Yo, czeching back in from the sunny Gili Trawangan. Sitting
on the second floor of the restaurant of the dive school my gf is doing her
dive master at. The spot I chose to turn into my working place while hanging around
here offers a beautiful view on the beach, sea and Gili Meno. Got some dope
music blasting in my ears, a cup of coffee all set, world seems pretty nice.
The only thing that could be better is the wifi. But that’s just me being a dick. Cause there’s really not much to complain about.
After finishing the last blog, we hopped on a boat and took
it all back to Gili T. The ride was relatively short, about one hour including
a stop at Gili Meno, but boy, was it a shaky one. Waves were quite insane, boat
was swerving left and right and up and down. Some passengers looked a bit
worried, some looked a bit sick, the crew looked mostly entertained. On Gili T,
we went straight to the Turtle Beach Resort, located next to our dive school. Upon
our arrival, we met the owner, a lovely Turkish gentleman, and had a pretty
nice conversation with him. The accommodation was relatively small but quite cozy.
The weird thing was, tap water was a bit salty. Never experienced that before.
However, since their breakfast menu did not contain any vegan items, after
consulting me, the owner arranged a vegan pancake for me on our second day. How
awesome is that!
Over our stay at the Turtle, we had conversations on what
kinda accommodation to go for the rest our stay here. We still gonna be here
for a bit. We checked some bungalows and hostels but eventually agreed
to go for something a bit better. At the end of the day, it’s not a one day backpacking stop over
here, and staying something nice actually makes a big difference. After some
research, we ended up going for Haven private villas. We have a great spacey
spot, with a huge bedroom, bathroom with two sinks and two showers, outdoor
living room area with a sofa, kitchen and pool. Trust me, chilling over there
does feel like home. And a fucking good one. So happy about the situation.
What else... My gf started her dive master so she’s on that on the daily. The first
day, I came to the school with her to discuss my options. I don’t really aim as high as her but
diving has been one of the things I’ve
always wanted to try. When I was a teenager, I had some serious problems
equalizing, so I kinda figured this door is closed to me. Dating someone who’s really into it made me revamp this
whole idea, and after talking to some lovely people in the dive school, I learned
that this issue is usually trainable. So on the first day in the school, I did
a pool test and went for my first dive in the afternoon. I could tell that the
equalizing is a bit messed up (specifically my right ear), but it went. So
yeah, 30 minutes, 12 meters deep, turtles, fish. Breathing under water is
fucking insane. I fucking love that shit. The next day, I went again but this
time, my right ear just wouldn’t equalize
at all. So I got out of water early. Gonna keep on trying after some
rest. If I manage to do three more dives and some theory, I get open water certification
which would allow me to do basic dives all over the world. I fucking hope it’s gonna go.
Apart from the dive school seeming pretty cool overall,
there’s a surf spot on the beach
across the street, and those guys have a bar for pull-ups set up there. They
got some free weights too. I made friends with them and they let me work out in
the morning. I love my shape here. I still eat less compared to Shanghai,
so I’m all light, but I also don’t feel like I’m losing any strength.
Food is absolutely spotless around here as well. For one, we often do
home cooked dinners. Which is the point where we get to entertain both our
dietary preferences. My gf is predominantly keto and I’m vegan (but you already know that, right?). So yeah, not
really the most compatible diet-wise. But listen, avocado, chili sauce, salads,
peanut butter, coconut milk, tempeh steaks... Pretty cool on my end, and if you
ask me, probably some of the healthier keto options too. We found this one
store selling all the veggies and groceries we enjoy, and quickly
became regulars over there. Other than that, we went to this Oh Warung Gili
place couple of times. Recommended by some of the guys in the dive school, the
place offers mostly vegetarian options (they got some meat tho) and they are
very proud of using mostly local ingredients. And their tempeh satay is on some
other shit. It’s also cheap as fuck.
Other than that, I got into video editing a bit. We are
still making quite a lot of footage over here so I got myself Premiere and I’m on it. Getting better with each
attempt. Our first two vlogs are edited and waiting for my bro to put some
music in the background. Shortly, it’s gonna
be up! Ever since the NYE party we are also living basically alcohol and tobacco free. The
gf had two of her friends visiting the island for two days so we met with them.
Once for dinner, the other time for some drinks. In both cases on the sunset
side of the island – those sunsets are something
else. Anyways, the second time, we decided to get our first 2020 drinks. We
asked for our signature vegan White Russian. All you have to do is to replace
dairy milk with coconut cream. A request that has worked everywhere we went so
far. Not this time. First time they gave us a regular one. After two sips, I
realized it tastes like absolute shit and returned the drinks asking for
coconut milk again. They admitted the fuck up and brought another one. That
time, they got creative, left out both vodka and Kahlua and basically brought
us coconut milk mixed with dairy milk. So back to the bar I went. On the third
go, with my supervision, they managed to make it. So yeah, that was my first
drink of 2020. Even those two sips of that cow maternal milk did enough damage
for me to feel like shit in the morning. I know it’s the vegan in me, but fuck, that shit is disgusting.
Especially compared to all of the plant-based milk alternatives. I mean holy
fuck...
So here we go. I got some more diving to try, we got some
more time to spend over here, we got whole lot of ideas what to do in the
future. In this area, in the future, in general. Gonna keep you updated on all
of that. I should probably focus a bit more on my dissertation too. I just don’t absolutely feel like it. Sending love to all my people! And to everybody else... I see y'all! One!
Highlights:
- Diving.
- Having a home over here. Priceless.
- Working out on a bar outdoor while watching the sea, boats and islands around. Different kind of gym.
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