Food of the islands - where's the consistent flavor?

So, I thought I might sacrifice a certain amount of culinary delight in my trip to the Gilis. I mean, these are non-motorized islands we're talking about. I will say, though, that I am surprised the food was so bland, with not much attempt at coherent flavor and very little spice. Definitely tourist-ed food, and not the better for it. The best of the best were some ok meals that had some ups and some downs. Here's the quick rundown:

Starting out not strong at all was lunch on Friday. at Alam Gili, I had the Bakmi Goreng. It was so uninspired. It was simple noodles (much like, if not one and the same, the instant noodles that come in those cheap ramen packets) with a modicum of overcooked vegetables. That's it. No saucing, no sambal, no flavor.

Slightly better was a tapas dinner at Karma Kayak. After my debacle trying to stay there, I had to at least try the food. And it was ok. Good tapas for an Indonesian island, not that good when compared to tapas in San Sebastien (ok, that standard might be high). First was an olive tapenade that was a good change of pace from Indonesian cooking. And, god, I love olives. Then I had a trio of dishes: green beans in sauce, meatballs in sauce, and fried sardines with aioli. The sardines were the winners, nicely fried and with a good citrus kicker. The meatballs were decent, though the sauce lacked punch. The only virtue of the green beans were the nice fried onions on top - the beans themselves were steamed to death and soaked in soggy tomatoes.

I didn't get a picture of an ok and really cheap lunch at Bu'de, an Indonesian warung in the interior of the island. A mixed plate with rice, some saucy chicken, and a handful of other veggies. Not bad!

I also didn't get a picture of my next dinner, which is a shame because it was one of the best. Seafood pizza at Coral Beach 2 Bungalows. They had an actual wood fired oven and they actually knew how to use it. Excellent! The crust was delightful and the sauce pretty tasty too. It only went slightly awry in toppings, where the fish they added had a funky flavor that didn't fit (though the squid weren't bad!)

Next up was lunch at Balenta on Gili Meno (where I was for a day trip). Here I ordered Sasak food (local food of the predominantly Muslim Lombok inhabitants). I got the pelecing kangkung, a green bean dish with coconut and tomatoes. Unfortunately, totally mediocre, providing sustenance and little else.

Finally, I gave Alam Gili a chance to redeem itself, which it did, partially at least. Sunday night turned out to be a rainy night, so I just stayed in and around my room. Dinner on my verandah was a starter of garlic brown bread and sauteed squid with salad and rice. The garlic brown bread was nice, just a bit skimpy given the price (25,000 rupiah for four small slices of bread). The squid was also good though not perfect - the texture was nice and the salad had a delectable dressing. Overall, a B- / C+ effort. But better, at least.

Almost forgot! There was one breakfast at Alam Gili that was actually splendid. Top of the list was the muesli with fruit salad. Everything was fresh and tasty, with the perfect amount of honey. Also good was the drink. And the nasi goreng (rice with egg and vegetables). Oh, and don't forget the view!!!

Tale of two rooms

My accommodation on Gili Trawangan has had some high highs and some low lows. I arrived on Gili Trawangan on Friday, mid-morning. I found myself in the middle of backpacker land, with so much cheap tourist activity that it was hard to tell where we were. Want to watch a movie on the beach in a crappy cheap shack with a 10 inch monitor in black and white? This is your place!

Not mine, though, so I headed north, to the quieter and more deserted part of the island. My first destination: Karma Kayak, a bungalow and restaurant place recommended by my friends Leena and Nick. After a 30 minute trudge with backpacks on my front and back, I arrive there, a bit of a sweaty mess. But, "we're full," says the very nice young man who comes out to talk to me. Based on his recommendation, I head to Alam Gili, just a couple of doors down.

There, I am met with similarly bad news. "All we have is the two-level bungalow suite for 950,000 rupiah," I am told. Yikes, that is well, well, well outside of my price range. All of the smaller, cheaper bungalows are full. But, a ray of hope! Tomorrow, one is empty and I can have it. And, has this guy got a deal for me. I can head down to the bungalows next door for 150,000 rupiah, very basic. Then come back the next day and check in to my nicer bungalow for 500,000 rupiah. I am tired, it is hot, and so I agree.

Then we go to Nusa Tiga, the cheap place next door. I drop my stuff in the room, too exhausted to look around. I head out for the day.

Then I return that night. Whoops - this place is really nasty. There is no sink, just a hole in the counter. The toilet does not work. The shower is cold and, get this, saltwater (ever wondering how to get less clean from clean water? make sure it is saltwater...). And the ceiling looks like (a) it is going to cave in and (b) it is infested with spiders. Oh, and there is no lock on the door, just a rusty sliding knob. Welcome home, I say to myself.

After a pretty bad night of sleep and a crappy saltwater shower, I really want to get out of this place. So I zip up my never-unpacked luggage and head to Alam Gili, figuring that they own me one for that awful night. And, well, they deliver. The place is AMAZING. It is like a huge garden, with a small little plunge pool that is the temperature of heaven. And the room, the room! My verandah alone is spectacular, with day bed, fan, and fresh fruit. My bathroom, wow, the shower is open air with plants around it, the sink exists and comes stocked with soaps. This is pretty rad.

So, all's well that ends well. I am definitely glad I stayed in the order above and not vice versa. I also started to understand, a little bit more, the niceties of a beach vacation.

Dive! Down! Dive!

Ah, scuba diving. It is like temporarily entering another world. For one, gravity becomes very strange, lighter, and I have 360 degrees of motion available to me on all three axes. For two, the creatures down there are fascinating just to watch. On land, I never spend much time watching a fish eat. But down below! It just seems more worthwhile down there.

So, here on Gili Trawangan, I knew I had to dive. I went to Blue Marlin Dive and saddled up for their first dive of the morning, a 9am dive to Halik dive site. It had been at least one year since I last dove, so I'm trying to remind myself of all the tips and tricks of diving properly. And it goes off without a hitch. Down we go. There is coral (a bit destroyed, but still) of all types: brain, bucket, spiny, and more that I don't know the name of. There are fish: parrotfish, angelfish, and more, all different colors. One blue nearly translucent fish really caught my eye and I followed her around for as long as I could. And then - my tank was at the "time to go up" point of 500 bar. What? I just got down here. The divemaster sends me up and up I go, pausing at 5m for 3 minutes to avoid the bends. I surface. Here I swim around with my mask and regulator on, staring at the depths below. This is almost as cool as the dive - there are schools of fish circling around. The boat draws near and they ask "why are you up so soon, everything ok?" Yup, everything was fine, I was just gulping air down like there was no tomorrow.

So I have to go again. After a quick refuel and reair stop back at home base, we head out to Bounty, so named for an abandoned resort on Gili Meno. We go down again. This time it feels more natural, and I am calmer, breathing but not gulping. We drift on the slope and come to a sunken pier. Now it is covered in neat coral and fish dart in and out. We float past and the divemaster points out a lionfish - one of those dark red and white fish with lots of spines that look a bit like a mane. It is so nice and so peaceful. We come up. It's been 42 minutes - and I wasn't the reason we had to surface! Feels like this whole diving thing is coming back to me. I am now so pumped to dive Tulamben off the east coast of Bali, where there is an accessible shipwreck. Stay tuned...