Paddleboarding, Snorkeling and Biking

Gili Trawangan, Indonesia

Stephen Paddleboarding on Gili Trawangan, Indonesia

Over the next few days, we found some activities around the island to do. We booked a snorkeling tour that takes you to several spots by boat and Gili Air, which is another of the 3 Gili islands.

Shannon Snorkeling on Gili Trawangan, Indonesia

There was a lot of people on the boat but the snorkeling was really nice.

Snorkeling on Gili Trawangan, Indonesia Shannon Snorkeling on Gili Trawangan, Indonesia Stephen Snorkeling on Gili Trawangan, Indonesia

We saw some turtles and a ton of tropical fish in the very clear water. We had lunch on Gili Air, which is the least developed on the 3 Gili islands. We were happy we were staying on Gili T.

Snorkel Boat on Gili Trawangan, Indonesia
We wondered if Muslim women cover their heads even when they swim and snorkel – apparently they do

Stephen Snorkeling on Gili Trawangan, Indonesia Snorkeling on Gili Trawangan, Indonesia Another day we rented bicycles to ride around Gili T, which takes 3o minutes if you don’t stop. We stopped at several bars and beaches that looked interesting to us.

Stephen Bicycling on Gili Trawangan, Indonesia Shannon Bicycling on Gili Trawangan, Indonesia

We found the a very remote place called Exile, which had a beautiful beach and waves. In addition to a beach bar this place also has bungalows to stay in.

Shannon on Beach on Gili Trawangan, Indonesia

We also decided to try out standup paddle boarding. These have turned up all over Florida – it’s basically a bigger surfboard that you stand up on and use a paddle to move on the water.

Stephen Paddleboarding on Gili Trawangan, Indonesia

I had a little trouble getting my balance as you can see in this video.

Shannon, a former gymnast, had no problem staying up.

Shannon Paddleboarding on Gili Trawangan, Indonesia Stephen Paddleboarding on Gili Trawangan, Indonesia Shannon Paddleboarding on Gili Trawangan, Indonesia

I got a little better and Shannon finally fell when she tried to do a head stand.

Shannon Paddleboarding on Gili Trawangan, Indonesia
Shannon on the way into the water

Stephen Paddleboarding on Gili Trawangan, Indonesia Shannon Paddleboarding on Gili Trawangan, Indonesia While we did go on a snorkeling tour to other locations by boat, the snorkeling right off Gili T is also fantastic.

Snorkeling with a Turtle on Gili Trawangan, Indonesia

Snorkeling with a Turtle on Gili Trawangan, Indonesia

Here’s a video of a juvenile turtle swimming around.

Another video of a bunch of squid swimming.

Snorkeling on Gili Trawangan, Indonesia Snorkeling on Gili Trawangan, Indonesia Snorkeling on Gili Trawangan, Indonesia Snorkeling on Gili Trawangan, Indonesia

I was also able to get really close to an awesome creature called a peacock mantis shrimp. These creatures are really cool and this slide show explains a lot of about their unique features.

Peacock Mantis Shrimp on Gili Trawangan, Indonesia Peacock Mantis Shrimp on Gili Trawangan, Indonesia Peacock Mantis Shrimp on Gili Trawangan, Indonesia

Here’s a video I took of the mantis shrimp swimming along the bottom.

I also found a couple nudibranchs.

Nudibranchs on Gili Trawangan, Indonesia