22/12/2009 Do chickens live in trees?

Yes they do – well at least they do on Gili Meno! This morning we took a fishing boat to Gili Meno with Judy, Sylie and Aisah (bypassing the touts at Bangsal Harbour). Meno is one of three tiny islands off the north-west coast of Lombok with no cars and limited power and water. We were meant to go snorkeling but as the weather was bad we just kept the gear for snorkeling off the Gili’s. After a hot walk along the sandy path we found a room at ‘Contiki’. The rest of the morning was spent exploring the amazing coral reefs and sea life off the white sandy beach – comparable to the Great Barrier Reef but much less effort to get to! Later that day we set off to walk around the island (supposed to take an hour) but about halfway around we found a bar on a practically deserted beach and joined a game of Texas Holden with a bunch of Canadians using coral for chips! After an amazing seafood dinner and a few Arak’s (the local liquor) we tried to call the horse (and Cimodo) to take us home but the horse was asleep! This meant we had to stumble home along the sandy track back to the other side of the island! Oh & this is where the chickens live in the trees – they flyup there to sleep – seriously!