An Island in the sun..

So the No More Jam trip is fast approaching it's conclusion. Soon it's back to London and reality beckons! What a dreadful thought. To stave off such thoughts (and they are coming thick and fast now) I have found a small island called Gilli Meno to retreat to.

Sitting off the coast of Lombok, the island boasts only 300 full time inhabitants. You can walk all the way around the island in just over 1 hour, it's that small. It's also an exercise in sensory deprivation as well, to put it bluntly, there is not a lot to do. You can sit on the beach, or go out with your snorkel and play with the sea turtles, a colony which live about 100 meters off the north coast, by a coral wall. And that's about it really.

I was told to come here by a genial Irish couple who I met in Ubud a couple of weeks ago. "Go stay with the mad french guys at Tao Kombo!" they had insisted. It was one of the best tips I've had on the trip. See their site for some good pics. Any guys that quote Emile Zola are cool in my book. It's a top place. Last night a family from the one village on the island came and played (it was Indonesian Independence day). with simple drums, a cross between a guitar and a lute and some haunting singing by an 83 year old, the atmosphere was pretty cool. I'm staying for a week before heading to the madness of Hong Kong. Salut maintenant mes amis!