I spent the last days at Gili Trawangan, one of the small islands in the southwest of Lombok. It is so tiny; you can walk around the entire island in two to three hours. There are no motorized vehicles, only bicycles or horse-drawn carriages (“cidomo”). But that doesn’t mean it’s quiet. The party tourists are in the vast majority compared to islanders.

I chose an accomodation away from the hustle and bustle, in the middle of the island. With a bike for free it was very easy to get around in a short time. And I loved it to roam in the remote places and watching the local life. Beside playing children and hundreds of roosters, it felt worried as I spotted many decrepit backyards, ruins and semi-finished houses. I guess the poor conditions are mainly due to the big earthquake in August 2018, when 480 people lost their lives.

Though I visited the touristic corners, too. The seafront is full of beach clubs and I found a really nice spot in the northwest coast and relaxed in a hammock between shady pine trees. I hiked to Bukit Trawangan to get a beautiful sunset view. Maybe you already recognized that I’m crazy about turtles. The Turtle Point on the north-east was my paradise! I just parked my bike, took my mask and snorkel and walked into a tourquise wonderland, the bottom covered with seagrass and I spotted a lot of turtles and Picasso triggerfishes! There were no crowds, no boats, only a few locals who helped me to spot the turtles. Gili Trawangan is really popular for its nightlife, but the bunch of clubs and bars (and drunks) at the eastern beachfront was too much for me. For dinner there’s an inexpensive nightmarket which offers a lot of local specialities and some pancake stalls for a delicious dessert 😛

But the main reason why I went to Gili Trawangan was not the nightlife. I finally wanted to go diving again! To reclaim and to protect the nature under and over water, the local “Gili Eco Trust” is implementing several environmental projects. A reef tax paid by every diver is the minium to support the organisation passively. My first dive was at Bounty Wreck, which is a sunken pier actually. During the second dive at Shark Point we had a very strong current and we spotted a lot of turtles, but the whitetip sharks came to us during our third dive at Jammim Reef. My final dive was a night dive and I loved it to explore the underwater world under the completely different torchlight. The return to the coast by boat in the dark after such an amazing dive felt so peaceful and perfect. We shared some beers and cigarettes, but nobody spoke a lot. Everybody had a big smile on their faces and enjoyed the relieved spirit.