"We call it a cimodo" (pronounced chi-moe-doe). Sarasudan has never read a newspaper or known a postal service. He has never even had a fresh water shower to ease the equatorial heat. "I’ve only been off Gili Air twice," says the driver, "on day trips to Lombok." I later found that it only takes two hours to walk around this landmass called Gili Air — that was his entire frame of reference.

There are no newspapers, no postal service, no terrorising touts. Nor are there any nightclubs or cars; and motorbikes are forbidden. Gili Air (meaning 'little island of water'), a pristine, coral adorned beauty spot, is an hour’s boat ride from Lombok, the first in a string of islands east of Bali and north of Australia. These islands are known as Nusa Tengara (Southeast Islands). They are different from the rest of Indonesia, with an otherworldly nature and too few people around to appreciate it.

I chanced on Gili Air during my first visit to Indonesia. Since Bali was under terrorist threat and I didn’t want to torture my family, I selected Lombok on recommendation of a friend, who suggested I spend some time on one of the tiny islands in the surrounds.

After spending a couple of days on the black and white volcanic beaches in Sengigi, Lombok, I found that for about R50 I could catch a boat to Gili Air. We made our way past Bali’s Gunung Agung, the characteristic volcano that looks like the pointy Balinese hats. On the right Gunung Rinjani, Lombok’s sacred volcano, was covered with clouds. In front of me, three tiny mounds became islands on the horizon. We anchored amongst fishing boats and coconut palms on the pearly beach.

Sarasudan and his horse, Mickey, quickly helped me find a suitable stilted beach bungalow. I made myself comfortable in a hammock on the bamboo balcony. Tinkle-tinkle. Hush-hush. Apart from my own deep breaths, there was only the music of coral and shells playing in the waves. It hardly seemed possible that this speck of idyll is part of the same Indonesia we hear about in the news.

"And it isn’t," said my landlord, Abdi, who was also born on Gili Air. "my grandfather came from Sulawesi with his family to create a life away from political trouble. Like others from Bali and Lombok. Then there were no tourist places here, only a fishing village. Before that, nothing. Just boats stopping off to take a break from a journey."

"Snokling treep?"

What a break indeed. It was too hot to bother myself with the everyday worries that followed me like mosquitoes. ”Hushhhh”, the sea lulled. Streaks of dark blue, turquoise and pure translucence were painted across the horizon. It was impossible not to relax. On the soft beach, I picked up treasures of the kind I’ve only ever seen in shell shops. A deep purple cowry. A giant clam.

"Snokling treep?" the locals kept hassling, trying to cash in on the few tourists around these days. When I asked Abdi about the Bali bombings, his eyes flashed a hurt that went deep into his pocket. Chants from the mosque wafted over the island. For a moment it seemed the only things that kept these locals going was their religious stronghold and their insistent snorkelling invitations.

After brushing my teeth with bottled water (only sea water on tap), I figured that for R40 I could hardly get a cocktail in Camps Bay, never mind a trip to see coral. Boat engines cut through morning cicadas on our way to the reefs around the three Gilis. The moment I got underwater, I was enchanted. This garden was so delicate and beyond dreams. I saw fish that looked like tigers and rainbows and sapphires, even a little Nemo. I felt like a mermaid.

Getting into the Gili spirit

Back on the island, it was heavy with heat and time to take it as slow as the sea turtle I spotted. I flopped down on a stilted bamboo terrace and ordered young coconut juice. So fresh, the manager had to climb up the tree. I expected a colourful choice of fish for dinner. "We only have Snapper," Anto, the waiter, announced. Nevertheless, a feast of freshly caught Snapper, a tantalising sweet & sour bell pepper sauce, chips and veggies was about R17. Yet, with the sea lazily lapping at my feet, it was really priceless.

The best place to toast the sunset over Bali’s Gunung Agung, was Legend Pub. The local spirit, Arak, is made from rice, but; "two Arak, then you see helicopters," as the barman at the beach hut bar warned. Red. Redder. Reddest. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, the sky turned so red that I had to use my other senses. I took a deep breath and felt very, very small.

When I looked up again, the night was decorated with a thousand fairy lights. In a city like Cape Town it’s easy to forget how many stars there really are. Quack-croak. Quack-croak. It was a big noise, like something between a duck and a giant frog. “It’s a gecko,” Abdi told me later. “Yes, really.”

I woke up to the sun rising over another volcano, on a whole other island (Gunung Rinjani in Lombok). It seemed another world with the sea and the sky in shimmering silver. It dawned on me why most of the locals, like Sarasudan, have never left Gili Air. Everything they need is there, on that little sample of paradise. For a moment I hesitated at the blue wooden boat that would take me back to Lombok. What if I stayed? No city stress. No white noise. No parking issues…

I picked up a newspaper as soon as I was back in Lombok, though. Then mailed my postcards, scribbled with crystal clear thoughts.

For more info...
• Singapore Airlines flies daily from Johannesburg/Cape Town to Singapore, and on to Lombok. From Sengigi, it’s easy to book a boat trip to Gili Air, but stick to a reputable transport company like the Perama office on the main road.
• June/July and December is tourist season. At any other time, you would probably have the whole place to yourself and be able to negotiate fabulous rates, including breakfast.
• Accommodation on Gili Air ranges from the Hotel Gili Air (from $44/night, negotiable) to beach bungalows like Abdi Fantastik, which charges the equivalent of R35 (out of season). Cimodos are easily available for exploring the island.
• Find out more from Tourism Indonesia.