Aussie reveals traumatic Bali incident: ‘Don’t know how we didn't die'
An Australian woman has shared her horrific experience on a boat ride in Indonesia, claiming she 'almost died'.
The Gili Islands are a series of picturesque islands east of Bali and are renowned tourist destinations.
Australian and Egyptian model Sarah Said-Smith recently travelled from the Gili Islands to Bali by ferry and said the trip was a disaster.
Taking to TikTok – where Ms Said-Smith is currently documenting her travels to her 33,000 followers – she detailed the harrowing ordeal.
The boat she and her boyfriend would set sail on was over five hours late, but that wasn't the worst part of the trip. In hindsight, Ms Said-Smith said she wished she never got on the boat.
"Because the next four hours was the worst hell of my life," she says.
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Ms Said-Smith explained that all the passengers finally boarded at 5.30pm.
In the dark, the Nusa Lembongan-bound boat travelled for four hours without any lights, riding the biggest waves Ms Said-Smith "had ever seen".
She said everyone was in life jackets, freaking out and vomiting and claimed the boat almost capsized.
She also claimed there were two captain changes and it was the first day on the job for multiple staff members.
"And four hours later we didn't get to Nusa Lembongan, we just docked at this random port," she said.
"Like, I don't know how the f**k we did not just die on that boat."
Ms Said-Smith says she was drenched after the boat ride and the inside of the boat flooded, soaking everyone's luggage.
Others share harrowing boat experience near Bali
Judging by the comments, this isn't the first time something like this has happened while travelling between the islands and Bali.
"Same thing happened to us - when the locals started vomiting & crying that’s when the panic kicked in - I just sat there quietly crying," one person said in the comments.
Another person said they also thought they were going to die when leaving the Gili Islands by boat seven years ago, adding they felt for Ms Said-Smith.
The same experience in Indonesia put one person off boats "for life", with the traveller saying in the comments they had their first ever panic attack while on the vessel.
The fear is understandable, given over 40 people died when a tourist ferry sunk off the coast of Phuket in 2018.
The boat hit a spot of bad weather and eventually sunk. Of the more than 100 people onboard at the time, 46 people died.
Ms Said-Smith did say Gili Trawangan, or Gili T, was actually her favourite destination on her Indonesian holiday, though she recommends making the trip from Lombok instead.
Just weeks ago, a massive fire devastated Gili Trawangan Island, destroying accomodation on the island.
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