Explore Gili Trawangan

 

The largest of the three islands , Gili Trawangan attracts the majority of visitors, it is around thirty minutes boat ride from the northwest mainland of Lombok and regular daily fast boats depart Bali directly to Trawangan island and all boats stop off at Teluk Nare on mainland Lombok as part of the return journey.

The beaches of the Gilis are still powdery white, the water a beautiful clear blue and they are positioned perfectly for sunsets over Bali’s Mt Agung and sunrise over Lombok’s Mt Rinjani. Thirty years ago the Gili islands were uninhabited and only discovered by the seafaring Bugis people from Sulawesi. It was only a matter of time before the more adventurous backpacker types discovered the islands and developed Trawangan into a hippy party paradise destination.

Gili Trawangan now identifies itself as a great holiday destination suitable for families of all ages. Various new hotels, luxury villas, and boutique bungalows now cater to children and offer good value. Some have baby-sitting services, and with lots of activities on the islands families are sure to enjoy their beach holidays to the full .

Unique to the Gilis all forms of motorized transport are still not allowed – meaning the only way to get around is on foot, by bicycle and in pony carts known as Cidomos. One sign of change is the recent introduction four ATM machines on the three Gili Trawangan to be found at Hotel Vila Ombak and Coral Beach . It’s possible to follow the beach around the perimeter of the island in around two hours on foot. The most popular stretches of beaches are `Goodheart’ (the main stretch) and `North Beach’ where the best snorkeling is to be found .

All dive centers and many shack operations lining the beaches rent snorkeling equipment for around 50k(RM17) for half a day . Beware of strong currents and do not attempt to swim between any of the islands . With over twenty-five dive sites surrounding all three islands there are opportunities to dive any of the Gilis regardless of where you base yourself .

Most visitors stay on Gili Trawangan for the facilities and make the short hop out to the dive sites. Each dive school has its own fleet of traditional outrigger boats that ferry divers offshore to the walls and reefs where the best diving is to be found. Aside from the obvious lure of snorkeling and diving, sunbathing and bar-hopping, Gili Trawangan has a fair amount of distractions to keep visitors both amused and entertained throughout the course of their stay .

Fishing trips and charters can be made with the local outrigger fishing boats who offer day trips with line fishing and trawling . The Bio Rock is an environmental initiative set up by the Gili Eco Trust that over the last six years has hosted an annual Bio Rock workshop on Gili Trawangan . The artificial metal reef cages are fed a constant voltage of electricity to encourage coral regeneration and are a natural attraction for all forms of marine life . There are now thirty three individual projects in the Gilis and it’s possible to snorkel or dive around them and there’s even a PADI specialty course tailored to educate and involve a wider community .

travellers discovered Gili T in the 1980s, seduced by the white-sand beaches, and coral reefs. By the 1990s Trawangan had mutated into a kind of tropical Ibiza, a stoney idyll where you could rave away from the eyes of the Indonesian police. And then the island began to grow up .There are some lovely walks to be had on the island, although the perimeter coastal track is perhaps not as scenic as those on Gili Meno and Gili Air. A leisurely stroll all the way around will take 90-120 minutes, depending on just how leisurely you are .

Gili Gelato , Local Ice Cream 

Teh Botol , Famous Local Tea drink .

Indonesia Local Milk Product "Indomilk" , The milk flavour was my favourite  .

On Gili Trawangan , you’ll find turtle sanctuaries and private hatcheries . This is where children can get up close with cute baby turtles and learn about marine life conservation . The project on Gili Trawangan houses an egg incubator, as well as three small pools for the varying-sized turtle hatchlings. About twice per year, project volunteers will release sea-ready turtles into the wild, right into the warm water off the island’s eastern coast.

Local Favorite and also my Favorite , Bakso or baso is Indonesian meatball or meat paste made from beef . Its texture is similar to the Chinese beef ball , fish ball , or pork ball . The term bakso could refer to a single meatball or the whole bowl of meatballs soup .

Beef Stick , This was terrible . The meat ball contain 90% of flour , Luckily that I just bought two stick . Try to finish it quickly but the meatball is still hot and the chillie sauce was spicy .

Soto ayam is a yellow spicy chicken soup with lontong or nasi himpit or ketupat and  vermicelli or noodles , commonly found in Indonesia,Turmeric is added as one of its ingredients to get yellow chicken broth. It is probably the most popular variant of soto, a traditional soup commonly found in Indonesian cuisine .

 

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