chillin on the gili's

 ok, time to write!!!  I have been so busy... so much to do, so many people to talk to, so much Bintang to drink!!  You're in luck though... I am staying in tonight to care for my friend, so evidently that means I have time to sit down and write (finally).


Well, it's not really lucky that I have this time... in fact I am quite worried.  Caitrin and I met a new friend last week.  She is has spent the last few months traveling in southeast Asia, currently the three of us have a cute little beach bungalow on Gili Meno.  She started feeling ill yesterday and has a fever today... since she has been in Malaria zones and has not been on anti malarial medication, we are quite worried that this could be something serious (Malaria or Dengue Fever).  At the moment we are watching her closely and will take her to the nearest hospital if she gets worse.  Hopefully the fever goes down by morning... (and just today I was swearing at my Doxycycline (my anti malarial) because it is interfering with my tanning... I suppose this was the scare I needed to stay on the medication).  She has made the choice to wait it out, and we let her know that we will go with her if she wants to go get treatment.  Unfortunately there is no clinic on this island, so we can't get medical attention here.  Tomorrow we are going to Gili Air, where there is a medical clinic, so if she doesn't get worse we will continue there and just take her to the clinic... but if she starts to vomit we are off on an unscheduled adventure to Lombok!

Anyway, no sense sitting here worrying... we are doing all that we can for the moment.

So, I have spent the last week or so on the Gili Islands.  There are three of them, Trawangan (party island), Meno (honeymoon island), and Air (meditation island).  None of the islands have any vehicles, or dogs.  If you don't want to walk you can get a horse drawn carriage or rent a bike.  And unlike other places where stray dogs are everywhere, there is a huge population of stray cats on these islands.  Seriously... they are everywhere!!  Begging for food, fighting, loving (heheh), asking for attention, being all cute and playing on your doorstep, using the beautiful beach as a giant litter box...   We were on Gili T (which I call it because I can't seem to pronounce the name) for four days... of which I barely remember.  That is where we met out friend, and I met Bintang (beer).  It is defiantly called party island for a reason... I drank for four days straight (something I haven't done since I was in my early 20's) ... Gili T has officially made it to my favorite place in the world... white sand beaches, beautiful sunsets, restaurants with beds on the beach, plenty of friendly travelers, bars open until sunrise (which is dangerous.. I am used to bars closing at 2am so I get off to bed... I was out one night till 4 because I didn't realize it was so late already!  That wouldn't have been so bad... except that I had to get up at 8am to watch the hockey game, then move to the next island... needless to say that was a rough day), dancing in the streets, late night swimming...

cats plotting to steal our meals

Gili Meno is providing the much needed relaxation that we need after the preceding busy days.  There is literally nothing to do here but lay on the beach, go sunset hunting, and eat.  I have been napping so much on the beach that I am tired of sleeping! It's wonderful... this morning we woke up to watch the sunrise (for the first time in my life) which was easy because the beach is basically on our doorstep, and we are on the side of the island that the sun wakes up on, and I was free to go back to sleep and stay there until I felt like it.  Sunsets are harder because we have to walk down the beautiful white sand beach for a whopping 10 minutes to get a good view.  My life is so hard.

Lets reflect on that for a moment.  My life is so hard.  You know I haven't even touched my glasses in a month?  Who needs glasses?  I'm not driving, or (oooooowe I just sprayed mosquito repellent in my eye... yes i'm that smart) trying to read the board in class, so who needs em!  Plus, I think my eyesight is better now that I haven't been wearing them (minus the burning sensation I am currently experiencing).  What else haven't I done in a month? (prepare to get jealous) cooked, cleaned, driven, read out of obligation, worked, woke up before I wanted to, went to bed early when I didn't want to, hahahh done ANYTHING that I didn't want to.  Really, I just wake up every day and say "Heather, what do you feel like doing today?"  Generally I respond with having a two hour leisurely breakfast... then whatever I want!   Go for a bike ride perhaps, read a book, give scuba diving a try, explore temples, go shopping... or my personal favorite... do absolutely nothing on the beach.

Truth be told I kind of miss driving.  But there is no way I am ready to try that out here... give me a few months and maybe i'll be more adventurous....

The best part about all of this is I don't have to go "home."  My home is where ever I am.  I am not on vacation... this is my life.  Of course, at some point, i'll have to start earning money to finance this lifestyle.  A large part of me is tempted to skip my English teaching class and go exploring more... but I know that I will get tired of moving all of the time, and my bank account will begin to dwindle... teaching English still seems to be the most plausible route to take in the immediate future... then maybe to Australia to waitress, or maybe even find something to do in Europe... go teach in South America, work with orphans in Africa... which content did I miss??  hehehhe..

The more people I meet the more I want to travel.... my list of destinations is getting exponentially larger... which incidentally is making this little adventure evolve more into a lifestyle choice....