Teaching in Thailand! : Nusa Lembongan🛥Gili Air•day 4

Today I left Nusa and headed over to the Gilis. The Gilis consist of 3 islands: Gili T, Gili Air and Gili Meno. Gili T is the biggest and is known to be more of a party island. Lots of backpackers, hostels and more night life. Gili Air is a bit smaller and is known to be a little more laid back and chill. Not as much going on in the evenings but still enough to do. And then Gili Meno is the smallest and is the quietest. Not to many places to stay or things to do but really beautiful.

Originally I had planned to stay on Gili T but after talking to some of my friends in Nusa I decided I wanted more of the Gili Air vibe. My main reason for going there was to dive so I didn't really care to much about the party scene. I booked the boat through the bungalow and was picked up around 9 and taken to the dock. The boat to Gili Air took a couple of hours but was really nice because I sat on top and soaked in the sunshine! I booked a hostel for 2 nights on Hostelworld before I left Nusa called Begadang. It was inexpensive and had decent reviews. I booked what I thought was a bed in a 6 person dorm. My hostel was located on the other side of the island, about a 25 minute walk away. The hostel was really neat. It has a big mushroom shaped pool and lots of bungalows and hammocks for relaxing outside. When I checked in the guy pointed at a bungalow across the way and said, you're the mattress on the right. I didn't really think twice about what he said until he walked me over to the bungalow. Each bungalow has a porch out front and on the porch are 2 mattresses! The bungalow has 4 beds inside and then 2 outside with mosquito nets covering them.

It actually ended up being decent.

After I got checked in I went to grab lunch and walked down to the beach.

It was a really pretty area! I was only planning on staying on Gili Air for 2 nights so I wanted to make sure I found a dive shop and got a couple of dives booked for tomorrow. Big Fish in Nusa recommended Manta Dive so I walked back across the island and found the dive shop. When I got to Manta I was greeted immediately by one of the dive instructors, Kimmo. He was extremely friendly and helpful! I mentioned I wanted to do a couple of dives and possibly a night dive. He said well, we've got a night dive tonight if you'd like to go and then we can get you on the board for tomorrow morning and/or afternoon! I thought well why not! So I filled out the paperwork and he told me to be back around 545 for the night dive! I hurried home to change and get back to the shop on time. When I got back to the shop I met my Dive Master, Rafi. He's a local guy that's been working at Manta for about 2 years. He briefed us on the dive and told us we were going to the harbor for the dive. It's a pretty shallow dive and we would see a lot of cool creatures. He told us right away that we aren't looking for big things, fish etc. He told us that we are looking for the small, weird little creatures! I had no idea what to expect but it was actually unbelievable what we saw!! I wasn't familiar with a lot of the things we saw before the dive but learned so much from the dive and from Rafi!

Night Dive: Harbour - Gili Air