Last weekend Made and I went on a Robinson Crusoe adventure to visit some quieter less inhabited small islands off the south-west coast of Lombok. They are known as “The Secret Gilis”, perhaps to distinguish them from “The Famous Gilis” (Air, Meno & Trawangan). They are all often referred to by tourists as the ‘gili islands’, which is a bit of a misnomer as “gili” is the Indonesian word for ‘small island’.
A few weeks ago my landlady asked me for a loan. I had to be tough and decline, as I’m not confident she would ever be able to repay me. Her husband, Surkur, is a good boatman, and as I have been wanting to go to the secret gilis since Made first told me about them the night we met, I decided now was a good time to ask him to take us there. It would give them money – a win win.
The boat is a traditional long wooden vessel with outriggers on both sides; the same style as all the island ferry boats and some of the larger fishing boats here. Surkur manned the engine and rudder at the back and Made and I enjoyed the open water views and breeze sitting out in the open on the bow. After a couple of hours motoring down along the coast of Lombok we came upon tiny Gili Kedis, the little gem in the picture I posted last weekend. It was just so cute. I loved it!
We were the only people on the island, but while I was off snorkelling, we had a visitor. A tiny old man had come across on his tiny single outrigger wooden fishing boat. As I’d been engrossed in seeing some amazing pink, violet, mauve, purple and cream corals I hadn’t seen him arrive, but the coast of Lombok where he came from was only perhaps a few hundred metres away.
I asked if I could take his picture and only then realised he’d put out some shells and shell bracelets. He was hoping to sell them, but hadn’t approached us as a seller. Of course I bought a couple of things from him, spending a total of $2. He came up the beach then, and chatted with Made and Surkur in the Lombok (Sasak) language. He was very animated and enthusiastic in sharing his story. He used to work on a nearby island, Gili Nanggu, as a diver for the pearl farms (there are still many pearl farms around this area). Now he still dives, with his tiny swimming goggles, for fish, and for shells to sell. I asked how old he was and he said he was 100 years old! I’m not sure if that is true but he did say he was born during the Dutch occupation.
Made offered him a cigarette (the normal social behaviour especially extended to those less financially fortunate). The old man declined. Turns out he has never ever smoked, which is a very rare thing indeed for Indonesian men! I laughed and said he was a very good man, ‘laki laki bagus banyak’ and did he want to marry me??! That made him blush so hard he dropped his head to the ground but he laughed and laughed, showing us his two teeth (both back molars). Made and Surkur laughed loudly with him. Then he wanted his photo taken with me 😉.
Made gave him a little bit of cash and we headed off to continue our journey. The little man sat on the sand looking straight at us but didn’t return our enthusiastic waves. It wasn’t until Surkur started the engine that he suddenly waved back. I suspect he was almost blind!
We stopped at Gili Kedis on our return journey also, specifically in the hope of seeing him again. Yep, he was there! This time we gave him our packets of biscuits and crackers and some more money. Again he sat on the beach and watched us leave but didn’t wave until the engine started. He was such a sweetheart! Meeting him was a big highlight of the entire trip.
Other highlights included snorkelling from the beach of Gili Layar amongst some of the biggest, healthiest most colourful coral I’ve seen. We stayed two nights in tiny bungalows on Gili Layar, a small island inhabited by only two couples from a neighbouring island who provide security for the land around the bungalows and stay on the island to tend to a couple of herds of beautiful healthy cows.
Unfortunately Gili Layar seems to be a collection point for the appalling tonnes of rubbish that float around the oceans off south east asia and which mar all the beautiful coastlines and islands. This was perhaps worse at the moment as we are still coming out of wet season. The beaches were strewn with plastic bottles and bags and thongs 
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Apart from that the island was pristine and absolutely beautiful. It had so much, the best coral and marine life, a gorgeous swimming beach, total peace and quiet, large green fields and a few hills from which you could see spectacular sunrises over the ocean, and sunsets over Mt Agung in Bali. It even had a rocky headland and a section of mangroves, so there was lots of bird life also. Made and I walked around the island the first night, traversing many precarious rocks along the headland during high tide, only making it back after dark. On the walk back we bumped into one of the cow men – a man in his seventies wearing only a sarong and a Muslim headpiece and carrying a long stick. He chatted away with Made in sasak again. Unfortunately I can’t understand any sasak.
I loved Gili Layar and could have spent much longer there. Made, Surkur and I enjoyed flicking through an entire big book on Reef Fish of the Indo-Pacific. We identified the many many fish we have seen both on Gili Meno and these other islands. Another highlight of the trip was sitting there on bean bags one evening in the open air bamboo restaurant watching Paddington’s London adventures on a big screen. Surreal! The ‘resort’ (more like a backpacker’s standard of accommodation, the tiniest bungalows imaginable, shared bathroom and electricity only provided by generator during the night) opened last year. It has 5 bungalows so far, but we were the only visitors there at the time, so we basically had the island to ourselves. I was very sad to leave and next time hope to stay a lot longer.
During our trip we also visited a few other islands. We had lunch on the first day at Gili Nanggu, and Made and I walked around that whole island too. Beautiful forests and small limestone cliffs. The snorkelling there was also spectacular, with many bio rocks growing new very brightly coloured coral.
We circled Gili Gede and visited the brand new ko-ko-mo resort there. It is Australian owned and is now on a fastboat run from Bali (you get there faster and then you take it slow… haha/groan!). A beautiful island with a few traditional villages so a mix of local culture with the many water sports offered by the resort. But ko-ko-mo was way too ladida for me with a pretentious vibe and price tag to match. The local staff there graciously understood when I refused their offer of a white table-clothed table once I had a look at the menu. Instead we hopped back into the boat and choofed off to the other side of the island to enjoy lunch at Dutch owned Via Vicare Bungalows on the other side of Gili Gede, enjoying the shade and breeze under many poinciana trees and elevated views back across to Gili Layar.
On the third day we visited Gili Asahan, perhaps the most beautiful of all the Gilis. The snorkelling there wasn’t as good – due to destructive fishing practices in past decades – but the beaches were stunningly beautiful and there were many isolated bungalows around the island. Definitely a honeymoon destination, or perhaps an artist’s peaceful retreat.
We had lunch at Pearl Resort which was beautiful. It was also spick and span clean. Much more so than many places around here; due, I believe, to being managed by a westerner. Many huge spreading trees, lots of green grass space, beautiful bungalows and shady seating areas and hammocks. No wifi. No electricity. Total tranquility, apart from the raucous laughter of the manager, a slightly eccentric Englishman from the Isle of Wight who came there three and a half years ago to manage the resort for six months. Peter had us in stitches from the moment he greeted us as we pulled up on the beach. Gili Asahan became another favourite of mine, and I’d love to go back there and stay.
All in all it was a wonderful trip and I had a great time. I feel privileged to have visited these islands by small boat, with two local men, giving me insights and info that I perhaps wouldn’t have had if I’d gone alone as a tourist. It was fun to share the laughs and chats and walks and snorkelling and boat trip with Made. Surkur also is good company – he is a lovely gentle and humble man – but he speaks less English than I do Indonesian, so our interaction is limited.
Surkur spent much of the trip chatting with locals on the various islands, plus snorkelling, and I think he also thoroughly enjoyed his little holiday. As I write this diary/blog, and thinking back over the journey, I just realised I didn’t speak to a single woman during the trip!
We arrived back at Gili Meno after dark, and the many restaurant and bungalow lights dotted along the beach reminded me that even though Meno is also a tiny and quiet island, it is very different from the secluded uninhabited island of Gili Layar.
Surkur backed the boat onto our nearest beach and dropped us off by torchlight, and we walked the three minutes home through our local village, which was abuzz with the evening social activities of our neighbours, all singing our selamat malam (good evening) or selamat datang (welcome back) as we walked by.