Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - A Dreamy Visit to the Gili Islands

Starting point is 00:00:00 Get Sleepy is a production of Slumber Studios and is made possible thanks to the generous support of our sponsors and premium members. If you'd like to listen ad-free and access weekly bonus episodes, extra long stories and our entire back catalogue, you can try out premium free for 7 days by following the link in the episode notes. Now, a quick word from our sponsors. One night with Quince's European Linen Bed Sheets and you'll soon understand the hype. These sheets are light, breathable and super soft, woven from 100% European flax linen, they have that heirloom quality and get softer with each wash. And the same goes for their ultra-plush duvets, quilts, pillows and shams too, featuring

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Starting point is 00:02:12 you're enjoying all of our episodes of late, including the sound bath meditation we released a few days ago. It's something a bit different from our usual style, but it might well be something that really works well for you to help you relax and drift off to sleep, so do be sure to give that a listen if you haven't tried it yet. We love hearing your feedback on what you're liking a lot or aren't enjoying so much on the show, and we always take it on board to help us guide our future content. So, for all of you, our wonderful listeners,

Starting point is 00:02:52 we really do encourage you to keep the comments, emails, reviews and ideas coming our way. Tonight, I'll be reading our story, which was written by Jo Stier. She's also the writer of our popular ongoing series in which we visit the Seven Wonders of the Ancient Wild, as we might have seen them at their time of prominence. And the next instalment of that series will be coming out this Wednesday, so be sure to come back for that one in a couple of nights time. As for this evening, we'll travel to Paradise on Earth, the most tranquil little islands in Indonesia. There you'll take a boat cruise and snorkel among turtles before retreating to the comfort

Starting point is 00:03:48 of your poolside hammock. But first, as we always do, let's take some time to relax and unwind. Find a position that feels comfortable and allow your eyes to close. by noticing any thoughts. Watch them pass in your mind like clouds in the sky. You can simply note what's there as a curious observer. Acknowledge each thought and then let it go. Now bring into the body, noting any sensations or feelings. Acknowledge these feelings as you did with the thoughts, then once you've noticed what's there, you can let it go. We're going to finish with a couple of deep breaths. Let the breath sweep away Sweep away any remaining thoughts or feelings

Starting point is 00:05:53 and allow it to lead you into rest and relaxation. Take a deep breath in, hold, and breathe out. And one more time, breathe in. Hold and let it out. Tonight, we're travelling to South East Asia to the archipelago of Indonesia. We're visiting the western region of the Lesser Sunder Islands. These islands include the regions of Bali and Lombok, and between them is the Lombok Strait. On the map, it's a patch of blue.

Starting point is 00:07:36 You'd need a magnifying glass to make out our destination, three islands off the coast of Lombok. nation, three islands off the coast of Lombok. They are known as the Gili's, a name which translates to small beautiful islands. Gili Trawanga is the largest and most popular island. It's commonly referred to as Gili Ti. Next along is Gili Menno, the smallest of the three. And then there's Gili Aya, the most eastern of the islands. Out of the 17,000 islands that make up Indonesia, the Gili's have a reputation reputation for being among the most peaceful. Motorized vehicles are banned so people stroll, cycle and ride in horse-drawn carriages. The only exception are motorized boats, which transport tourists from neighboring islands. It's just a half an hour journey from the coast of Lombok, or a two hour ride from Bali. You travelled here today from the coast of Bali, the sole passenger in a sleek white speedboat.

Starting point is 00:09:36 Arriving on Gili Ti fairly late in the evening, you ate a small but tasty meal and settled down to rest. Earlier this morning, it took you a minute to remember where you were when you woke up beneath cotton sheets. The room around you was charmingly unfamiliar, as was the quiet on this tranquil little island. It's hard to imagine a more calming space than the chalet style apartment which you're staying in. Everything in the room is a brilliant white. The only exceptions are the turquoise curtains and a matching floor mat that sits beside the door. When the curtains are open the paneled walls seem to glow and the room is filled with a healing white light. Behind the main bedroom is the bathroom.

Starting point is 00:11:06 Three of its walls are lined with bamboo, and it's open at the top. Instead of the ceiling, you see the roof of the bathroom is a large potted plant, almost as tall as the bamboo beside it. The emerald colored leaves are a burst of bright color, like the two hanging baskets near the wall. It's here that you showered early this morning beside baskets of leaves that dropped towards the ground. You felt the healing sea breeze through the gap above the walls and heard the rolling of the waves not far you remain seated outside. You admire the view from the building itself to its lovely surroundings. The chalet's exterior is as pretty as the inside.

Starting point is 00:12:49 It's entirely white but for a straw-thatched roof. The roof overhangs the white raised decking which surrounds the chalet. Your chalet is one of many on a lush green lawn positioned in a semicircle around the hotel pool. Between each building is an abundance of nature, trees, bushes, and brightly colored flowers. Each of the chalets are painted white with thatched gable roofs and tables at the front. They are identical to yours but for the colour of the curtains. Each room has its own shade with its own matching hammock. For a while you simply gaze at the surface of the pool. The water is like glass.

Starting point is 00:14:14 It's so still and placid. shielded from the breeze by trees and bushes, including rows of palm trees. Keen to explore, you gather your belongings and take the steps down to the soft green grass. You walk along a path made to look like stepping stones. It goes around the hotel grounds and up onto the sand. Your plan for this morning is to walk around the island, something that should take just a couple of hours. You can follow the path that runs beside the beach, or you can amble along the sand and paddle in the sea. Later you've planned to meet a local boatsman. He'll take you to Gili Menno where you'll snorkel in the water, but for now your only goal is to soak in the sights, to experience a morning

Starting point is 00:15:52 on this lovely little island. Wearing comfortable sandals, you walk at a pace that is slow and easy. On your right is the sea, the waves gently rocking. The sand beside it is absolutely stunning. Part white, part golden. It's as soft as powdered sugar. It's just what you'd imagine of a tropical paradise, complete complete with palm trees leaning in the breeze. Parts of the beach are set out with furniture where cafes and restaurants have seating on the sand. Elsewhere there are deck chairs, hammocks and sun lounges, and in other parts there are rowboats moored on the beach. There are very few people out on the sand. It feels like your own private beach. How peaceful it is to watch the waves and to hear them lapping in an endless soothing rhythm.

Starting point is 00:17:54 rhythm. Various wooden buildings run around the coastline. Hotels, eateries, shops and smoothie bars. The paths between them are flanked with vegetation. The island is as green as it is serene. But more noticeable than anything is what you do not see or hear. There are no cars, no motorbikes. It's an unfamiliar feeling to be without the hum of traffic. Instead there's the ebb and flow of waves. Above this, you hear a chorus of tropical birdsong as species near and far call out across the island. There are tennas and barotones with deep low cores and the high pitched chaps of altos and sopranos. Gili-Ti is the largest of the three islands though it's just twice the size of New York's Central Park.

Starting point is 00:19:27 Technically speaking, it has only one beach, an unbroken coastline that surrounds it entirely. The island is waking as you make your way around it. You hear shutters opening and tables being prepared. There's the familiar buzz of a coffee machine and nearby a radio playing calypso and reggae. There's also the spinning of wheels on the ground as you're passed now and then by people on bicycles. Then you hear horses pulling passengers in a carriage. They have bells on their reins that jingle as they move. You're also aware of the sound of your own gentle footsteps and the way these sounds change across different types of surfaces. On stone they echo, on woodwork they grow hollow and on the beach they melt behind the sound of the

Starting point is 00:21:09 waves. Eventually you come to a stop on the sand and take a seat at a table not far from the water. You purchase a cup of freshly squeezed fruit juice and sip it beneath a parasol thatched with bamboo. Slipping off your sandals, you rest your feet on the ground and curl your toes into powder white sand. Beneath the shade of the parasol, the sand is very cool. It falls across your feet and between your toes. Sunlight bounces across the blue-green sea adding tone and texture to the waves. leaves. In the shallows, the shades are like water colour. Where the sea becomes deeper, it's an opaque turquoise. When you've finished your drink, you walk barefoot in the soft warm sand heading towards the water.

Starting point is 00:22:55 Then you paddle in the sea, the water rising to your ankles, it is cool and refreshing against your bare skin. The colours look even better up close and you can make out patches of seaweed and coral. In some parts the water is as clear as crystal, it's like you're looking through glass. As you're paddling something catches your attention. It's the sound of a boat pulling up to a jetty. You recognize the face of the smiling boat captain, a man named Bintang, who brought you here yesterday. He is such a gentle soul, so happy and easygoing, and he's a wealth of information about the tiny islands. Today you've hired him to take you to Gili Menno, where you'll snorkel in the tropical waters. You wander over to wear his docked on the jetty, beside his white boat with its sky-blue roof.

Starting point is 00:24:47 Bintang greets you warmly like a dear old friend and beckons you to sit down. Once you're settled, he sets off cruising slowly across the aquamarine water. The breeze is refreshing as it flows through your clothes. It's just what you need on this sunny morning. Bintang means star in Malay and it's the perfect name for this cheery young man. As he speaks, a love of his homeland shines through. He tells you that the Geelys have only recently been inhabited. People didn't settle permanently until the 1970s. Previously, visitors had remained here only briefly, as the islands had been lacking in sources of fresh water. Today, Gili Ti is home to around 1500 people and Gili Meno has only 500. The main industry is

Starting point is 00:26:33 tourism and leisure, though a few make their living as farmers or fishermen. farmers or fishermen. Things began to change in the 1980s when neighbouring Bali became a must-see destination. This in turn brought more tourists to the geelys and words slowly spread of this hidden gem. Bintang's parents moved here in 87 and he and his sister were born on Geely Tee. tea. His family run a bakery right on the coastline. You must have passed it this morning on your walk around the island. Bintang is a born sailor. His happiest, he tells you, when he's out on the waves. He navigates through the water as if it's as natural as breathing. Eventually, he stops and passes you a snorkel. You remove your outer layers to reveal your swimwear and arrange the goggles and snorkel on your face. Then slowly you climb down the steps at the side, gently lowering yourself into the crystal

Starting point is 00:28:35 clear waters. You bob up and down for the first few minutes, allowing your body to acclimatize to the temperature. The sea is far warmer than you'd expected. It's like a warm bath of sparkling turquoise. When you're ready to snorkel you dip your head below the water. You swim on your front, eyes open beneath your goggles. The sea beneath you is too deep to stand in, but shallow enough that you have a view of the sea bed. It's wonderful to breathe while under water, the top of your snorkel popping out in the air. You're so happy to be experiencing the sights of this marine paradise, a place even more tranquil than the island itself. There are a few other tourists out diving in the distance, but aside from that you are left in blissful solitude. Though you're anything but alone in these beautiful waters, hundreds

Starting point is 00:30:32 of fish are swimming alongside you. They stand out against the seabed, its surface scattered with moss-covered coral. The coral twists and turns like a jade green forest, a woodland in an underwater kingdom. kingdom. You feel as if you're swimming through a massive fish tank surrounded as you are by tropical fish. They are sprinkled around you in all shapes and sizes, in every bright colour and pattern combination. You see a bright yellow mollusk with striking black markings. It sides very slowly across a pale-colored stone. Above it swims a school of small blue fish. They are the loveliest hue of sapphire. Elsewhere you note a trio of fish with eye-catching patterns. On their sides, they display a triangle of bright white,

Starting point is 00:32:14 surrounded by corners of daffodil yellow. Other fish are darker, Other fish are darker, some navy and some black with tones of silver. You notice a family of fish that have made a home on the coral. They have forked tails and black stripes like zebras. You're so captivated by these charming little fish that it takes you a moment to notice the statues. There are figures on the seabed standing in a circle. These underwater statues were placed here by the sculptor to symbolize life and continuity with the sculptures being made from the casts of real people.

Starting point is 00:33:36 In total, the piece includes 48 figures. Those that are standing in a circle look like couples embracing. More figures rest at the feet of these statues, lounging on their sides. You've never seen anything like it. It's ethereal and other wildly. You take a deep breath in and swim down beneath the surface, keen to look closer at these magical statues. The stonework is marked with patches of moss and this only adds to the charm of the figures. Coral grows on those laid across the bottom, as if they've slept here for thousands of years.

Starting point is 00:34:55 You swim around the edge of the circle of statues before going back to the surface for a long, deep breath. Then you return once and then again swimming down to the depths. When you're finally ready to return to the boat, you swim towards its shadow and climb up the steps. Bintang beams widely as you tell him of your adventure. The best, he tells you knowingly, is yet to come. The boat engine is brought back to a spot known for turtles. It's just a short ride away at the other side of the island.

Starting point is 00:36:19 Gili Menno looks quiet and peaceful and Bintang confirms that it is the quietest of the islands. Gili Aja in contrast is better known for its nightlife and the colorful celebrations of full moon parties. You could walk around Gili Menno in less than an hour and the journey is far quicker by boat. Within maybe five minutes you're at the other side of the island and ready to stop and snorkel once again. Almost as soon as you enter the water you catch sight of a turtle swimming. Much like the fish, he's unbothered by your presence, but you keep a little distance so as not to crowd him. He really is a magnificent creature, and he's large too, at maybe 30 inches long.

Starting point is 00:37:56 His head and limbs have a tortoise shell pattern, like the streamlined shell they poke out of. This particular sea turtle has a narrow, pointed beak and dark brown eyes on the sides of his head. The scales of his back appear serrated at the edges where they overlap in a mosaic of colour. Like his relative the tortoise, his movements are fairly slow but he moves with the grace of a much larger creature. Most of his power comes from the long back flippers move only slightly. They are like the rudders of a ship used to steer the vehicle. The turtle moves a flipper now, changing course right before you and diving down into the blue.

Starting point is 00:39:36 His body is even more of an artwork than the man-made sculptures. You feel as if you're swimming through some kind of living painting or as if you are a visitor in a secret paradise. You swim for a while in this patch of sea, snorkeling, diving and coming up for air. Beneath the water, there's no sense of time. You simply continue until you're ready to stop. By the time you come up and climb aboard the boat, you've seen many more turtles and you've become closely acquainted with different species of coral and the charming creatures that call them home. You chat happily to Bintang describing what you saw and thank him for bringing you to this place. for bringing you to this place. It's the kind of experience that you won't soon forget, the day when you swam beside fish and sea turtles. Now it's time for a spot of lunch and Bintang directs you to a cool box on the floor.

Starting point is 00:41:34 There are numerous drinks in cans and bottles. You pull out a can with frost along its side. The drink you've chosen is a local favorite, a carbonated blend of Indonesian fruits. It's cool on the palate and sweet on the taste buds and entirely refreshing on this warm afternoon. Batastelle is the food provided courtesy of Bintang's parents. It's a picnic selection of sweet and savory delicacies, all freshly made in their bakery on Geeli Tea. You choose a delicious croissant with your favorite filling and eat it slowly, savoring every morsel. You've already pondered a visit to the bakery and with dessert your mind is made up. Your mind is made up. You take delicate bites of a large macaron. Chocolate ganache has been spread between two biscuits. Bin Tang explains that apple tart is his favorite. An apple tart each day keeps

Starting point is 00:43:29 the doctor away. The two of you laugh, content and satisfied as you relish the taste of these sweet treats. taste of these sweet treats. When you're both finished eating, Bintang turns on the engine. You travel around the islands on your way back to Gili ti. You lean against the smooth backrest, relishing the breeze as you glide through the water. It's afternoon now and the sun is even brighter. It's as if the sea wears a veil of gleaming diamonds. You are thankful for the shade beneath the roof of the boat. The seats have been cooled to the perfect temperature. You cast your eyes around the coast of Gili Aya. It's just as picturesque as its neighbors in paradise. You see people riding bikes and strolling along the coastline. Some are locals carrying wicker baskets on their heads. On the other side of the boat, the coast of Lombok is visible. The land is coated in lush vegetation with green

Starting point is 00:45:31 hills rising up towards the sky. At some point in the journey, you close your eyes, listening to the sounds of the boat on the water. You rest a hand on the side, feeling the sunlight on your skin, and you take long, deep breathfuls of salty sea air. This you decide is what bliss feels like. You're as content and relaxed as it's possible to be. It's a moment that you think of later when you're back at your chalet having said your goodbyes to Bintang. You're lounging in your hammock of turquoise cotton under the shade of the golden thatched roof. You're accompanied by a soundtrack of waves and birdsong, and occasionally the splashing of people swimming in the pool. The hammock rocks gently like the ever-swaying palm trees.

Starting point is 00:47:33 For the last hour, you've been reading your book, a story set in some tropical paradise, until you were distracted by a lovely little bird. He sits nearby now, perched on a tree branch. He seems to be looking right at you and saying hello through his high-pitched chaps. This small bird has a bright white chest while the rest of his feathers are a gorgeous shade of teal. The colour takes you back to the sea and the sights you saw just a few hours ago. It feels as much like a dream as a memory, your time beneath the water with the fish and turtles. Here on the hammock you close your eyes and take in some long deep breaths. The grass beneath you has recently been cut and the scent blends beautifully with the fragrance of flowers. Again you are aware of the feeling of pure contentment as the waves of comfort wash over your body.

Starting point is 00:49:34 wash over your body. You can feel your muscles letting go and relaxing and you can sense yourself sinking into the fabric beneath you. In the background, the sea continues to ebb and flow. The waves rise and fall like the breath in your belly. You doze off now to the rhythm of the water, swayed gently by the breeze into a deep and Samba. The I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. The I'm sorry. You

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Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - A Dreamy Visit to the Gili Islands

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