Recharged and fully recovered from the weariness, the second day in Gili Trawangan was loaded with activities. First of all, I went snorkeling on the second day in Gili Trawangan with bloggers from #tripofwonders. Snorkeling and island hopping are your default activities in Gili Trawangan. Of course, there are the famous swing of Gili Trawangan and bicycles that could be made to good use. So, here are my account of our activities in Gili Trawangan.
We left Gili Trawangan with a medium size boat that could fit 20 pax to snorkel at two snorkeling points. There was a big excitement about taking this glass bottom boat, atleast for me. There were many boats that attract the travelers by advertising the glass bottom feature. Most of them look like normal boats from the outside. Since the bottom was hidden, the excitement was real the morning I boarded the boat.
First, we snorkelled at the Turtle Point, Gili Meno. Suited with the strong current, the operator prepared snorkel mask and fins. Minutes after jumping into the ocean, the snorkel guide called out. Over here! Turtle, he said. A dozen of us quickly swam to his direction to get a glimpse of the turtle. The turtle was swimming from the bottom to get the surface for some air. It glided gracefully away from human curiosity. Slowly, it disappeared in the deep ocean.
After our first interesting discovery, we had our own time snorkeling around the boat. There were small fishes and ordinary hard corals spread at the seabed as a result of past explosions, bleaching and pollution. The morning time allowed the light penetration into the sea bed. That was what made the underwater world came to life.
After almost an hour at the first snorkeling point, we continued to Gili Air, the last of three Gili islands. Those who are not fond of further snorkeling enjoyed themselves at the beach. I chose to continue snorkeling at the second point, which was just 20 meters from the shore. Apart from the snorkeling, I could see people doing paddle boarding and kayaking on real see through kayak. The see through kayak is the first of its kind I had seen.
After having our lunch at Scallywags Gili Air (same restaurant different island from the dinner place the night before), we went back to Vila Ombak for free and easy evening.
Gili Trawangan Sunset Point
Edgar agreed to show us the way to the sunset point. Indirectly, it means a sunset cycling tour around Gili Trawangan. We rented the bicycle for 3 hours at the price of IDR50,000.00. Edgar, David, Gael, Vins and I started our little tour at 4.30pm. It took 1.5 hours to reach the sunset point. We had fun on the cycling trip despite having to go through a sea of people. Even when we bumped into other cyclist, we avoided one another with smiles on our faces. One thing I noticed about Gili Trawangan was the happy vibes. The ringing of the bicycle bells became part of the street commotion.
We encountered quite a traffic at the main backpackers district. The traffic thinned out as we cycled further out ofthe area. We saw a yoga class by the beach, a swamp, local houses and beautiful hang out area at the less crowded side of Gili Trawangan. We had to push our bikes on the sandy area as well as along the edge of the walkway. It could be pretty scary if you were to bike at night.
The Famous Gili Trawangan Swing
We stopped to ask the security guard the whereabout of the famous swing. We parked our bicycle and went in search for the swing at the beach. On the way to the swing, we saw few horses taking evening bath. A picture opportunity, we thought. What a rare encounter. But later when we compared notes with other bloggers, it became clear that it was in fact a common sight for evening stroll in Gili Trawangan.
Coming back to the swing which Pandawa name, Edgar insisted that it was not the original swing. He had been to Gili Trawangan before, so he was in command for our cycling tour. According to him, the sunset view at the original swing was even better.
If I am not mistaken, there are 5 swings about 10 meters from the shore. There is no way you will be able to keep dry. For a 5ft tall person like me, the water level nearly reached my waist. Another tips you should know about the swing is there will be a long queue for the swing. Once it is your turn to take memorable pictures on the swing, the other impatient visitors next in the line would annoyingly pester you to be quick. Hold your horses, people.
From where I stood, I had the perfect view of the sun sunk into the vast ocean. As soon as the fiery orange ball disappeared, the sky turned purple and pink-tinged grey. What a way to end a day in Gili Trawangan.
P/S : There was a bicycle rush hour slightly after sunset.
Read : Part 1 : Gili Trawangan – A Villa, Good Food and Night Walk
This trip to Gili Trawangan was made possible by the invitation of Ministry of Tourism Indonesia for Trip of Wonders – Wonderful Indonesia campaign. Date of travel: 27 July 2016