30 May 2024
Situated only a few kilometres off the northwest coast of Lombok, the Gili Islands is a hugely popular tourist destination. A day out to these islands by private chartered glass bottom boat was the highlight of my first trip to Lombok.
"Gili" actually means 'island' in the local language and the Gili Islands are made up of three idyllic small islands – Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air. The three islands each offer something different, as we would find out during our visit. Our guide, Omar, told us there are many nicer Gilis in Lombok but the most accessible and popular islands are these three.
It was a 20 minutes drive in our chartered van from our hotel in Senggigi to the boat launching point. Omar gave us a run-down of what to expect on the islands. He also gave each of us a small sachet containing supplements to combat sea-sickness. I don’t suffer from motion sickness usually but took the supplement anyway.
We were issued our snorkeling gear before boarding the glass bottom boat. Omar had requested for our shoe sizes the day before so the boat crew could prepare the right sized snorkeling fins for each of us.
In addition to Omar, we have two other crew members in the boat - the captain and his young first mate. The younger one would act as lookout in the bow of the boat while the captain steer the boat. These guys were awesome. Always willing to help and to ensure that we are safe and have a good time.
The weather for the day was perfect. Clouds with sun. Even then, sun protection (hats, sunscreen, sunglasses, etc) is a must before going out to sea. Most of us also wore water shoes.
It felt good to go out to sea again, feeling the sea breeze and the occasional spray of sea water on my face.
On our way to the first island, Omar pointed out the some objects floating on the sea to our left. These objects are used to rear oysters that will produce pearls. Many, including myself, are unaware that Lombok is famous for its pearl farms. This is big business in the area, with some of the prettiest pearls in Southeast Asia cultivated here.
Gili Air
The first island we went to was Gili Air as it was the closest. We donned our snorkeling gear and entered the water one by one. I was the second person to jump into the water with mask only; no fins and no life vest as I thought I could surface dive to get a closer view of the corals and fishes below.
The corals at our snorkeling area were quite good. I could see plenty of live corals with colourful fishes. I soon discover that the current at this spot was quite strong and it was difficult to propel myself forward without fins.
As more of my friends jumped in, I struggled to get back to the boat. Panting like crazy, I managed to return safely to the boat. I put on my fins and also wear the life-vest before returning to the water. Lesson learnt!
Omar brought along a GoPro camera and one of the boatmen used it expertly to capture some underwater pictures and videos for us.
Beautiful corals and colourful fishes at Gili Air.
Gili Air has plenty of live corals with plenty of colouful fishes but the current was quite strong. So, it is not ideal for novice snorkelers. For one of my travelling companions, this was the first time for him.
Our boatman trailed a long rope behind the boat for us to cling on. That was a very good idea! We could also use the rope to get back to the boat instead of swimming against the current.
Even though the sea on this day was not that choppy, a couple of folks in our group suffered from motion sickness at this point. The supplements that Omar provided to all of us when we left the hotel in the morning did not work for some.
Gili Meno
The next island we went to was Gili Meno, sandwiched between Gili Trawangan and Gili Air.
Approaching Gili Meno, we saw many boats and snorkelers concentrated at a peculiar spot. Omar told us this is where the very popular underwater “Nest” sculpture is located.
The sculpture consists of 48 life-size human sculptures of couples hugging each other, formed in a circle to encase even more figures lying on the seabed. This is created by the artist Jason deCaires Taylor to raise awareness about the risk of destroying the coral barrier reefs. The material used in the sculpture is supposed to provide a platform for soft corals and sponges to grow.
Just like at Gili Air, the current was quite strong. Our boatman brought the boat to a spot up current from the Nest before we entered the water. Once we are in the water, we drifted with the current towards the mass of people snorkeling above the “Nest”.
Being only about 100 meters from the shore of Gili Meno, the water at this point is not deep. We could see the sculpture quite easily, together with the masses of legs and fins hovering above. It was actually quite chaotic as there are multiple groups gathered around the “Nest”.
We drifted with the current past the sculpture and focused our attention to the many colourful fishes in the area.
Our boat was waiting for us, down current from the “Nest”, to pick us up as planned. Our next stop is Gili Trawangan, the largest island in the group.
Gili Trawangan
As our boat approaches the shore of Gili Trawangan, our guide Omar assures us that we will definitely see some wild sea turtles at this island.
He was absolutely spot on.
The beach on this island is gently sloping and shallow. We entered the water without fins and life vests and waded on the sandy bottom in search of sea turtles.
We spotted one within minutes.
There are two species of sea turtles found around Gili Trawangan, the Green Turtle and the Hawksbill Turtle.
The one we spotted was the Green Turtle. The Green Turtle are actually not green in colour. It was light brown in colour as shown in the photos. They are called green turtles after the colour of their meat. Their diet consists of mainly sea grass, which causes their meat to turn green.
The turtle was calm and probably used to humans. Ignoring us, it continued to feed on sea grass and other stuff on the seabed while the excited humans hover over and around it.
Being able to snorkel around this incredible creature was a beautiful experience. This was the highlight of my visit to the Gili Islands. I believe the rest of my group felt the same too.
We boarded the boat again and landed on another part of the island where the “main street” of the island is located. There are many restaurants along this stretch. The restaurants on the island all have similar features – sandy floors, no walls and little huts where you have views of the sea and women in bikinis while we enjoyed our meal.
Omar arranged for us to use the single shower room at a restaurant where we would take our lunch. We rested in the “restaurant”, took our time to look at the menu while the group took turns to shower and changed into dry clothes.
Like most restaurants on the island, the menu catered to tourists more than locals. It features more western dishes than local.
Being on a private chartered boat tour, we could take our time to explore the place after lunch. It was obvious that there are no motorized vehicles of any kind on the island. The transport options are either horse-cart taxi or rent a bicycle.
Omar suggested that we could rent a bike to cycle around the island. We chose to just strolled down the main street and feel the vibes on the Gili Islands.
Once we had enough of the Gili Islands, we boarded the boat again and headed back to Lombok. Compared to the outbound trip, the sea on our way back was more choppy. While I enjoyed the thrill of the rough ride, our two sea-sick friends had a relapse by the time we reached shore.
Overall, our outing to the Gili Islands had been fun. The clarity of the water was good for snorkeling. We saw plenty of corals and fishes and we got to swim with the turtles!
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