Gili Trawangan (Trip 2016)

Hello guys, so I’ve just got back from my Lombok trip. I’ve spent four days in Lombok which not enough for me because I still want to stay long in Lombok! Especially in Gili Trawangan. It was such a beautiful place for relaxing and I think Lombok is my most favorite place. I’m sorry Bali, you’re not my number one anymore. I took a taxi from airport which cost around Rp. 615.000 including Avanza taxi and the speed boat to gili trawangan later. I shared with my two other friends so for each person it cost around Rp. 200,000. From airport to the bay it took around 2.5-3 hours, and there is no traffic just the route is we’re going up to the hill and I’ve seen good scenery (we were passing through the Malimbu hills and the view was just too beautiful). We waited for 1 hour for our speed boat to arrive, they said sorry took a long time because it was a high season then they are so busy. It only took around 10 minutes to arrive in Gili Trawangan island and the first step I put on the bay was I saw a lot of fish down there, the water was so clear like really clear. I stayed only one night at Dream Divers Resort and in my opinion the staying was good and comfortable with an affordable price. I’d like to stay in that place again next time when I visit Lombok (soon, amen).

Photo point at Malimbu Hills (along the way in Senggigi rd. before reaching the bay)

View from the photo point at Malimbu Hills. Very beautiful. 

Waiting situation at the bay about one hour until the boat took us to Gili Trawangan island. (You can see far away there is an island and it's Gili Meno if I'm not mistaken because there are 3 Gili Islands)

 After arrived at Gili Trawangan and checked-in  in our mini hotel, we chilling out at the beach, clear water, very beautiful view and of course the sun was very hot. But it's still worth the view.

Then I rent a bike which only cost 50k for 1 day (24 hour full). In gili trawangan, you can either walk or rent a bike or using ‘cidomo’ (it’s a horse transportation) and there is no motorcycle at all! I spent the day until sunset just playing in the beach then waiting for sunset at Ombak Sunset Lounge (yes it's the one with the sunset swing), there is an area in Gili Trawangan called "Sunset Point" and it's the point where you can watch sunset. There are many choices from mini bar or big lounge like Ombak Sunset or Aston Beach lounge or you can even just visit the free beach which was not occupied by the bars. It was such a pretty sunset and the place was really good for taking a decent pictures but the food was quite okay I guess although it’s a bit pricey. I ordered some cocktails and hamburger and I think it cost more than 100k for one person but the cocktail was on happy hour so if you buy one get one free. So after the sun is gone we went back to our stay and along the way going back the centre of Gili is crowded with people eating their dinner, seafood everywhere and I was really craving saw the seafood hmmm and then there’s night market more like night food where locals sell their seafood and customer also will eat there, I tried two fishes I think it’s around 80k if I’m not mistaken, if you want to eat seafood with cheaper price then you can eat here at the night market, it opens every night.

At Ombak Sunset Lounge, many people going here because it's the famous place in Gili for watching sunset.

It's me the one who sitting at the swing with a little background before sunset and people taking selfie.

On the next day, I woke up early to catch a sunrise I think it was around 6.30 am and it was super beautiful even a picture can’t describe how pretty is the view. It’s like a painting where you’ll see two big hills and the sun pops out between of them and then there’s a sea after that. (Don’t worry I’ll put the picture down here). Then we went for break we went out for snorkeling for two hours due to our schedule on that day was that we’re leaving Gili Trawangan around 4pm so my friends and I pay for our snorkeling boat and It's around 200k each person after negotiation. I got to see tortoise and it was huge! I also got to see many beautiful reefs. Oh I lost my first clothes in here as in my dry clothes because I forgot I left it at the boat and by the time I tried to search, the boat is already somewhere maybe in another Gili. After snorkeling we decided to just chilling out at Pearl Lounge, ordered a gelato and coconut until we finally reached our time to board the boat.

 Catching a sunrise around 6.30am

Snorkeling in Gili Meno. We only got one place due to our time is only two hours.

At Pearl Lounge, Gili Trawangan.

So I think that's my little story for one day in Gili Trawangan, I really want to go back to Gili again, hopefully soon or this year again I'll come back visit Lombok and explore Lombok further.

November 9 by Colleen Hoover review

November 9.

Synopsis: "Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationships and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist.

Can Ben’s relationship with Fallon—and simultaneously his novel—be considered a love story if it ends in heartbreak?"

Sigh. Give big applause for Colleen Hoover. I always loved Colleen's works, I love she make a stories that can make my heart and stomach hurts and it feels like I was actually in the story as the main character. 

November 9 is a story about a girl who meets a boy on that date. This date is very important to her (and him later on) as this marks anniversary of fire accident that almost take her life and left her with burned scars on the left side of her body. She blames her father for this accident but  her father keeps pointing to her that her dreams are now off (she still wants to continue to be an actress but now her physical condition makes it difficult to even get a callback for an audition). The day she met the boy (called Ben) was actually on the day she is going to leave LA for New York to chase her dreams and Fallon was actually having breakfast with her father for the last time before she finally get away from him. Her relationship with her father was not pretty good as her father has already married more than two times  i guess and it ends up failed. But on this day, her father trying to tell her that she won't survive / work out in New York because of her scars as he keeps lecturing Fallon, a boy suddenly appears to the rescue. Meet Ben, a fake boyfriend coming out of nowhere and actually helps Fallon to standing out to her father. That is all when it started.

They both feel some connection the first time they have conversations. First off, Fallon is really really insecure about her scars, she always wears long sleeve shirt to hide it and always cover her left burned face with her hair but on the day they talked why Ben decided to come as fake boyfriend, he's not actually scared about her scarred face, he starts encourage her to love her face and body and stops to feel insecure about it. He said to her that she is  the one who makes people uncomfortable to look at her not because of scar that makes people uncomfortable. 

Here is some excerpt on the first November 9th they met and how Ben told her to embrace her scar like it's her own beauty. Oops that one is the funniest part. This is the moment where I knew I already love this Ben character. Okay here is the part:

“ I had been listening in on your conversation and already knew I was drawn to your personality. But what about your face? People say not to judge a book by its cover, but what if you somehow read the inside of the book without seeing the cover first? And what if you really liked what was inside that book? Of course when you go to close the book and are about to see the cover for the first time, you hope it’s something you’ll find attractive. Because who wants an incredibly written book sitting on their bookshelf if they have to stare at a shitty cover?” 

On the second Nov 9th, Ben said:

“You’re fucking beautiful. And you’re funny. And the only times I’m not completely enamored by you are the moments you’re feeling sorry for yourself. Because I don’t know if you’ve realized this yet, but you’re alive, Fallon. And every time you look in the mirror, you don’t have the right to hate what you see. Because you survived when a lot of people don’t get that lucky. So from now on when you think about your scars, you aren’t allowed to resent them. You’re going to embrace them, because you’re lucky to be on this earth to see them. And any guy you allow to touch your scars better thank you for that privilege”

See? Well he makes a very good book-boyfriend. What I love from this book is how Colleen tells a story about a reader like me or any of us who exactly knows what's a TBR pile or booksting (I really didn't know that until I read this book tbh lol) but a quote from Fallon that I like: deciding to move to New York for her dreams. For her passion, for her main goal is

“But this apartment is too comfortable, and comfort can sometimes be a crutch when it comes to figuring out your life. Goals are achieved through discomfort and hard work. They aren’t achieved when you hide out in a place where you're nice and cozy”

And then Ben said something quoting Dylan Thomas' poem:

“There’s a quote that reminds me of you, from Dylan Thomas. My favorite poet.”
“What is it?”
A slow smile warms its way across his mouth. He dips his head and whispers the quote against my lips. “‘I have longed to move away but am afraid; Some life, yet unspent, might explode.’”

And I see it exactly as what Fallon might going to do. And then I kinda reflect that at me the first time I decided to choose to move studying in another country. It's the same feeling as what Fallon felt and that quote from Dylan Thomas is incredibly beautiful. Another Dylan Thomas quote I found this book that instantly become my favorite quote: "Something's boring me, I think it's me." Shit. I feel like that quote is implying to me and weird thing is I know it. 

So another thing I love from these two characters and the story itself is that when they decided to meet up every Nov 9th without any contact( no phone number, no social media stalking etc) somehow every time they meet up it feels like they just picked up what they left last year and it's like anything didn't really happen to their life during a year. I mean for me when I meet up for someone who I just met for one day and decided to meet up every year for that particular day, I will probably be awkward or something with that person. But in this case, Fallon and Ben feels like they contact with each other every day and still continues with their love every year they meet up.

Spoiler alert, there is some big like HUGE a jaw dropping moment and I was so pissed off like I was so angry why the hell did that have to happened. Oh and also there are cameos from Miles and Tate YAY MY FAV. They're having a baby pssst. I kinda hope Nov 9th will have a sequel because I think this book deserves it and I really want to know is Ben going to be a famous writer and what about Fallon who is now teach acting? 

Overall, I really really love this book. If I have to rank it of Colleen's books, this book is on my #2 after Maybe Someday.