The Gili Islands Post Earthquake
THE GILI'S AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE
Guess what... I am in Asia now! After Ireland, Scotland and Wales I made my way to Indonesia.
It is a dream come true to be back in Asia! I visited briefly in 2015 to Thailand and Cambodia. Indonesia has been on my radar for multiple reasons and my first stop.. The Gili Islands!
I was unsure of what to expect when I landed on Gili Air (then on to Gili T) the beginning of November 2018.
It had been 3 months since a 7.0 earth quake had hit the Gili Islands and hit them hard.
The Gili Islands are three small islands off the coast of Lombok island in Indonesia, near Bali. They are a go to for white beaches, excellent snorkel/diving, clear water, sunsets and a PARTY PARTY good time.
Very popular among backpackers and travelers alike and I did not want to miss out on this so called 'Gili experience!'
Can you go to the Gili's post earthquake...?
Totally, they are open!
But are they worth a visit post earthquake...?
In my option 100% yes.
Now I have never been to the Gili’s so I suppose it is hard for me to compare the before and after earthquake scenario. However, let me give you my two cents (as I aways do)...
I spent the majority of my time on Gili Air. Known as the more ‘chill’ island compared to the ‘party’ island of Gili T.
Aka I was aiming to do sunset yoga instead of sunset beer.
(Full disclosure: I did zero yoga and multiple Bintangs aka the Indonesian beer)
ANYWAYS... Rolling in by boat to Gili Air I immediately saw blue clear water and white sand. Exactly what I was looking for!
The destruction
As I walked to my accommodation along the roads that seemed to switch from concrete to sand to dirt at random, I began to notice a mixture of pockets of rubble and ruin, lots of construction, and fully functioning villas and restaurants.
From the pockets of ruins It was clear that something had affected the island. I couldn’t help but just feel so terrible that this has happened to all the people here. There is a lot of (but not all) accommodations and shops already up and running, as the locals rely on the income from tourism. However as I wondered around the middle of the island I saw how much this disaster destroyed the homes and well-being of the locals. Many people are still sleeping outside as they do not have the means to rebuild their homes yet.
One thing that has struck me most about Indonesia thus far...
how friendly the people are.
It was no different here in Gili Air
It didn’t matter where I was walking.. in front of a restaurant or through local neighborhoods.. every local was quick to say ‘hello!’ ‘welcome’ and ‘how are you’ or ‘have fun’ or my personal fav 'I like your hair' (haha gets me everytime)! They smile, they wave, the little kids give you high fives. I loved it.
The people are so kind and the service is generally good. For me this has been a different experience than the majority of people I interacted with in Latin America for the year plus that I was there. Here in Indonesia you are greeted with a smile and catered to when you walk into someone’s business. Not blankly stared at..
They had plenty to be down about, yet their spirits were high, they radiated positivity. Even while having businesses in down and sleeping outside...
JAE
While on Gili Air I dove with Gili Pilith Fun Divers, a newer and smaller dive shop that focuses solely on fun dives therefore offering no courses (totally recommend this place by the way). Our dive master was a local guy named Jae. He was so lovely (and good at his job.. more on diving Gili here). He too was one of those whose home was destroyed. He and his daughter are currently sleeping outside.I never would have guessed based on his positivity and attitude. He had not had any customers in a few days due to tourism being down and was so happy to have customers to get back in the water with! We chatted a lot with Jae and learned of just how much this earthquake has hindered the tourism the past few months. His little daughter is still spooked from the earthquake and does not even want to sleep under a roof because she is terrified.. I learned this was common there. The people are terrified of another earthquake happening.
OZZY
During my time on Gili Air I stayed at Zipp Bungalows. Run by an Indonesian fella named Ozzy. He always addressed me by name, accommodated my weird breakfast schedule, and made me feel at home. The bungalows have a bar and restaurant attached that used to be the most happening place in town, until the earthquake :( . Zipp is located on the East side of the island which is known as the ‘busy’ side. However the West side seemed to have endured less destruction and was more busy than the East when we were there! Ozzy was a busy man getting the restaurant ready to be up and running again. He explained one of his bigger problems was finding staff members as some of his prior staff, traumatized by the earth quake, did not want to return to the island. However when we left he was getting ready to reopen and has planned a big reopening party.. YAY!
It was people like Jae and Ozzy that made my time here in Gili Air awesome and special.
And people like Jae and Ozzy as to why I would encourage you to go visit Gili Air, they all need the business and tourism to get back to what it was. The people here are hard-working and determined. Both the women and the men... I’ve seen local women lifting more scuba tanks, water jugs and cargo more than the men!
SO...are the Gili's worth a visit post earthquake?
Hell yeah, 100%
Yes, I've mentioned the amounts of rubble and construction.. but don’t be mistaken.. many shops, restaurants, accommodations, pools, dive shops etc are all fully functioning. Those that are not, are certainly on their way!
Gili T
I made the same observations on Gili T. More seems still under construction but at the same time more up and running. Gili T is larger and more popular than Gili Air, therefore more hotels and restaurants!
A lot of travelers wonder which island they should go to. Should they go to the ‘party’ island or the ‘chill’ island. To be honest you can party and chill on both islands no problem!
But the stereotype is real..
I found Gili Air was more relaxed with fewer people, which was personally what I was looking for. I also liked that it was smaller and I could navigate around with no need of a bicycle. Gili Air was much cleaner than Gili T as well.
Gili T had more people, more dive shops and was more social opportunities among backpackers.
But you can meet people on both islands.. I met a new friend on Gili Air that had Alopecia too.. and I CANNOT WAIT to tell you guys more about her ;)
My Gili advice... go to both!
The boat ride between them is like 10 minutes.. easy peasy people.
I was so happy to have visited the Gili’s.
In a way I think it made it more special to have visited post earth quake. I would encourage you to not cross these islands off your list because of the earth quake! The more tourism resumes the quicker these people without homes can start to finance rebuilding their homes for their families and friends!
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