Stepping Out Of Babylon

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Gilis

How to go from Gili to Amed (Bali) by public transport

It takes all day… and you can’t really control the length of the trip, as the ferry boat takes more than 4 hours and the bemos usually departure when they have more than three people.

From Gili Meno to Amed… step by step:

  • Boat from Gili Meno to Bangsal, departure at 8 a.m. (but is better arrive earlier as the boat leave as soon as it gets full) and costs 14.000 Rp and the trip takes 25 minutes.
  • At Bangsal you need to walkway from the pier avoiding the touts that will try to sell you something. You need to walk 1.2 kilometers until Pemenang where the bemos wait. If it’s too much to walk for you can get a cimodo or an ojek (moto-taxi).
  • The bemo from Pemenang to Mataram costs 20.000 Rp and takes around 1 hour. Tell the driver that you are going to Lembar and he will drop you nearby Pasar Cakranegara, on the Jalan AA. Gde Ngurah.
  • Then you need to spot a bemo that will be waiting on the left side of Jalan AA. Gde Ngurah (between the intersection with Jl Tumoang and Jl Chairil Anwar, not far from an Alfamart supermarket).
  • The bemo from Mataram to Lembar cost 20.000 Rp and it took 45 minutes and dropped me at the harbor entrance.
  • At Lembar harbor go straight to the ticket counter located on the right side. Public ferry Padangbai (Bali) cost 40.000 Rp. The ferryboats run 24 hours but don’t have a fix schedules and all depend on the time they need to fill the boat with trucks, cars and motorbikes. The ferry trip takes around 4.30 hours but can be more.
  • If you arrive during the day to Padangbai you can probably can find bemos that drive along the north coast (Candidasa, Amlapura and further north…) passing by Culik (pronounces Chulik). According to the information that I obtain you need two bemos as they don’t drive far distances.
  • I arrive around 7 p.m. (due to works at the pier of Padangbai that make the boat wait 1.5 hours offshore) so there were no bemos just the usual touts pushing me to a taxi for 300.000 to Amed. Think you can bargain up to 200.000 Rp but, as I was alone and still was too much.
  • So I got an ojek (moto-taxi) to Amed for 100.000 Rp… the ride took 1.5 hours… is a long 45 kilometers ride to do with a backpack on a motorbike!!!

Total time: 13 hours (5:45 hours in the ferry due to works at the Padangbai pier)

Total costs: 194.000 Rp (if you arrive during the afternoon you can use one of the bemos waiting at the pier, and save the hard trip by ojek)

The alternative to the public transport is the fast boat from Gilis to Amed, that takes 45 minutes and costs minimum 450.000 Rp… from Amed to Gilis you can get a fast-boat for 250.000 Rp.

Food:

There’s a masakan padang eatery at Lembar, on the left side a few meters before the ticket counter. Or you can get food and water from the vendors that hang around the pier.

Inside the ferry, you can have cookies, snacks, instant soup…

 

See also:

Gili Meno… what a rest!!!

Definitively, Gili Meno is the most laidback island of the Gili group and the one where I feel the connection with the beach, the sea and with the rural lifestyle that still occupies the interior of the island, were cows, goats and chickens overtake the number of inhabitants.

Despite the rain from the end of the monsoon that left a strong print during the time spent at Gili Air, the days at Gili Meno were mainly sunny, with a gentle breeze and a full moon.

Gili Meno has a privileged position between the big Gili Trawangan, best known as Gili T, and the small Gili Air. From the east coast of the island, you can see the small flat Gili Air with it tinny beaches with the impressive mountains of Lombok behind, covered by dense vegetation with the top frequently wrapped in thick clouds of the end of the monsoon.

From Gili Meno west coast, despite the far distance is possible to see the contours of Mount Agung, the highest mountain of Bali, behind the small hills of Gili T, with this landscape getting a special twist at the sunset.

Lots of nature, not many resorts, restaurants, bars or nightlife, and with a seashore still with many natural and empty spaces make this island the more pleasant one, where you can find a strong connection with nature, an easy going rural lifestyle and where you interact with local people, that here look much happier and smiley than in Gili Air.

The quietness of the island is broken by the callings for prayers that come from the mosque several times a day, filling the air with a melody that in the beginning sounds strange and misplaced but that after a few days serves as a reference in a place where is easy to lost the perception of the hours and of the days…

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Gili Meno
North coast of Gili Meno

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Gili Meno
Gili Meno

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Salt Lake. Gili Meno
Salt Lake. Gili Meno

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Gili Meno
Gili Meno

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Gili Meno
Gili Meno

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Gili Meno
Gili Meno

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Gili Meno
Gili Meno

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Gili Meno
The east seashore has a lot of plastics along the sand and is also where the pier is located. Gili Meno

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Where to sleep at Gili Meno:

Gili Gila… that means “crazy gili” and in fact that a bit of craziness in this project. A hostel located in the center of the island, with dorms and rooms, build in a creative and very original way, with a lot of places to chill and socialize. But this craziness extends to the environment with a lot of party going on that makes difficult to sleep without good earplugs… a heavy contrast with the quietness of the island.

The dorms cost 100.000 Rp, including breakfast that is only pancakes. Water refill, tea and coffee are available for free all day. You better bring your own padlock and towel otherwise you need to “rent” at the reception. Has Gili Gila open recently the wi-fi is not working yet.

You can go snorkeling with the guys of the hostel and rent part of the gear there.

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Gili Gila hostel. Gili Meno
Gili Gila hostel. Gili Meno

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dorm at Gili Gila hostel. Gili Meno
dorm at Gili Gila hostel. Gili Meno

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Gili Gila hostel. Gili Meno
Gili Gila hostel. Gili Meno

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Where to eat at Gili Meno:

At Gili Meno is still easy to find local food with local prices, in small eateries and family style warungs located along the roads that cross the island. And even at some of the restaurant nearby the beach is still possible to find reasonable prices, like the Yaya Warung.

Nearby Gili Gila, the Rizkey Warung Makan, with delicious and cheap food, cooked by a super smiley lady. Beyond the standard Indonesia menu, you can also find Sasak food as Urap-Urap (mix of vegetables with grated coconut) and the Olah-Olah (mix of vegetables with a spicy coconut sauce).

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Urap-Urap one of the Sarak specialities. Gili Meno
Urap-Urap one of the Sarak specialities. Gili Meno

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Rizkey Warung Makan... good food including Sasak specialities
Rizkey Warung Makan… good food including Sasak specialities

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What to do in Gili Meno:

  • Snorkeling (the west coast of the island offer nice places with corals and many colorful fishes). You need to rent the gear (50.000 Rp a day).
  • Walk around the island… it’s not more than 5 kilometers. The south part of the island is a bit dry and without much shade.
  • Swim in the clear blue waters of Gili Meno. The best place is the north part of the island, without many resorts yet, and with very still waters and with some natural shade all day. The east seashore is littered with plastics.
  • Get lost on the narrow roads that cross the island and watch the countryside lifestyle with cows, goats and chickens a bit everywhere.
  • Visit the salt lake.
  • Watch the sunrise and the sunset.

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Gili Meno
Gili Meno

 

Gili Meno
Gili Meno

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How to move from Gili Meno to Lombok (Bangsal):

There public boats to Bangsal three times a day: 8:00, 14:00 and 15:15… and the ticket cost 14.000 Rp and the trip takes 25 minutes.

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Schedule and prices from the boat from Gili Meno to Bangsal
Schedule and prices from the boat from Gili Meno to Bangsal

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How to go from Gili Meno to Gili Air:

They’re a hopping island service boat, from the public company (Koperasi Angkutan Laut Karya Bahari) that links the three Gilis.

From Gili Meno to Gili Air the ticket cost you 35.000 Rp, and there are boats at 9:50, 16:20. The trip from Gili Meno to Gili Air takes about 10 minutes.

If you are on a very short budget and have plenty of time, you can take the boat back to Bangsal (12.000 Rp) and then another boat to Gili Air (14.000 Rp+2.500 Rp). I didn’t try this option that just saves you 6.500 Rp but maybe takes all day 🙂

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Schedule and prices from the boat from Gili Meno to Bangsal
Schedule and prices from the boat from Gili Meno to Bangsal

Gili Air… in search of quietness

The outline of the mountains surrounding the Bangsal harbor are blurring as the rain becomes more intense, a haze seems to dissolve the landscape. Under a thick cap of clouds the small boat departure from the big island to the Gilis, a group of three very small islands located on the northwest coast of Lombok.

The closest and the smallest one is Gili Air, next is distance and size is Gili Meno, and then is Gili Trawangan, the biggest and further island of the Gili group, and the most famous for its nightlife and party lifestyle… attracting the majority of the visitors as also the local population.

The first stop was the Gili Air. This small piece of sand with less than 5 square kilometers have more than 200 accommodation, and almost all the land is already occupied, without almost any rural activity, and with just a few empty spaces. The beach is all around the island (except the pier area that is a bit dump) with more or less 5 kilometers long, but is an always a narrow stretch of sand.

Is a nice place to stay a couple of days, away from urban agitation, is a place without cars or motorbikes, and where the most common way of moving around is by cimodo, the local name for horse carts… or just walk or cycle, as the distances are quite small.

How strange is to be at a beach that has the convex shape?!?!? Usually, the beaches forms a bay or are along a straight coast line, but here, with such a small island the beach always ends behind the bend… looks like the beach is inside out 🙂

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Gili Air
Gili Air

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Gili Air
From the east coast of Gili Air you can have a view of Lombok and when the clouds allow you can even see the top of the Rinjani Volcano, the highest point of Lombok

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Gili Air
Main road in Gili Air where is the biggest concentration of restaurants, accommodation, shops, cafees, dive centers, travel agencies, money changers…

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Gili Air
… but walking north there are more and more empty areas inside Gili Air

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Gili Air
Gili Air

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Where to sleep in Gili Air:

As usually everything is more expensive on the island, a rule that you can apply worldwide, I think! And Gilis are not an exception.

There a hundred of accommodations in Gili Air, most of them Bungalows, but also resorts, homestays and hostels… but I couldn’t find a place to sleep for less than 130.000 Rp… in low season and after a bargain and without breakfast.

I stayed at Dwi Inn on the north part of the island. A nice place with some rooms around a garden, located inland about 5 minutes walking from the beach… but without atmosphere!!

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Where to eat local food at with a cheap price at Gili Air:

Near the pier the WR Bunda, a local grocery shop and eatery, sell nasi campur, in a pack, for 15.000 Rp.

Along the “main” road that goes from the pier to the north of the island you can find small groceries shops that sell fruit and sometimes food. There are small warungs along the many streets, sometimes quite hidden and without a sign, that are more focus on local population but that will be glad to serve you an unpretentious meal.

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Local food with local prices, near the pier. Gili Air
Local food with local prices, near the pier. Gili Air

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"Nasi campur" from the warung near the pier. Gili Air
“Nasi campur” from the warung near the pier. Gili Air

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If you want to go for a treat, I strongly recommend the Warung Padang Sumatra, on the “main” road… white (10.000 Rp) or brown rice (20.000 Rp), and then you add vegetables, tempeh or tofu (10.000 Rp each portion), eggs (15.000 Rp) or meat, fish or prawns. Depending on your appetite, a meal will cost you around 50.000 to 60.000 Rp… three times more that the local masakan padang eateries but very delicious food!

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Padang Sumatra... delicious food for a treat on a rainy day! Gili Air
Padang Sumatra… delicious food for a treat on a rainy day! Gili Air

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How to move around in Gili Air:

The island is small enough to be done on foot, but renting a bicycle is very popular.

There are no motor vehicles in the island, so if you travel with heavy luggage you can rent the service of the horse cart,  locally called cimodos, and are parked nearby the pier.

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cimodos waiting nearby the pier at Gili Air
cimodos waiting nearby the pier at Gili Air

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Gili Air
Gili Air where the bicycles are quite popular between the visitors, with local people using more electric bikes!

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How to go from Gili Air to Gili Meno:

They’re a hopping island service boat, from the public company (Koperasi Angkutan Laut Karya Bahari) that links the three Gilis.

From Gili Air to Gili Meno the ticket cost you 35.000 Rp, and there are boats at 8.30 and another at 15.00. The trip from Gili Air to Gili Meno takes about 10 minutes.

If you are on a very short budget and have plenty of time, you can take the boat back to Bangsal (12.000 Rp) and then another boat to Gili Meno (14.000 Rp + 2.500 Rp). I didn’t try this option that just saves you 6.500 Rp and maybe it will take you all day 🙂

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hopping boat between the three Gilis
hopping boat between the three Gilis

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Hooping ticket between Gilis
Hooping ticket between Gilis

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How to go from Gili Air to Bangsal:

There are public boats all day that departure when are full (40 passengers)… the ticket is 12.000 Rp and the trip takes about 15 minutes.

Schedules and prices from the boat from Gili Air to Bangal and the other Gilis
Schedules and prices from the boat from Gili Air to Bangal and the other Gilis

How to go from Lombok to Gilis by public transport

You probably gonna need to take two bemos and one boat... no worries… just go with plenty of time and no stress! It will work… but is better to start early morning, about 7:30 am, because you’ll just arrive to Amed in the evening.

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How to go from Mataram to Bangsal by public transport:

If your accommodation in Mataram is at Cakraneagara neighbourhood you just need to wait at Jalan Panca Usaha for a bemo (yellow). And you don’t need to go to Mandalika Terminal to catch it.

You must ask the driver to drop you at the crossroad between Jalan Jendral Sudirman and Jalan Dr.Wahidin. The area is called Puri Lestari, but as most of the bemo drivers don’t speak English just ask for “Bangsal” and they probably will drop you nearby the junction and point you the next bemo that will be waiting there for passengers.

The second bemo (white or black) will take you to Pemenang; from here you need to walk to reach the pier. You can also get an ojek (moto-taxi) or a horse cart… both will be waiting for you at the place where the bemos stop.

The trip cost 25.000 Rp in total and takes 2 hours… most hotels can arrange a shuttle for you for 75.000 Rp.

  • Bemo from Jalan Panca Usaha to Puri Lestari: 5.000 Rp (takes around 30 minutes, but maybe you need to wait a while for a bemo that goes on that way… I start at 8 a.m. and just wait around 10 minutes).
  • Bemo from Puri Lestari to Pemenang: 20.000 Rp (it takes about 1 hour).
  • From Pemenang you can walk to the Bangsal pier: around 1.4 km.

The trip between Mataram and Pemenang is quite nice, with the road passing trough a hilly area, covered by thick jungle, where hundreds of monkey, gray fur and a kind of fluffy mustaches, wait on the road rails for some food drop by the cars and motorbikes that pass by.

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Bemo from Jalan Panca Usaha to Puri Lestari: 5.000 Rp
Bemo from Jalan Panca Usaha to Puri Lestari: 5.000 Rp

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Bemo from Puri Lestari to Pemenang: 20.000 Rp
Bemo from Puri Lestari to Pemenang: 20.000 Rp

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road from Mataram to Bangsal that pass by the Monkey forest where grey monkey wait for food on the road side
road from Mataram to Bangsal that pass by the Monkey forest where gray monkey wait for food on the road side

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From Mataram to Gilis_DSC_4098
From Pemenang you can walk to Bangsal pier or take a ojek (moto-taxi) or a cimodo (horse cart)

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Public Boat to Gili Air:

If you are going to Gili Air by public boat (identified by the name Koperasi Angkutan Laut Karya Bahari) you must turn right until you find a small ticket counter behind a big building where the private companies sell their tickets.

Don’t ask informations to people hanging around the pier, as most of them will try to push you to one of the private boats, that are faster but much more expensive. For informations, you can go to the main ticket counter, inside the big building located on your left as you enter the harbour area.

The public boat doesn’t have a fixed schedule and just departure when is full, which mean 40 passengers.

I arrive around 11 a.m., and was one of the first on the list, but it took just 30 minutes to fill the boat. There isn’t a pier, so you need to put wet your feet to reach the boat. The same applies to when you arrive at the island.

The trip from Bangsal to Gili Air takes 15 to 20 minutes.

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Departure area for Gili Air at Bangsal

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Public boat from Lombok to the Gilis

 

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From Mataram to Gilis_IMG_2764
Price of the trip from Bangsal to the three Gili

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From Mataram to Gilis_IMG_2765
for any of the Gilis is charges a extra fee for foreigners: 2.500 Rp

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other option to go to Gilis with schedules and prices
other options to go to Gilis with schedules and prices

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How to go from Gili Air to Gili Meno:

They’re a hopping island service boat, from the public company (Koperasi Angkutan Laut Karya Bahari) that links the three Gilis.

From Gili Air to Gili Meno the ticket cost you 35.000 Rp, and there are boats at 8.30 and another at 15.00. The trip from Gili Air to Gili Meno takes about 10 minutes.

If you are on a very short budget and have plenty of time, you can take the boat back to Bangsal (12.000 Rp) and then another boat to Gili Meno (14.000 Rp+2.500 Rp). I didn’t try this option that just saves you 6.500 Rp and probably takes you all day 🙁

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Schedule and prices of the boats that departure from Gili Air

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hopping boat between the three Gilis
hooping boat between the three Gilis

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Hooping service that link the three Gili. 35.000 Rp from Gili Air to Gili Meno

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How to go from Gili Meno to Bangsal (Lombok):

There public boats to Bangsal three times a day: 8:00, 14:00 and 15:15… and the ticket cost 14.000 Rp.

You should arrive at least 30 minutes before the schedule, as the boat departure as soon as it’s full. Mine start 10 minuts before.

The trip from Gili Meno to Bangsal takes 25 minutes.

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From Mataram to Gilis_IMG_2782
Schedule and price of the public boats from Gili Meno to Bangsal (Lombok)

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Schedule and price of the public boats from Gili Meno to Bangsal (Lombok)

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