sat on my seat, staring at me with beady eyes. Honestly I'm a bit terrified of monkeys as I've read enough tourist horror stories, so I snapped a few pictures and just waited for it to jump off because I wasn't about to get rabies.

Back on the road, and after getting lost a bit, we found a much less popular beach at the north of the island, with the kind of waters I was hoping for. I guess it shouldn't have been a surprise considering this island shares the Andaman Sea with Thailand. Paradise found! The lush green countryside was a wonderful accompaniment.

We revisited that beach the next day before I had to get back to Penang. Eric decided to stick around Langkawi for another day before heading back to Seattle to see his family, so we parted ways, and I took the ferry back home solo.

Why they decided playing a (pirated) version of Captain Phillips was a good idea is beyond me, and I'm still pissed off that I wasn't able to watch the last 15 minutes due to the pirated DVD malfunctioning.

For my final night in Penang I HAD to eat more Malaysian food lest consider myself a Penang foodie failure, and sought out the top rated nyonya (a name given to the Penang style of food) restaurant. The owner had a set menu that he kindly let me sample even though I was a party of one.


I loved half of it and the other half not so much. I didn't expect to eat baby stingray but there it was, and I felt obligated to eat it. It reminded me of flavorless fish in a delicious sauce....

Don't know whether to blame the cook or the stingray, but it was still a great experience nonetheless.

As I flew out of Penang and got a bird's eye view of the city that I missed on the way in, I wished I had more time. It was stunning. Honestly the scorching sun and heat (90+ degrees) may have made the visit a bit difficult, but I can always go back.

-Erin

Timeless Ko Lanta

I spent the last week on a beautiful island off the coast of Krabi called Ko Lanta.

Time is a strange thing on Lanta. The days seem to stretch into each other endlessly, but my week was also over before I knew it. If I asked anyone how long they had been on the island, it always took some hard thinking to really pinpoint what day it was and how far into their journey they were.

Ignore my poor plating... I added the sauce way too early!

When I arrived, I made my way to Oasis Yoga and felt at home, even though I am a quite inexperienced student. I feel short of my five class goal, but as noted... time gets away from you on Lanta.

The first five nights I stayed at Time For Lime, which had amazing bungalows and a beachfront restaurant/cooking school. I am so glad I did the cooking class - all proceeds from the class, and from my understanding the restaurant/bungalows go back to Lanta Animal Welfare, which is run by Time's owner, Junie.

The food was delicious, and I learned a lot - for example, Thai curry is different than Indian curry because they use fresh ingredients to make it instead of dry spices. I also learned that the level of spiciness of curry can be tailored to your tastes (mine - timid, Darryl's - not) and as a result, I have a newfound love of red curry.

Fresh, simple ingredients are such a delight to photograph

What my plate should have looked like

The next day, a very kind woman I met at Soi Dog (Kajta), who coincidentally lives on Lanta, welcomed me along to her family's Sunday ritual at Somewhere Else - a confusing name to an outsider, but it's a restaurant with beachside salas and epic relaxation. Katja and her family are from Sweden and she is the reason I ended up at Oasis Yoga. Two other very sweet girls, Jana and Gen, who I met at cooking class joined as well.

Jana/Gen extended their hospitality into next day, when we rented scooters and explored the island. We managed to escape our explorations unscathed, which I can't say for everybody I met on the island.

The next day my new friends made their way to Bangkok, and I packed up my belongings. At no fault of Time For Lime's, there was a bar nearby that had ridiculously loud bass playing at all hours, so I couldn't sleep (sign #1 that I am old). I irrationally decided it was a good time to move into a treehouse hostel, called Chill Out House, thinking I was staying at one of the bungalows behind the hostel.

It turned out I booked a private room in the main hostel.. At this point I came to realize how old and out of place I felt.

All signs pointed to awesomeness, or so I thought

I think I'm generally an outgoing person, but I just didn't feel like I fit in. Almost everyone was in their early 20s and while I tried to connect, I couldn't seem to succeed, outside of with a handful of people who extended themselves to me. I didn't have an issue with younger people at any other point in this trip, but this just felt more insular for whatever reason, which was possibly all made up in my head.

I moved into the bungalow (that I thought I initially had booked) for the next two nights and continued to try to make friends. I decided it was OK to continue to branch out on my own and made a trip Lanta Animal Welfare.

It was so nice to see their operation and all the volunteers (who have to make a month minimum commitment and live on site) caring for the animals. I tried my hardest to not fall in love, but it's impossible. I even watched a live sterilization!

For my last full day on Lanta, I signed up for a 4 island boat tour, and while the snorkeling wasn't as impressive as my first outing, there were other parts that more than made up for it.

The first place I was really excited for was Emerald Cave. So.. it was really cool..

but OH MY GOD, the water there was teeming with thousands of jellyfish eggs, which was a huge issue because A) I do not like being in close proximity of jellyfish, which is probably why I've never explored becoming an expert diver and B) I had no idea if they could hurt me. I later found out they are harmless, but I don't think that would have made the temporary nightmare any better.

I made it about halfway into the cave, had a secret panic attack, and swam like hell back to the boat.

ohmygod get me out

Why am I such a baby

I'm sure some of you will be like "Oh cool, jellyfish babies, that's harmless," but there were so many I was hitting at least 5-10 with every swim stroke.

Emerald Cave - 1, Erin - 0.

I did not share my panic or fear with anyone on the boat, and another woman made me fill silly as she picked the eggs up out of the water and squished and played with them. Ugh.

Then we made it to our last destination and my favorite place - a place I want to take Darryl to when he comes to visit, even though there is probably nothing to do besides snorkel, eat and drink.. but that sounds like a great place to catch up.

It's called Ko Ngai; there are no roads on the island, and it is picture perfect. Also because it is only accessible by smaller boats, it's not as touristy.

Again, this is the Thailand I have seen in my dreams.

In reflection, I made some great new friends on Lanta, but also at a point felt completely awkward and like I didn't belong. Even on a beautiful island, away from everything, you can feel doubts and miss home horribly. These are all feelings I have to look at as necessary - as one lovely person pointed out to me, it's a good sign to miss home/friends/family, because it means you have something nice to go back to.

Full set of photos here.

**Edit, I forgot to note an amazing trivia night I went to with Jana and Gen on Monday night at the Irish Embassy (yes, that's the name of the bar). We were impressed that we managed to come in 6th place, Jana was not as impressed that her 3 ciders cost 660baht.

-Erin

Am I Dreaming?... Day Trip to Bamboo Island, Ko Phi Phi and Maya Bay - 10/26/13

A slight problem with not having much of a timetable is that I don't feel too much pressure to fill my days. Phuket complicates this further because the taxi mafia makes it really damn expensive to get anywhere, so I have spent most of my time confined to Naiyang Beach and Soi Dog.

Because of Soi Dog, I have met awesome folks who are here with more limited time and well, have a greater sense of urgency. Amanda is one of those people and I couldn't resist joining her on this speed boat and snorkeling tour.

Amanda, my partner in crime!

The day started out overcast with a small rain shower about 30 minutes away from the first snorkeling spot. We shared the speedboat with about 25 people (which wasn't even close to capacity), including a group of bros in matching obnoxious neon "Full Moon Party" outfits. They at least helped add a splash of color to a dreary morning.

Sweet tank, brah

By the time we arrived at Bamboo Island, the clouds started to dissipate and I was wowed by the cerulean blue waters that were revealed as we approached the shore. I rediscovered my love of snorkeling once I was past ingesting a few ounces of saltwater.

If you ever end up on a trip where you will be snorkeling/boating, bring a shockproof/waterproof camera. Mine was about $130 after an impulse buy on Groupon and is my best travel purchase to date!

Shores of Bamboo Island

Snorkeling selfie

 

After about 40 minutes, we headed to some rocks off the coast of  KoPhi Phi Don to continue snorkeling. The tour guide noted "If you want to see sharks, head about 20 meters in that direction" - what??? I did try to find the sharks, but they weren't interested in an under the sea party with me. :(

The rocks we snorkeled around, with Phi Phi Don (and my future villa) in the background

Human photobomb

I am no coral expert, but I think a lot of it was dead. These areas are extremely high traffic and therefore see a lot of boat pollution. Maybe the area is also still recovering from the 2004 tsunami. It's conflicting to play tourist and see the destruction, but at least there was still a thriving fish population.

We headed to shore and ate a buffet lunch. I felt my blood boil when I saw a man carting a monkey around for photos, and we also found the world's tiniest kitten laying in the road without a mom in sight. For a predominantly Buddhist country, I have heard of and seen so much animal cruelty. I'm going to give Phi Phi another chance next week, though. :)

Giving Grumpy Cat a run for his money

Baby kitteh :( The stray animal problem exists everywhere in Thailand

We shuttled off to Monkey Island, where we thought we would be able to get off the boat, but they kept us on there to take pictures. In hindsight, this was probably for the best as a monkey would have probably bit and robbed me of my camera and dignity.

The outfits the tourists wore and the poses they made continued to impress.

The water color became increasingly unreal as the trip progressed

Hay gurl hay, with random monkey

Werq

Hungry monkeys

Leaving Monkey Bay

Quick "drive by" the Viking Cave

The islands we passed seemed to become more and more dramatic as we approached Maya Bay. I was initially not so excited to go here, the famous location where The Beach was filmed.  In high season, the boats are usually in a queue just to get into the area and any attempt at a photo is filled with the background noise of strangers.

We must have timed our arrival perfectly (at the tail end of the low season) or won the island lottery, as there were a few 'slips' open between our boat and the one next to us. It was like we had a private view of the scenery.

I felt my jaw drop repeatedly at the perfect views and temperate water. I could live and swim here forever (without the tourists).

Boating into Maya Bay

View from my swimming spot

Attempt at a panorama, which is hard when you're bobbing up and down in the water :)

Don't know what to do? Put your hands in the air.

Yaaaay

The only piece missing from these pictures is Darryl, but hopefully I can take him somewhere just as spectacular when he comes to visit.

Unfortunately our last stop was the worst - an overpacked beach that we are convinced is a money pit the boat operators get a cut for taking us to, and is not worth mentioning outside of saying DO NOT GO TO KHAI NOK ISLAND.

I did not let this disappointing end cast a shadow on a truly beautiful trip. And this beautiful trip was a nice reminder that it's okay to pack more into each day, because they are flying by too quickly already.

Link to full set of pictures here.

-Erin