In advance of our trip to Bali, past visitors had shared with us their good and bad opinions about the island. The good was the obvious stuff, but the prevailing bad sentiment was that it was a bit overrated and (more than a bit) overrun by Aussies.
But after two weeks there, we really only could find three minor complaints:
Bali is overrun by mosquitos (mozzies, not Aussies)
Traffic at times was bananas (but no more than in our reverse commute to Riverwoods)
I stepped in poop
That was it.
Now I don’t want to pollute the beauty that is Bali with too much chatter, so I endeavor to give you a quick snapshot of our trip in micro-chapters that are 100 words or fewer and let the pictures tell most of the story.
Before I get brief, though, I want to say one piece, and that is how grateful we are to have had our friend Sue visit us. We love visitors—it can be hard to avoid homesickness on a trip this long and our loved ones boarding a plane to spend their time, money, and hard-fought vacation with us is a huge gift. We had an absolutely fantastic time (as photos will show) and already miss being a trio. Being gone for so long has only made us more aware of the value of good close friends with whom we can travel, laugh, and #realtalk. Sue is one of those friends and so much more. Thanks, Sue, for being our local community for a week.
Anyway, without further ado, a brief bit about Bali for you.
The Best Airbnb in the World
If you have the means and ever find yourself in Bali, book this Airbnb in the quiet oceanfront town of Jasri. Designed by and situated on the property of an internationally-renown American architect, Warren, every detail of the Buddhist temple inspired villa was carefully planned (including restaurant-quality meals prepared by Warren himself). Plus, it came with a driver (turned buddy) Budi who was congenial, funny, and knowledgeable and also served as our tour guide, finding and booking almost everything we did while there. We stayed a week here before moving to more modest digs and cherished every minute.
That Time We Whitewater Rafted
In a Budi-booked special, Heather and I whitewater rafted (I couldn’t tell you the name of the river) amidst some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. Soundbite from our trip, “If a pterodactyl flew overhead right now, I honestly wouldn’t flinch.” It was that shockingly beautiful, like a set of Jurassic Park or Avatar. The rapids were tame, but nature made up for it.
That Time We Regretted the Coffee We Drank
It’s a novel thing, drinking coffee created by beans first defecated by an animal. Throughout Indonesia, Luwak coffee is gaining attention and tourist patronage for just that. In one stop on our tour, we were taken to Honeybee Farm, where we sat down for tastings of teas, honey, and coffees, including the Luwak coffee. We found out after the fact, though, that this is terrible for the animals. We try to practice as best we can conscientious tourism, and we wish we could have this one back. Sharing our story in hopes it creates awareness and fewer Luwak coffee tourists.
That Time We FINALLY Celebrated Christmas
We pieced together a bit of Christmas in Cambodia but never did our own gift exchange. Reunited with our bags and armed with Heather’s PowerPoint presentation, we exchanged.
I need to share two of my gifts:
A Simpsons sketch of us that is so hideous it is perfect. (Upon first sight, I couldn’t even recognize us asking, “Who is that?”)
During one of our travels, we got sucked into a reality show because it was playing on the hotel TV. A season of downloaded episodes later, and Heather got me the most awkward Christmas/New Year’s greeting from Jenny.
Moving From Jasri to Ubud
Reluctantly, we had to say goodbye to our villa in Jasri and take the long drive to Ubud for our new (still beautiful, but less fancy) villa. This one overlooked rice paddies with stuffed scarecrows and painted a beautiful sunrise each morning. Ubud was very different from Jasri. More populated, more touristy, more infrastructure. The "sidewalks" were a bit precarious and traffic wasn’t ideal. But, there were wonderful running/hiking trails, more city buzz, access to the monkey park, and delicious places to eat.
That Time We Went Into the Upside Down
No longer supported by Budi, we had to do a bit more of our own activity research. On one of our days, we went to Kuta and Sue got a massage while Heather and I got B-Vitamin injections. (I was going to send my mom a picture of me with the IV without context to scare her, but I totally forgot. #QOMO)
On our way home, I found Upside Down World. This place was actually better than either of the trick art museums we visited in Japan and South Korea. A staff member followed us the whole way through which not only enabled us to all be in every shot but gave us the needed posing instruction to pull off each illusion.
The T Stands Par-T
Though our second location was beautiful and centrally located in Ubud, it lacked a bit of the ocean scene that we had wanted to share with Sue, so we took a two day trip to Gili Trawangan. On the ferry there, speaking with a couple of Carolinians, we discovered Gili T is more of the backpackers' party paradise.
Lucky for us, it was the offseason and we didn’t contend with much of that. But we did find great food, a pool to ourselves and good running and snorkeling.
Those Times We Snorkeled
On one of the Budi days, he booked us snorkeling at the Blue Lagoon. Heather and I boarded a boat and had two hours and two stops. We fed tropical fish, were swept up in fun currents, and chased schools of trumpetfish hiding in plain sight near the surface. In the second spot, I also found an eel!
On the Gili Islands with Sue along, snorkeling was perhaps even more incredible. It included more fish feeding and tropical fishies, but also underwater statues and… sea turtles. Sea turtles!
Those Times We Monkeyed Around
There are wild monkeys throughout Bali, and we were fortunate enough to visit them in two locations. In Jasri, the monkeys (considered sacred) live in a temple near the road, where visitors can buy street-side fruit and donate it. While feeding a monkey I stepped back into cow poop with my flip flop. (Poop #1)
Ubud houses Monkey Park, a nature preserve teeming with wild monkeys. Though used to humans, they a bit more aggressive. One stole a handkerchief from my pocket and another hopped on Sue’s lap. One of the coolest moments was when we watched a swarm simultaneously head off together and then return 20 minutes later as if a town hall had been held.
That Time Fish Ate Our Feet (Again)
If you’ve been along for the whole ride, you know we let these little nibblers give us natural pedicures for the first time in Japan. We’ve been chasing the bite ever since, and came upon a place outside of a souvenir shop in Ubud. Sue in tow, we needed her to put in her toe. The fish loved us.
That Time We Ate 21 Courses of Desserts
On Chef’s Table Season 4, Room 4 Dessert is featured. An American chef moved to Bali after getting NYC burned out and opened this sweet-concept restaurant that employs an almost entirely Balinese staff with a refreshing number of women. Over 21 small-courses and a few pairings, we tasted seven savory bites at the bar, seven desserts in the dining room, and seven sweet bites in the garden. This delectable three-hour event started at 9:30 PM with a walk through the garden to view all the fresh growing ingredients and ended with us almost too tired and full to move.
That Hindu Temple We Visited
Heather and I were about templed out by the time we finished SE Asia, so we weren’t really looking to make that a big part of our Bali journey. That said, we did want to share with Sue, so our third driver (JJ, we only had him for one day but he was also remarkable) found us a temple that (for once!) doesn’t gender-discriminate on the modesty culture and rents a sari to every visitor. Less colorful than our previous Hindu temple in Vietnam, this one dates all the way back to 900 BC and was stone and felt serious.
Those Other Times
It's hard to squeeze all of the wonderful things we were lucky enough to do into a brief blog, so let's finish with an even briefer rundown of the remainder of the highlights.
Balinese chocolate tasting and tour
Drinking up a waterfall
Picking up Sue from the Airport
Visiting a woodcarving center
Surprise! Margaritas made with vodka...
Drinking Jamu
90-minute sea-side meditation and yoga
Swinging on the swings
Constantly failing to find ATMs that worked on Gili T
All the donuts we ate
Yep, we pet cats
Bye Bye Sue, Bye Bye Bali, and Bye Bye Asia
Two weeks flashed by and we had to say goodbye to Bali, to Warren, to Budi, to JJ, and most sadly, to Sue. And, after four months of living in Asia, it was time for Heather and I to depart our first new continent. Enchanted with the variety of cultural, natural, and social experiences we were afforded in Asia, it is bittersweet to move on, but Bali gave us a beautiful end-point of our Asian adventures.
Next up: Oceania.
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