March 8 through 16, 2023
"The world is incomprehensibly beautiful -- an endless prospect of magic and wonder." - Ansel Adams
It feels like we've been in Bali for weeks already, considering all that we've explored, but it's only been a week. Bali is nothing like I had imagined, based entirely on my reading of Eat Pray Love years ago, in which Elizabeth Gilbert described it as mystical and sublime. In reality, it is indeed unique and represents an interesting combination of traditional and modern, spiritual and touristy, all at the same time.
I packed 3 tours into our first week which was a bit much, but that's me. Art joined me for one of them and did another activity on his own. That worked out pretty well. The first thing we learned is that the infrastructure here is reasonably good but variable. Our resort, which is high end, is also on a road with minimal sidewalks and with only 2 lanes for traffic. Most people ride motor scooters everywhere partly because the roads are narrow and scooters can navigate the traffic better. We took taxis /guides everywhere mostly because we didn't trust ourselves on scooters (but many tourists do rent them). The traffic was pretty bad most days, at least until you got out of the "city" into the smaller village areas. Also I forgot that Indonesians drive on the left (yet another country in our travels that does) so at this point, the left side is starting to look right ;)
Ubud, which is in the center of Bali (one of the many islands that make up Indonesia), has many of the main attractions. We visited the famous monkey forest, which has monkeys running wild and was a bit scary at times (for me). There are a million signs stating how to avoid being attacked by a monkey, and how to pay to feed or hold them, and yet I watched tourists break the rules and nearly get bit. I followed all the rules since I wasn't sure if our health insurance covers Indonesian monkey attacks. Art's tour guide helped him get some amazing selfies with the monkey (see photos below).
I also visited a beautiful "water temple," as well as the oldest temple in Bali, and the largest temple in Indonesia, all of which were architecturally impressive. Most temples are Hindu temples as that is the majority religion in Bali (although most of Indonesia is Muslim), but Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims all coexist peacefully. Most surprising is just how many temples there are in Bali. You literally run into them every 100 feet or so. Every home has one, every community, every town, and every region, and many people pray 3 times a day. The photos below don't do them justice.
We visited the rice terraces which is where rice (one of their biggest crops) is harvested, often by hand. Apparently Indonesians eat rice at almost every meal and it's a big part of their economy. Another huge part of their economy is tourism, especially in recent years (partly thanks to social media). They cater to the adventurous traveler, including adding "jungle swings" to their rice terraces, as well as zip lines, sky bikes, and the like. We tried out the jungle swing which was plenty of adventure for me. Note: there was no real instruction and the liability form signing came *after* the ride (huh?). Art almost talked me out of it (he went first) saying I wouldn't like the initial drop. I survived, but my legs were shaky for a while afterwards.
We also went to some amazing waterfalls. The tour description neglected to explain that getting to the waterfalls involved some extensive steps and slippery surfaces, in humid temps and hot weather (this time of year). It was a bit exhausting but again, we survived. We did two waterfalls and decided to skip the third (luckily it was a private tour, like many tours here, so we got to call the shots). The second waterfall was the best and the photos were worth the climb down (and back up!). The best part for me was the gelato we bought after we got back up to the top.
Interesting aside: The waterfalls, as well as many of the temples, do not allow women to visit if they are on their period (because they are "unclean"). This applies to locals and tourists alike, unapologetically. I find this a bit backwards in this day and age, but our tour guide mentioned it very matter-of-factly. I have no idea how they would actually know who's on their period (my tour guide joked that he is allowed to physically check LOL).
The food here has been largely great. I've enjoyed the local specialties like nasi goreng, mie goreng, and chicken satay. Our hotel has a nice restaurant and a decent varied menu. The only problem is that our room is way at the bottom of the hotel and involves about 75 steep steps, so we have to really be hungry to make our way up to the restaurant (no elevators here). But the views and the food are so worth it :)
We made our way into "town" a few times and I treated myself to some shopping (also part of some of my tours). The big thing to buy here are local fabrics like batiks and sarongs. Luckily we were able to ship a box home from India so I had a tiny bit of extra space in my luggage (at least that's what I'm telling myself). Also jewelry takes up almost no space, so there's that :)
A few other things to do in Bali include climbing to the top of a volcano at sunrise (not for us), doing yoga (nah), and going to a traditional dance show (we still might). Really there's no shortage of things to keep busy, but you can also just chill and relax (Art did this a lot).
Final notes: I did get to ride a scooter as a passenger which was cool, once I managed to get past the "wrap my arms around a total stranger's waist" weirdness :) We are both glad to be in a country that allows toilet paper to be flushed, but can't wait to get to a country where the tap water is safe to brush teeth with. Health updates: I am mostly recovered from my India stairs fall thanks to several great and inexpensive massages here (they range from $7 to $18 per hour!) and Art is largely over his intestinal issues from that country. We are fine, really :)
We will be heading to another hotel in the southern part of Bali tomorrow, to check out an area with more nightlife ('cuz we're such swingers). I'll try to post once more before we leave the country 😀
Deena and Art
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