Gili T Lovin'

I've returned from paradise. I was in Bali...BALI (!!!) and ya know what? It was everything I hoped it would be and more. I felt like I was in Bali and I embraced it for all that it was. After spending a rough night at the airport to catch our super early flight, Sarah and I were very ready to plop down on the beach and enjoy our final weeks of vacation. 

Our beds for the night. Oy. 

We arrived in Kuta, the most touristy beach of Bali, and explored the area. It was nice- nothing special- but like I said....I was in Bali, life was good. 

Spiritual offering on Kuta Beach

Although we were staying at one of the nicest hostels I've ever stayed in (The Island- it's awesome. You should go.), we woke up before the sun to catch a bus to catch a ferry to the Gili Islands. What in the world are the Gili Islands? I'm glad you asked. They are PARADISE, HEAVEN, LIFE, UNBELIEVABLE, LEGEND...wait for it....DARY! The Gilis are three small islands about 2 hours (by speedboat) from Bali. We had heard from a few backpackers that if we ever found ourselves in Indonesia, we HAD to go there. We were told on multiple occasions that the Gilis were the most beautiful place in the world, so we decided to spend a good 4 days there to soak up its awesomeness. 

As the ferry neared the shore, it was love at first sight. Turquoise waters, coral filled beaches, volcanoes in the backdrop, blazing sun, and blue skies, all outlining a small mass of lush, green hills. We stayed on Gili Trawagnan (Gili T), which is the biggest and most social of the three, but it is still only a 2 hour walk around the entire island (which I advise you NOT to do at sunset, even if you are overwhelmed by beautiful sunsets on empty sands, but then suddenly find yourself even more overwhelmed by fear of being on a deserted beach turned unlit road in the middle of an island in Indonesia with no clue where to go and being completely dependent on the flashlight on your cellphone that looks like it was made circa 2000. But don't worry...that's not not what happened). ANYWAYS, it was true love. We spent our days lounging on the sand or in our own little hut on the water, and moved ourselves over to the array of beanbags/mats on the beach to enjoy some dinner and a mojito at night (that happened a lot). Once the sun was down and I showered in my open bathroom (roofless!), we made our way over to one of a few giant movie screen projectors, nestled into a beanbag on the beach and enjoyed a good movie with some delicious ice cream (that also happened a lot). The island was incredibly relaxed, made even more-so by the banning of dogs and motors (no cars, motorbikes, trucks, etc), so I was one happy chica. Basically, I've been spoiled. Gili stole my heart. It was truly heartbreaking to get back on the ferry to go back to Bali. But when I realized I was going on a ferry to go back to BALI, I knew everything would be A-OK.

True LOVE

Hut action.

This happened

And a lot of bit of this happened. Like my henna?

Soccer with volcanoes in the background. NBD. 

YUM