Upping the chill factor

Some of you may have been disappointed at the amount of beach-time I have logged on this trip. I'm sure that many people would utilize the privilege of a trip like this to maximize their tans and try to spend as much time as possible soaking up the beach vibes. Most of you, however, know me well enough to know that I don't really do beaches, and that I prefer mountains. Over the last few days, however, Emma and I have been in an island paradise that was worth doing absolutely nothing in. Barring the fact that we both became rather ill, I quite enjoyed it.

I shalln't (is that the correct spelling? I can't ever remember writing that before) be giving you a blow-by-blow account of our illnesses. It suffices to say that we both expelled nutrient-rich organic material out of both ends, almost at the same time. You need know no more about that.

In the times when we weren't toiling on or over the toilet, we were mostly reading, chilling or snorkelling. The main drawcard of South East Asia is its beautiful aquatic environment. All around Indonesia, Malaysia, The Phillipines and Thailand are coral reefs swarming with tropical fish, turtles and small sharks. The Gili islands, where we have spent the last few days, were no exception, and we enjoyed leisurely exploring some of the aquatic world with the aid of a mask and snorkel.

Life on Gili Air is very laid back, and most of the time you are no more than 100 metres from someone lazily strumming a guitar or sipping a Bintang (the local beer). The three Gili islands lie just offshore of Lombok, and the main economic drive here is tourism. Spending some time on the islands gave me time to think a bit more about Indonesia and reflect on my negative experiences which I spoke about in my last blog. I understand more now that many of the people so annoying me previously are poor and at their wits end. I guess I just wasn't expecting it, which is why it caught me off guard.

Here are some pictures with captions if you hover.









We're now back on the mainland in Sengiggi and are planning to trek up Gunung Rinjani, Lombok's highest volcano and the second highest peak in Indonesia. That means we'll be in the mountains, and I'm getting pretty excited. The idea of going to look for Komodo dragons has been shelved for the moment. We got our priorities sorted! I'll leave you with this sunset picture I took, which I'm quite proud of.