Gili Meno to Hong Kong

Time for us to leave the tiny island. The spiders on Gili Meno are huge. I've never seen spiders this enormous. Oh, I mean barley fit in the palm of your hand big. Cows, chickens, goats and cats roam free. I made friends with a baby goat. His (or her) photo was included in my last post. I was petting my goat and paused to take a photo and he (she) jumped on me, like a dog would, asking for more attention. The goat was also very partial to Amy. James had to kick a small scorpion out of his room. Alex noticed that there were no dogs on Meno. The owner of the bungalows explained that, for some unknown reason, dogs living on Gili Air and Gili Meno die after extended stay on the islands. This is a bit unnerving!?

I will report more as I have time to digest and reflect on island life.

The islands are connected by a ragged bunch of "fast boat" operators. Fast boats are short eel looking boats with up to six heavy duty outboard motors attached. They bang, crash and hop cutting through the waves. If you're prone to sea-sickness I would avoid using a fast boat. The fast boats float quickly into port, wedging themselves into the sand. A rickety small wooden ladder is brought to the front by boat staff and passengers wearily disembark and embark. One must use extreme caution while boarding a fast boat, for if you misstep you will go into the drink. James, Matt and I said our goodbyes to Amy and Mike beach side.

We were, once again, the three amigos.

Our fast boat made a few stops before dropping us at Padang Bai, Bali. A 1.5 hour ride in a mini bus and we were dropped off to find our hotel as our driver had trouble locating it.

We all depart on red-eye flights early Monday morning, so we opted to get a hotel room. The Bliss Surfer Hotel is a clean, kitch place to rest, all for only US$29 a night.

Matt and I went in search of massage while James relaxed at the Bliss Surfer. Matt and I found a nice spa. We opted for the 90 minute sport (heavy duty)  massage. It put us back US$12.

After our massage we slid into a cab and headed to The Arana Suites, our previous residence on Bali. Matt had forgotten a shirt, and they were holding it for him.

Dinner was at a quaint family fun. Both Matt and I had chicken in chili sauce with rice. The sauce was tangy, sweet, and had delicious fresh cut vegetables. The perfect last meal in Indonesia. The cab driver had trouble finding our hotel, again, WTF is with this hotel, no one can find it!

Matt is headed to Denver via Seoul and Tokyo. James and I are headed to Hong Kong, he'll head back to Chicago Tuesday and I'll head back to Denver via Tokyo on Wednesday.