15 Reasons Why You Should Visit Gili Air Soon.
Or even move permanently.
Looking for a short escape from Bali? Preferring not to stay there for Nyepi? Or you’ve had too much of Canggu and want a calm place for healing and inspiration? If you are an expat living in Bali, chances are that you have heard of Gili Air.
Living on Gili Air is an act of liberation from materialism and a daily choosing of human connection. Gili Air is more of an idea than an island and arguably the epitome of freedom, beauty, and community.
Visiting Gili Air gives just a taste of Giliness. Some people find alignment with the island’s values and geography and decide to make it home.
So, why should you take the boat and pay us a visit?
The island
1. The island is small. The lengthiest distance across can be covered in 20 minutes on foot or a few pedal strokes. This tininess alters the perception of space and time and creates a mental state where it’s easier to see the world with new eyes, listen to people differently, and feel the day passing at an unusual pace.
2. We do not live close to nature but in nature. It’s not a figure of speech. Gili is a motor-free environment without loud noises and air pollution, except for occasional leaf burnings. It’s not only living in nature but also living naturally.
3. For the same reason, many of us do not wear shoes or flip-flops. In the beginning, it feels like a small rebellious act, and soon, it starts changing you. Stepping is adjusted, the eyes train to track the ground with peripheral view, and a feeling of groundedness develops. With the passing of time, going back to shoes feels increasingly tricky.
4. Do get lost (intentionally) on the north side and you will often find yourself surrounded by eye-filling greenscapes with cows chewing their meal and, if you are lucky, monitor lizards running off your path. The smell of stables, chickens running free around homes, and ta melodic call to prayer all create a sense of being grounded in the realities of the Indonesian countryside. In the village, you will stumble upon excited faces of kids playing ball or trying to ride their bikes in three — and what can be an apter example of aliveness?
5. As a rule of thumb, the coast is never more than a 15-minute walk from any point — only if you keep loyally moving in one direction. Getting to the ocean, all shades of blue extend a warm welcome and embrace you. Low tide or not, you can see the end of the reef drawn white by crashing waves dozens of metres away from where you stand.
6. The western and northern sides will reward you with intensely hued sunsets when the day ends. Even in the rainy season, you often get a glowing cinema screen on the horizon formed between dark clouds above and the sea below — a vista of fading pinks and oranges. When a cloudless night falls, a how-to-stargaze book or application will come in handy.
The people
7. Gillionaires are friendly. Try to make eye contact with everybody you encounter, and most faces will light up with selamat pagi and good mornings. A few days later, some call you by your name, and soon enough, you feel like a local. This surprising level of recognition offers you a sense of belonging.
Home is where they know your name.
Why you in Gili Air?
8. Gili Air is an ideal place for writers and creators. There are many silent restaurants and cafes by the sea, especially on the east side, making a perfect place for writing letters, journaling, or authoring some more extensive pieces of literature. The same goes for painters and designers who need an inspirational and calm environment for creation.
9. Gili Air is bestowed with time, and time is life. When compared to Canggu, our tiny island does not offer many choices for entertainment, communities, and activities. It’s a great advantage: with fewer options, we stress less and save hours — experience agrees, and science has proved it. Between the island’s size and the number of choices, you find yourself with a lot of free time — time to live.
10. Building a discipline and a daily routine for growth in a time-rich environment and with few distractions can do miracles. You can learn scuba and free-diving and join fun dives almost daily or just snorkel — chances are that you spot sea turtles. You can take classes in photography, language, and cooking; create time for your Bahasa classes and practice with locals or just make a routine with exercising at the gym, morning runs, and kayaking.
11. With its views onto two volcanos, five islands, and an often-misty mountain range in sight, practicing yoga, breathwork, and meditation are native to Gili. By definition, any form of spiritual engagement finds a natural home in Gilian tranquillity.
12. If you decide to stay here longer than usual, you could get involved in community building. In Bali, volunteering and community organising are king, but such action in Gili makes a more considerable impact — chiefly because of the island’s size. To give you an idea of what initiatives are running, there are initiatives for tree planting, organising the school’s library, and a community centre.
Gili Air is not dead silent. There’s lots of dancing.
13. Unlike its minor sister, Gili Meno, where things are very calm, and its noisier sister, Gili Trawangan, our island has the best of both worlds. There are social gatherings with music, and with an average of two birthdays per week, you would probably stumble upon expats celebrating. If you take care in getting to know us, you soon start getting invited to outings. Meeting expat and local Gillionaires is effortless.
Gili is ideal if you fancy dancing barefoot on the beach, dinners with music or without, and hanging out at pools with friends.
14. But there’s a raging pandemic out there, so keep in mind that activities outside houses are adequately regulated. Even so, Gili Air is blessed. More often than not, you will have enough space for personal distancing and little need for social distancing. Streets are open, beach-space is plenty, and warungs are not crowded.
That said, use your mask, especially in markets and other places where social distancing cannot be fully observed. Most businesses offer facilities for washing hands and alcohol-based sanitisers at the entrance. Taking the antigen test before you come here, as required — it helps us all live in a virus-free environment.
15. Onto more practical things, food and accommodation are cheaper than in Bali. Warungs can feed you with quality for 15K-50K, and western restaurant prices are close to 90K. Homestays are available for prices lower than you find in Bali, and there’s a good selection of long-term accommodation.
Services and goods are under-priced, as you might have observed in Bali. But be generous. These are challenging times and bargaining hard for a homestay price or with fruit vendors is (and will look like) pure heartlessness.
There are certainly more than 15 reasons you should visit Gili and allow yourself to indulge in a different sense of time and Self.
Gillionaires will welcome you!
