We are taking the plunge! Come to our wedding.

Pre-China

Andrew

Andrew grew up in Abingdon, England. As a kid, Andrew had a newspaper round, loved football [soccer] and music. As a teenager, he grew dreadlocks that he would keep for seven years.

Andrew went to university in Bradford, where he had class with a robotics professor from China. After he graduated, that professor helped him get a job at a university in Xi’an, China.

He got free Chinese lessons at the university, and quickly grew obsessed with all things China. With two years in Xi’an under his belt, he went back in England to get his Masters before returning to China. One Craigslist search later, he found a big shared apartment with plenty of fun roommates…

Logan

Logan grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina. As a kid, Logan loved reading, horses, and hiding from her parents in public places. As a teenager, she developed a double Starbucks and Netflix addiction which she supported by excessive babysitting.

Logan went to university in Philadelphia, and studied for a year in Paris. Over that year she heard all about adventures in Asia from a certain Australian, and after graduating from Penn she moved to Thailand.

After a few months of teaching bad Italian in Chiang Mai, Logan headed to Shanghai, ostensibly for a six month stay. One Craigslist search later, she found a big shared apartment with plenty of fun roommates…

Building 69

Andrew moved in to Building 69 in 2010, across the living room from Logan. They shared a bathroom. It was not romantic.

It did, however, kick off a golden age of Apartment 202, wherein a motley crew of 1 Mexican, 1 German, 1 Brit, and 2 loud Americans planned far too many themed parties.

Weeknights were spent at C’s bar, weekends were spent watching Planet Earth on the couch, and McDonalds was delivered at all hours.

Then, after six months of platonic roommate-hood, Andrew and Logan got together. The rest, as they say, was history.

The Shanghai Years

Nights at C’s turned to nights at Boxing Cat, and there weren’t quite as many themed parties, but they were still loving China. Along with a great crew of sarcastic Brits — and one sarcastic American — they spent three more excellent years in Shanghai.

The Singapore Move

Then, despite the fact that Andrew hates spending money, they moved to the world’s most expensive city. Since moving to Singapore at the beginning of 2015, they have managed to find craft beer that costs less than $15, and Logan has [somewhat] curtailed her Shanghai shopping habits in favor of travel funds for weekend getaways around SE Asia.

The Engagement

After many trips and many years, Andrew finally decided to take the plunge just before their 5 year anniversary. On a diving trip to Tioman Island, Malaysia, Andrew brought a (fake) diamond ring on the 4th dive of the day and pretended to find it under a piece of coral. Logan was initially disappointed Andrew wasn’t pointing to a sea turtle, and then — once she figured out what was happening — nearly drowned from laughing, but she said “ok”. Now it’s party time!

Travels

We spend pretty much all our time and extra cash on travel — we’ve been to 30 countries and counting together, though Logan still hasn’t managed to make it to South America (one day, Colombia, one day).

So it only seems right to ask our friends and family to join us on an epic trip for our wedding! You’re welcome, in advance.

2015: Chiang Mai, Thailand. (One frame of a much longer carousel of proof.)

On Gili Meno

We chose Gili Meno for a few reasons: it’s as beautiful as Bali without the crowds, it’s (relatively) easy to reach but still feels like you’re light years away from the office, and it’s ridiculously peaceful. There are no cars, no motorbikes, and no reasons to stress.

We basically want you all to have fun, relax, and get to know each other. We’re inviting you because we like you at least a lot, so just sit back and enjoy!

We will be organizing plenty of fun activities to partake in, but if you’d like to pencil in some “to-dos” here are some activities just on little Gili Meno:

• Go check out the baby turtles at the turtle sanctuary
• Play some board games (provided by the resort) or try your hand at floating beer pong in the pool (provided by us)
• Bring your binoculars — or just your 20/20 vision — to spot some rare birds in the bird park
• Do some yoga — Seri Resort has twice-daily yoga classes in their yoga centre behind the main building
• Walk around the island — it will take you about 90 minutes (at a very leisurely pace)
• Talk to some new people, aka our other friends and family we’ve invited. We promise they’re fun!
• Go kayaking OR stand-up paddle boarding OR snorkelling right off the beach of the resort
• Read that book you’ve been meaning to read for the last 4 months
• Work on your tan
• Take a cidomo or pony cart around to the other side of the island for lunch
• Watch the sunrise over Bali or the sunrise over Lombok — you haven’t seen either until you’ve seen it behind an extinct volcano
• Try out scuba diving! There are 3 dive shops on the island — we loved diving with Blue Marlin Meno dive shop which is just a 10 minute walk from the resort. There are 25 amazing dive sites around the Gilis, most within a 5–15 minute boat ride of Meno. On one dive when we went we saw: 5 turtles, 2 stingrays, 1 cuttlefish, 2 peacock mantis shrimp, and a lot more. Diving is awesome!

Events

The wedding week, as it actually ran.

Monday 26 June

Any guests on Gili T can gather for dinner/drinks at sunset at Villa Ombak

Tuesday 27 June

Arrival to Gili Meno, games & drinks at Seri Resort in the afternoon, then welcome event for all guests

Wednesday 28 June

Morning dive for any divers with Blue Marlin Meno
Optional activities during the day
5 pm wedding ceremony starts, with reception to follow

Thursday 29 June

Cruise of the islands — we have chartered a boat for the day which will take us to Gili Air/Gili T for drinks, food, and snorkelling then sail back at sunset. Those who prefer non-boating activities can go for a spa day in Lombok and/or golf. Farewell dinner on Meno.

Friday 30 June

We will depart for Bali in the morning, staying Seminyak for the weekend for anyone who wants to continue the party. We’ll start at W Hotel’s Woobar for beachside drinks at sunset, then head to Motel Mexicola for a final feast.

Go Beyond the Gilis

Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno, and Gili Air — ours is the little one in the middle.

Around Indonesia

Mount Rinjani on Lombok, which helps make sunrises from the beach on Gili Meno pretty amazing.

Our recommendations for travel within Indonesia is based on the trips we’ve taken (and some that Logan has planned but not yet put into motion).

• For diving: Komodo Islands and Bunaken Island (in North Sulawesi) are fantastic trips and we can recommend dive operators, resorts etc. so just reach out if you’d like to go. Raja Ampat is the “must” see, but is pretty remote. If you make it over there, we will be extremely jealous.
• For culture/history: Borobudur outside Yogyakarta is phenomenal (might even trump Angkor Wat), and then on Bali there are some great temples/ruins around Ubud.
• For beaches: Sengiggi on Lombok has beautiful black sand beaches, and the beaches on south Lombok are supposed to gorgeous as well. Bali has fantastic beaches all around.
• For adventure: Both Mount Batur and Ageng on Bali are 1 day climbs, and Mt. Ranjani on Lombok is a pretty challenging 2 day climb, but the view might just be worth it. On Bali, there’s kitesurfing, regular surfing, white water rafting, elephant safaris, and a monkey forest in Ubud. Yes, I included the monkey forest as an adventure option — those monkeys are rascals.
• For relaxing: There are spas, golf courses, cooking classes, and more on both Lombok and Bali.

Around Asia

Want to head farther afield? We can pass along our tips for Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines — you name it! Just reach out to us at andyloges2017@gmail.com and let us know where you’d like to head, and Logan will (gladly) help you plan your trip. Seriously, she loves this shit.

How to get there

We realize we’re not getting married in the most accessible place. We are here to help with advice on travel arrangements and best routes to the Gilis.

We’ve broken down the possible routes to get to Gili Meno below, along with our recommendations on boat operators, timing, etc.

The routes: Bali on the left, Lombok on the right, the Gilis in between.

Option One

Fly to Bali, and take a fast boat to Gili Trawangan.

Flights to/from Bali: most cities in Asia Pacific have direct flights to Bali including Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Taipei, Tokyo, Seoul, and Doha (Qatar). Best option is to choose which one of those cities is the cheapest to reach from wherever you are, and then go from there to Bali.

Details: if you want to check out all that Bali has to offer, there are several different boat companies with a wide range of fast boats that go from Bali to the Gilis: some are air-conditioned and hassle-free, some are … not.

We recommend the Eka Jaya fast boat from Padang Bai harbor, it takes about 1.5 hours on the boat direct to Gili T. From Gili Trawangan, there will be arranged transportation to Gili Meno — it’s a 5–10 minute boat ride.

Option Two

Fly to Lombok (the equally-beautiful island to the east of Bali) and take a shorter boat from there.

Flights to/from Lombok: There are direct flights to Lombok from Singapore on Silk Air, and from Kuala Lumpur on AirAsia.

Details: We can help you arrange a driver from the Lombok airport to the port (1.5 hour drive), then a 15 minute boat ride straight to Gili Meno. Flying straight to Lombok has the advantage that you can get to the Gili islands straight away and you don’t need to rely on the fast boat schedule / connection between Bali and the Gilis. If you’re at all averse to boat travel (or if you have young kids) then this is the best option for you!

The good news!

1) The island (and resort) is SERIOUSLY beautiful and relaxing and fabulous. We promise it’s worth the journey. Plus we’re kinda fun too.

2) You can mix and match your routes — both Lombok & Bali have plenty to offer. Here’s a very easy sample 10 day itinerary:

• Start in Singapore: 2 days of touring our fabulous adopted city state
• Direct flight to Lombok: 2 days of beach-ing, mountain-climbing, or surfing
• 15 minute boat to Gili Meno: 3 days of festivities, good times, and the occasional wedding toast
• 1.5 hour boat to Bali: 3 days of temple-ing, resort-ing, partying, mountain-climbing, diving, or whatever you’d like before returning home.

3) Almost all airlines in Asia are equally cheap to book one-way flights as return trips, so once you’re over here take advantage of hopping around!

Asia Travel 101

We’ve been in Asia for quite a while, but we don’t want to take any questions/issues for granted. We’ve tried to cover some salient concerns below, but there is no question too silly or too trivial to reach out and ask us.

For those Asia expats, former Asia expats, or experienced Asia travellers, this section is not for you — go away.

Do I need a visa?

Nope! Indonesia offers a 30-day visa on arrival for free for nationals of 168 countries.

How’s the wifi?

Not the fastest on the planet, but it’s very accessible around the resort. Your Netflix might be buffering for a while, but maybe that’s a sign you shouldn’t Netflix?

What’s the weather like?

The peak season for the Gilis is July & August, and June will be right in the middle of dry season. It is highly unlikely to rain, and the temperature averages 30 degrees Celcius/90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Can I drink the tap water?

Fresh water on the islands is in short supply, since it’s shipped over from Lombok. Tap water is not potable, but bottled drinking water is very cheap and readily available everywhere.

What are the clothing customs?

The Gili Islands are part of Lombok, which is a Muslim island. All that means for you, however, is that you shouldn’t indulge in nude or topless sunbathing (try to restrain yourself). It’s a tropical island frequented by predominantly Western tourists, so there’s no particular dress code — most people wear swimsuits, shorts, tank tops, etc. Just bear in mind that if you go into a shop or local home, remove your shoes and leave them outside the door.

Is it safe?

Gili Meno has a 24-hour medical clinic about a 10 minute walk away from Seri Resort. If you need basic medical attention or medicines, this is the closest option. Gili T has a bigger medical clinic that can perform minor surgeries. If you require urgent medical attention, the clinic on Gili Meno has an ambulance speedboat that would take you to Mataram, the capital city on Lombok (one hour away). Most guidebooks recommend making sure that your insurance has global coverage, and check to see if it includes air evacuation. From what we saw on Gili Meno, the biggest risk while you’re on the island is a sunburn. In other parts of Indonesia like Bali or Lombok, exercise the usual traveller’s caution when it comes to your personal belongings and maybe restrain from excessive sampling of exotic street foods (they call it Bali belly for a reason).

What should I bring? (other than the usual beach gear)

Power adaptor/convertor · Any medicines you take or might need · List of allergies, insurance details, bank contact information, emergency contact information · Passport · Medical insurance card

Gifts

We don’t need you to bring us gifts – you’re flying around to world to see us, and your presence will be more than enough.

If you really want to give us something, contributing towards one of our honeymoon adventures would be awesome.

We’re registered over on Wanderable — check out our plans!