April 27, 2023

I've said goodbye to gili and am back on my own again. My last two days on the island were everything I needed them to be. I went on the sunset boat with a group of guests and swam in the ocean before coming back to the hostel for dinner and games. Then the next day I led the snorkeling tour and spent the day out on the boat again. We had an incredible day and saw some massive turtles and stopped on gilì meno to go to the sanctuary where they protect the baby turtles. We even got to watch one get released into the ocean. The night ended with me dancing with all my friends at the usual bar, tequila sunrise. It was an emotional night saying goodbye but my heart felt so full. I'm so lucky to have had this month here full of memories. My ferry was at 3 so I grabbed breakfast with my friends, walked to the hostels to say my final goodbyes, then sat around m box one last time in my feels. Luckily, a few guests I had become friends with were on the same boat as me back to the island so they were an excellent comfort and distraction for my sad self. Our ferry was a blast. We sat on the rooftop and they blasted music and we drank beers. It was exactly what I needed to tie a bow on my gili trawangan experience. Once we got to mainland bali I got a taxi to my hotel by the airport and passed out. I need a few days to just chill and recharge after a month of madness. I have a 7 am flight to vietnam the next day. I'm still pretty low energy so I'm taking it easy this first day in Vietnam. I got in around 4 pm to my hotel in Da Nang. I have exactly two weeks to work my way south before I'm back in ho chi Minh and fly to San Diego. So for this first night in Da Nang i got a Bahn mi, wandered around a bit and ended the night with a massage. It's so nice to do nothing and just lay in bed for the night to recharge my social battery. I think taking the night off and taking it for myself is what I need so I can really enjoy the end of this trip. In two weeks I'll be back in the real world