gili trawangan, indonesia

INDONESIA! Ya know, that place where Julia Roberts rides around on a bike & teaches a medicine man English & falls in love with that dreamy, Brazilian dude? THAT IS HERE.

The flight was long and extremely grueling. I, accidentally and unknowingly, booked a flight to Bali from the south of Thailand that included an 18 hour layover in Singapore. I took it upon myself to make it as fun as possible and do what I referred to as the "impromptu Singapore trip". You can take a look at the blog post and comical video I made here. 

So, after we spent a very weird 18 hours in Singapore, we finally made our way to Bali. We arrived late at night and did what every foreigner does when they land in an Asian airport - bargain and negotiate with the taxi drivers who will inevitably attempt to scam you. This is where its really important to do your research before you go traveling. I'd been in Asia long enough to expect such behavior and negotiate a better, more fair (but probably way too high) price for a taxi ride. 

Our taxi driver asked us "which hotel, ladies?" and we, as backpackers of the land, said "we don't have a hotel... take us to a good area and let's find one!". Luckily, our taxi driver was in good spirits and helped us find a good place to stay. Many places in Bali were already booked up so we had to stop at several joints before finding one to stay at. Advice here : book your hotel in Bali BEFORE you arrive.

Bali is, however, not where my friend and I stayed. Many of the friends I made in Thailand traveled in Indonesia before me and said to skip Bali... go to the Gili Islands. I had never heard of the Gili Islands but I received nonstop recommendations to check them out. "Bali is super tourist-y" "Skip over Bali and spend your whole time in the Gili Islands." So, we did. 

The next morning, my friend and I woke up and hopped in a cab headed toward the dock. We were told to find a "speed boat" to get from Bali to Gili Islands. Now, when I say "speed boat"... I mean it. This boat traveled entirely too fast. Like "are we going to make it there alive" "omg I think I'm going to be sick" fast. The boat ride lasted 45 minutes (45 minutes too long...) but we did arrive safely. 

There are three islands that make up the Gili Islands. The one that was recommended by most is called Gili Trawangan or, more commonly referred to as, Gili T. HOWEVER... if I could do it all over again, I would skip Gili T and head over to one of the other two islands. We stayed on Gili T for 3 days and by the end of the first day I was already complaining about it being too loud and full of partying foreigners. I asked someone about it and they said "Yeah, that's why people come to Gili T. It's full of drugs and alcohol and people wanting to get fucked up." If you know me, you'd know that this is exactly 100% opposite of what I was wanting to spend my time doing. 

If you're looking for more of a laid-back, relaxing, wine-sipping by the ocean vacation - go to Gili Air instead. I didn't visit Gili Air due to an unforeseen diagnosis of Dengue Fever on my poor, poor friend. Speaking of which, here is a no-shame promotion of a hilarious video my friend and I made of her in the hospital being diagnosed with Dengue Fever. PSA : wear more bug spray than you think you should.

Bintang is THE BEER you drink if you go to Indonesia. It's their pride & joy, I think. Although I have only been to 2 different countries in Asia, I know that their beer is absolutely not something to be that proud of. European beer and American beer is FAR better! 

You can catch more footage of me at the Sweet and Spicy Indonesian Cooking School in my video up there. This cooking class was so wonderful. I took it alone and was nervous it wouldn't be fun but the cooks and I had such a great time together. The place serves beer (Bintang, of course) and they crank up the tunes so everyone is having a blast. I cooked a total of 7 Indonesian dishes with 3 Indonesian cooks for around 25 USD - ABSOLUTELY worth it. 

Did I mention that the Gili Islands were EXTREMELY small? Gili Trawangan is the largest of all of the islands yet, there are still no cars or even motorbikes. Your only options for transportation are bicycle (which you can rent for around 5 USD for 24 hours) or a horse-drawn carriage. The horses are small and decorated so beautifully. 

The ever-so-famous Bintang beer.

Here I found a couple of workers lounging on a giant pile of God knows what. 

Indonesia is such a beautiful part of the world. I can't to go back and spend more time exploring.

Currently Series

The Currently Series is an idea that I picked up from some fellow bloggers. Its such a great tool to get yourself thinking about what's really going on in your world. I mean, I know what I'm up to and what I'm involved in, but have I really thought about it? Probably not. The Currently Series gets me thinking about things I'm loving, thinking, planning, working on, preparing for, and appreciating. Its also an aesthetically pleasing way to document & record all these seemingly mundane weeks that fly right by us. It's my in-the-moment inner-thoughts, it's my way to slow down time for a few minutes, it's my appreciation of all the (what some might call) mediocre days that make up my history... 

& I'm happy to begin sharing them.

Have you thought about putting together a Currently Series of your own? Here's my first attempt :

Loving | Damien Rice's new album My Favourite Faded Fantasy is a dream. The single My Favourite Faded Fantasy was released over a month ago and my roommate & I have been dreaming of the day the full album was released into the world. The day finally came - a week sooner than expected and it is, quite frankly, musical magic. I recommend a listen or twelve.

Thinking | SOCIAL MEDIA - to fall or not to fall, that is the question. I have been struggling with making my blog known and getting feedback from people other than my grandma and my friends (appreciate y'all). Research shows me that I need to dive head first into the social media world; tangling myself up in the Twittersphere, Facebook, Instagram... the whole nine yards. I have such a problem with keeping up with social media, not only because it's overwhelming but because I just don't care about it that much. It's a real weight on my shoulders. How much do I want this blog to be successful? How much time am I willing to spend hunched over my computer, hash-tagging and retweeting?

Planning | This leads into the things I'm planning right now. Tons of travelers will create blogs and fill the pages with photos and stories from their time while abroad...but, as soon as they unpack their bags, the blog goes unnoticed, unread and eventually falls in the deep, dark depths of the World Wide Web. I don't want that to happen to The Simple Joys! I want to thrive and keep it going. Thus, the planning phase has begun. I have so many ideas and upcoming projects that you can browse through here : projects

Working | I, like many other college-aged kids, am a server at a local restaurant. I serve huge slabs of barely cooked prime rib to customers who frequent the joint more than three times per week. I serve here a few times a week and *drum roll please* put in my 2 weeks a few days ago. Yeah, I'm quitting the service industry. This should be the last week and I promised myself that I won't work in the food industry any longer. I'm making a pact with myself and I'm sticking to it. The money is generally pretty good and it certainly pays the bills but I've had it up to here with permanently smelling like A1 sauce & meat juice.

Preparing | I'm putting the finishing touches on a travel video to be released THIS FRIDAY on The Simple Joys. It features me drinking big beers on beaches, harassing monkeys on leashes, and singing with Indonesia cooks in the kitchen. Check back in this Friday!

Appreciating | I can't go a day (let alone an hour!) without giving thanks and appreciating my person in life - Justin Pongumpai. He is certainly my soulmate & forever love-man. We have been together for almost 10 beautiful months. He is currently in Bangkok, Thailand and we are doing the long-distance thing. Soon (like 36 days soon) he will be back in America for the holidays. After a month of drinking, eating, and family time we will fly into our future together to start a new adventure in Thailand. 

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