Lost in Paradise

That is me, pictured with thongs that do not match. They fit perfectly though. And there is a story behind them.

When we went back to Indonesia last year, my husband decided that we should travel to two of Lombok's tiny islands: Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan. He went there years ago and he loved them. He was right. The view is breathtaking, both above and under the sea. The people are extremely friendly, always smiling and ready for a chat even when they are extremely busy. Best of all, at that time of year, there were not too many tourists, which mostly are foreigners, so we could almost have the island all to ourselves.

Unfortunately, at that time of year, it was also very wet.

On our first morning on Gili Meno, we planned to circle the island, which would take us less than half an hour. We did not bring any thongs because we thought we would be barefooted on soft white sand. The soft white sand turned out to be broken coral reefs and junk swept by the sea from the big islands. There we were, trying to maneuver our way through the debris. My feet were starting to hurt when this green thong appeared. It must be heaven sent because it saved my right foot. That was when I declared we should try to find thongs to wear.

We became two lone figures scouring the beach for lost thongs. We found two complete pairs by the time it started to rain. To save ourselves from the rain and wind, we stopped by an empty hut that seemed steady enough for shelter. The wind was so strong we could not stand still.


Being on a small island with no one in sight, the rain pouring hard and the wind blowing so strong, anyone can feel isolated. No sun, no sky and no sand. It really was as though we were stranded on a deserted island.

But we were not lost, because we could see the main island clearly. And the island was not deserted, there were local people in the middle of the island and at least there was one Chilean couple still swimming near the hotel this morning. But if we were swept away on a faraway island, I could not think of any other person I would rather be with than my thong-scavenging buddy of a husband. :)