In a dramatic and unprecedented move, The Phillippines’ president, Rodrigo Duterte, has shut the entire island of Boracay to tourists for six months from April 2018. It is therefore more than high time I reported on my June 2017 trip there – a blog entry I have been putting off for a long time.
I had changed my plans after a disappointing night in Sihanoukville and was heading to the much-anticipated Koh Rong, which I had heard was an incredibly beautiful backpackers party paradise, like ‘Thailand thirty years ago’. I hoped I would have more luck there.
I had heard extremely mixed reviews of Sihanoukville, from Adventurous Kate who dubbed it “the ultimate backpacker party paradise” to other bloggers who likened it more to a seedy cesspool. Yet I was prepared to thoroughly enjoy it and spend a few nights before heading over to my most anticipated destination – Koh Rong.
A volcano had erupted on Lombok: three people had apparently died while climbing it the day before. But the five of us new friends were headed to a boat party off the paradise island of Gili T that Wednesday, and we had hardly a care in the world.
I had only heard of ‘Gili T’ for the first time from a couple of 21-year-olds on a party boat in Koh Phi Phi, and heard of it again after I had somewhat spontaneously booked my flights to Bali a few weeks prior. I had figured, based on my proceeding rigorous internet research, that it… Read More Gili Trawangan – the first chapter