#SummerInBali Day 4 : Gili Trawangan : Diving With White Tip Sharks, Swinging Into Sunset and Dining Under A Night Sky of Stars

Woke up to the sound of gentle waves washing up the shores, feeling a calm sense of bliss to be here on this little turquoise paradise.

7:30AM

Had a light breakfast as we'll be heading out for a fun dive with Manta Dive in just a bit!

I remember my last dive was in Anilao, Philippines. It was so beautiful there, it that made me look forward to my next dive and I'm glad it's happening here today.

Manta Dive Boat

We met Jack, our dive instructor who will be taking us out to the dive site called Shark Point.

All diving equipment loaded up the boat which was of good size and had shelter (some does not have a roof for shade), and off we go, to our first dive site which was located just 10 - 15 minutes away.

The good thing about Manta Dive is that they assign two divers to one instructor for each dive, so that divers can enjoy undivided care and attention.

Multi tasking here: Taking selfies while listening to Jack's briefing 

Before the dive, Jack gave us a safety briefing, the hand signs he will be using to communicate with us underwater, what sightings we will find etc.

We were really hoping to see Manta Rays but Jack advised here at Gili T there's only a 10% chance of spotting them. Most of them live nearer to Bali side, and they could be easily seen at Nusa Penida. Definitely diving there next time....

Geared up

Prepping up!

Ready to go

Oh, I've got my tiny GoPro Session that doesn't require additional housing for all my underwater photography! BUT, little did I find out only later that it's max depth without housing was only 10 metres, and we dove up to 25metres.

You can pretty much guess what happened to all that footage underwater after we went beyond the camera's limit LOL.

Visibility was superb with moderate underwater current observed. Maybe my leg muscles were still aching from the trek at Mount Batur that's why I found myself slowing down underwater after swimming against the current for a while.

I was thinking to myself, "hmm I thought diving is a very relaxing sport. How come I'm starting to feel my legs aching.." 

Little did I know it was because the underwater current was building up and becoming a bit strong.

pc: youtube

So anyway because my GoPro Session stopped working beyond 10 metres, I didn't manage to capture all the underwater creatures we saw, which were giant turtles,

pc: gili dive

white tip sharks, friendly nemo fish, seahorse, sting rays,

pc: indonesia-idc

and this titan triggerfish that we swam away from just in time because while I was busy figuring out why my camera wasn't working, apparently the one we saw had its fins up already, ready to attack anytime..  hahah.

After diving for about an hour, we surfaced back up and woot, my camera is revived.

Not bad! Considering it didn't spoil despite me taking it more than double its max depth without housing! Haha. Anyone else would like to entrust me with their devices? :D

I'll be happy to test it's maximum capability! Hahaha.

Completed our dive and heading back to land.
Overall it was a pretty awesome dive with Manta Dive Gili T!

After every dive, somehow I get really hungry. It's the same for swimming too. I wonder why..

Hammock spot at Manta Dive Resort

Apparently its because we actually use a lot of energy underwater, and our breathing plays a part too in me feeling a little sleepy here.. a nap here on this hammock sounds good to me right now lol.

But nope! Left the hotel before I got too comfortable and we rented bicycles (IDR 50,000 (SGD$5.30) per day per bicycle) from our resort as that seemed like the best way to explore the island without needing to do too much walking.

There are bicycles around the island for rent too.

With our leg-powered two wheelers, we cycled to Warung Jaman Now, a local restaurant that serves up authentic Gili dishes!

Looks very simple and not so appetising right? Ooo but this marinated fried chicken was really yummy. They use kampong chicken so the meat was tender, and it was deep-fried in just the right amount of time with an adequate amount of flour which made each bite a crispy and juicy one!

Forget about their fruit juices though, they were too bland. Fresh coconuts would have been a better choice.

For desserts, we cycled just a few minutes to HelloCapitano for some delicious organic delights!

And indeed I did! Not only was it cutely painted in pastel colours, but it had such a lovely view of the sea and they had quality food too!

From cold pressed juice, to smoothies, protein shakes to vegan milkshakes, soups to salads, home-made sandwiches to ice cream crepes, they have it all.

We had their freshly made-on-the-spot yoghurt energy bowls each and honestly they're one of the best I've tried! I can eat this every morning, and hang on.. I don't even think you can find it in Singapore haha.

Lounging around in bikini right after eating so much isn't gonna make me look flattering...

Oh well, who cares?

We're at this incredible island with such soft sand and inviting waters, with no one in sight here. Imma soak up the late afternoon sun.

My mission for this trip is actually try to maintain my fair skin though I know it sounds like a challenge because it's almost sun/sand/beach everyday lol, and I refuse to look like some Japanese tourist wearing large straw hats with long sleeve tops so.. Sunblock maxxxx!

Relishing Gili T is still far from over! We continued to explore around the island after lazing at the beach for a while, and just as the sun was starting to descend, we cycled to one of the best spots in Gili Trawangan for sunset.

Here! At Ombak Sunset, located on the other side of the island where we stayed at.

Though we got here a little late as the sun was already halfway setting when we arrived, the fiery orange sunset was still spectacular. And by the time we scrambled to set up our drone and tripods all, we were left with 5% of the sun haha.

We were quite a far from Mount Agung, but managed to see this active volcano belching out some smoke. If only our drone had a much further range to help us go nearer to it to check out some smoky action :p

Dinner at Jali

It was almost pitch dark when we cycled about 25 minutes back to the main stretch of Gili T for dinner because there are no street lamps or brightly lighted buildings around. So we held our torchlight while cycling so at least we can see a bit of the path ahead as some areas were off road and sandy.

Pad Thai

Jali Kitchen received so much praises online for their asian culinary dishes that we had to give it a try especially on our last night here in Gili T.

Redang Beef

Reservations are strongly encouraged as it gets full house pretty quickly. Jali is also a resort, where their hotel guests dine in as well.

Green Curry

The serving size has been on the smaller side at most of the places we've eaten at but the portions here at Jali were catered to the caucasian appetite size, so we found ourselves stuffing our faces (and stomachs) with the three main dishes we ordered.

Full house at Jali

The drinks and Pad Thai here was good, but I found the remaining two dishes to be just a little better than average; rich in texture but not bursting with flavours. I would still recommend this place as I believe they have other mouth-watering foods that would whet your appetite.

After such a filling dinner, we strolled back to the resort with our bicycles and on the way, we found ourselves under a night sky full of stars. I even caught sight of a shooting star!

Oh, what a beautiful way to end the day here at Gili Trawangan.

[Singapore. Ubud, Bali. Gili Trawangan, Lombok, Indonesia]

[Mileage Clocked: 281KM]

[Weather/Temperature: 27°C/Sunny]

Next stop: Gates of Heaven, Bali.