Day 8 – Arriving at Gili T

Bright and early we got up ready to catch the bus to take us to the boat to sail to the Gilis. It would be a tiring journey trekking with our luggage in the heat and important to stick together to ensure we all end up on the right boat!

I grabbed a ham and cheese toastie for my breaky to get me through the boat trip in case I was to get sea sick. It actually ended up being super relaxing! I sat up top with the cool breeze from the waves and the sun glaring down on me. Luckily I had suncream on as it was hot! Bob Marley was blaring out and I did my only bit of sunbathing for the trip and looking at my skin now this is definitely where I got my poor attempt at a tan from.

When we arrived at Gili it was very different from what I was expecting. Different to the islands in Thailand that I had visited previously but also different from inland Bali. I felt immediately like I missed Kuta already! But I soon got used to the island and now I think I miss this more. The island has one big strip of clubs and bars where all the tourists and hotels seem to be. I bet there is a hell of a lot more to the island only I didn’t get chance to really explore only stay on the strip. It all felt a lot smaller than Ko Pha Ngan where I seemed to feel swallowed by how big it is.

When we arrived at Gili T Resort where I would be staying for 2 nights, it was a pretty little hotel with a small pool but good location right in the centre of everything!

After we settled in everyone was pretty tired so we had around 2 hours to chill out and do our own thing. I went for a wander and ended up at a beautiful restaurant overlooking the ocean with the comfiest swinging sofa for me to relax on whilst I drank my strawberry juice. I could have fallen asleep there and then so easily!

After chillaxing on my own for a short while I headed back to the hotel where we enjoyed a pool party and game of pool volleyball before heading out for dinner. It was time to visit Ombok resort which many of the group were excited about. I really didn’t know anything about this place but this is where you can find the famous sunset swing.

We cycled over to the resort along the bumpy roads on rickety bikes. As always I enjoyed this part because I love cycling! Although I didn’t discover the bike had gears until the way back so that was a bit of a fail on my part!

When we arrived at Ombok everybody ordered cocktails as it was happy hour 241! I didn’t have anyone to pair up with and didn’t fancy two getting warm in the sun so I went for a wander. I ended up walking around the resort and it was beautiful. They had a pool bar which I’ve never got to experience so I figured.. I’ll get in wearing my shorts. I just wanted an excuse to be able to sit in the water at a bar and drink a cocktail.. Sounds perfect! I ended up meeting a girl from Australia over with her bf, we chatted and shared cocktails together so it was definitely worth the wander!

After watching the sunset we cycled back to the centre where I sped ahead to experience the bicycles full potential.. We were heading to the local markets for dinner.

I wasn’t keen on the market as nothing is priced so you are expected to haggle. Not only that but you are not sure what anything is. It all seemed a little too much work for me and some of the girls so we headed to a local bar with a band playing reggae tunes. I loved this place, the band were amazing and even playing popular songs like Marroon 5 and Michael Buble, was funny to hear! We also had the greatest cocktails here, my ‘I love reggae’ tasted amazing and was coloured like the rasta colours. I had really tasty chicken enchiladas and 3 of the cocktails to prepare for what would be our party night of the trip.

We all met at The Jungle Bar opposite our hotel ready for pre-drinks before hitting the club. Everybody seemed so wasted but I couldn’t seem to get into that state.. Perhaps I partied too hard in Kuta? Nevertheless I ended up having an awesome night and after Beth stole the hat of a local and I asked how old he was I ended up having him following me around all night… Oops. I only recognised him from the red hat, it was like his trademark haha

The night got messy pretty quickly after our group leader gave us a round of shots that I can only describe as a shot of death haha it was disgusting. I had to run to the bar straight after to grab a drink to take away the pain. Argh.

It was after this I had some fun with the girls back at the hotel wearing fake moustaches which seemed to go down a treat with the locals when we ventured out, they seemed to find this hilarious..

The club was very westernised. What I find interesting about Gili T is that every bar on the island closes its doors at 1am despite how busy it is. There is then only 1 bar allowed to remain open until 4am and this rotates every night. The bar will become the only spot you will find people partying in then you have to wait a whole week before you can go again. I thought this was a really interesting idea!

I’m not a big fan of clubs however I do like a good night out so whilst I was having fun after some of the group left it got to that stage in the night where I needed food. I was told by some English that there are no takeaways on the island only noodle karts. No problemo.. Love me some Asian food!

I actually ended up ending the night sat on the street with some locals eating a bowl of noodles (with egg on top which is the norm) and I was chatting to one of the workers. I found this really interesting as I asked him lots of questions about his quality of life. Made me sad to hear about how much money he earns daily.. The equivalent to £5 a day which I later learned that some workers earn less than that. I know that should equate to a good life out there but really when I’m spending £5 on 2 cocktails in Bali.. How are the locals meant to go out and have any fun? No wonder they’re dependant on tourists.

I finished my noodles and headed back to my room (after falling asleep by the pool first of course)