BALI

Island and Province. Indonesia.

Inspiration

“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”
– Anthony Bourdain, Author (6/25/1956 – 6/08/2018)

Why we picked It

Every true traveler has Bali on their list. If they say they don’t, they’re lying. When we first started discussing Bali, we didn’t consider ourselves “true travelers”, we had only ever been to Central America. We were more like just “vacationers”. Of course we had heard of Bali, who hasn’t. But we always sort of considered it to be a place that only Instagram models and world travelers with their own show visit. Then we saw an episode of our favorite traveling show, “No Reservations” by Anthony Bourdain. We had been watching and reading Bourdain for years, and he was truly an inspiration to us. HIs episode of Bali not only made us throw it in the hat for our next trip, it made us look at Bali in a way that most traveling shows don’t. He went to the places that most don’t, (he was always encouraging people to step out of their comfort zone when travelling), and introduced us to the Balinese people we grew to love. The greatest thing we took out of that episode was that it was totally doable for us. We didn’t have to be Instagram models or world travelers with our own show to experience the beauty of Bali.

What We Loved

FIrst of all, how can you not love Bali? Beautiful beaches, beautiful Hindu temples, beautiful people. What’s not to love? But for the sake of this post, let’s break it down. From the minute we landed in Bali, we were awestruck. We arrived in Denpasar quite late at night and were driven to our rental (VRBO) in Ubud by the home’s caretakers. The sights and sounds took away any sense of being travel-weary. Once we arrived at the house, it was about 3 am. Although sleep did not come easily, we were finally able to get a few hours only to be woken by the beautiful Bali sun. And if we were awestruck the night before, there are no words to describe how we felt seeing Bali in the daylight. When I say that up to that point I have never seen anything so beautiful, that is a 100% accurate statement. The colors, the smells….all of it was beyond words. We were fortunate enough to arrive the day before the start of the Hindu New Year, Nyepi. The first day of Nyepi, the whole city shuts down. No stores or restaurants are open and all the residents stay in their homes and meditate in silence. Since we arrived at night, our first day was spent provisioning and preparing for our day of relaxation and meditation. We stocked up on supplies and then headed to the town square for the start of the Nyepi celebrations, which consisted of a giant parade and festival that lasted well into the night. The following day was a stark contrast to the celebrations of the night before. We respected the Hindu culture and stayed in our villa swimming and relaxing all day, and man was it quiet. I don’t think I have ever experienced silence like that before It was exactly what we needed. Sometimes it takes being forced to slow down and take it all in to appreciate the beauty of your surroundings.

The minute you land in Bali, it becomes abundantly clear why this is destination is at the top of many bucket lists. But the beauty of Bali doesn’t just lie in the beautiful rice fields or beaches, the beauty of Bali also lies in the people that call it their home. As travelers, sometimes one of the most dreaded feelings is being treated like a “tourist”. No, being a tourist is not a bad thing. But what we strive for in our travels is feeling the sense of belonging and acceptance. We don’t just want to visit your home and observe, we want to immerse ourselves in the culture and learn about it. Visiting Bali during Nyepi gave us the perfect opportunity to do just that. We did not know the first thing about Hinduism when we booked this trip. But what we did know is that it was a sacred holiday and we needed to be respectful and observe it as the locals do. We placed offerings on the altar in our villa, taking note of how we had seen the women preparing them in the streets. (There was no need to place them on our doorstep as the locals took care of that each morning.) We always strive to fit in and not stand out as much as we possibly can, and we would never dream of offending anyone, it’s actually our nightmare. The Balinese people acknowledged our efforts and desire to learn about their culture and they could not have been more amazing. There is no feeling quite like visiting one of the most beautiful places on this earth and realizing that the people are just as beautiful as the land they inhabit.

Bali Travel Tips

Here are a few tips to make your trip to Bali, Indonesia less stressful:

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The airport code for Denpasar is DPS

We live in the Northern Hemisphere, so depending on where you live, you could possibly go two totally different routes. We live in the middle of the United States, so when we were booking we had the choice to fly west through China or east through Australia. Both flights looked about the same with a total travel time of about 30 hours. Make sure you drink lots of fluids on this long flight, the cabins act like huge dehydrators. We also recommend you get up and move around on the long flight as well. We flew with Southern China and the service was impeccable! Definitely our favorite airline to date.
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The currency in Bali is the Indonesian Rupiah

Most stores will accept major credit cards, but it is a must to have cash for the temples and smaller shops. Again, you can preorder the money through your financial institution and have it ready within 5-10 business days in our case. This is the method we highly recommend to avoid waiting in the long lines for currency exchange.
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Hot, Hot, Hot!!!

The beauty of Bali comes with some of the most intense heat we have ever experienced. Forget trying not to sweat, just focus on staying comfortable while you sweat. Lighter weight clothing is a must, Jeron also found that golf shirts are the perfect material. Unfortunately, Jeron loved these types of golf shirts so much that during the summer they are all he wears now! Literally…all he wears.
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Bugs!!

Bugs! No one ever mentions the bugs, but they are there. Lots of them… big ones, fat ones, scary ones. Keep in mind, Bali is essentially a jungle. You will witness Jurassic Park in your villa. If you have fears of bugs, you have two choices, either reconsider Bali as a destination, or conquer your fear and focus on the beauty all around you. You will be subjected to more bugs in an evening enjoying some cold drinks in that expensive villa than you have seen in your entire life. They are not threatening, one local said before the tourist came that was the delicacy. They are big, they are small but they seem to keep to themselves and if you are lucky you will have a few frogs and geckos to watch over your villa as we did. Melanie did break out with her weird rash, as she always does from the small flying insects, but that just serves as a reminder to put on your Sawyer bug repellent. BUGS ARE IN BALI!
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Transportation

When traveling around the island the motorbike is by far the most popular and that’s what we were planning on doing, especially after the fantastic time we had on our motorbike in Honduras. . Our first experience with traffic was the second day, early in the morning. It’s chaotic, it’s somewhat frightening, and unless you are very – and I mean very – comfortable on a motorbike, we suggest hiring a local driver. There are taxi drivers lining the streets in Ubud, and for a reasonable fee, they will drive you all day, wherever you want to go. If you play your cards right, you can even arrange for them to pick you up and drop you off wherever you are staying for the duration of your trip. For them, it is guaranteed work so they will be accommodating.
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Try to Give Back

As with all the locations we visit, we recommend giving back to the community in some way. We chose to donate to the Humane Society of Bali, as animal rights is a cause close to our hearts. We gave a donation right on-site at the facility and we are members to this day. If you want to take a different route, a quick internet search will net several different charities if you want to donate money, as well as organizations where you can donate your time if that is your thing.

MOre Bali…

About Bali, Indonesia

About Bali, Indonesia

Bali was inhabited around 2000 BC by Austronesian people who migrated from Southeast Asia and Oceania through Maritime Southeast Asia. Due to this, the Balinese are closely related to the people of the Indonesian archipelago both culturally and linguistically. The...

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Our VRBO in Bali, Indonesia

Our VRBO in Bali, Indonesia

Bali was our second experience with Vacation Rentals by Owner (VRBO) and it was just as amazing as our first experience in Roatan. The great thing about renting vs. hotels for us, is the ability to prepare our own meals, saving us the cost of eating dinner...

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Things to do in Bali

Things to do in Bali

The famous monkey forest in Ubud is fantastic and a must see! However, if you want a more surreal experience , we suggest Sangeh Monkey Forest. The monkeys have been subjected to a lot of humans throughout the years and can become very aggressive and steal...

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Transportation in Bali, Indonesia

Transportation in Bali, Indonesia

As we mentioned, there are various ways to explore Bali, motorbike being one of them. Jeron did not feel up to the challenge on this adventure so we immediately started looking for other means of transportation. We got a taxi into the center of Ubud that...

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Ways To Deal With the Bali Heat

Ways To Deal With the Bali Heat

Ice boxes do not exist on the island, as far as we know. We looked, a lot. What we did come up for a solution to keeping your beverages cold is a large, insulated rice container. Same concept as a portable ice box, aka “cooler”, just with a round shape...

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