The three small islands NW off of Lombok are called the Gilis. Some
people are nuts for these islands and they are nice with lots of turtles and good snorkeling.
There is a fair amount of bleached out coral, cheap
accomodation, good restaurants and a wide variety of dive shops. Gili Meno and Gili Air
have more peace and quiet for those seeking that.
With only two visits to the islands my impression is that they are
set up primarily for tourists with very few genuine "locals". Most of
these workers are young men from Lombok and they are for the most part
a good group of guys.
It must be frustrating for them though, to have
such a high ratio of young men to the few young women except for the
tourist girls. (Many that go there to hook up with the young
men:) Fair enough!
There is a small night theater (large screen tv) playing new releases.
Some of the dive shops have big bashes at night. Trawangan is reputed
to be a party island and seems to attract a younger trendy crowd or
people for whom hipness is very important. Residents seem to push the
magic mushroom thing quite a bit which detracts from the island for me.
Many travelers do their dive master training there and it's a great
place for it.
Simon of Blue Marlin is a very interesting and talented person,
good businessman, and very skilled diver. He is into rebreathers and
can organize volcanic lake dives. (altitude dives) He is a real and
genuine person and treats all people with respect.
Manta Dive is another local shop and there are loads of others but I can't
remember the names at this time but no advance reservations would be
necessary.
A few people surf the waves there but the conditions are not good for that.
There is a turtle hatchery or rehabilitation center on Gili Air or Gili Meno that's worth a look.
A trail that circles around Trawangan can be walked in an hour or so.
It is a pleasant walk in the morning. A unique feature of this island
is that there is no motorized vehicles but rather horse drawn carts.
They push new arrivals pretty hard to transport them to the hotels but
are not really necessary as everything is within walking distance from
the pier or beach where the boat let them off.
There
are a lot of football (or soccer) tournaments with prize money to keep
everyone busy. Most businesses sponsor their own team.
Many people really love this place, but those searching for
traditional culture or trying to experience a taste of Indonesian life
might be better off elsewhere. It can be a nice place to chill. It just
depends what your interests are.
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