Skip to main content

Bali - The ugly and the beauty

From Singapore we flew to Denpasar, Bali. We booked the flight tickets two days before the departure. Same for the hotel, which turned out to be a disappointment. It has nothing to do with the pictures advertised on Agoda. Only the pool looks okay. Thanks God it's the last night here!
Couldn't resist the temptation to go for a night swim! The water was purrfect!
At first sight, I had a shock when we went outside to have dinner. Crazy traffic, lots of scooters, uproar, narrow sidewalks and sometimes inexistent, annoying hawkers. I almost wanted to go back home.

§ Day 1 - Kuta

With a new day the perspectives change, and you see the world with other eyes. 
Street in Kuta, Bali
When we woke up, we went to a laundromat to have our clothes cleaned. For 30000 IDR (~1.8EUR) we had our clothes washed, dried and folded in 2h. Meanwhile we went to the beach.
@Kuta Beach

All I need for Christmas is... Sun☀
The beach was another disappointment😞... The picture below captures it..
On Instagram you don't see the garbage piles on the beaches
Unfortunately, in the water were plastics floating. At that moment I was still in denial phase!
On streets like this are passing cars, scooters and people!

My favourite street so far!

Some street art!
By the end of the first day I started to get used with the tumult of this place. And started to enjoy it as it is!
In the evenings streets become congested

Maybe the picture doesn't capture well the sunset, but for me was breathtaking! I felt so infinitesimal in front of the sunset and the ocean. You can only stop and contemplate on the day that ends! 

Disco time!
Kuta is known for party-centric atmosphere. It's hard to miss the street with most clubs. The loud music will guide you!

§ Day 2 - Seminyak

Another day, another perspective! Finally I fall asleep before midnight! 
Namaste!
Seminyak is a beach resort 3km northern to Kuta. We walked there.
The beach looks better

No garbage! The water was clean aswell!

I could stay all day long reading under an umbrella with the ocean waves as soundtrack! 

We couldn't escape from rain! 
So far, there were some shower rains.
This was the most delicious meal I had on the island at a warung (small family-owned business) restaurant.
Mie Goreng or fried noodles with pork, served with egg and crackers
Thanks to Edi for telling me about this fruit! It's called salak and it's cultivated only on this part of world. It looks like snake skin on the outside, but it's tasteful. It has a smell and taste familiar, but I couldn't say with what.
Salak fruit

In the end this place starts to look like paradise. You either accept it as it is, either you pack your things and go back to your life on 4th income level (read Factfulness to understand the thing with four levels of income). Indonesia should be between 2nd - 3rd income level. 
This final paragraph will be about the Balinese people. I found them very humble, and friendly. Picture yourself in the elevator, at work, in the morning, surrounded by other people you might or might not know, who work in the same building as you. Okay! Now, how many times you say hello to them? I admit I don't always say hi. Here, on the island, everyone says hi to everyone! Even tourists say hi to each other. I had to travel on the other side of the Earth to be reminded about this simple gesture.
That will be for the moment from Bali! Tomorrow morning we'll take a fast boat to reach Nusa Lembongan! 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

An Unforgettable Journey Through Indonesia: From Volcanoes to Coral Reefs

I have just returned from a 3.5 weeks unforgettable journey through Indonesia, from Jakarta to Bali. Our 3.5 weeks itinerary started in Jakarta , where we stayed for 3 nights . We were a bit dissapointed about the condition of the Indonesian capital, overcrowded and sinking. The highlights of this city were the stunning colonial-era buildings in the Old Town. In retrospective, 1 or 2 nights should have been sufficient, just for landing and continuing the journey towards more fascinating locations. From Jakarta we took the high speed Whoosh train to Bandung . The Woosh train was honestly “whooshazing” – super fast and comfortable! With 350km/h we were in Bandung in 40 minutes. The Grab from the train station to the hotel took longer. Get used with the traffic in Indonesia! While in Bandung we focused more on exploring the nature around. We had one tour to South of Bandung where we visited Kawah Putih crater, tea plantations, Rengganis natural hotspring and an old Dutch railway bridge wi...

Chasing Sunrises and Hidden Falls: An Unforgettable Journey to Mount Bromo and Madakaripura

November 9, 2024: A Long Travel Day and Off to Mount Bromo We woke up again at 5:00 for the sunrise… and once again, it was cloudy! Fortunately, we had to get up early anyway, as today was a big travel day: taxi to the Karimunjawa harbor, boat to Jepara, taxi to Semarang, train to Surabaya, and finally a taxi to the hotel. Luckily, everything went smoothly; we even managed to change our tickets to a cheaper option and arrived earlier. Lunch at Indonesian KFC while waiting for our train Very comfortable seats Trying to eat at the hotel turned out to be less successful: both restaurants were full, so we were directed to a strange spot at the front entrance. There, we had a mediocre meal at relatively high prices (and both Bintang and Coke were sold out—HOW?!). I even looked up how long Bintang stays good—9 months from when we drank it—making it even less excusable that they were out. After a quick one-hour nap, we’re already on our way for an excursion to Mount Bromo! November 10, 2024: ...

Bali Getaway: Snorkeling around Nusa Penida, Balinese Cooking in Ubud, and Exploring Uluwatu

November 11, 2024: Arrival in Bali Today, we traveled from Surabaya to our final stop of the holiday: Bali! First issue—there are street dogs everywhere, and since Mark is not a fan (just plain scared), that’s a bit unsettling. We had a smooth taxi ride to the airport, checked in, had a coffee, flew to Bali, took another taxi to Ubud, and finally arrived at our hotel. Fun fact: we got an upgrade and now have an ultra-luxurious mini-villa! After that, we enjoyed a nice dinner in Ubud and are now off to sleep, as tomorrow will be a long day! November 12, 2024: Snorkeling around Nusa Penida Today, we were picked up at 6:20 AM for another snorkeling adventure—the last one was such a hit that we wanted to do it again! We started the day with an exciting ride, as the speedboat took us racing over the waves. We spent the entire morning and afternoon together on the boat, though only Mark went into the water. At the first snorkeling stop, he spotted a manta ray and a whitetip shark. Later, at ...