After a week in Bali with my parents, we were off to explore parts of Indonesia we hadn’t visited. We took a 1.5 hour Grab to Padang bai port to catch a fast boat to Gili Trawangan (Gili T), largest of 3 Gili islands just off the coast of Lombok. Our boat was late, so we grabbed some local lunch and got a foot massage while we waited. Ayaan has gotten so used to the SE asian culture of foot massages! The fast boat took a couple of hours and Ariana enjoyed dancing on the top floor of the fast boat with mommy.

Our two nights at Gili T were probably the most fun of our summer adventure so far. Gili T is a small island with only bikes and horse carts on a 7km road around the island. A 2km strip has everything you can imagine – cooking classes, mini golf, hotels, restaurants with live music, multiple Irish bars, wine stores and many beach bars. Between the three islands it’s a complete independent ecosystem that is so easy to navigate. We loved our stay at the Pearl of Trawangan, at the south side of the strip with a lovely pool, and highly recommend it for its great service, facilities and location. After a swim in the sea and a dip in the pool, we spent the evening exploring the night market where they grill everything under the sun – from crabs to octopus. We ate grilled fish at the beach at Scallywags and it was delicious and just what the doctor ordered after an overdose of traditional Indonesian food. After dinner, Anjali and I put the kids to sleep, and ended the night enjoying some of favorite rock songs played live a couple of blocks away at a beach bar. Ayaan woke me up at 3am to watch the Spain – France Euro Cup semi final at an Irish bar. We were lucky to watch the only three goals for the 30 mins we were there!

On our second day in Gili, we rented bikes for all four of us and rode all around the island which was incredibly fun for the kids. We navigated through streets filled with people and horse carts, and spent an hour swimming with a turtle off Turtle beach! (It literally took us 2 minutes to find a turtle). Our afternoon comprised of a cook class where we cooked Four of a Kind – peanut sauce with Pan fried tempeh, mie goreng, a curry, and a pandan dessert. Ariana and Ayaan not only cooked well, but ate even better. The rest of the day we biked around the island, and ate dinner at the Malibu sunset bar. The kids got a pony ride on the beach, while we sipped Prosecco. For our last night on Gili T, we took the kids for ice cream and to listen to some live music.

On our last morning on the island, we biked to our private snorkeling tour. The Gili islands are famous for diving and snorkeling, and our experience did not disappoint. Over two hours, we swam at eye level with turtles, saw blue coral and an underwater statue at Gili Meno, and floated among thousands of fish. We cannot wait to come back to Gili, and explore Meno and Air next time as well. Wish we had a few more days…

Our final destination in Indonesia was Lombok, a sleepy and green island that reminded us of Kauai. Unlike Bali, it’s much quieter with no traffic and majority of the population is Muslim instead of Hindu. We took a private 15 min boat to Bangsal pier and were picked up right at the beach outside our hotel in Gili T. We stayed at the Sheraton Senggigi on the west side of the island, with an incredible sandy beach, and the resort had a slide in the pool. Ariana’s favorite part was feeding and walking the cats on the beach every evening. Walking a few steps along Senggigi beach, there were a few beach shacks that reminded us of Goa, though much more sleepier.

We spent a day on a tour to the famous Tiu Kelep waterfall on the north side of the island, with views of Mount Rinjani. It was a long 2 hour drive from our hotel (the island is huge), and unfortunately both Ayaan and Ariana threw up multiple times as we arrived. We suspect it was the noodle soup at breakfast. Both of them were troopers though as we first visited a traditional mosque and a local Sasak village. That was followed by a moderate hike to the Tiu Kelep waterfall, including a few river crossings. The waterfall was stunning once we got there, and we were able to go right under it with its strong force and chilly water. Definitely worth the trip.

The rest of our time was fairly low key as we all needed a down day after four weeks of travel, and the kids needed a couple of days to get over the stomach bug. We hung out around the beach and pool, played tennis, got massages, and ordered in room service. Ayaan and Anjali went on a jet ski ride that they thoroughly enjoyed. With almost 2 weeks in Indonesia, we were all ready for Singapore and to meet friends and family.