Life’s a Beach in Gili

I cannot say enough good things about my time spent on the Gili Islands. Sure, getting there was an adventure, but the discomfort of one day of travel was well worth the six glorious days we spent on these beautiful islands in the sun.

Gili Trawangan

We spent the majority of our time on Gili T, an island small enough to walk around in less than two hours. This truly is a special and picturesque place, with turquoise colored water and white sand beaches.

The fact that no motorized vehicles are allowed on the island make it extra calming and carefree (until you're dodging a horse carriage piled high with propane tanks). There's also no police and only one health clinic, but we felt completely safe.

We had such a great time surrendering to the island lifestyle – spending our sunny days bronzing on the beach, eating well in waterfront bungalows and walking around the island.

There are a few quirks here though – the loud speaker prayers booming from the island's mosque, the roosters that crow at nightfall rather than sunrise, cat's whose tails look like they've been slammed in a car door, bulls on the beach and the drug pushers trying to sell you magic mushrooms.

Unfortunately, we did have a few severe rainstorms, which completely flooded the streets (ringworm fest) and dampened our outdoorsy plans. Thankfully our hostel was an awesome refuge where we could hang out with our new friends, watching movies, playing games and sharing cold Bintangs and Juss shots with at the tree house like rooftop bar.

Even in the sometimes soggy evenings, we always ventured to the nightly food markets, one of the highlights of the island. Backpackers, tourists and locals all frequented these delicious stalls for satay, noodles, corn on a stick, veggies, to die for pancakes and an assortment of other Indo dishes. At first, we were a bit scared of getting sick from the local food, but we made it five nights strong, Bali Belly free.

One sunny day, we joined some hostel mates on a snorkeling trip around all three of the Gili Islands. Through the crystal clear warm water, we saw brightly colored fish, corals, sea turtles and occasional ocean floor junk. After getting a glimpse of the underwater beauty, I can see why the Gilis are overrun with dive schools.

In addition to divers, Gili T definitely suits the younger, banana pancake eating traveler crowd. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, each of the three main bars on the island (Blue Marlin, 'The Irish Bar' and Rudy's) have their own party night where everyone on the island, including the locals, come together to sweat under the stars.

While we were there, we also got to experience one of the island's Full Moon Parties. There was a huge bonfire on the beach, fire twirlers, fireworks and a sandy dance floor. While cool to see, it was a bit too trancey for us, and once amateur fire twirling hour came, we decided to trek back to the hostel before seeing some stupid drunk German ignite themselves.

When the morning came to head back to Bali on the fast two hour boat (thank goodness!), I was quite sad to leave paradise. I really loved Gili and could've easily stayed a few weeks longer. But our Asian travels have just begun and it was time to give Ubud in Bali our attention for our last few days in Indonesia.

See you again one day Gilis!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Noodles, Eyelashes and Circus Performers, Oh My!

One of the many reasons I love Sydney is for its abundance of festivals, fairs and markets. Every weekend since I’ve returned to the harbor city, I’ve found a new outdoor celebration, expo and/or neighborhood festivity to check out and/or work at.

Night Noodle Markets

Delicious night in Hyde Park

During the month of October, Hyde Park was transformed into a hub of Asian food, beer gardens and live performances as part of the Sydney International Food Festival.

As a lover of any and all Asian food, this night market was a must do. Me and some friends from the hostel had such a great time perusing all the punny-named food stalls (favorites: Viet Yum and Thais R Us), sitting under twinkle lights, and of course indulging in a wide variety of dumplings, noodles, curries and paellas.

Mind Body Spirit Festival

Now, I probably wouldn’t of attended this health and well being-focused festival (for financial reasons), but I was luckily selected via GumTree to help out in one of the booths, so I got to experience it after all.

Intimidating amount of gifted people

Showing off the goods on sale

I’m a bit of a yogi and health appreciator, but this expo was pretty out there. In addition to the more than 200 exhibitors promoting angels, reflexology, spiritual teachings, body scanners, face reading and countless detox products, there was also an entire cafeteria-sized room full of psychics.

So what was I selling? Alkaline water, organic skincare, candles or jewelry?

Not quite…I was holding down the fashion eyelash, hair gem and hair mascara booth. Selling these ‘glamorous’ products to people that believe in the healing powers of crystals was a challenge to say the least.

Glebe Street Fair

Something more on my level was the Glebe Street Fair. Glebe is a super cute neighborhood full of second-hand stores, unique bars and cafes, a beautiful park and the occasional market and street fair.

This one day annual event took over Glebe Point Road with its stalls selling the usual market items – clothes, jewelry, art, knick knacks and most importantly, international food. My roommates and I joined thousands of others to enjoy the beautiful Sunday sunshine, delicious snacks and street performances.

 

Clearly, I couldn’t resist the chilli speckled corn on a stick

Kings Cross Festival

The 2012 Kings Cross Festival is currently underway and since I’m living only a few blocks away from the underbelly of Sydney, I’m sure I’ll witness and/or get involved at some point this weekend.

From what I’ve seen advertised, there’s late night shopping, literary programs, live music and theatrical, circus and gypsy cabaret performances happening in and around the Cross. I’ll be sure to report back on the eclectic entertainment.