Day 10: Trusting My Gut & Traveling from Nusa Penida to Gili T, Indonesia (Sunday May 21st, 2023)

I woke up early today to get the ferry ticket situation figured out. I woke up at 7:00, got ready, and went to find breakfast. I wanted to eat sooner than later to avoid sea sickness on the boat. 

Since it was early, not many cafes were open. I found one open just down the street. I ordered breakfast and a coffee. 

While I was eating, I got a message from the guy saying that the ferry boats were full. Then, he offered to put my on his motorbike and drive me to the other harbour. I thought, after last night, there's no way I'm going to get on the back of a motorbike with this guy. I don't trust him. So I decided to take matters into my own hands. 

After I finished breakfast, I headed down to the ferry dock myself. I didn't expect to find an office or anything, but I at least had to try. 

But once I got down there, I noticed a sign for Angels Billabong, which is the ferry company that I had taken here. I had not seen that they had any ferries going to Gili T online, but I still asked. So I walked up to the ticket counter. This was just a window in a bamboo shack on stilts over the water - that I had thought was a cafe the previous day. 

I asked if they had any ferries to Gili T today, and they said yes, for 300,000IDR. I said okay. He said to wait (this is common). So I waited 15min or so as he made several phone calls. He asked for the cash, then said follow me. 

After last night, I hated that I had just given a man money and was now following him. But something about this guy I trusted. He passed the gut check. We walked just down the street - more of a side road/alley - to another ferry terminal. I would have never known this was here if it wasn't for him. 

We walked up to the ticket counter and he asked them for a ticket for me that day to Gili T. They said okay, and I got a ticket.

Which meant that the guy from my hostel had lied about the ferry being full. Why? I don't know, and I try not to think about it. I try not to think about the "what if" I had trusted him scenario. 

That, is why I will always trust my gut. If something doesn't feel right, it's because it isn't. 

After I got my ticket, I went back to my hostel to pack my things. It was just after 8:00 by now, so I gathered my things quietly as to not wake up my dormmates, and left the hostel. I returned my locker key to the front and checked out. Although the ferry wasn't until 10:00 and I had to be there at 9:30, I just wanted to be out of that hostel and move on. So I waited at the ferry dock and worked on my blog until the ferry left. 

This was a good instance of being able to deal with uncertainty, being agile, and staying calm in life when the unexpected happens. It was good practice to not panic but trust and empower myself. 

I was ready to move onto the next destination - Gili T! 

Once the ferry arrived, we boarded and the ride was smooth. It took about two hours. Thankfully, the ride was smooth. 

Upon arrival, I went to find my hostel, which had check in at a cafe. They instructed me that someone would come down to help carry my bags and recommended that I eat lunch while I wait at a restaurant across the street. That sounded good to me. 

I would love to keep ordering the mie goreng which is fried noodles with chicken and vegetables. But I'm trying to branch out and try other Indonesian dishes, so today for lunch I got the rendang (curry) with tofu and vegetables. It was alright, but I don't think I would order it again. 

A little while later, a teenage boy arrived to help me carry my bags to the hostel. It was about a 10min walk away. Once I got checked in, I regrouped for the day. I really wanted to have a relaxing beach day, read, catch up on my blog, etc. 

So I packed my backpack with my sarong, water, book, etc. Put on my bathing suit and sunscreen, and headed out. I walked through the downtown area of Gili T looking at the views, shops, and restaurants. What I was looking for, was just a small piece of beach near shade I could relax at. But everything along the water was owned by a restaurant, hotel, or bar. So I kept going.

Eventually, I ended up at the end of the downtown area and past all of the shops. To what almost seemed to be a no-mans land until the next little strip of shops. That seemed perfect to me. I laid out my sarong on the sand and setup camp. I napped, worked on my blog, and enjoyed the views. It was later in the afternoon by now, so it was cooler and some clouds were providing some nice reprieve from the direct sunlight. 

While I was on the beach, a couple asked me if I could watch their bag while they went snorkeling. He had been out and seen some turtles off the beach that he wanted to show his girlfriend. I said of course. 

They went out and returned a little while later. When they did, they offered for me to borrow one of their masks and go out! I didn't love that I would be going out to snorkel by myself - it freaks me out sometimes - but it was worth it to see some sea turtles. 

So I went out. The tide was out and there was a shallow area filled with broken coral that I had to wade through to get out to the break. Then, once it started to get deeper, I put on my mask. I could see the drop off that they had told me about, but thankfully I didn't have to go that far. There was a sea turtle not too far in front of me. The turtle and I casually swam around each other, checking each other out. Another turtle also appeared. I just swam keeping myself in place, as to not get pushed into any coral by the waves. 

Then, I saw something that was big, long, and thin in the distance and I thought - "I'm out!" Between fight, flight, and curiosity - I picked flight. I wasn't curious enough to wait and see whatever it was, even if it was my imagination or a big fish. My mind immediately went to sea snake, then eal, then shark. None of which I wanted to see alone and up close whole snorkeling. I made a big commotion in the water splashing about hoping that if I made myself look big and scary, that the thing wouldn't be curious either and would get scared and go away (like with a bear). Then I swam to shore as fast as I could. 

I would have liked to snorkel with the sea turtles for a little while longer, but I was not about to wait around to see what that thing was.

Once back on shore, I returned the mask to the friendly couple. We started chatting about where we were from, how long we had been traveling, where we had been, where we were going, etc. They gave me great travel tips for where I was going next, since they were going south and I was going north, they had already been to everywhere I am going. 

It was about dusk by now. I had wanted to go to the other side of the island to see sunset, but it was too late now. I was also really enjoying their company and didn't want to cut the conversation short to rudely leave. 

So afterwards, I headed back to my hostel. Once I was back, I showered, unpacked, etc. Then went out to get dinner. I had heard of a night market in the center with street food stands. That sounded perfect to me. 

Once I arrived, the options were overwhelming. But they all seemed very similar. Most stands were satay style grilled meat and seafood with your choice of sides. It was 25IRD/stick, and with a min of 2 sticks, you get 4 free sides. Basically every stand had the same meat and seafood options, so I picked one based on the sides. I got a fried spring role, noodles, cooked vegetables, and something else. But honestly, it was disappointing. The spring roll was filled with noodles, not vegetables. The vegetables were okay, and so was the fish. I figured tomorrow I could come back to try another stand.  

After dinner, I did a little shopping at the market that was right there to get another pair of shorts and bathing suit.

It was almost 9 when I got back to my hostel and everyone was already playing beer pong, drinking, and socializing. I went to my room to get ready, and then joined the party. The hostel was having happy hour where a large beer was 50,000IDR ($3.35). I had a few while we hung out and met other people from the hostel.

Eventually, maybe around 11:00, we headed into town to find some bars and clubs. We went to The Jungle first, which was alright. I didn't want to spend a lot of money, so I brought enough for one beer. We danced there until it closed at 12:00. Then, we continued onto the next bar. 

Every night a bar in Gili T "hosts" the party and stays open later. Tonight, it was at Evolution. When we got there, it wasn't very crowded, but about 30min later it was. We danced until about 3:30am, then called it a night. 

I got back to my hostel around 3:45 and quietly crawled into bed. This was the latest I had stayed up in a long time.