LOMBOK, INDONESIA

Lombok Island is just off the coast of Bali, Indonesia. Sengiggi is one of there most popular towns. Its about an hour from the Lombok airport and close to the pier to have access to the Gili Islands.
We stayed in a gorgeous hotel by the name of  Villa Mantano in Senggigi. This hotel was by far the nicest place we stayed our whole vacation. We wanted to treat ourselves a bit & this place was defiantly the place to do so!
The hotel was newly renovated & they were still working on a few of the rooms while we were there. During our stay we had complimentary breakfast as well as snacks throughout the day! We got to enjoy a huge pool all to ourselves & soak up the sun from our own private sun bathing terrace. The room itself was outstanding! A large rainfall shower & a huge king bed! Our stay here cost us roughly $40 a night & included Wifi, A/C, TV, Breakfast + Snacks like I mentioned.
During our stay in Sengiggi we decided to rent a motorbike from our hotel for $4 a day and check out everything Lombok had to offer!
We saw the monkey forest, a few waterfalls, amazing beaches & of course went to the Gili Islands.

We also spent a full day with some locals at the beach. This day was by far one of our favorites. Although Indonesia is known for there Ultimate Frisbee the little island of Lombok is not to well known for it. While on the beach, Cameron and I noticed we were starting to have a crowd of children around us watching us play Frisbee. We tried a few times to get them involved but the children were far too shy. Soon some of the parents started to join in & ask what we were playing. We taught the parents how to play & they finally got some of the kids involved. After a few hours of tossing the Frisbee around we decided we wanted to continue on our adventure around the island so we gave our Frisbee to one of the families. The children were so excited & the parents were too!

We captured this picture of them playing right before we headed out. 

Below are a few more pictures of our time on Lombok. 

 

GILI GUIDE

 

The Gili Islands are located off Lombok Indonesia. They are 3 islands in total & they are seriously heaven on earth! Today I'm going to share my guide to Gili Trawangan Island! This small island is known for having no cops and no motorized vehicles. Everything is done by walking, biking, or taking horse drawn carriages. You can walk the whole island in about an hour and a half. If you don't want to walk it, rent a bike and bike it! Its totally worth it!

HOW TO GET TO GILLI T: 

The most common question I get from my friends who are looking to get to Gili is how to get there. There are a few ways but they all include boats! If your staying in a hotel, hostel etc ask them for legit boat companies. Usually they will book them for you & have a shuttle driver pick you up. The reason I say "legit" company is because there are a number of fake companies located at the pier itself. Also note: There are a few different boats you can take. One being a fast boat (a little more expensive, but worth it!!). The other boat being the local "faerie" boat. (I would not recommend this one, it was a pretty scary! I also heard they capsize a lot because the boat is too full)

PLACES TO STAY: 
We stayed at two different places on Gili & loved both!! There are a ton of hotels all over the island & finding one the day of is no problem!! The places we stayed were:
Thank You Bar & Restaurant - We thought this was amazing! We loved how welcoming & friendly all the staff was! The room was clean and comfy & the hostel was close to everything! It was $20 CAD a night & included Wifi, A/C, T.V & Breakfast

Ricel Homestay - We loved this place! Located at the end of the street, it was very quite and the owners were awesome! It cost us roughly $20 CAD including Wifi, A/C & Breakfast 

WHERE TO SNORKEL:

Although there are A TON of different places that offer snorkeling with sea turtles etc I highly recommend NOT to do any of those tours. They are super expensive & totally not worth it! What I recommend is going by yourself! It was SO easy to find snorkels and fins! It costs about $4 CAD for the day! The best place to find sea turtles was a spot on the island called Turtle point. Its right down the street from the main pier & in front of some cheap restaurants that will watch your stuff all day (as long as you buy something) The best time to see the turtles is 2:00pm & you don't need to go far either! They swim really close to the shore!

WHERE TO EAT: 
We loved the food at our hostel & it was super cheap!! I highly recommend going to Thank You Bar & Restaurant. The food is fantastic & the service is outstanding! P.S If you order a pizza here they will ask you Magic? That is because they are asking if you want magic mushrooms on it! Be careful!
Another great place if your craving pizza is Regina Pizza! Its delicious!!!

Those are two of our favorite spots but there are also tons of places to eat around the island!

BEST SUNSET SPOT: 

The best sunset on the island is by far the Sunset Bar which is on the West side of the island! Anywhere that you can see the volcano is perfect!!

Here is a map of Gili & where the best spots are! 

TRANSPORTATION IN THAILAND

Getting from point A to point B in SE Asia is pretty easy! There are numerous ways to travel like bus, train, plane, boat or even by car. The way you get there is really up to you and what you can afford. I thought I would share my tips on what I found to be the cheapest and most reliable! 

When traveling anywhere in Thailand my fiancé and I always stuck to taking the bus! The buses are fantastic, affordable and reliable! Depending how cheap you are you can get a pretty great deal. Traveling from Bangkok to Chiang Mai on a VIP bus that included free water, snacks, movies, blankets and pillows & reclining seats cost us 488 baht which is roughly $17 Canadian! Pretty awesome considering the bus ride was 10 hours long. 
The same went for when we traveled to Krabi province which was about 12 hours away. 
The bus terminals are easy to find and we found they always ran on time & never broke down. 

If your thinking of taking the train system throughout Thailand, I would highly suggest to double think that. The train system is never on time, always has delays & usually costs more. We also heard they are notorious for being de-railed. 

If buses are not really for you, another great means of transportation is by plane. The tickets are pretty affordable & you would save a ton of time! For anyone who isn't backpacking or is on a strict time line, the plane is a great option! 
Air Asia has tons of booths around Thailand & you can also buy your tickets online. To get from say Bangkok to Chiang Mai would roughly cost you $60 Canadian & the flight is about 1 hour! 

Boats!! Boats are great if your traveling the islands of Thailand! You get to see some pretty amazing scenery and the price is pretty affordable as well! You can usually hire your own personal long tale boat & haggle them down to a great price. We found taking the public boats from larger ports to be the best price! To get from Krabi to Koh Lanta cost us $4 Canadian & took about an hour and a half! 
An important note I wanted to mention about taking any boat in Thailand is that if the boat looks too full and they keep packing it full, get off!! Ask to take the next boat! These boats often tip or flip due to them being over packed. The boats run every hour on the hour so don't feel rushed! Use your own judgment & be safe! 

As for taxis, car rentals and Tuk Tuk's in Thailand they are always usually affordable unless they scam you! If you are in a taxi, always ask for them to use the meter. They will likely say no because it's too hot and the meter doesn't work but that's a lie! 
If your traveling from the Bangkok airport to Khao San Road (a popular tourist area where you will find cheap hotels & shopping) should cost you no more than 500 baht or $20! Do not let them scam you at the airport! 
As for Tuk Tuks... Anywhere but Bangkok they are a fantastic means of transportation! In Bangkok they are greedy & will never take you to your exact location without taking you to some sort of tourist shop where they get compensation. If you decided to take a Tuk Tuk in Bangkok, just be firm! Do not them stop at other locations and try and use exact change, if you don't have exact change they usually say they don't have change to give you & your out of luck. Also, if a Tuk Tuk driver says they are going to take you to a bunch of different temples that are only open for 1 day - don't do it! It's a scam! & beware of the people on the sidewalk who walk up to you & act like they are your friends & then recommend you to take a Tuk Tuk - these people work with the Tuk Tuk drives to increase their business! 

Overall it's pretty easy to get anywhere in Thailand, it really all depends on you and how you want to travel! My best advice would be to do your research & know how much your willing to spend. Again, we loved the bus system and highly recommend them to anyone who is backpacking and on a budget! 
I hope some of these tips helped & if you have any questions, leave them in the comments below! 
Thanks for reading!