Open Water Wonder

Hi Guys,

After a wonderful 2 days in Singapore we headed to our last stop in Asia - Gili Air. It took a while to get there including one flight to Bali, then another to Lombok , an hour taxi ride to a hotel by the port all before a public boat the following morning to Gili Air. A solid 2 days of travel but my god it was worth it. Gili Air is a small island around 5K of the North West coast of Lombok. Cars aren't allowed on the island we were here for one reason ... DIVING! Our main goal was getting our open water certificate. To be honest its another thing that before travelling that we never thought possible and now it was happening we were beyond excited. We knew this was a pretty good area for diving and the coral was good and the wildlife immense it is also one of the best turtle spots in the world.

Day 1 Openwater we met our instructors Phoebe and Nat and had a bit of a theory day in the swimming pool before we were let loose on the open ocean the following morning. It was a great way to start and to feel confident underwater before going on the dive. We felt like we were pretty good and seemed to pick up most of the skills fairly easily. That feeling of almost weightless underwater is a special feeling and one skill that's hard to master, hopefully over time we will get there. On our first dive the next morning we headed out to one of the popular spots around Gili and dropped into the water. A beautiful spot full of thriving coral. We were told that Gili was a good spot for turtles and we were not let down as on our first dive we spotted 3! I don't think there are words to describe that feeling. We really loved our first dive weeks prior in Thailand but the first drop in Gili was really something special.

We were diving with some newly weds who opted in for the underwater photo shoot, with the cost split we were keen so have come away with some amazing photos and memories that will last for ever.

Over the next 2 days we did a total of 5 dives, 4 for our open water course and the last one a 'Fun Dive' - basically going down without an instructor, just a guide to make sure we didn't get lost!
That last dive was incredible, we saw 5 turtles, so many different colourful fish, a sea snake (supposedly one of the most deadly animals on the planet... we kept our distance!) and finally Lukes dreams were made when we saw 2 black tip reef sharks and one white tip. We got some great videos on on go pro (very annoying this blog wont let us put videos in) so are very happy we have footage to remember the most incredible few days.

We didn't realise how tiring diving is, so our evenings on Gili were mainly eating (some amazing food!) and falling asleep in the worlds most comfortable hammock in our room. There were lots of beautiful beaches around Gili, and subsequently the hoards of Instagrammers followed but with our days taken up by diving we were happy to admire the island from a boat rather than a beach. Here's a pic from the one night we made it out to watch the sunset.

On our boat ride back to Bali we had time to reflect on our last 8 weeks. We wont beat around the bush and say everything and everyone was amazing because it wasn't, there were lots of places that we wouldn't have bothered with (Thai islands and some average parts of Vietnam) but there were so many places where we thought, yes this is good and special and what it's all about. Malaysia and Indonesia were both countries that looking back on it we really should have had more time in and in some ways leaves you with a few regrets but in other ways there is so much more to sea and visit another time, Komodo, Sarawak, Borneo, Malacca, Cameron Highlands to name but a few. 

We're on our way to start the last 2 legs of the tour in Perth and if its one thing we have learnt form our time away is that with modern day air traffic and transport visiting the far east is so accessible you may spend a few extra quid on a flight but you make that back in cheap accommodation and food.

Next stop, Australia!

Luke and Lily