One thing I have learned about blogging during this travel: uploading many fotos looks really nice, but it is a paaaaain in the a… when you don’t have a high speed connection available all the time – and where do you have that really when you are travelling (and certainly not in Bali).
Second thing: writing about things weeks and maybe even months past is a bit unexciting…
So lets fast forward, starting with a summary update:
- We are in Bali now, enjoying our last 3 weeks of travel (for this time
) - I am extremely happy about my new job – back at Vistaprint but this time in Sydney! – starting on the 5th of April (though I will only get to Sydney on the 29th)
- My job start includes 1 week back in Barcelona, 12th to 18th of April, nice! Looking so much forward to see my friends again there – those who haven’t moved back to somewhere in the meantime that is – and play a game of beach volley or two
Now, BALI:
Maybe the most suprising place in the whole last 6 months for me, certainly the place with the sweetest people, calmest atmosphere and most interesting culture-wise. And this with 2.000.000 tourists a year…
When we decided to stay here we mostly chose it for beach and some easy relaxation after the quite busy travel the last months (no trecking, climbing mountains or any other exercise planned for sure here). Of course we knew it was a super top touristy location since years, so I had expected some kind of asian Mallorca – not saying that you cannot still find nice spots on the balearic islands too.
But we were completely surprised: thanks to renting a car (14$ a day for the smallest 4×4 jeep in the world, but with the size of the streets, and the state of some, that’s really a good thing) we found so many nice, completely uncrowded and sometimes even pristine places on the east and north coast. Bright green ricefields as far as you can see, temples everywhere, religious processions, offerings with flowers, incense and whatnot everywhere. But most of all super calm, smiling, extremely friendly people who make it even easy to answer the same 3 questions about 2 dozen times a day: “where are you from?”, “what’s your name?” and “where are you’re going today?”. Even the, in fairness a little bit annoying, “yes taxi? transport sir?” when you walk through the more touristy parts is easy to bear in this atmosphere (though already thought about writing on my t-shirt “i have a car” or simply hanging my car key around my neck).
First two days in Kuta - due to "Njepy", Balinese New Year - see next post
On the road towards the north
Sunrise at the water temple near Bedugul, at on of the vulcano lakes
Relaxing in Pemuteran, northwest
I don’t know about India, I would love to travel there too some day, but here I must say, Hindu culture rules. Hey, we’re still only here for 2 weeks now, I have no clue if the people are really that happy or how it would be to live in the society, but for sure I can say that they look pretty happy and serene, and it feels really good to be a visitor here.
So I would defenitely recommend anyone looking for some good mix of different culture, some beach, some other nature, and for sure some diving or snorqueling to give Bali a try.
Here’s my top10 of things to do, see, etc.
- Rent a car! Preferably the whole time and stay in different places on the island- just too much to see on this island, especially when you drive off the main roads or even best just get lost a bit. The island is only 30 by 50km and there’s villages every 100m (or so it feels), so getting lost is a different getting lost here. To traffic, driving in Bali and the particularities of maps see bit further below
- Ubud. I hadn’t read about “that damn book” let alone the book itself (and guess I won’t), but still: it’s a beautiful place, so much to do, so much culture, and all that in a pretty barable climate – cool in the night, not as hot as down on the coast in the day either.
- If you are in Ubud, go to as many different dance show as you can. They are all good, they are all different. Costumes are amazing, dancing between beautiful and just so different, gamelan music is bit different to european ears at first, then you get to like it really.
- Go diving, or at least snorqueling. Good places: Permuteran in the north, from there you can do a day trip to the national park. Ahmed in the east, from where you can go diving on the shipwreck Liberty One.
- Gili Islands. We did not have to go there unfortunately – can’t do everything – but everyone, locals, europeans who live here and tourists/travellers alike told us it’s a paradise: beautiful beaches, diving/snorqueling and just having the perfect beach stay for a few days. Gili islands are off Lombok, but there are speedboats which get you there from Bali’s east coast directly.
- Balinese food: try everything, from nice restaurants to warongs, little local food stalls in small villages, anywhere. You can get a good meal from 0.80 US$ on local food stalls where you are not always sure what it is you eat, but hey, the local eat it and they look pretty healthy. One of my favourites: sweet soy sauce dishes – anything with “kecap” in the title, e.g. “Goreng kecap ayam” (rice and chicken in sweet soy sauce). They sweeten a lot with palm sugar here, hmmmmmm. And “sweet” does not mean they would not put some garlic and chili in it as well.
- At least on some days, get up at 7am or even 6am and go through the villages and rice fields – it’s a very special atmosphere. In Ubud you can get a guided rice field walk, 2hrs for maybe 10 US$ (and if we paid too much we happily did) not only enjoying the atmosphere but also getting some info about village life, religion and rice farming while you pass by.
- Unless you want to be in the midst of tourist-only life (and why would you come that far then), avoid the south, that is Kuta and around.
- If you have that car and get out of the southern busy part and from around the height of Ubut and further up, get lost: all main (and busy) roads go north-south. So just take a road right or left at any sign to village names you cannot find on the map, drive a few kilometers through smaller villages and rice fields and enjoy the scenery. At some point stop and ask locals where you are or how to get to XYZ near where you think you are. They might often not speak english but nevertheless are super friendly and you always find your way out somehow – with the advantage of having seen things you might otherwise have just missed: little temples, tiny villages, water buffalos working in the rice fields – or even that 80-year old woman standing naked from her waist on in some shop, just as Balinese woman used to be dressed before too many westerns came (or mainly muslim Jakarta passed a pornography law
). I must say I had to concentrate on the road, Rieke saw her. And no, we did not take pictures. - Just enjoy being there. If you don’t understand something, they don’t understand you, or you think something is wrong, first thing you do: smile. Then see further. Btw, even the bargaining down the prices is done smiling here – or was that because we paid some dolars too much? well, 10 instead of 5$ for a handcrafted basket, we’ll certainly survive.
- almost forgot one, so 11 this time: massages! Try the foot reflex massage, full body massage, thai massage (sure not 100% thai but pretty close), any massage. Nice! around 5euro for 1 hour…
Legong dance
Kecac dance
The Kecac dance group plus one
Barong dance
The Barong
Diving at the Liberty One shipwreck near Ahmed, east coast
Nemo!
Driving in Bali:
- you drive on the left hand side – unless you are a local and have a scooter and want to turn right somewhere, maybe in 50m, 0r 100m… So don’t be suprised to see full traffic approaching you from the front on your right hand side lane while 1 or 2 scooters do the same on the left side. Or a big van…
- you overtake, well, when you can. Scooters overtake you all the time, cars sometimes, traffic coming in front doing the same – so don’t be surprised when a road being 4m wide somehow turns 4 lanes suddenly, well, “lanes”. Funny thing: it always works somehow, people seem to drive like crazy, but the slow down for someone who doesnt make it to overtake in time – so should you do
- good thing with all this: traffic is slow, roads are almost 100% paved, but that includes paved potholes too so even outside villages you never go faster than 50 or 60. Better for slowing down or stopping when that van coming in opposite direction is overtaken by another van suddenly
- there’s no sidewalks really, so people – in the village as well as in between – walk on the side of the street. So even without any overtaking (that is not too often) there’s sort of 4 lanes: people walking left, yourself, car coming from front, people walking right – and in the first part of the day heaps of school children in their school uniforms
- make sure your horn works when you rent a car. it’s used all the time, and mainly means “hello I am there, careful”. scooters use it when they overtake, you use it when you drive past people, a wonder pedestrians don’t have horns yet – but as almost everyone seems to have a scooter nowadays it’s almost the same
In summary: A different place, an extremely nice place. I can fully understand why foreigners are falling in love with Bali since a 100 years or so.
PS: Pictures being added soon, internet is not one of the strengths of Bali – but that can also be a good thing. After all, aren’t we here to relax?
