Indonesia - Senggigi to Gili

38 hours of flights/layovers and before i know it i'm washed ashore on the beautiful islands of indonesia.  it's late at night and i'm greeted by an instand wave of nighttime humidity and the smell of a very familiar mix of the sea and a notion of being very far from home.

a quick night's stay in senggigi awakens me to find myself in the early morning company of my first friend here, anton, a local surfer who is originally from java.  anton's age changes every time i ask him but i place him around 35 and gather he has a mixed family living in different parts of indonesia.  he's a great help.  a short phone calls puts him in touch with the captain of a local transport who arranges to pick me up early next morning from the nearby port town of bangsal.  i'm exhausted but eager to dive into the sea.

the gili islands are a brief single-propeller boat ride away from lombok, the island i've arrived on.  their beauty overtakes the horizon and immediately i feel a sense that i've chanced upon something very special.  the boat docks and i jump into the bay with single backpack and a pair of shoes i wont wear again for a long time.

although gili is a bit touristy it does attract some interedting folk.  some people here have marooned themselves long ago and given up on the rest of the world. toothless sailors and tattooed seamen with long expired visas find my company as i have no interest in drunk party-seeking australians.  i meed linus, a scotsman who built his own home here on this island which is somehow off the charts from the rest of the world.  he knows of a ship that can take me to a next destination, one that had fueled my interest ever since a chance run in with a nimble lizard who was too fast for my camera, the komodo dragon.

so how does one get to komodo to see this endemic creature? you could organize a tour for a hefty price and eat planned meals alongside sunburned europeans or perhaps we could mske this more imteresting.  i've not decided yet but i know i came here for the sport of adventure and i've learned a thing or two about hitching ships from my previous journeys.  all i know is that as of two days ago i've been obsessed with a magnigicent and rare creature who has taken my attention away from all else.  i bet this story gets interesting.

love from indonesia.  this is me and anton, a partner in misadventure.  it's a beautiful world out there and never a better time to proove that beauty still exists.