Deserted Gili Meno & a Swarm of Jellyfish

After spending a few days on Gili T, we yearned to find a deserted beach. And rumor had it that the island, Gili Meno, just across the water from Gili T was it! Over the years we had realized that the places we always loved the most were the small, off the beaten path towns and villages which have few tourists (Mljet, Croatia was one of them!).

We got to the ferry office at 9AM in the morning and bought a roundtrip ticket for a few bucks to Gili Meno. It's just a quick 15-20 min trip across the water and the boat picks you back up around 3:30PM in the afternoon. Again we beelined to the nearest snorkel stand and basically took off straight through the island to the other side. Immediately we had wished we could spend just one night on Gili Meno.

I heard, in passing, that Gili Meno was up and coming in previous years...until the Bali bombing in 2002. We walked past crumbling island resorts and wooden lodges, saw palmtrees which had fallen over onto bungalows and trees and vines that were starting to swallow bungalows and empty swimming pools. It was a bit creepy but we definitely felt like this was a Paradise Lost type of place. Soon after the bombings, apparently tourism took a nosedive and the owners and developers of these new resorts just left.

Anyway, the beaches and snorkeling in Gili Meno are even more amazing than Gili T...hands-down! Walking along the deserted pathways on the Western side of the island we even spotted a 6 foot long monitor lizard (kind of like a komodo dragon)! 

On our last snorkel spot, the wind had really picked up. But we saw some divers in the water and figured that it would be a great spot to snorkel. Once we started, I thought I saw a piece of floating plastic in the water...then I saw another one and got suspicious...and then after I saw yet another one SWIMMING then I realized what I was looking at: a jellyfish! 

Then I saw another and another and another and: swarm of jellyfish!

Christian was out farther than I was and I knew he'd freak. They were tiny and clear so I was a bit more at ease knowing that weren't the giant freaky ones you see in aquariums. Even the ones in Mexico looked more scary looking. But then I thought sometimes the tiniest animals come with the nastiest bite. 

So I told him to swim back..."why?" "just swim back...I just need to swim back, come to shore with me" while I try to gracefully swim back while knowing I could get stung at any moment. I mean if I could see 5-6 right in front of my mask then there had to be tons more nearby.

But then I changed my mind 10 feet offshore and thought maybe a tiny freak-out would be fun. Then I told him we were swimming in a swarm of jellyfish. Cue freak-out ;).

Snorkeling in Gili T, Indonesia

The morning after we set foot on that beautiful beach in Lombok, we were on our way to the Gili Islands between Bali and Lombok. The car whisked us the 2 hours to the port of Bangsal and through Lombok's monkey forest. It was something like out of a movie--driving through a dense, green jungle riddled with monkeys...and I mean we must have seen hundreds sitting and swinging around on the side of the road! Some with babies latched to their bellies :).

Soon we boarded the boat to Gili Trawangan (Gili T for short!). In a boat filled with 40 locals, eggs, vegetables, gasoline, supplies, etc., we were 2 of the only foreigners on the boat.

The day before we left for the Gilis we went to Agoda.com and got yet another sweet deal for Coconut Dream Bungalows in Gili T. The location is just off a small street perpendicular to the main street and only 5 min walking from Gili T's small port. We had an outdoor shower, A/C, a outdoor lounge bed and breakfast brought to our patio each morning...all for only about $25! 

Gili T is a perfect backpacker island. The beaches around the island are beautiful and the water is so warm. There is cheap happy hour, movie nights on the beach and a big party at a different bar each night. One night we cozied up and watched The Great Gatsby on a big screen right on the beach! Outdoor movies are my absolute favorite so I was stoked.

Our favorite part about Gili T was snorkeling. Christian really caught on to 'this new sport' as he would call it...lol. We used the bikes from our bungalows for free, rented some snorkel gear for $5/day and dove under. While we didn't see any sea turtles as I had hoped, we saw a good portion of the Finding Nemo cast and an eel. And a baby triggerfish tried to nip me ;). Perhaps I got a little too close. 

TIPS

*We arranged our transfer to Bangsal and boat to Gili T the day before we wanted to leave in Kuta, Lombok--super easy and there are plenty of places selling tickets and tours.

*The main street in Gili T has really cool beach bars with daily happy hour, live music and lounge chairs right on the beach. 

*Our tummies hadn't yet craved Indonesian food while we were on Gili T. Instead we split a burger at the island's only Irish bar Tir Na Nog for a couple nights and it was SO good...highly recommended! (`ya ya we're a little bit ashamed)

{The snorkel king}