Here I was…at my first stop in Asia…Bali. I heard/saw many fantastic things about this little Indonesian island so I was very much looking forward to it. From the airport I took a taxi to Kuta…mistake..
Even though I read all those horrid warnings on Lonely Planet about Kuta, I decided to go there, simply because when I arrive to a new place I like to go ‘more lively’ places so that I can meet people..I don’t actually regret going there for one reason. I met Sofie, Dutch girl travelling alone a few months in Indonesia and possibly somewhere else too. Bali used to be a Dutch colony so many Dutch people choose it as holiday destination.
I spent in Kuta 1.5 days…it was actually enough. Balinese people in that area are a bit like leech…you just cannot get away from them. They are only nice to you because they want to sell you stuff…I sat down on the beach and i found myself surrounded by 5 older women ..one started doing my nails, the second massaging my feet, the 3rd breading my hair, the 4th selling bracelets, and the 5th offering me to bring beer putting a nice commission on it:) See pic
I didn’t say no to the mani/pedicure simply because it was cheap and i haven’t had it for ages..
The next day I spent on the beach..trying to surf again..no success…this is the kind of sport that you need to do on a regular (i would say daily) basis in order to be good at it.
I rented a motorbike in the evening and the next day I was off to Ubud. Ubud is in the middle of the island, no beach, but lots of culture, thrilling art. Everyone has an iPhone, new cars..very rich part of Bali. You can see that on the prices too.
I stayed in a very nice place (so much nicer than in Kuta) called Duanas. Mady the owner looked after me and made incredible breakfasts.
I met Pang from Singapore and we did a couple of day trips together around Ubud visiting Temples, Rice fields.
One night when we went out I passed by a bar and heard a beautiful violin…….my heart drove into the bar nd voila…a Hungarian girl was playing.
I talked to her after the concert, her name is Helga living in Bali for 3 years..she introduced me to a couple of more Hungarian girls, it was amazing! Erika and Dia..and the cherry on top of the cream was that Erika knew Bea (if you remember she is the girl I was travelling with a bit in South America..did the Sensation white together:)) small world!
I stayed 3 nights in Ubud, then I went up to Lovina..On the way I saw the most impressive rice fields of Jatiluwih:
Besakih, the mother temple:
Lovina:
I booked a diving trip for next day in Lovina, in return I got free accommodation..
Oh…the sexiest Indonesian smile I have seen was this one…I asked for directions but after 15 minutes of trying to converse in Balinglish I had to continue my trip…:)
So the diving trip was absolutely amazing..I rented an underwater camera with an Italian boy and took a few great shots of turtles, sharks..colorful underworld..
After diving I set off to Amed..it’s about 3 hours bike ride from Lovina..I arrived in the dark which is shame as the road goes along the beach..i loved the night ride though:)
Amed is a little diving spot..however I didn’t dive here only swam and snorkelled the next morning. Then I rode to Padangbai, booked accomodation (Topi Inn – by the beach) and rode to Kuta to return my bike. You have several ways to travel in Bali..The cheapest is defo renting a motorbike (around $4/day- add another $1.5 and you are done with petrol for the day)…if you don’t like the adventure, take the shuttle buses between the cities (average $10 to get from one town to another). You can hire a driver who takes you to wherever you tell him to go (aprox. $45/day).
Accommodation for a single person is between $10-$15.
So..i spent 2 days in Padangbai..and this was the first time i met with a genuinly nice Bali person without any interest..He is running the local post office, his name is Vajuk. He took me to a local place to eat with his bike (while i had my bike i only ate at local restaurants).
He had a lot of knowledge on what’s going on in the world..supernice. The rest of the Balinese people..hmm..nice nice but there is always some kind of interest behind…in Kuta for example while I stayed there I was the best friend of everyone..every day same comments: ‘you remember yesterday my friend!!’ (needless to say there was nothing to remember of)..once your big backpack is on you and you are leaving the place they don’t even say bye..
Anyway..on Friday (12th) I was off to the Gili islands…now these 3 islands are like little paradise…perfect honeymoon spot (was great being here solo..LOL). Nice fish, nice dive, crystal clear turcoise water..
There are 3 islands: Trawangan (the party one), Meno (the most tranquil one) and Air (the mix of previous 2). I stayed on Air 3 nights:
I met a really nice Dutch couple with whom I was hanging out in the evenings on Air..we took some nice decisions together about my life:) Here they are:
I also met 2 Hungarian girls, Panni & Dori. It’s funny how I only met like 4 Hungarians in South America in 7 months and I met in Bali and Gili 5 in 10 days:)
One more day on Air, then the next day in the morning I did island hopping to Gili Meno which is a stunning little paradise island..very quiet. I was snorkelling the whole day and sunbathing, swimming with turtles, intercating with locals, met 2 Spanish guys too, then I took the ferry to Trawangan the party island out of the 3 Gilis. On the ferry I met Silvia, Italian girl, she travelled alone too and it was her last night too..so we decided to party…a bottle of Absolute vodka was a bad idea….we woke up in the next morning as the guys in the Hangover…very similar conditions:) Then a 2 hour fast ferry ride back to Bali (horror with a hangover), and I had my fight to Jakarta at 5pm.
This is where I will continue in my next blog:)
alizroundtheworld 