Living our island life in Bali
When we were planning the itinerary for our trip a few months ago, there was just one place that we were sceptical about- this place was Bali. It’s not a secret- to say that Bali is an very popular tourist destination feels like an understatement. After having done a lot of research, we decided to go for it. See what all all the hype is about.
Well- we REALLY like it here.
The colors of the island are so intense, nature is lush, and we’re surrounded by all the shades of green wherever we look. The tropical flowers, palm trees, rice fields just coexist so beautifully together. I will never forget our first motorbike ride here. It just feels so amazing and liberating to feel the breeze on your skin and live in the moment.
But what makes Bali amazing is the community, the Balinese people and their attitude and hospitality. We haven’t met a single unkind person. The Balinese have been maintaining their culture, protecting it daily for centuries. It has a strong focus on religion- mixture of Hinduism, Buddhism, spiritual beliefs. Daily offerings to the gods- canang sari, can be found in front of every door in Bali. They love their music, traditional dance and theatre.
It’s fascinating and we’re very privileged to be here to experience it.
We’re very lucky when it comes to the timing of our stay here- November happens to be the first month of the wet season and apparently crowds are not as intense now. It rained every day for a few minutes and that’s it so that works for us!
We spent our first 4 days based in Ubud- explored the rice fields, waterfalls and temples in the centre of Bali. After our Tirta Empul temple visit, the persistent stall merchants were greeting us with a friendly „Hello, just looking!”. We welcomed each morning with a lovely breakfast on our little terrace, with geckos to accompany us. By complete chance, the timing of our visit matched with a local celebration that only takes place every 35 years. Thanks to that we were able to enjoy a music performance using an ensemble of local instruments and sounds, as well as a glimpse of a local dance performance, which seemed to be based on some kind of mythological story.
On one of the days we hired a private driver, Yopi, who took us to different places in the mountainous and cooler north of the island. I got to try the luwak (civet) coffee at a coffee plantation! Yopi not only answered all of our questions but also took around 200 pictures of us (who he called Mr Peter and Olan) in a so-called „romantic position” :D He’a a really nice guy, if you ever need a driver in Bali let us know!
Also, I got a bit sick so we visited a clinic and tested out the local healthcare system as well as our insurance company.
Later we transferred to the east of the island to come to Amed by the tiniest minibus ever. We stayed at a cute little guesthouse facing the ocean and fishboats. Amed, at this time of year at least, is a very relaxed and empty town- we really enjoyed the slower pace, snorkeling and lack of traffic that’s pretty unheard of in Ubud. I also ate a lot of insanely ripe papaya.
To be continued:)
