Bali, Indonesia

Going into the trip there was a lot of different reviews. There were a few girls that I am acquaintances with who said that Bali wasn't their favorite and that they felt unsafe while there. Other people said that it was their favorite trip.

I thought Bali was great and at no time did I feel unsafe. Yes there were store shop people trying to get you to look at what they were selling and people on the streets but if you just said no to them they would stop trying to sell to you.

 We arrived in the afternoon in Kuta, Bali. Kuta is a more touristy city and much more knock off brands in stores. But very cheap. Before going we were told that Bali is very cheap and to negotiate for everything. They sell corn on the cob on the streets and I got a couple of those for $1.

The first night some of the girls decided they wanted to go to the Hard Rock Cafe. We got there and I looked at the prices and any meal was between $20-$30. I thought that was ridiculous since we were told how cheap Bali was. So we sat with the girls for a bit and then Jenna and I went to go to a different restaurant. We found a place just down the road that had a live band and it was really good! My meal was $5 for chicken with peanut sauce and rice and cocktails were $4! The chicken satay I got was a really common dish offered everywhere.

The next morning we got picked up early and taken to the ferry stop where we were taking it to Gili Trawangan, an island off Bali. A few of us sat on the top of the boat and it was just amazing views all around. We made a few stops before we were at the island we were getting off at. When we were pulling up to one of the stops at a different island there were Indonesian women trying to sell things to us on the top of the boat. They were like offering soda and pringles and trying to reach to us on the top of the boat. I thought it was really funny. I went down to go get money and got off to negotiate with them for a soda.


 Picture of me hanging out with the boat crew on top of the boat.







 I actually got kind of burnt just from that boat ride because I didn't notice how much more intense the sun was and we were moving so it wasn't super hot.


The island doesn't have any cars and is very small. Their taxi's were actually horses with a 2 wheel wagon attached to it!

When we got to our hotel we just hung out and laid by the ocean area.
 This is where we stayed. Each one had 2 bunk beds and then an outdoor shower.






We got an early dinner and went to these swings in the water. This is a common sunset there! I wish I could resubmit my high school year book picture with this one.

The next day we rented bikes and wanted to go around the whole island. It took under 2 hours to go around the whole thing.














We got a nice buffet breakfast with a view.
Then we stopped at one of the beaches. I got a 30 min massage for $8. There were also people selling bracelets and such.



We went back to the hotel and hung out there for a bit and then again got an early dinner because we were eating bigger breakfasts and skipping lunch and eating earlier dinners. It was one of the girls, Alison's, 21st birthday so we got cocktails at dinner and spent a couple hours eating there. Afterward, myself, Jenna and Alison went into the town for a little bit and a lot of places had promotions for your first drink free so we went to a few of those. There were a couple places with live bands and it was a lot of fun. It was interesting because almost everyone we met was Australian. Bali is a vacation place for Aussies.

On Sunday we got a breakfast again in town and then got on the boat to head back to Bali. Once back we wanted to go to this place that was suppose to be super pretty for sunset but we got there just past the sunset so we couldn't see too much. We explored it a bit and then got dinner there. I got a large Bintang beer - which is the beer of Bali and a large water. You can't drink the faucet water so I had to buy water bottles everywhere. I hated having to pay for water since I normally don't mind drinking tap water. At restaurants they upcharged the water bottles to like $2 for a small one where you can go to a convenience store and get a 1500ml water bottle for 80 cents!

The next day a couple of us had an off stomach. The food at that place was definitely the cheapest we ate at. I got chicken cordon bleu- I don't know why I thought that would be good because on the menu it was spelt "chicken gordon bleu" and it ended up having gravy on it. The water also tasted a little funky so I just stopped drinking that water and didn't get anything that would upset my stomach. By the end of the night I felt better.

So many people drove mopeds in Bali! Literally you would see an entire family on one. There was once a guy, a women, and their child on one. This was more common though with the parent driving with the kid in the front.







Monday morning we went shopping and I was able to get a tank top and a few things for really cheap. $4 for the tank top and a pair of shorts for $4. Then we got picked up to go to Ubud which is another city north of Kuta in Bali. It is a more spiritual and quiet area compared to Kuta.

We had a lot of our transportation set up before we went to Bali... it was nice to have it pre arranged but I think if we would have set it up there we could have got it for a lot cheaper because it is so easy to negotiate and I've heard that transportation is normally really cheap there.

Anyway, we got lunch right away and this was the view at lunch. There are a lot of rice fields there and it was very pretty.

 Picture of our hotel in Ubud. This is obviously only one angle but there was actually two pools and the otherside was just as pretty looking.

There were so many of these flower like things on the ground everywhere in Bali. Finally someone asked what they were and they are offerings put out by the people. Like something for their religion or beliefs.

Ubud also has a lot of wild monkeys. They told us not to leave anything on our balconies because the monkeys will take them. We were also told that some are nice but some can be mean so just to be careful. But when we were arrived they were literally everywhere! There were always like three on the streets just walking around and you could see a ton just on roofs and in the trees. This picture is one where a guy gave it a banana.








That day I got an hour massage on the street for $8! At night we just ate at the hotel because we got one free dinner. It was pretty good and just relaxing to hang out.

Tuesday we had a free buffet breakfast and then got picked up to go to the safari park to ride elephants.

Right when we got there we just walked in and they gave us food to feed them and we could touch them and then we just hopped on the elephant where the seat was. It's crazy how little rules they tell you compared to the states.

But it was a neat experience! Then we watched a show where the elephants did different tricks and like walked on a balance beam. 













 Afterward they had a buffet lunch for us which was super good! Then we got taken back to the hotel and we hung out by the pool for a bit.





Then we went shopping and we were then going to get dinner. While shopping it started down pouring! Since we were in Bali it rained almost everyday but typically for a short period of time. However, this time it was raining harder than any other time and it didn't look like it was going to stop. So we all just started sprinting to the restaurant. The monkeys were freaking out too and they were so loud running through the trees.

This picture was taken less than 20 minutes after it started raining and look at those puddles already! 


 But dinner was super good and we all reflected on our time in Bali so far.





 Wednesday, our last day, we again had buffet breakfast and got picked up for our rice field ATV trip. The description of the trip was something like, "enjoy a nice ATV ride with a view of the beautiful rice fields." Haha it was so intense and dangerous feeling! I got to ride on my own but most everyone else rode in doubles. One worker showed us how to shift gears by saying "up 1,2,3,4. Down 4,3,2,1" and that was the directions. Haha I have driven a bike with manual gears but no one else had so everyone was so confused! When we were driving at one point I could hear someones engine so loud because they weren't shifting gears but they just didn't know really when or why to shift gears.

Anyway, we were going down some very steep, narrow paths in the middle of the rainforest and the workers were often off their bikes directing us on how to get down the next hill and standing there in case anything happened. Going down a few hills they hooked up our ATVs to a rope so they could maneuver us down! It was a lot of fun. We would drive on the road where it was beautiful views going kind of slow and then we would go into these paths with the intense terrain.




Picture is of a man waving in the rice fields.







After our trip we had lunch at the place and then was taken back to the hotel. Everyone we encountered in Bali was so nice.











 Back at the hotel I got one last massage. My forehead was peeling a little bit from being burnt earlier and during the massage everytime she touched my forehead I knew it was just getting worse. Haha afterward I looked in the mirror and she made it so much worse. It was kind of funny.

But we all got one last dinner in town and went shopping for a few last things before we got picked up that night to head to the Denpasar airport. Our flight left at 10:30pm and we arrived in Brisbane at 5:30am. The flight was only 5 hours but there was a two hour time difference. Luckily the flight wasn't full so I got an entire row to myself so I could sleep a bit. However once I finally got back to my room I took a 3 hour nap and was still pretty tired all Thursday.

Overall, Bali was a great trip and I had a lot of fun! It is crazy that, that was only 7 days and Southeast Asia is going to be about 15!

I've heard that the Vietnam airport employees rip you off when you try to return to the country... However, in Bali that didn't happen and I couldn't see how that would happen because it seemed like the employees were all pretty legit and we were in an international airport. I'm assuming SE Asia will have similarities to Bali but I could be completely wrong.

Also, when getting back to Bond I thought that I would just kind of be going my own way again and that I wouldn't really see anyone I knew. But right when I got back I saw a good amount of people that I've met here who asked me how my trip was and acknowledged they haven't seen me in awhile. It was weird to realize that I actually have made a network while being here with familiar faces and acquaintances.  


One girl went to both New Zealand and to Bali. She said that Bali was a better experience, but New Zealand was a better trip. Because in Bali she got to see more that she wouldn't normally see but New Zealand was like more where she could see herself living. I wish I could have fit New Zealand into my traveling but the more I think about it, I think it will be better that I do it at a later time. If I did it at the end I don't think I would be as appreciative of it because I would just be wanting to go home at that point. Where if I plan it for say, next year, I will be looking forward to it and it will be an exciting vacation!

One week left in the Gold Coast. For most people, they are going home in one week. I will write one last blog before I head off to SE Asia and leave Bond Uni forever!