Here we are on Gilli Trewangan - a tiny island just off the coast of Lombok that has to be the closest to tropical paradise that I have ever been. Granted that in the high season this is a 'party island' and swarms with travellers, but here we are when there are probably less than 100 other tourists on the island - and its big enough that you don't see that many of them at a time either! Thats definitely a good thing for us as it leaves the beachside bars and the beaches themselves fairly free of other people - only a few fellow drinkers to provide some atmosphere would be nice! Still we have managed to console ourselves by making use of the DVD bars where for the price of ordering a meal or a few drinks you can get your own little booth complete with cushions and occaisionally a sea view (and spray!) to watch the DVD of your choice. Would be as cool as it sounds if most of them weren't really bad copies so I think we only managed to see the end of one film! We managed to squeeze a quick dive into our hectic schedule of doing very little at all, but weren't very impressed by the underwater sights - the coral has been wrecked by both El Nino temperature rises and the local fishermen bombing with dynamite, although the fish were colourful they made for equally good sights when snorkelling off the beach. In fact when snorkelling we saw turtles, barricuda and wrass (really big fishes) so were more than happy to stick to that! Thanks Mike for a great recommendation - we like most people here came for a few days and stayed for over a week.