Indonesia - Gili Meno

At last on Gili Meno after an epic day, the beach looked tranquil and the waters blue. This looks much better and what we were expecting from Bali! Our accommodation in a rustic resort, is a small rice hut. It has a double bed with mosquito net, a outdoor shower room with cold running water. What more could you ask for less than £7 a night each. Oh yes breakfast is included too! Gili Meno is one of three of the Gili islands and the smallest, so the first morning we walked around the island about 5km all the way around, nice for a stroll, but very hot in the sun all the same. We found a bamboo shelter right on the beach where we sat and chilled out for a while. then we headed back and found a beautiful place on the beach to have dinner. You pick your bamboo hut on stilts overlooking the ocean, and you sit on big cushions at a low table to eat. how perfect is that? and the meal including beer is about £4 each. So we spent a couple of days like this. We have found it rains a lot in the afternoons (it is very difficult to get washing dry too!) so we spend the morning on the beach, snorkelling and trying to dodge the beach traders selling sarongs, jewellery, pineapples etc, then we go back to our room for an afternoon snooze then up and out again for dinner. we find if we have a very late breakfast and then an early dinner we only have to buy one meal a day which saves us money. We have changed rooms whilst we have stayed at Tao Kombo as our first room was very dark. After the second night we came back from dinner and Jody spotted a huge you-know-what-with eight-legs in our room - well that was it. The hut next door had glass in the windows and a much higher ceiling which made the room so much lighter and brighter. The bathroom is a bit bigger too - still outdoors, and much cuter all round. After a few of days of this lifestyle, Bryan got a bit restless so we have decided we will catch the boat to the next island - Gili Trawangan, and see where we can find to stay there. Fingers crossed as there is no internet on Gili Meno to do research so we just have to go and hope for the best! Tao Kombo Room rating: 6/10 - Basic but cute - outside shower & toilet Location: 9/10 - it’s on an island 2 minutes from the beach Staff: 7/10 - lovely Value for Money: 9/10 At £6.50 a night including breakfast to sleep on a beautiful island....! Other comments: very charming and has it’s own rustic qualities. you feel as if you are living as the Indonesians live. Stay again? Only if on a small budget, so many other beautiful places very cheap on the island. Overall experience: 7 Gili Meno is beautiful and peaceful and is the type of pictures you conjuror up if you think of Bali.