theLOWdown: Leaving Gili Island

Easy living

We only stayed on Gili…the rest of our time there. That’s how much we liked it. We had an open return date on the ticket and chose to instead stay our full 10 days left in Indonesia on the Gili island. We made plans to go see other parts of Indonesia and we were going to try to go surfing on the island of Lombok but after a few days we knew we were going to stay.

What’s not to like really?

Everyone there works together. So each night of the week, one of the bars has “their night” and everyone filters the tourists down to that particular bar. Even if you want to come into the one they work at or own, if it's not "their night", they'll serve you, but they'll also send you down to where everyone is. It’s really cool how they all stick together like that. The most popular places (to us at least) were “Rudy’s”, “D’Harbour”, “Sama Sama Reggae Bar” and of course, the “Irish Pub”…but we’ve been over Irish Pub’s enough to know it’s just “Pub” by now I think. The "Irish" has become somewhat of an overused novelty.

So chill

“Sama Sama” was always busy regardless though (probably because they had a live reggae band every night) and the owner’s nephew fell IN LOVE with Holly; so that was a plus…for me at least, her…not so much. We got a lot of free tequila shots out of that guys affection for my sister.

It was a little spooky though, the guy was linked up with the Gili mafia or something. I'm convinced because he was constantly keeping tabs on her whereabouts and it didn’t take him long to find out where we were staying…Holly was not impressed. He came down to our beach lounge spot on a couple of occassions, uninvited, trying to give Holly back massages and asking her about the people (guys) that she talked to the night before. The guy had eyes EVERYWHERE, he was like the Balinese Christopher Walken. I was elated, so awkward and yet so so funny!

Sooo free tequila right??? YES SIR

Another reason to love Gili is there are no cops, so anything goes. Mushrooms and marijuana are legal, plus pretty much anything else you may want or need (as you would have read from the previous entry).

The locals just get drunk at the bars, crash out on the pillowed cabanas around their work for the most part, then wake up and go back to work.

People still try and sell you stuff but they don’t try to force it down your throat, it’s not as annoying as I found Kuta to be. It is such a chill lifestyle, the phrase “no worries” comes to mind but that might be too cheesey…even for me.

Motivation to find the magic hill

A major reason that we enjoyed (other people may not) were that there are no motorized vehicles of any kind, it’s only horse drawn carriages and bicycles. Other than "the mosk" (which you kind of tune out/get used to), there really is no relentless background noise of any kind. It's very tranquil.

If you don't want to rent a bike or hire a carriage, you do have the option to get around the entire island on foot if you like but it’s no easy task, I would know.

I kept looking for this "magical hill” that all the locals kept telling me about. It was supposed to take me to the other side of the island so I could see the sunset. "The easiest way to get there". Every local had a different story on how to get there, so each day I would run out and try to find it based on their description. It was supposed to be a great time, everyone supposedly walked to this hill to hang out for the sunset, it was supposed to be easy. I found a lot of things on the island.

You know how WE DO!

What I never found was this supposed "hill” of which everyone speaks of so fondly and I did some MAJOR investigative searching on my runs around that island. There were a lot of upset cows making sharp glances my way as I roamed around their pastures. Very confusing, I got lost a lot, no street signs and cow pastures will do that to you I guess.

I think the locals were messing with me. The magic hill doesn’t really exist, I eventually gave up after I found A hill, with steps down the other side to another part of the island. The guys asleep on the trees at the top told me I was in the right place, like a fairytale almost, except instead of finding a princess or treasure, I found dirt, more cows and some lazy Balinese workers.

I gave up but Holly and I were determined to see at least 1 sunset. We did manage to find our way down to the other side on one of our last days, on a really sweet horse drawn carriage.

They have a set up down on the beach where the sunset takes place that has a few bars and plenty of places to sit. It's a major event on the island and rightfully so. It is quite impressive. So Holly and I grabbed a few beers and hung out down by the water. Catching the sunset was something we wish we would have done more of but at least we got down there to do it. It was good, we found and named crabs and talked about our possible business ventures to open in a desperate attempt to stay on the island.

Holly enjoyin' the sunset

The best part though was the local people. Hands down. We made some really good friends while we were there. We usually make friends everywhere we go but this had a different feel to it. They were so different from us, in lifestyle, in religion and yet, none of that mattered. At all. Not to get all "Dr. Phil" here, but it was a beautiful thing.

Hashis droppin' knowledge

Maday, Conchill, Araman, Norman, Olix, Hashis, Ross and those guys were just the ones we had first name recognition with. All of those guys were especially great. I plan on going back to Gili, not because it’s a tropical paradise but I’d like to see them again, I’d like to see my friends.

We treated them like they came with us to the island on vacation and in return they treated us like we were locals. Helping us in any way they could and when they weren't doing that, they were coming out to the bars with us on their nights off and chilling with us on the beach.

They never asked us for anything or forced anything on us. We really appreciated that. They never asked for drinks, but we bought them some anyways. We genuinely wanted them to come hang out whenever they could.

Olix, Holly, & Linton

I had fun learning to spin the Po-Po's with Conchill, even though I was terrible and incredibly drunk, he wanted me to take the next step which was to set them on fire! I think that would have been just for his own drunken amusement, I declined the inviation...

It was always good seeing Maday too, until the next morning…when it was usually his fault I felt the way I did. He was always the first one we saw in the morning, with his glasses on because he too, was hungover. I think he was rubbing it in though...he would ask us how we were feeling...but his smile always told me that he already knew...

Olix helped me find my sister during the “Ecstasy Incident” and Norman was always there too, whether dancing or falling asleep or both at the same time, incredibly, somehow.

Ross and Hashis remembered us by name and spoke to us every time we walked by “Rudy’s”. Hashis made me learn some of the language, otherwise he wouldn’t speak sometimes just to tease but then he’d help me through it. I would reiterate some here but I don't want to butcher the spelling. Simple things like: "No worries", "Thank you", "You're welcome", "Easy", and "I need to go take a shower".

Me, Arman, & Cheesey

And of course my friend Arman; who we spent most of our time with.

He worked where we stayed at the 2^nd place called "Gili Divers" and we always ended up finding him somewhere around the island after work. We got to know him the best overall.

So much so that as I was leaving, on our last night, Arman gave me his necklace and told me to never take it off. That it would bring me good luck in my travels and he appreciated my friendship.

I tried to give it back to him but he told me that he would always remember us and our generosity because we never treated them like servants, we treated them like friends and that was special to him.

Arman & Holly

I was surprised to hear him say that but apparently the people who come to his island don’t treat them as equals all the time…and that was sad to hear. Especially because they were so nice, that upset me a little bit but I’m glad that we could give him a different kind of perspective…at least on some people….at least on some American people.

So I respectfully took the necklace and haven’t taken it off since, as he requested. I also remember him and that island every time that I look in the mirror and see his necklace.

It was sad when it came time to go, Holly and I even kept trying to come up with business ideas so that we could stay and sleep in the cabanas. We’re still working on our killer jet-ski plan…but even though I don’t think anybody actually wanted to, it was definitely time to leave.

Arman's Gift

After 6 weeks straight of partying through 3 Asian countries. With only 4 days off from not drinking and continually going to the beach as a hangover cure. I think I blew a fuse somewhere, that and my liver refused to cooperate anymore. I actually WANTED to go back to work.

I felt bad in a way. My sister came all the way out to have a great vacation, I still feel like she did. We went pretty hard in Gili but it wasn't like it could have been if Cheese and I hadn't already been going strong for the entire MONTH previous to her arrival.

We still partied big, but when it came to other activities, like snorkeling or paddle-boarding, we just wanted to sleep and lay on the beach. That's how we knew it was about that time to move on.

Well, it helped that I was also borderline broke and in dire need of a cash resuscitation. But still, I actually said the words “I want to go back to work”.

It shocked me a little. Insane, uninformed thoughts began poking around my head, “Too much vacation”, “Find a career”, “Don’t go lay on the beach and look at half naked women in bikinis”…madness was starting to take me over…the sun madness.

I started to feel like maybe money really can’t buy you happiness…but then I remembered…

”NAH, you’re just bored because you DON’T have the money to buy all that happiness. If you had the money, you wouldn't be sitting on the beach, drinking cheap beer, and doing nothing. You would be out on your speedboat with scantily clad women drinking expensive liquor and para-sailing or something crazy”.

More of this too, obviously

Thank you for clearing that up Brain, you always come through in my desperate times.

Either way, I was spent. Literally and figuratively, it was time to go.

Holly was still undecided about going back to the states so we talked her into coming to Darwin with us. It was more expensive than we originally planned for her though because they made her buy a visitor’s visa for Australia at the airport, plus just to leave the damn country you have to pay another $150,000Rp. Which is only $15, but still, just to leave?

It may have been cheaper in the long run for her to just fly back home but Holly, Cheese, and I all boarded the flight to Darwin anyway. Where the original plan was for me to begin looking for work, and Cheese was going to stay for a few days before he moved on to Cairns to begin getting his certification to become a dive master.

Something funny happened to me when I got to Darwin though…or maybe, the funny thing happened TO Darwin a long time ago…because…there was NOTHING there.

The place is 2 streets long, that’s it. There are 4 bars in the “city”, it’s somehow still crawling with backpackers looking for some sort of work though. I have no idea why.

On top of all of that, there’s no beach. Not within walking distance at least and there’s crocodiles all over those, so “what the f*** am I going to do here?”, I began to ponder.

Then I went to my bank account and realized that somehow, the travel card I got from my bank, sucked me dry. Blood sucking, good for nothing, leech worms...all of them!

I swear if the bank teller at the Newtown ANZ (my local bank) wasn’t so hot I’d…I’d…probably do nothing, sit there and take on the chin like a champ. She is super hot though, even though she probably hates me for making her count all my sticky bartending change tips. It's okay, she used to things being sticky, or at least, that's how I imagine our conversations going....in my head....nevermind.

(By the way, the change tips are "sticky" because they're all coins that get left in cups full of water/grenadine on top of the bar...not because...again, nevermind)

But either way, the bank got me alright, with their hidden fees and multiple conversion rates, so I had even LESS money than I thought I had, which is unfortunate because I already KNEW I had NO money.

What you mean NO MONEY!?

Now it was assured and then some.

I realized how much money I would need to stay and be successful in Darwin and that was NOT the amount of money I had. I would need to buy a new certificate if I wanted to bartend because they make you get one separately for each state in Australia and I had no way to get on a pearling ship without experience. A job which I have NO IDEA about but they pay you STUPID money to do I heard.

I finally got my phone to work, which turned out to be one of the only pluses I had in Darwin. It hadn’t been working since we landed and I needed to check on a few things.

My old roommate Gary "The Legend" lived there now (who you’ll hear about in myupcoming “Best of Billabong” stories) and he said I could crash on his couch while I looked for work, which would have helped immensely…except I couldn’t get in touch with him.

I also needed to contact my old manager Mick to see if I still had a job/he would allow me to come back if I needed to but I couldn’t reach him either. Then finally his text came through and I called him back immediately. We traded stories on each of our new happenings briefly and I asked “the big question”.

Without hesitation he asked me when I would be back in Sydney and he would put me on the roster for the upcoming weekend. Life. Saver. I had just enough money to fly back to Sydney and buy myself food and a place to stay until the next pay check, if, I began work immediately. It took me the better part of the day to decide but I choose the safer option of the 2.

Our 1 photo in Darwin!

The only real reason I didn’t want to go back to Sydney was because it was now the winter time and I try to avoid the winter like Mitt Romney avoids debate questions.

Funny coincidence happened after I bought my ticket too.

My friend Joe “Sad Clown” Taylor called me (another hidden gem upcoming in my “Best of Billabong” entry) and he was up there to get a job on a pearling ship as well. He called me and said he was coming in on a flight, about an hour before I was meant to fly out. Heartbreaker.

We had made plans to hang out and get work together in Darwin but it didn’t work out for me. He even offered to float me some cash so that I could stay. He’s a good friend that way, but the plane ticket had already been bought. So I had to go.

I’m not saying Darwin is a bad place; it’s probably a lot of fun. We only stayed there 1 night and we were too pooped to party. We were also “too pooped” to come up with potent similes anymore.

It’s full of drunken fornicating backpackers, hot tubs, and easily accessible hostels. If you have the right mindset and the right cash flow, I am H.I.V. positive that it’s a good time.

At the airport, Holly...OUT

(I’m not actually H.I.V. positive…but again, I’m short on potent similes; my apologies,

Management)

It just was not for me, not at this time. I needed to get back to Sydney and start working again. So Holly and I flew back to Sydney and stayed in the "Billabong Gardens", I showed her around my ol’ stomping grounds somewhat.

It was raining and we were both very tired so we really just hung out together and slept for the most part. (Separate by the way, not together, she’s my sister and you’re gross)

She flew out the next morning and I went back to work that very next night. I was happy to be back but it was a little weird, it seemed all/most of my friends had left and I didn't know if I had made the right decision to backtrack...but then…

Sydney 2.0 began…and it turned out that the best was yet to come!