Our last stop on our SE Asia tour took us to one of the most famous vacation destinations in the world: Bali. On the short flight to Denpasar from Singapore, I couldn’t help but wonder if Bali could live up to its infamy as a lush garden isle with legendarily hospitable people. Is it really as good as they say? Mostly, it is. A majestic island in the middle of Indonesia’s immense equatorial archipelago, Bali does not fail to impress even the most experienced tropical island hoppers but you may have to know where to look to find your particular flavor of paradise. I came away with a new respect and fondness for the Balinese people and a new found love of their beaches and endless good waves. But as we learned, not every place in Bali is as deserving of the same brand of Eden.
Though we began our stay in Kuta for two nights, we were quickly weary of the overgrown city’s cheap and brazen style as well as the glut of aggressive rip off vendors that seem to infest any tourist hot spot. After a couple hours of surfing and hunting for the best ferry prices to leave Kuta, our true Balinese adventure here began. Once we left that madhouse, we retreated to a tiny island off the coast of Bali’s neighbor, Lombok to gili Air (gili means tiny island in Bahasa Indonesia).
It was at the ferry terminal that we met a Swedish family that would change our Bali experience for the best. Our boat was late but we made the best by making conversation with the young couple who we learned had been living in Ubud for the previous three months and told us they were ready for a bit of a vacation. We swapped travel plans and when we mentioned Ubud was our next destination, they offered their house to us while they were staying on gili Air. Coincidentally, we both chose the same waterfront homestay and we were neighbors for the next several days. The island itself is tiny, only a few kilometers in circumference, drier than Bali and rimmed by coarse corally beaches. It sits at the end of a chain of three small islands that cater to a mostly backpacker crowd with cheap accommodation on nearly empty beaches and no shortage of bars. The pace here is much slower and atmosphere much quieter than Kuta and it was wonderful relaxing and getting to know the Swedish family, snorkeling and drinking sunset mojitos until we ran into a hiccup: Megan’s lost debit card. We spent a few hours trying to track it down with no luck and came to the conclusion that the ATM machine (the only one on the island) must have sucked it back in when she forgot to retrieve it. Fortunately, after she cancelled the card, it was water under the bridge as we came prepared with alternative methods to retrieve funds. On our last day, we arranged with the Swedish family to stay at their place for four nights and left gili Air excited to stay in a private house!
Though we began our stay in Kuta for two nights, we were quickly weary of the overgrown city’s cheap and brazen style as well as the glut of aggressive rip off vendors that seem to infest any tourist hot spot. After a couple hours of surfing and hunting for the best ferry prices to leave Kuta, our true Balinese adventure here began. Once we left that madhouse, we retreated to a tiny island off the coast of Bali’s neighbor, Lombok to gili Air (gili means tiny island in Bahasa Indonesia).
It was at the ferry terminal that we met a Swedish family that would change our Bali experience for the best. Our boat was late but we made the best by making conversation with the young couple who we learned had been living in Ubud for the previous three months and told us they were ready for a bit of a vacation. We swapped travel plans and when we mentioned Ubud was our next destination, they offered their house to us while they were staying on gili Air. Coincidentally, we both chose the same waterfront homestay and we were neighbors for the next several days. The island itself is tiny, only a few kilometers in circumference, drier than Bali and rimmed by coarse corally beaches. It sits at the end of a chain of three small islands that cater to a mostly backpacker crowd with cheap accommodation on nearly empty beaches and no shortage of bars. The pace here is much slower and atmosphere much quieter than Kuta and it was wonderful relaxing and getting to know the Swedish family, snorkeling and drinking sunset mojitos until we ran into a hiccup: Megan’s lost debit card. We spent a few hours trying to track it down with no luck and came to the conclusion that the ATM machine (the only one on the island) must have sucked it back in when she forgot to retrieve it. Fortunately, after she cancelled the card, it was water under the bridge as we came prepared with alternative methods to retrieve funds. On our last day, we arranged with the Swedish family to stay at their place for four nights and left gili Air excited to stay in a private house!
After being assaulted by dozens of sarong and snack vendors at the Padang Bai ferry pier back on Bali proper, we crammed into a van with other tourists for the hour long ride up to the island’s acclaimed cultural capital, Ubud. Once we arrived to our street a few minutes from the center of town, we met the caretaker of the Swedish family's house, Jiwa, who welcomed us warmly and made sure we had everything we needed. The house is the first level of a two story home, hidden behind an impeccably manicured front yard with a fountain in the middle of the pebble path. A decorative pebble walkway rounds a statue of Ganesha to a knee high wooden fence which you step over to mount the wrap-around patio and outdoor kitchen. Inside, we enjoyed a large single bedroom with an equally large bed atop marble tile and a spacious bathroom that we shared with only a few mosquitoes. After an early dinner at a vegetarian Indian restaurant, we took the scooter a few minutes up the main road to a supermarket to get ingredients to cook breakfast and lunch. There were not many Indonesians shopping here and I must admit that being in a supermarket made me feel like I was back home.
We spent the entire next day on the scooter exploring the regions around Ubud and the north coast of Bali. From volcanic mountain backed temples, to the north coast black sand beach picnic to the famous Pura Ulun Danu temple perched around lake Batan and the long rainy ride home, I had a blast riding around exploring Bali’s beautiful interior. The roads are so gorgeous to drive on and between all the jaw dropping scenery and friendly locals waving hello and making conversation, it is easy to see how Bali got its holiday destination reputation.
We spent the entire next day on the scooter exploring the regions around Ubud and the north coast of Bali. From volcanic mountain backed temples, to the north coast black sand beach picnic to the famous Pura Ulun Danu temple perched around lake Batan and the long rainy ride home, I had a blast riding around exploring Bali’s beautiful interior. The roads are so gorgeous to drive on and between all the jaw dropping scenery and friendly locals waving hello and making conversation, it is easy to see how Bali got its holiday destination reputation.
The following day, we had a great time visiting the sacred monkey forest in town, enjoying it’s beautiful temples, cute baby monkeys all set around a stunningly gorgeous creek. The rest of our stay here, we marveled at Ubud’s buildings and cherished how hard it is to tell a temple from a business. We walked among beautiful rice terraces, scored some good shopping, took a traditional woodcarving class through the local library, (Megan is quite skilled for a beginner) and were entranced by a Balinese fire show. It's incredible to see such relentless, layered rhythms held for so long by so many men. The dancing itself was interesting; subtle finger gestures and robotic body movements helped tell a piece of a Hindu epic. It finished with one of the braver men kicking around burning coconut husks and nearly setting some of the audience aflame, including us!
Ubud itself is full of dozens of spas, yoga studios, health food stores and tourist shops and superb restaurants, many of which are run by expats. In some ways, it even reminds me of a tropical Santa Cruz! One could spend weeks here pampering themselves, indulging in fine foods and dabbling in traditional Bali culture but we still had a lot left to see and shuttled off to yet another island off Bali’s east coast, Nusa Lembongan.
It was here that we had our greatest adventures, met some incredible people and found a side of Bali I thought extinct. After the uncomfortable public boat ride across the channel, we walked along the narrow waterfront road in search of a cheap room, dodging the solicitors at the boat dock. A local with spotty English helped us on our quest, leading us to a newly remodeled hotel on the water managed by a local crew. Satisfied with his offer, we settled into our air-con room and found a decent Thai restaurant nearby and took the rest of the afternoon to explore our new neighborhood. After spending a day exploring the island’s mangrove forest and peeking over a questionable bridge to Lembongan’s little neighbor, Ceningan, we met a pair of adventure seeking Germans (with an interesting Aussie-German hybrid accent) with whom we agreed to embark on a manta ray seeking snorkeling excursion. In short, though we never entered made it in the ocean, it was one of the best experiences I had in Bali and a memory I dearly cherish.
It was here that we had our greatest adventures, met some incredible people and found a side of Bali I thought extinct. After the uncomfortable public boat ride across the channel, we walked along the narrow waterfront road in search of a cheap room, dodging the solicitors at the boat dock. A local with spotty English helped us on our quest, leading us to a newly remodeled hotel on the water managed by a local crew. Satisfied with his offer, we settled into our air-con room and found a decent Thai restaurant nearby and took the rest of the afternoon to explore our new neighborhood. After spending a day exploring the island’s mangrove forest and peeking over a questionable bridge to Lembongan’s little neighbor, Ceningan, we met a pair of adventure seeking Germans (with an interesting Aussie-German hybrid accent) with whom we agreed to embark on a manta ray seeking snorkeling excursion. In short, though we never entered made it in the ocean, it was one of the best experiences I had in Bali and a memory I dearly cherish.
The morning began with renting some equipment and crossing the same single track bamboo suspension bridge to Ceningan. We hit a few lookout points try and spot the rays at the surface of the clear blue ocean. Unsuccessful, we travelled further into the island, running up and down dirt roads searching for good entry and exit points (a strong current flows between these islands). We hiked through dense forest, oceanfront farms and remote hidden temples in search of these mantas and we found a couple of promising take-off points but still no way to exit the water safely. After struggling with an empty gas tank and failing to find a sandy beach we were promised by a few locals, we found refuge and lunch at small Mediterranean style resort facing the shallow channel between Ceningan and Lembongan (it reeks of seaweed!). By the middle of the afternoon, we gave up on our manta mission and decided to meet up with a Ceningan local whose family runs a cliff jumping outpost. As clouds started to form offshore, we made enlightening broken English conversation with four Ceningan locals. When we asked how the island fares with no police they responded by saying, “Everyone is the boss here; all of us are family and if someone is in trouble, we do what we can to help. If someone wrongs somebody else, everybody knows and issues are easily resolved.” People here are so nice and happy it is mind boggling. We ended the night at the same Thai restaurant where we met the Germans the previous evening, recounting the long day with one another and exchanging contact information. The next morning, I got a couple hours of surfing in which ended abruptly with a broken board. When I returned to shore, Megan and I watched in shock as the king tide and high surf demolished pieces of the waterfront path and flooded the entrance to our hotel. The following day we departed to our final destination in Bali, Sanur.
We arrived to Sanur’s big beach without any hiccups and took a solicitation for a homestay room in town. Our final days in Bali were spent doing everything I love: surfing, eating, drinking and relaxing. We scored some good shopping in this pleasant expat town and explored some of the beautiful Bukit peninsula, including visiting the stunning temple of Uluwatu complete with monster waves crashing into the cliffs below. The beaches here were as big and nice as any we've been to and the restaurant selection was impressive. Without thinking twice, we took our flight to Bali and said goodbye to SE Asia, ready to begin the next phase of our trip: camping Australia.