6 Reasons you Should choose Gili Trawangan Over Bali

Thanks to the likes of the spiritual bullshit in Eat. Pray. Love. Bali has gripped tight the spotlight for most popular destination for pretentious hippies and party animals alike in Indonesia. But is the most popular really the best choice? Indonesia is huge and filled with beautiful places but when it comes to partying, there is another gem that is often kept in the shadows. It's only after you're trapped in the traffic-ridden streets of Bali when you start to hear tales of a wonderful clean white sand, and secluded paradise island only a boat ride away called as softly as a unicorn's sigh, The Gilis.

Although there are three of these little Gili Islands, for you, young, social manimals your main concern will be Gili Trawangan, shortened by dumb westerners to Gili T.

On the one hand...

• There are no cars, only horses

Bali can feel like a damn, congested Jakarta. In the main areas it is super developed with traffic jams and you need to take taxis or Ojeks everywhere. It’s the pits especially for expats in Jakarta who are looking for a reprieve from that intoxication, as I was when leaving Jakarta for the first time. In Gili T it’s the exact contrary. There are not even motorbikes. You can rent bicycles for about 20 k IDR or hire the horse taxis (Blue Horse, we called them) if you want to get around. Life is simple and pure here. You can use the bikes and explore the charming back country, although most things in the main area are accessible by walking. Imagine a more humble Koh Phi Phi.

• It's not Little Australia

Given the proximity of Indonesia to Oz of course it's to be expected to see a higher concentration of em' than anywhere else, but here in Gili T the crowd is much more diverse (if you count loads of Swedish and a sprinkle of other more diverse). When in Seminyak and Kuta Bali for New Year's I'm not sure if I met a single person who wasn't Aussie! Hell, I even started to talk like them, saying things like 'reckon' and 'loads of'. Curse.

• You'll avoid a massive sausage fest

There are girls. And they are all pretty as. Unlike Kuta Bali which is overloaded with yummy surfer boys (best time ever, read here), Gili seems to be where all the ladies come to kick it for a bit. Fact: more women just made the place feel more civilized. Seriously, having a major girl influence sets higher standards for other girls and automatically unsleezifies. Girls don’t show up to the bars in the very classy bikinis ensemble like at Paddy’s. Instead, they wear their cool long tank tops, fix their hair in beachy buns or keep ocean marinated wavy locks and even throw on some make-up when doing one of the epic party nights. Also, it doesn't have the pretension of Seminyak in Bali which just feels like Jakarta nightlife (girls wear heels! ) with fresher air. You'll appreciate the balance between girls’ style and practicality. Bros, if you understand nothing else written: the ladies are hawt.

• Beach bars make you feel like Bob Marley

When you see, smell and hear the ocean from where you’re bunga bungaing, life finally feels like you’ve escaped it. In the Irish pub and even from Rudy’s you are always a stone’s throw away from the water and it is aye-rey mon (Jamaican accent, obvi). Most importantly it is extremely useful for wholesome activities like attempted skinny dipping when you are inebriated (only to find out there is painful coral that is not quite conducive to splashing around in all your glory and the surf is so far out so you have to run in your birthday suit to the other end of the island to find a normal area to jump in the water. Then having failed because it’s a full moon and the water is 500 meters out so you resort to cannon balling into hotel pools that aren’t your own and then running away from security. Not that this happened to us or anything). Also, having the lovely sands so close to the excuses to copulate aka parties gives all the transient couples a perfect place to make like a Major Lazor video pon de sand.

But more than that, something about salty sea air and finding sand everywhere just makes everything just so chilled out. In Bali the clubs are hardcore, I mean in buildings with STAIRS like Skybar and entry fees sometimes. Are you even on an island? It’s hard to imagine in Bali.



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• Drink Harder, Faster, Cheaper

Two words: local alcohol. You can get mixed vodka redbulls for 11k IDR (like 1 euro) but the catch is that it's all locally brewed stuff. They serve them at all the bars on Gili T and just makes nightlife more affordable. However, sometimes people get sick from the local stuff. I never did but two colleagues think they did, so be careful? Food is cheaper too than Bali and you can even get marvelous fish feasts for 30-60k IDR. O. M. Gili.

• Here, Tourists have souls too

Yo, they give you some of dat respect more than you get in Bali. In Bali and especially Kuta the street kids will try to pick pocket drunk tourists, feel up girl’s bums, take pictures of you, make fun of your accent, everything. The older people will stand in dark corners and try to sell you mushrooms and yell “Transport, Transport! Mate, hey! ” and after several days in Kuta you get over it. In Gili T you don’t have that perennial bombardment of locals trying to rob you on every corner. By the same measure, the tourists are much more respectful to Gili T (maybe has something to do with the fact there are not a butt load of dumb muscle men from Australia). Like I said, this place is chill. I mean, it gets a bit annoying to have India/Namastay shouted at you everytime you walk by (once they didn’t get a reaction they tried shouting 'England! '. Got it in the Commonwealth at least), but yea it’s all done in good spirit. I think they love Indian stuff (music everywhere) so whateves. I’ve gotten over trying to explain Guyana to people.

On the other hand...

• I mean, Bali obviously has some major pluses as well and being critical but kinda lazy I will just skim down the awesomeness of Bali (you can read and/or watch the video too for a more..interesting picture). First of all, Bali is huge. While I mostly spoke of Kuta and Seminyak, there is much to explore on your own and you are def able to escape pollution and traffic if you go far enough. Second, it's extremely cultural outside of those two spots I mentioned. Unlike most of Indonesia that has a majority Muslim population, Bali is Hindu. There are lovely temples to check out when you are feeling yourself getting dumber from all the Bintangs you drank. Third, surf's up man! The waves are frickin' stellar in Bali (thus the infusion of Aussie boys). In Gili the water is perfectly crystal clear but its use is mostly for frolicking in and not much else.

Which place in Indonesia do you prefer? Share your thoughts!

Brother Posting: Indie Guide to Party Pearl of Indonesia

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