The (almost) sweet life of Gili T

We left our home sweet home of Ubud in search of an ocean paradise, and I do believe we've found it. Not, however, without some (ouch!) unpleasant bumps in the road... Of course, there's always the mini-bumps of budget travel- figuring out the shuttles and ferries, cramped conditions with poor ventilation, and the inevitable repulsive traveler that's seated nearby (in this case, a very seasick woman on a crowded ferry)- but those tend to be the entertaining adventures that we expect and sometimes seek out in travels. We decided to up the ante by bringing in some technical difficulties involving banks, credit cards, phones, etc., a grueling search for the "perfect place" (don't worry, we discovered- just like you- that it doesn't actually exist), and some immense bodily angst in the form of food poisoning. But it all has a happy ending: we're settling into a cute and clean little room on the beach of Gili Trawangan, I can walk upright again, and the world seems to be spinning at about the same speed it always has been. Actually, maybe a little bit slower, as we're on island-time now.

While I was recovering from my body's "emergency evacuation drill", I was taking long floats in the warm ocean, where there's nothing to do but look around and appreciate what a beautiful little paradise this is. We're on a tiny island just east of Bali, where there's no motorized vehicles. Yes, that's right. Not a one. The fastest thing coming down these roads are jingly pony carts. The ocean is warm, and there's coral reef with snorkeling just off shore. White sands, turquoise water, and colorful boats everywhere. There's great bars and restaurants, and a nightlife that sees the dawn on most nights. (not that I've seen any of it yet...) Everyone's friendly, and the island is so small that you see the same people everywhere, making it quite easy to make friends. We've already been invited to Christmas dinner, with some Canadian girls we've been hanging out with.

We have a great little room with an accommodating host, our front step has a tiny bit of lawn for hackysack and other such fun, and we're a barefoot walk to the ocean. We also found a great big lawn to play on. It's actually the grounds for a bungalow establishment, but our Canadian friends are staying there, and the staff invited us to come play on the lawn any time we want. And I'm sure we will...as soon as we overcome the last little bump. Which is that now Brandon isn't feeling well. Oh well, i guess it's good we took turns. Personally, I think it's some form of sympathy sickness, so hopefully I can inspire him to get on the contagious health track instead, now that I'm feeling better.

Nobody likes super-long travel blogs, so that's all for now. Love!