We needed 3 nights of rest and recovery back in what seems to be our Indonesian home base; Legian, Bali, after all our Javanese adventures. We ventured no further than a 5 minute walk from our place, and it was exactly what we needed. We then sent Clare's sister off in a taxi to the airport for her long journey back to Toronto, and the two of us were off on our last (for now!) excursion: The Gili islands.

It was a "fast boat," but it still took around 3 hours to cross the Lombok Strait to our first stop: Gili Trawangan. Luckily, we had good weather, and despite watching wide-eyed at the big rolling waves behind the back of our boat, it was smooth sailing. Gili Trawangan, or "Gili T." as it is affectionately known, is the biggest of the 3 Gili islands, which are just west of the large island of Lombok. It is the most developed, and known as a bit of a party place, but we stayed at a super quiet, chill guest house with a pool, and didn't move too much from there. It is easy to get around by walking or renting a bicycle, but if you need some further assistance, the only other transport is by horse and buggy. The horses wear what seems to sound like sleigh bells, and so there is this sweet feeling of a tropical Christmas in the air every time you hear the horses approaching. The water is quite clear here, but the currents are very strong, so there is really no lazing about at the shore as you have to always be on your guard. Our most energetic activity on Gili T. was deciding to circumnavigate the island via the shoreline which turned out to be quite painful on the feet due to the sharp coral on the beach, and is an activity not to be repeated on any other Gili island. Luckily, this part of the world seems to demand down time, which is all we really have the physical or mental energy for right now.