BALI, INDONESIA. Honestly, everyone needs to visit here. Going to Bali totally changed my life (dramatic, I know) but honestly, I left a part of my soul there.
My boyfriend and I went last November (right before COVID started, thank god). Christian was on a deployment with the military overseas, and had three weeks off to travel home or anywhere else in the world basically. We had originally chosen Thailand, but then realized his military passport would not be accepted in Thailand, so after some research we found Bali was a better option.
I was SHIT SCARED because since Christian was in Latvia, I had to meet him in Bali. Which meant I had to fly there by myself to meet him. I had only even flown once by myself, and that was a two hour flight to Hamilton, Ontario… LOL. I flew from Winnipeg to Toronto, Toronto to Hong Kong, and then Hong Kong to Denpasar (Bali). The Hong Kong airport was INSANE. I only had one mental breakdown in the HK airport which to me was a huge success. Somehow I navigated my way though and FINALLY was almost in Bali.
Once I landed in Denpasar, I was so tired but sooo excited. I hadn’t seen Christian in four months. I texted him and let him know I had landed, and he kept saying “just keep walking and you’ll see me”. I kept walking and didn’t see him… and then finally he came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me. I started sobbing LMAO. Ill save you the sob story and get right to it;
So our first week was in Seminyak/Canggu area. We rented an Air BNB in Seminyak called Ayona Villa, and it was the most beautiful place I have stayed in to date. We had our own private villa… it was completely open and outdoors. We had an outdoor kitchen, outdoor bathroom, our own pool, and a huge soaker bathtub in the middle of the pool. It was MAGICAL. Then, there was a room that was enclosed with windows and a sliding glass door were we had our bedroom.. and A/C!! Thank god…. Bali is HOT and there are no such things as good hair days with that humidity… LOL.
Seminyak/Canggu is like the beach, hippie, kind of place. It was filled with little shops everywhere, beaches, and the best restaurants EVER. We hit up one restaurant called Kynd Community everyday. It was the most aesthetically pleasing cafe EVER.
Another thing you should know about Bali is there are street dogs EVERYWHERE. But, don’t be too sad- they get SO MUCH LOVE from the tourists, and a lot of them were actually pretty overweight because the tourists feed them all and give them lots of love.
TIP: I HIGHLY recommend renting a scooter to get around in Bali. Travel time is WAY LESS and so much cheaper. It cost us $8 CAD to rent a scooter daily, and $2 CAD (20,000 IDR) to fill our gas tank from empty. Also, we got to see so much more scenery by taking the scooter rather than sitting in a cab. We all loved the freedom of making stops whenever we wanted. Our method: Christian drove, and I navigated Google Maps. We were the ultimate dream team :).
I was so sad to leave Seminyak, I loved it so much. It was so lively, and so much culture. Even though there were lots of tourists, it still felt so authentic. Our next stop was Ubud. I think I was most excited for Ubud when we were planning our trip. Ubud is what you would picture Bali to be, green, lush, rice terraces, waterfalls, and so much culture. Temples galore too.
Our Air BNB in Ubud was beautiful, but this one didn’t have A/C. So it was pretty hot, LOL. Every night I would open the freezer door and stand there just to cool off.
When in Ubud, there are a few musts that you HAVE to see. Going back, I wish we would have spent longer than a week in Ubud, there is so much to see, and so much culture. One of the days we were driving up to Northern Bali to visit some waterfalls, and one of the villages we drove through we saw some locals carrying a freshly dead pig over their heads, it was something so differant than what we would see in Canada, but it made it so much more authentic.
-Ubud Market. You HAVE to see this market. I think its going to be very differant after Covid though, literally it is PACKED with people. Its actually very chaotic, but beautiful chaos. There are vendors everywhere you look with locals trying to sell you their goods. The streets smelled so strongly of incense (to encourage good energy) and differant local foods.
-Temples. There are temples EVERYWHERE, and they are an absolute must-see. Each temple is unique, and seriously such an amazing experience. You must be respectful, and usually they require shoes to be taken off, and your lower body to be completely covered. Another rule for most temples is that women are not allowed to visit if they are menstating, and if you are mourning the loss of someone, you should not enter either to keep the energy pure.
-Waterfalls. We went to a few waterfalls, but I would have to say Nung Nung waterfall was my favourite. It was a crazy hike down to the bottom, but SO worth it. And, we basically had the whole waterfall to ourselves which was amazing.
-Monkey Forest. This was the first place we visited when we got to Ubud. It was amazing. It literally is a forest with hundreds of monkeys, and let me tell you…. monkeys are actually huge dicks LOL. We watched one jump on a tourists head, unzip his backpack, and steal cigarettes and ran off. But is was such an experience, you have to check it out!
RICE TERRACES- AN ABSOLUTE MUST. I highly recommend going early to avoid crowds. There are rice fields everywhere in Bali, but my favourite was Tegallalang. We took a wrong turn and ended up in a small Indonesian Village, and ended up walking through a farmers fields where he guided us.. he didn’t speak english but gave us the biggest smile. Oh, I should probably say… the Balinese people are the kindest people I have ever met. They believe in karma, so they will go out of their way to help you when they can. I felt safer walking alone at night in Bali than I do in Manitoba. OKAY back to the rice fields. You really just have to experience it. Its so damn beautiful.
Honestly, I could write for hours and hours about Bali. So I am going to save you from reading a novel and split this blog post into two writings LOL. Tune in next week for the remainder of my Bali blog, and a full list of all my must know tips when travelling to Bali!
Lifestyle Beauty by Kate 