Gili Isles - paradise discovered?

Situated to the northeast of Lombok were the Gili isles, and we found our paradise here.

We had two days booked as part of our tour, and we had already committed to diving on our ''free'' day; one of the best places to dive in the world was the promise.

It was day five, and after a prompt start, we arrived at a beach full of small motor boats. Visible in the distance were two of the three islands.

Two boats had been booked to take us across, and our luggage was carried across the beach and piled up in each boat, bonfire-like around the driver's seat; then, we clambered from the beach bare-footed aboard.

After some encouragement, the engine started, and we spread across the short distance at speed, bouncing in the waves with an air of petrol fumes drifting in the cabin. In fairness, it was fun, and when we looked up and forward, there was an instant air of delight. The sea was crystal clear with just a hint of emerald, the sand white, traditional-looking boats were moored at the beach's edge, and small tropical-looking buildings sat back some 30 m. A small relaxed group of tourists lounged on the beach, baking in the clear hot sun, taking just a moment to glimpse our arrival.

The Gili’s looked like the promise would be true, and for us, it was. There are 3 main islands, Meno, Air and Trawangan where our hotel was located. There were no motor cars, just carts drawn with horses, 100's of bicycles and plenty of people on foot. Just one main road of sorts wrapped itself around the island edges. Bars and hotels faced the road, spilling onto the white beaches. Fresh seafood barbeques wafting cooking smells across the noses of people passing by, and in the evening, the night market focused on food.

Our tour included snorkelling at the nearby turtle cove, where it didn't take long to spot the native turtles and many fish species across the reefs, followed by a quick trip to Gili Air and afterwards, we booked two scuba dives for the next day, allocated as a ''free day''.

That evening we joined others at the night market, then at the beach restaurant, drinking cocktails and listening to a great local band. The atmosphere was relaxed and very bohemian.

We booked two dives locally, seeing sharks and turtles. Jacqui struggled with buoyancy, but I enjoyed the experience, particularly drifting in the underwater current.

Jacqui had clearly been thinking about our next location, quickly suggesting that we finish our group tour here rather than returning to Bali the next day, where it would end anyway. Why return when we were in paradise? So we apologised to our group (who agreed with our decision), booked another night's stay, a return ferry and two more dives.

The dives were great, Jacqui seemed to master buoyancy, and the sites were brilliantly clear and full of life. In the evening, we hired bikes for £3 each and cycled to the other side of the Island to watch the sunset. Bali's largest volcano stood to watch as the sun cast red light across the sea's mirror-like surface.

The next day we returned to Bali by fast ferry; well, fairly fast and very bumpy.

We want to return to the Gili’s. It's hard to describe why we liked it so much: its relaxed, laid-back feel or unspoilt ambience. - our little piece of paradise.

M&J