Indonesia: Nusa Penida & Gili Air

My last two stops in Indonesia were the islands of Nusa Penida and Gili Air. I loved both islands so much, but I especially loved Gili Air. I ended up spending eleven nights on Gili Air and the time I spent there was amazing and I was so sad to leave.

After spending about a week and a half in Bali, I took a ferry to the neighboring island of Nusa Penida. Other than the ferry leaving late, the ride was quick and easy and before I knew it I was on a new island. In total I ended up spending three full days on Nusa Penida and I would have been happy to stay longer. I arrived in the afternoon and after getting settled in my new hostel I headed out to look for dinner. The next morning I wandered around the area of the island where I was staying and went out of town before heading back to look for a good beach spot. Unfortunately, the beach I chose wasn’t the best but I still found a nice spot to sit and enjoy the waves and the view. Just being on the beach made me happy. After a bit of time passed a girl who was in my room at the hostel passed by and she joined me for a while before she and I went closer to town. I ended up going to find lunch while she found a sunbed along the water. Once I finished lunch I went back and joined her and for the rest of the afternoon we relaxed on the sunbeds and listened to the waves. The next day was just like my first, except this time I went straight to the beach with sunbeds and spent a lot of my day there. While there, another girl from my hostel room passed by and joined me. In the middle of the afternoon it looked like dark storm clouds were headed our way so we headed back to the hostel. Since the storm hadn’t hit yet we went up to the rooftop pool and spent the rest of the afternoon there. Luckily the storm managed to move away and we never got hit with rain. After my time at the pool I finally got out and got ready for the evening before heading out to dinner.

On my final day on Nusa Penida I hired a motorbike driver for the day and we went to a lot of the big popular places to visit on the island. The first stop of the day was Kelingking Beach, which is a famous photo spot that is on a cliff and looks down at the beach below. Kelingking Beach was definitely worth the hype; the view was breathtaking. After getting photos at the top, I headed down the stairs a little way to get a new view. I had been told it was a very long way down and back so I didn’t plan on going all the way down. I also didn’t go all the way down because I didn’t have enough water for the heat. Once I went down a bit and took even more photos, I headed up the steps and met back up with my driver. We then headed to our next stop which was Angel’s Billabong and Broken Beach, both these stops were right next to each other. The first stop from the parking lot was Angel’s Billabong, which is a rock cliff face that the waves crash against and it has a section where the water can flow further inland to a naturally formed pool area. Watching the waves crash against the rocks was fun to see. After stopping and enjoying the view and getting photos, I headed further on to Broken Beach where there is a big circle where you can walk around and look down at the beach below and from some angles you can see the naturally formed arch that opens up to the ocean. Again the views here were beautiful and so picturesque. I took my time at each stop and after getting a ton of photos and really taking in the views I headed back to find my driver. Before leaving I stopped at a local restaurant for a late lunch. The final stop of the day was Crystal Bay. After the first three stops the view was not as impressive. Crystal Bay just ended up being a beach with a view of a small rock island in the middle of the bay and then out to the ocean. Since it was still too early for sunset, I hung out there for a while and watched the waves crash on the shore before going back to find my driver and starting the drive back to town. Overall, it was a really fun day with some amazing stops and viewpoints. Once back in town I made plans to leave for Gili Air the next day and I booked an accommodation and then I went for dinner and later packed. Nusa Penida was a lot of fun and the time there went by too fast. There was still so much more I could have seen and done.

The next morning I got up and ready to leave and my hostel host drove me to the place where I had booked my ferry ticket. I waited there for a while until they shuttled everyone to a port on a different side of the island. Once there we all got on the boat and left. It was an easy ride to Gili Air. It just took a little while, but once there I immediately knew I was going to like the island. Once on the island I walked to my homestay, where I had a private room which I chose because surprisingly it was cheaper than a dorm room. I got settled into my room before eventually heading out to find a late lunch. After lunch I wandered to the beach and then that evening met up with Clara, who I met back in Vietnam, at a beach bar and we ended up just hanging out there the rest of the evening. That evening I was able to meet other people who she had met while on the island. It was a really fun evening and a great start to my time in Gili Air. On my first full day on the island I had a slow, relaxed morning; I got up, had breakfast at my homestay and then just relaxed in my room for a while before eventually heading to the beach after lunch. That evening I again met up with Clara and the others at the same beach bar. The next day was another slow morning spent at my homestay before I eventually headed out to the beach to meet up with Clara and a few others. After spending the afternoon on the beach I went to get a snack and get showered and ready for the evening before I again met up with Clara and the others at the beach bar. It was Clara’s birthday so we had a mini birthday party for her where we ordered pizzas and hung out on the beach and watched the sunset.

For the next four days it was all pretty much the same. I would wake up and have a relaxed morning at my homestay, get some planning or writing done, and then in the afternoon I would either go to the beach or walk around the island. It wasn’t much and it was a lot of the same but it was fabulous and just what I needed. After nonstop travel for eight months, spending time on an island without much to do and with my own private space was amazing and was a great reset and way to prevent burnout. The evening of my fourth full day on the island I met up with Clara and the others and we went on a sunset boat ride. The boat took us to a spot where we were able to jump off the top of the boat and swim in the water while watching the sunset. It was a lot of fun and an amazingly beautiful sunset. After the sun had set and it got dark enough, everyone jumped back in the water and as we swam around in the water we were able to slightly see some glowing plankton. It was an amazing end to the sunset boat ride.

On the evening of my sixth day on the island I was able to learn how to make multiple Indonesian dishes by cooking dinner with the wife of the homestay I was staying at. I really enjoyed being able to cook dinner with her. It was a lot of fun and a great experience learning more about the culture through food and through a local’s kitchen instead of just in a cooking class. Together we made Gado-Gado, which is a vegetable salad made with raw and cooked vegetables with a spicy peanut sauce. We also made fried tempeh in a spicy sauce, and fish soup. Since it was still Ramadan and most of Indonesia is Muslim, we waited to eat until after the sun set and then I joined my homestay family for Iftar, dinner where they broke their day’s fast. It was such a fun local experience not only being able to cook dinner with the wife but also joining them in breaking their fast.

My final four days on Gili Air were spent diving. The first day of diving I only did one dive in the afternoon and was able to have another slow morning. After the dive I went for dinner and watched the sunset from the beach. The next two days I did two dives each day, one in the morning and then one in the afternoon. After the final dive of the day each day I hung around the dive shop and talked with others before eventually getting dinner and then heading to bed to rest and get ready for the next day of dives. On my final day on the island I only had one dive after which I went for lunch before looking for ferry tickets back to Bali. All of the dives were absolutely amazing and stunning. The underwater world is so beautiful and with every dive I was left in awe of the beauty of our world and energized by how happy the dives made me feel. On almost all of the dives I was able to see turtles and a wide variety of colorful fish and corals and on one of the dives I was even able to see baby black tip reef sharks. In total I did six dives, all to different dive sites, and if I had more time and money I would continue to dive since there were still more dive sites that I hadn’t been to.

The next morning I was able to have one last relaxed morning on the island and was able to get some snacks for the ferry ride and then in the early afternoon I had to head to the pier to sadly leave the island. It was so hard to say goodbye to Gili Air. I wasn’t ready to leave and wouldn’t have left if I hadn’t already had a flight booked for the very next morning. I took a ferry back to Bali and then headed to the hostel I stayed at on my very first night in Indonesia. After arriving, I went for a late dinner and then called it a night since I had a very early flight the next morning.

My time in Nusa Penida went by so fast and even with everything I saw and did, there was still more left to see and do. I had a great time in Nusa Penida and can’t wait to go back someday. While very touristy, I really enjoyed visiting Kelingking Beach and Broken Beach; they’re popular for a reason and they were breathtaking sights and were so cool to visit. My absolute favorite place I visited in Indonesia though, was and always will be, Gili Air. I fell in love with Gili Air and the relaxed, slow way of living; it became like a second home to me. Having spent eleven nights in total on the island and in a private room was an amazing reset after traveling for so long. It was the longest I had spent in one place and with a room to myself in over eight months; it was much needed and appreciated. It was so great staying at a homestay and the family that owns it were so nice. By the end of my stay I was told that I am family now and they can’t wait for me to visit again and I can't wait to visit again because I know I will be back again someday. To close, there are not enough words to describe how much I truly loved the island of Gili Air and the time I spent there. While there wasn’t a ton to do on the very tiny island, it was just what I wanted and needed.

“Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.”

- Anita Desai