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A new worldA new sightA new experience and billion differentsensationsArticle by Anoosha Lalani, Pictures by Professional Scuba Photographer

at my instructor. The

attempt is more

forceful than I expect it

to be. She points

cogently at my air

gauge and I glance at it

anxiously, desperately

hoping that the little

onyx arrow will not be

pointing to what I knowshe expects. The

distasteful low on air

sign. I know the basics.

Fifty bars and you are

out. I am now on fifty

bars. I am now

considered low on air.

Impatiently, my

instructor grabs the air

gauge from my hands.Seeing the fifty, she

makes the sign of

ascend and just like

that our adventure of

the day is over. The

jelly fish bubbles are

now rapidly rising from

the deflation of our

BCDs. As always they

are the last seen beforewe reach the surface,

emphasizing the end of

a dive.

Gilli Air, the beating

heart, rests within the

archipelago of the body

that is the three main

Gilli Islands. It is

located closest to the

mainland of Lombok,

Indonesia and is the

place where culture

meets adventure.

Everything included.

Even the boat ride

there is just as much

part of the islands

mystique as is the

beach and the sea. The

salty spray, therrrrrrrrr of the boat

engine and the

gorgeous sight of the

abundantly verdure

island all add to the

clichd perfect picture

Gilli AIr:Blowing Bubbles

N

ovember2

4,2

010

a high squeak and

bubbles being blown. I pull

my eyes away from theunderwater sanctuary of

life to look at my

instructor. The attempt is

more forceful than I

expect it to be. She points

cogently at my air gauge

and I glance at it

anxiously, desperately

hoping that the little onyx

arrow will not be pointing

to what I know she1

8/3/2019 Gilli Island

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artist aims to paint.

Coming closer allows

for the more detailed

features of the island to

come in to view. From

the powdery white

beads of sand to the

smaller successfully

fashioned shells acting

as homey abodes to

crabs, everything about

the island is worth

observing.

Though unlike the

crabs, our abodes

require keysand so

we wait patiently but

with nothing to do, I

cannot help thinking

about the walk from theport to the hotel. The

heavy sun lashed down

on our travel groups

dark collared shirts

while we hauled our

heavy luggage past

countless modest

beachside cafes playing

reggae. No cars or

motorbikes to ruin thebeachy tune. Just us.

So to speak it must

have been quiet? No,

our complaining made

up for the cars and

motorbikes. Vrooom,

Vroo-my, bag is so

heavy, vroom, vroom.

Once in a while the

bartenders, fishermenor waiters would

interrupt our

complaining by

shouting out Hello

bootiful, what your

name? Where you

from? I like you! Some

were even trained to

use Australian slang

and attempting anAustralian accent, they

would say Yoh,

Wassup dood. The

comments were like a

cue to the laugh-a-thon

that followed.

GilliAir: B

lowing

bubblesNove

mber24,

2010

.basics. Fifty bars and you

are out. I am now on fifty

bars. I am now considered

low on air. Impatiently, my

instructor grabs the air

gauge from my hands.

Seeing the fifty, she

makes the sign of ascend

and just like that ouradventure of the day is

over. The jelly fish bubbles

are now rapidly rising

from the deflation of our

BCDs. As always they are

the last seen before we

reach the surface,

emphasizing the end of a

dive.

Gilli Air is the beating

heart thats rests within

the archipelago of the

body that is the three

main Gilli Islands. It is

located closest to the

mainland of Lombok,

Indonesia and is the place

where culture meetsadventure. Everything

included. Even the boat

ride there is just as much

part of the islands

mystique as is the beach

and the sea. The salty

spray, the rrrrrrrrr of the

boat engine and the

gorgeous sight of theabundantly verdure island

all add to the clichd

perfect picture that every

aspiring artist aims to

paint. Coming closer

allows for the more

detailed features of the

island to come in to view.

From the powdery white

beads of sand to the

smaller successfully

fashioned shells acting as

homey abodes to crabs,

everything about the

island is worth observing.

The snake like moray

eel will look you in theface without shaking. Its

mouth open, in a wide

O to behold its usually

hidden pearl white

teeth.

Cuttle fish near Bio-rock

Islands. It is located

closest to the mainland of

Lombok, Indonesia and is

the place where culture

meets adventure.

Everything included. Even

the boat ride there is just

as much part of the

islands mystique as is the

beach and the sea. The

salty spray, the rrrrrrrrr

of the boat engine and the

gorgeous sight of the

abundantly verdure island

all add to the clichdperfect picture that every

aspiring artist aims to

paint. Coming closer

allows for the more

detailed features of the

island to come in to view.

From the powdery white

beads of sand to the

smaller successfullyfashioned shells acting as

homey abodes to crabs,

everything about the

island is worth observing.

Though unlike the crabs,

our abodes require keys

and so we wait patiently

but with nothing to do, I

cannot help thinking

about the walk from the

port to the hotel. The

heavy sun lashed down on

our travel groups dark

collared shirts while we

2

8/3/2019 Gilli Island

3/4

crazy comments were

not the only things that

caught my attention

when I was walking.

Parallel to the beach,

the white capped

waves that were

crashing on to the

sand, dragged bits and

pieces of litter and

broken coral. The

increased tourism was

destructing the island.

People came. They

littered. They

destroyed. And then

they left. In the recent

years, a bio-rock

project has been

developed in which

broken pieces of coral

are attached to a steel

structure underwater

which pulsates with low

voltage electricity to

help restore the

growth. These artificial

corals are now dwelling

homes to tones and

thousands of fish. They

are also growing at a

rate that is three times

faster and more

durable.

Gilli Air will always be a

part of me. The sun.

The sea. The locals.

The reef. These are all

just the simple cells

that make up the vitalorgan known to us as

the heart. Everything

that I have seen during

my time at the island

has been engraved in

to my system

permanently. Before I

arrived at Gilli Air, I had

no expectation for

anything to be as greatas it was. Before I tried

Scuba Diving, I could

never have imagined

the beauty that I have

seen. Gilli air is worth

the plane ticket. It is

,our abodes require keys

and so we wait patiently

but with nothing to do, I

cannot help thinking

about the walk from the

port to the hotel. The

heavy sun lashed down on

our travel groups dark

collared shirts while wehauled our heavy luggage

past countless modest

beachside cafes playing

reggae. No cars or

motorbikes to ruin the

beachy tune. Just us. So

to speak it must have

been quiet? No, our

complaining made up for

the cars and motorbikes.

Vrooom, Vroo-my, bag is

so heavy, vroom, vroom.

Once in a while the

bartenders, fishermen or

waiters would interrupt

our complaining by

shouting out Hello

bootiful, what your name?

Where you from? I like

you! Some were even

trained to use Australian

slang and attempting an

Australian accent, they

would say Yoh, Wassup

dood. The comments

were like a cue to the

laugh-a-thon that

followed.

The music and the crazy

comments were not the only

things that caught my

attention when I was

walking. Parallel to the

beach, the white capped

waves that were crashing on

to the sand, dragged bits

and pieces of litter andbroken coral. The increased

tourism was destructing the

island. People came. They

littered. They destroyed. And

then they left. In the recent

years, a bio-rock project has

GilliAIr: B

lowing

BubblesNove

mber24,

2010

Left: Diversswimmingbeneath theboat

Right: LionFish

past countless modest

beachside cafes playing

reggae.

So to speak it must have

been quiet? No, our

complaining made up forthe cars and motorbikes.

Vrooom, Vroo-my, bag is

so heavy, vroom, vroom.

Once in a while the

bartenders, fishermen or

waiters would interrupt

our complaining by

shouting out Hello

bootiful, what your name?Where you from? I like

you! Some were even

trained to use Australian

slang and attempting an

Australian accent, they

would say Yoh, Wassup

dood. The comments

were like a cue to the

laugh-a-thon that

followed.

The music and the crazy

comments were not the

only things that caught

my attention when I was

walking.

Parallel to the

beach, the

white capped waves thatwere crashing on to the

sand, dragged bits and

pieces of litter and broken

coral. The increased

tourism was destructing

the island. People came.

They littered. They

destroyed. And then they

left. In the recent years, abio-rock project has been

developed in which broken

pieces of coral are

attached to a steel

structure underwater

which pulsates with low

No cars or motorbikes to

ruin the beachy tune. Justus.

3

8/3/2019 Gilli Island

4/4

weaved in so

unconsciously and

carefully with culture.

All it need is someone

to experience it.

attached to a steel structure

underwater which pulsates

with low voltage electricity

to help restore the growth.

These artificial corals are

now dwelling homes to tones

and thousands of fish. They

are also growing at a rate

that is three times faster and

more durable.

Gilli Air will always be a part

of me. The sun. The sea. The

locals. The reef. These are all

just the simple cells that

make up the vital organ

known to us as the heart.

Everything that I have seen

during my time at the island

has been engraved in to my

system permanently. Before I

arrived at Gilli Air, I had no

expectation for anything to

be as great as it was. Before

I tried Scuba Diving, I could

never have imagined the

beauty that I have seen. Gilli

air is worth the plane ticket.

It is the only place where

adventure has been weaved

in so unconsciously and

carefully with culture. All it

need is someone to

experience it.

restore the growth. These

artificial corals are now

dwelling homes to tones

and thousands of fish.

They are also growing at a

rate that is three times

faster and more durable.

Gilli Air will always be a

part of me. The sun. Thesea. The locals. The reef.

These are all just the

simple cells that make up

the vital organ known to

us as the heart.

Everything that I have

seen during my time at

the island has been

engraved in to my systempermanently. Before I

arrived at Gilli Air, I had no

ex

Left: Colourful Lobster

Below: Clownfish in Anemone

GilliAir: B

lowing

BubblesNove

mber24,

2010

which broken pieces of

coral are attached to a

steel structure underwater

which pulsates with low

voltage electricity to help

restore the growth. These

artificial corals are now

dwelling homes to tones

and thousands of fish.

They are also growing at a

rate that is three times

faster and more durable.

Gilli Air will always be a

part of me. The sun. The

sea. The locals. The reef.

These are all just the

simple cells that make up

the vital organ known to

us as the heart.Everything that I have

seen during my time at

the island has been

engraved in to my system

permanently. Before I

arrived at Gilli Air, I had no

expectation for anything

to be as great as it was.

Before I tried Scuba

Diving, I could never have

imagined the beauty that I

have seen. Gilli air is

worth the plane ticket. It is

the only place where

adventure has been

4