Pradiseception – The island paradise hidden within an Island Paradise
Captains Log Day 10 – 02/01/20 5:31 am.
Jetstar Flight JQ36
Still drowsy from their early start the trio arrived at Bali airport, extremely relaxed from the resort life that had consumed them for the last few days in Nusa Dua.
They jumped on a flight and it was not long after, that they had arrived at the island of Lombok. It took less time for the them to reach Lombok than it did to reach Bali airport. Instantly they were confronted with a wall of heat as they left the immigration section of the ‘shack’ like airport.
They were to meet Sergeant Sej and Commodore Goro in the lands of Lombok, however the Commodore and Sergeant’s flight was not scheduled to land for another 2 hours. The crew grew impatient, and in a rookie move the Captain led them out of the air-conditioned airport into the sun like conditions of ‘The Outside’, here they sat and waited anxiously the arrival of the reinforcements.
In the distance they saw a storm approaching the island, as they sat in the heat waiting for time to pass, during which time taxi drivers kept coming over asking if they needed a lift.
In a surge of people flowing out the airport gates, they saw the Sergeant and Commodore coming out, and met them with embrace. It had been a while since they had caught up, the Sergeant and Commodore being on an epic adventure of their own travelling around India and Malaysia before meeting them for a final stint in Gili T.
In a matter of a few seconds, in what looked like a snap of the fingers Goro, amongst the chaos and madness summoned their driver. Instantly the storm cleared, and they boarded the large van and dumping their luggage and squishing in for the long haul. The drive was windy, zipping along the narrow roads across the island, with spectacular views of the open ocean pinned against the Lombok cliff faces. The journey took 2 hours, stopping to admire the views and drink a fresh coconut on the way. After the flight, early morning start, it was all getting to be a blur for all involved.
Unfortunately, the journey was not over, they still had a 20-minute speed boat ride that was waiting for them at the dock.
They got out of the car and met two other comrades that would be joining them on this adventure and the crew grew larger.
Once again within seconds Commodore Goro was able to control of the situation and organise someone to come and escort them on their own private speed boat.
What followed was a quick but bumpy sea ride across the ocean, with each wave General Nuj uttered a prayer, holding on as the quick but bumpy ride raced across the open sea. Not soon enough for the General the crew reached land again, the time struck 4 as they jumped into the warm water and shattered coral beach on to the island of Gili T.
Instantly it was chaos, grabbing their bags they rushed on to the busy main street, dodging bikes and pedestrians carrying all their luggage, following the Commodore as the leader.
A hectic walk ensued, zig-zagging between bikes and horse carriages, they walked up the main streets for 10 minutes before reaching their bunker for the next few days – Pesona hotel.
This was a place that the Commodore and Sergeant visited frequently and the Captain had an instant realisation of why that was the case. The place was amazing! featuring an open air restaurant and bar that overlooked the busy street followed by the open ocean. It had a pool in the front of the complex and a vibe like none of the other places that they had passed along the way.
A buzz was emanating from the place as Goro went and greeted the staff with a warm embrace, it was evident, he was at home.
Without a second to relax they quickly checked in (to a beautiful room) and were introduced to their rides for their stay, cycles!
Instantly a look of fear and dread overcame the Admiral, who had no idea how to ride a bike – the captain assured her everything would be ok, she was clearly not the slightest bit convinced. It was however going to be a baptism of fire as they had to race to be able to see the Gili Sunset. The Commodore assured them that they had to leave straight away and reach the sunset point immediately in order to catch it.
Off to a shaky start the Admiral struggled to find a balance amongst the chaos of the street, this initial panic subdued as the crowds thinned out and much to the Captain and her own surprise she was cruising along the streets, only stopping occasionally to let the horse and cart through.
With time to spare they reached the Pink Coco beach bar and restaurant and got a seat to witness the most magnificent sunset display the Captain had ever seen. They sat along the beachside and sipped on Bintangs as the display made them forget the epic journey they had just undertaken to reach there. Joined by the other crew members, they played on the water swings, chatted and reflected on the beauty of the beach and the coming of the night. It was just stunning. It reminded the Captain of something he had read “like tea dissolving in hot water, the sun dissolved in the sky… creating a velvet horizon, announcing for the stars’ night dance with the moon, the awaited joy for the wounded souls.” From Bali – The Rebirth by Abeer Allan
The sky turned dark and like the sun the crew decided to go away. Hopping back on their bikes, slightly intoxicated and a lot less nervous they headed back to the hotel.
They all quickly freshened up, cooling down in the air conditioned rooms and relaxing for a bit before they needed to head off for dinner. It was at this point that the Captain felt exhaustion, the day was getting the better of him and despite the excitement, his body was fighting fatigue.
Escape could not have come soon enough, a message from the Commodore and they were all summoned to the front of the hotel soon after jumping on their bikes again and heading for dinner.
Dinner was at the number one rated restaurant on the island – Jali, another recommendation by Goro and much like the accommodation one that certainly did not disappoint. So much so that General Nuj still confesses to dream about the Cajun Pasta. To say that the food was spectacular would be an understatement. One of the best meals that they had consumed since being on vacation.
To follow up the epic meal that they had just had, the Commodore took them to his favourite juice shake bar to meet the great Cadet Adi. Adi was an amazing bartender that was famous for his pineapple, fruit and mixed vegetable juice, he made them a batch and it was delicious treat that had them begging for more. Stuffed from this culinary and ecstatic experience, they all jumped on their bikes for the final time that day and road back to the hotel. This time the admiral was much more nervous and hit two oncoming pedestrians along the way, with no harm done at least to the Admiral and the vessel, they safely reach the hotel.
To finish off a very eventful day they sat on the beach and ordered a Shisha sipping on one of the shakes that the Mighty cadet Adi had prepared. They sat together and reflected on how good the day had been and what awaited them on the other side of the sunrise, New Year’s Eve.
Unable to sleep much in the night Captain woke up slightly drowsy but very excited for the day that was to follow, it was New years Eve and they had so much to do. Gathering the troops, they had a simple but tasty breakfast at the hotel (once again this place did not disappoint) then set off to the Harbour for their snorkelling adventure. it was going to be the first time that the general had ever snorkelled, in fact it was going to be the first time that general had done any aquatic activity. He was petrified he has never been a big fan of water let alone snorkelling in the open ocean. The Admiral and Captain assured him everything will be fine and that snorkelling was a very easy and simple activity to do.
Picking up the flippers and their snorkelling masks the crew followed the pirate captain to get another boat, alongside about 20 other water goers they boarded the vessel and set off into the sea. They sailed for about 15 minutes whilst the general’s face was white in fear. Instantly without any notice the boat stopped, and they were briefed that they had 40 minutes to snorkel. Confused by this, the Captain and Admiral had expected that they would go snorkelling from the beach much like prior experiences at places such as the Great Barrier Reef. The crew had been asked to jump into the water. At this point the Captain was confused, there had been no training, no instructions on how to use the mask, they had just been asked to jump into the water. Next to him, shocked as if he had seen someone be murdered in front of him the General started freaking out, that he is not going to do it and that he will do it the next time not this time. The response was a stern message from the Captain ‘JUST DO IT! YOU HAVE A LIFE VEST ON!’ as the Captain jumped from the boat into the water.
The General looked like he was going to cry, his face as white as the waves crossing on the beach in the distance. Just when the Captain was doubting the General, he felt an arm hit his shoulder and yelp in the background. it was the general gasping for air and flailing his arms as if he was drowning. The Admiral, who was also in the water by this time tried to calm the General down, the Captain grabbed him and held his arm. Hoping that the General would calm down a bit the Admiral and Captain held him assuring him that its ok, he will not drown. He was stressing. stressing very hard, and despite their efforts (and a life jacket) he did not feel safe, freaking out at regular intervals. They continued to try to calm the General and move along the path of the tour. Halfway through the journey the instructor watching the crew struggling came over and was able to assist the still frightened General with his equipment. It turned out his equipment did have an issue as the snorkel was letting water in. Offering some assistance, he helped the General who all of a sudden calmed down a bit, he felt a little better and started enjoying (slightly) the experience. They floated along when the Captain noticed that most of the crew they were with on the tour were back on the boat, which was about 400 meters away. It was his turn to freak out. He started yelling at the trio, requesting them to move towards the boat, worrying that if they were the last people the boat might leave without them. An already struggling General and Admiral started moving towards the boat slowly.
The Admiral was now trying to calm down both the Captain and the General.
They couldn’t reach fast enough, they were the last people on the boat, but as soon as they boarded the General was still in shock, refusing to talk to the Admiral and Captain. Upset by the experience, he sat amongst the boat members, looking like he was almost about to start crying. He opted not to continue, instead wanting to stay in the boat and passing his flippers for someone else to use.
The boat left the spot and headed off to the next snorkelling spot, this time en route, the Pirate Captain of the boat advised them that this spot is where they will be able to see Turtles! After a short distance in towards land, but still a few kilometres off the coast, the boat stopped, once again the occupants of the boat were asked to ‘Jump in’, this time, unlike the last there was no Hesitation from that Captain and the Admiral, they just flopped into the water. Despite the excitement of the mystical aquatic sea creature being in the water, General Nuj, who was still coming off the shock of the last experience decided not to join them and remained in the boat.
The Admiral and Captain floated along, this time staying with the group and doing their best not to fall behind. They swam, with the anticipation of seeing the marine animal in the wild and just as the anticipation was getting too much, the tour guide, called out to them, and as they swam over the realised that what looked like a rock on the bottom of the ocean floor, was actually a sleeping majestic TURTLE, the swam around staring at it, hoping that it would wake up and swim up, possibly even chant ‘duuuuude’ as it did so, unfortunately it did nothing of the sort. It just continued to sleep. Unable to throw things at it to wake it up, the Admiral and Captain moved on as the snorkelling continued. Over the next 30 minutes they were fortunate enough to see 3 more turtles, all of which seemed to have had a big night the night before and looked like they were in a hungover slumber.
Feeling giddy from the experience they returned to the boat and told the General what they had seen, he was giddy himself, a much different General that they had left when they jumped into water, it seemed that life had returned to his face. He told them that he had also seen a Turtle from the glass bottom of the boat, and unlike the ones that the Captain and Admiral had seen, one that was swimming (and possibly chanting ‘duuude’ as it did so).
A mission objective for the trip had been accomplished, the trio had witnessed a Turtle doing its thing in the wild to Shell-brate we high fived each other and discussed our encounters as the boat headed towards the Island of Gili Air for lunch.
Lunch was relatively uneventful for the trio, aside from the Captain ordering a random local dish and being advised by the waitress that it’s a soup dish. The Captain had a reaction of dismay, which startled both the waitress and the others around them, he decided to change his order.
Post Lunch they departed Gili Air and went to the last point for another round of snorkelling, this time to check out some underwater statues. The General was on the fence of weather to jump in on this one, however his fears took the better of him and he decided to remain on the boat for the final dive. The statues were crowded with other snorkelling groups trying to get a glimpse of them, the Captain and Admiral struggled but were able to float around checking out the statues and surrounding marine life before heading back to the boat early.
The General had made friends with a Swiss UN employee who he was chatting to when the Captain and Admiral climbed back onboard. They joined the conversation and chatted till the boat took them back home to Gili T.
Back on shore, the trio said their goodbyes and retreated to the hotel for some rest and relaxation, some that they needed before the long NYE night ahead.
Waking up they had a message waiting from the Commodore requesting they meet him and Sergeant Sej for dinner, the trio got ready, dressing up in their party gear, getting ready to let loose. Waiting outside for them were the Commodore and Sergeant, they quickly jumped on a bike and terrifyingly for the admiral took the back streets Tiki Grove which was the best Mexican place on the island. Here without wasting any time they started on Pre-drinks, enjoying some tacos paired with MaiTais and Sharknado cocktails – The food was magnificent and the cocktails strong.
Intoxicated and getting pumped for NYE the Commodore and Sergeant headed back, whilst the trio couldn’t resist going back to Adi for another one of his famous shakes, then heading back to meet the crew back at the hotel. It was a nerve-racking bike ride for the Admiral, who thorough the journey kept yelling to pedestrian traffic “IM DRUNK WATCH OUT!” as the Captain behind her apologised and wished the patrons a “Happy New Year”.
They arrived back to the hotel and a party ensued, they sat up the front of the hotel and watched the manic streets fill up with intoxicated people walking up and down the road.
Music was blasting, drinks and shisha was flowing, people were dancing on the streets, and the beach had partygoers drinking and letting off fireworks, safe to say the trio are guilty of jumping onboard all of those activities they joined in the people and continued to party all the way to when the clock hit 12 and they ushered in 2020 on the beach.
Amazed by the fireworks display and jumping around hugging everyone and wishing them Happy New Year!
The anticipation and planning had led to this moment, the beginning of a new decade, the end of a taxing but rewarding year, they had learnt a lot and grown as people, it was time for reflection and celebration. They stood and watched the sea come in and go as the party around them continued. They did not take too long to reminisce the night was young the trio went back and sat with the Commodore to party till the wee hours of the night, going to bed only after the resort had closed and the staff had gone to bed.
Starting the year extremely hungover they woke up and packed up their things. In a very slow procession, the trio made their way down to the hotel lobby. The lobby looked like a warzone, with hungover souls all around the place. Despite them checking out on the day the hotel offered them free breakfast as they ate, they made some more new friends who were down from Canada, with the Commodore joining them, they all sat and ate chatting about life, traveling and their holiday. It was almost time to leave, and as they sat along the front of the hotel, having their last shisha and morning Bintang the tour operator arrived come to pick up their bikes and escort them to the jetty for their ferry out. Rather than taking a flight back to Bali, this time they opted to take a direct boat and then a 2-hour car ride to the airport. The feeling of being hungover, dreading the journey ahead and the sorrow of leaving mixed together made them feel a sickly sadness departing paradise. Hoping they had way to slow down time, they sadly went back and said their goodbyes to the Commodore and the Sergeant, thanking them for everything and promising to catch up back in the homeland for some reminiscing times.
They departed with the tour operator who helped the trio carry their bags, the harbour was a 10-minute walk away from the hotel. The Captain took the lead and walked with the tour operator that had the large suitcase on his bike, the Admiral and General followed closely behind. It was not till they reached the harbour that the Captain realised that the Admiral and General were not following and were not there. He waited 5 minutes and made several calls to their mobile phones. It was at this point he freaked out and asked some Randoms to watch his bags and went searching to them, he walked down towards the hotel screaming their names. Nothing happened, the Captain then returned, finding the tour operator, asking him to look after his bags and after trying to call them again he took the tour operators cycle down to find them. He rode all the way to the hotel and went inside, he couldn’t find them, he then went around the hotel asking the staff if they had seen them, nobody had. He started to freak out further, riding back to the harbour, but this time going down alley ways and asking shops if they had seen them, unfortunately nobody had. The fear now started becoming panic, as he got back to the harbour and called the Commodore and Sergeant, freaking out, they said they will head off on foot looking for them. He continued to Panic, not only were they missing, they were not picking up their calls and additionally the boat was to leave in 30 minutes (according to the ticket). Once the Captain headed off taking the cycle looking for them, once again coming back scared and distraught. It was when he called home in Melbourne, that he finally saw the Sergeant leading the two back from the other side.
It turns out they did not see the harbour and kept walking, and they did not check their phones. The Captain was furious, and after a bit of argument, decided not to speak to the Admiral or General for the remainder of the trip, he was frightened and was upset with the whole way that they had handled the situation. They all waited in silence until the boat arrived.
The Boat that was to take them to Bali came up to the beach, it was a medium sized boat, not as small as some on the dock and certainly not as big as the Eka Jaya (The largest ferry). The boat would fit around 80 – 100 people, all sitting inside with the luggage stacked up on the outside area of the boat. They boarded and sat inside, instantly the Captain feeling claustrophobic due to the heat, the tinted windows that could not be opened and the narrow seats. The boat had not even left, and the Captain felt a sense of dread had come over him. About 5 minutes in the boat started to sway violently, the weather had changed, and they were caught in a storm, people shrieked every time the boat hit a wave. The Captain looked over and saw the General’s face, which had now turned white, he was gripping himself against the chair, and profusely praying, it was clear he was not feeling well. Rapidly the feeling spread through the boat, with other passengers starting to Vomit, and fall ill. The horrid smell of bile and regurgitated food filled the capsule like cabin, forcing the General to start feeling ill. The gentleman who sat beside them, noticed the General feeling ill and started fanning him with a towel, he continued to do this for almost 20 minutes (not all heroes wear capes). The sickness was being felt by all, when an angry man went to the front and started yelling at the crew onboard the boat, pleading and yelling at them to stop hitting the waves and to slow down. Yelling and screaming pursued – however it was effective, the boat had calmed down slightly and so did the passengers. It still rocked but was far less violent. The General sat still pale. Silently the boat reached the harbour, and it couldn’t have been soon enough, as everyone had started to feel the sickness, they all scurried out of the boat.
Confronted with about 20 drivers seeking to take them to the Airport, the trio managed to speak with one who agreed to take them in a private car, without stopping like the free bus would. At this point all for them felt too ill to argue, they paid the man and got into the car asking the driver to take them to the airport and stop at the Krishna Shop along the way.
The Captain drew the short straw and had to sit next to the driver who was an obese man, eating something deep fried (he could smell the oil) chewing loudly and burping frequently.
The boat didn’t make him hurl but this was surely pulling at his strings.
It was a long drive, traffic was terrible, and time was running out, they reached Krishna Superstore and budgeted 20 minutes to grab as many things as possible for gifts etc. They bought everything they liked without thinking about it too much and rushed back to the car asking their Driver to floor it to the airport.
They arrived with minimal time to spare, in a haste they checked in only to be confronted with a long line for customs, which had a shift change going on. Hoping they don’t miss their flight they stood in line until finally they got served.
Grabbing some overpriced Sandwiches and just as the final calls were being called out they ran to the gate. They and boarded their flight back to Melbourne saying goodbye to the forests, the beaches and the paradise they had been in for the last few weeks.
