• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About +
    • Press
  • Start Here +
    • Accommodations
    • Budgeting & Money
    • Adventure Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Gear & Gadgets
    • Packing Tips
    • Travel Blogging
    • Trip Planning
    • UNESCO Sites
  • Travel Blog
  • Destinations +
    • Africa +
      • Botswana
      • Egypt
      • Ethiopia
      • Morocco
      • Rwanda
      • South Africa
      • Tanzania
    • Asia +
      • Cambodia
      • China
      • Hong Kong
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Japan
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Nepal
      • Philippines
      • Thailand
      • Vietnam
    • Europe +
      • England
      • France
      • Germany
      • Greece
      • Iceland
      • Ireland
      • Italy
      • Spain
      • Switzerland
      • Turkey
    • North America +
      • Canada
      • Costa Rica
      • Cuba
      • Guatemala
      • Mexico
      • Nicaragua
      • Panama
      • United States
    • Oceania +
      • Australia
      • French Polynesia
      • New Zealand
    • South America +
      • Argentina
      • Bolivia
      • Brazil
      • Chile
      • Colombia
      • Ecuador
      • Peru
  • Resources +
    • Travel Insurance
  • Work With Us

Go Backpacking

Adventure Travel Blog

Go Backpacking > Destinations > Asia > Indonesia > Night 1 on Gili T – Making Friends

Night 1 on Gili T – Making Friends

February 19, 2008 By Dave

  • Share
  • Tweet

Fresh seafood selection at The Beach House

After a short walk along main street on Gili T, Linus and I washed up and headed out for dinner. We noticed the most crowded restaurant to be The Beach House, so we headed for a table – well Linus did. I stopped short, next to two Danish girls. I looked at Linus, then at the girls, figured what the hell, and asked if we could join them.

After getting to know Ann and Ulee a bit over dinner, Linus invited two English girls at a nearby table to join us as well. Jessica and Laura were soon in the mix. As laughter and good conversation ensued, one of the guys I noticed from the ferry ride asked if he could join us. Tim and Ashlyn were soon at our table, and Tim returned the favor by inviting an American woman over, just as she was leaving her table.

Tim and Ashlyn

Forming new friendships while traveling alone can really be this easy, when good times seem to materialize out of thin air. We'd spend the night getting to know one and other. Linus had a life-or-death experience surviving the 2005 Tsunami in Thailand (a story that had the entire table in awe). The Danish girls were leaving the next day. Jessica and Laura had arrived a few hours earlier than Linus and I . Tim was a professional soccer player with Wellington, NZ's team (part of the Australia A-League) and had lived in Richmond, VA during his college years. His wife Ashlyn had just finished a 5-year run as a dancer with Riverdance, and had a great opinion of Wolf Trap, the amphitheater where I saw the show in 1999 (Fairfax, VA). And the American woman was a trauma surgeon from NC.

And every now and then you just click with certain people, and amongst the lot, Linus and I would click with Jessica and Laura. Good times would be sure to follow.

Planning a trip? Go Backpacking uses and recommends:

  • G Adventures for small group tours
  • Skyscanner for researching flights
  • Hostelworld for booking hostels
  • Airbnb for renting rooms and homes
  • Rail Europe for train passes
  • World Nomads for travel insurance

  • Share
  • Tweet

Related

Filed Under: Indonesia

About Dave

Dave is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Go Backpacking and Feastio. He's been to 65 countries and lived in Colombia and Peru. Originally from New York, Dave now calls Austin, TX home. Find him on Instagram and Twitter.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. crambox says

    February 19, 2008 at 4:10 pm

    Go Dave, wooing the ladies once again (hope thats the right spelling :) puts a big smile on my face thinking your the mac and linus is about to get some skilz shown to him.. I crack myself up!! I’m sure its just funny to me but, I have a good friend and he would do the same stuff when we go out drinking he would just start walking over to perfect strangers and by the end of the night we would have some new friends the hole time I would be just astounded he had the courage to do stuff like that. keep it up!!!!

    • Dave says

      February 20, 2008 at 12:59 am

      Actually, I’d find out that Linus was *the* man. Perhaps it was that combination of being a Swedish dive instructor who survived a life or death experience. I didn’t mind though, because he was genuinely a really cool guy.

  2. crambox says

    February 19, 2008 at 11:10 am

    Go Dave, wooing the ladies once again (hope thats the right spelling :) puts a big smile on my face thinking your the mac and linus is about to get some skilz shown to him.. I crack myself up!! I’m sure its just funny to me but, I have a good friend and he would do the same stuff when we go out drinking he would just start walking over to perfect strangers and by the end of the night we would have some new friends the hole time I would be just astounded he had the courage to do stuff like that. keep it up!!!!

    • Dave says

      February 19, 2008 at 7:59 pm

      Actually, I’d find out that Linus was *the* man. Perhaps it was that combination of being a Swedish dive instructor who survived a life or death experience. I didn’t mind though, because he was genuinely a really cool guy.

  3. Kango Suz says

    February 24, 2008 at 8:01 pm

    This is why I want to travel so much, to learn how to be extroverted in this way! You go you!!!

  4. Kango Suz says

    February 25, 2008 at 1:01 am

    This is why I want to travel so much, to learn how to be extroverted in this way! You go you!!!

Primary Sidebar

Hi, I'm Dave and I've been backpacking for 20+ years. We're here to make your next trip your best trip! Read More…

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Topics

About | Archive | Travel Resources | Submissions | Work With Us | Contact

© 2021 Go Backpacking · All Rights Reserved

Privacy Policy · Cookie Policy