A few hours after my last post, I was 25m below the ocean, drifting along above a reef filled with tropical fish, cuddlefish and a moray eel. After my dive I headed back to meet up with Greg and we returned to a beachfront hut, munching Indonesian food in the shade. At 3:45 we boarded a small and tippy boat for Gili Menos the least populated of the three Gilis. With our packs and hammock tents, we began hiking around the island, looking for a perfect spot to set up camp. We found our spot just as the sun was about to set, and hung our hammocks, then watched the sun set, enjoying the cool ocean breeze.
As soon as we settled in to our hanging beds, that breeze ceased, leaving us hot and mostly sleepless for the night, waking up heat exhausted and feeling weak. A short walk and boat back to the largest Gili (gili means island) we planned our return to civilization and scarfed down a quick breakfast. Once on our fast boat, we could tell we were in for a ride, with the boat pounding through big waves. The rocking added to our already sick misery and we dreamed of solid land. Once back in Pandang Bay, we checked into a backpackers hostel and slept and rehydrated, starting to feel better as time went by.
From here our time is starting to end, so a return to Sanur to enjoy the beach and sun before our return to NY.

Peace and chow,
Jacob

Hello from Gili! A set of three small and peaceful island off the coast of Lombok. Our trip here was rather unorganized and not well planned but ended up working out wonderfully. From Sanur Greg myself and the wedding party headed out to Ubud, a more remote inland village made popular by the book and film Eat Pray Love. There we saw plenty of monkeys at the monkey forest one of which climbed on my shoulder for a ride! We also were able to get a bit more off the beaten track, walking down a dirt road lined with rice paddies. After a night in Ubud, Greg and I departed for Lovina, a smaller area in the north of Bali known for dolphins and black sand beaches, high hopes in hand we braved the 3 hour ride up winding roads and mountain passes. After settling in to our hotel we headed for the beach, to be sorely disappointed, a thin strip of black sand 5′ wide then sea which remained at knee deep for a long way out.
The next morning we got up for 5:30 dolphin watching, which was much more exciting than the beach, we saw countless dolphins jumping and swimming up by the boat! We then went snorkeling at the reef by Lovina, seeing tropical fish and star fish.
On from Lovina we headed to Pandang Bay, the harbor town to get to Lombok and Gili. One uneventful night there and a fast boat ride later and we finally found what Hollywood portrays as an island paradise, white sand beaches, light blue water and cheap, fresh seafood! After I went snorkeling off the beach and saw a sea turtle eating coral and countless beautiful fish we attempted to camp by the beach in our hammock tents, however a strong downpour forced us to take up more conventional accommodations for the night.
Today I’m going to try and get a dive in and then give camping by the beach another shot.

Peace and chow,
Jacob

This time in two days I will have begun my trip to southeast Asia. I have mostly finished packing and am starting to feel ready to depart. Directly from work, we drive to Chris’ parents house for dinner, and a ride to the airport. Once in Bali, we only have the first 3 nights planned in Sanur, on the eastern shore, after that we will try and get a bit more off the beaten path, exploring north and central Bali (Ubud) and perhaps flying to Malaysia or another Indonesian island. I will be using the SPOT fairly frequently and you can keep track of my travels here (I hope to find wifi and update as I can) and on the tracking page. I also will be uploading pictures to here and my Flickr account as I go. Any comments of places to check out would be great and I’m thrilled to be off again!

Peace and chow,

Jacob