I'm still here I promise!!!
Alright...so it has been quite some time since I have made a post on here! I feel that I have so much that I could write about. However, instead of boring you with and update on everything going on in my life I will take a little time to write about Bali (since it happened back in August), and I will write about Japan a little bit later.
My trip to Bali started out like so many of my other trips bus/train it up to Seoul, take the subway into the airport, exchange our money, and go through the usual check in routine of flying. However this time I did at least have 3 of my friends there with me on this flight.
We had about a 5-6 hour layover in Manila, which I have decided is the worlds worst airport ever. We get off our 4 hour flight with a lady waiting for us off to the side. She proceeds to tell us she will take us to check in for our next flight since the computers were down. Two of the girls went and got their luggage and checked it in for the next flight, and the lady takes all 4 of our passports! We were told to sit in a big bright white room with no windows or pictures. It was quite a boring site to say the least. We couldn't go through customs since we didn't have our passport, and were told not to leave this area (so no food and no bathrooms for us!). After about 3 hours of this we were not very happy girls.
However, that was the lowest point of our trip and it got so much better that Manila is something we laugh about!
We got to Bali early in the morning and decided to stay in Kuta for 2 nights. Kuta is kind of the party area of Bali and where so many of the Aussies go to party and surf. It was fun, music, clubs, food, beach time, surfing, swimming, and far too many drink discounts.
After Kuta we went to Ubud which was about an hour away. It took us quite some time to find a place to sleep (because of course none of us plan anything). Finally, we came across a couple guys that told us about their home stay. They came and picked us all up (all 7 of us) on their scooters and took us to the home stays. These places were beautiful and the people were beyond friendly! We did a couple nights in Ubud. Found some amazing restaurants with even more amazing views. Hung out with the home stay owners and went to monkey forest. We met up with the entire group again here, had a few dinners together, a couple more drinks, and shared a hookah or two.
After 2 nights in Ubud the 7 of us decided to each pack a small bag, leave our luggage with the homestay, rent scooters, and hit the road for a few days. For our trip we saw traditional villages, volcanoes, lakes, monkeys, people living in really small towns, drank with the locals, ate food from the street vendors, and most importantly avoided Bali Belly through it all! Now keep in mind the drivers in Bali:
1. Drive on the left side of the road
2. Don't really drive on left side of the road
3. Lanes really don't matter
4. Will try to take over the car in front of them even if you are driving straight towards them.
So that being said it was a little scary! Those 3 days were hands down my favorite three days though! We went down dirt roads that we never would have gone down and saw things we probably wouldn't have seen if we didn't go on our own. We did still go to the touristy places but the views we had during our drive were breath taking and something I will remember forever I'm sure. We went to Mount Batur which is one of the active volcanoes in Bali. The air around here was so unbelievably clear, I felt like I could see so far out! The volcano, the lake near the volcano, and the crater we drove around for hours were stunning! We probably could have spent days just sitting there staring off into the distance. Our last night on the road we found these villas set off the main road run by an Italian family. It wasn't the cheapest place we stayed but the view we woke up to in the morning sure was amazing. It was up on a hill over looking palm trees and flowers, and had the mountains in the background. After our stay here we went to the famous rice patties just outside of Ubud.
To end our trip we took a 2 hour boat ride to Gili Trawangan. We stayed here for the last three nights of our trip and this was our relaxing part. It is a small island, probably took about an hour to walk around the entire island. The Gili's are a set of three islands and Trawangan is the largest. This was again with about 14 of us meeting up again, and Darren and his friend from home joined us on the second and third nights. Gili was a different vibe and definitely had that island feel to it. Everyone is really relaxed and laid back, no shoes, not shirts, and I think about 95% of the people on the island were on some sort of drug. The group kind of did their own thing during the day and we would always meet up at night for dinner and then hitting the bars. One day we rented a boat for the day. We were taken to the other two islands, which were much much quieter than the one we were on, and snorkeling in several different places. I got to see my first sea turtle which was pretty exciting. The Gili's were amazing and I loved my time there. I probably could have spent a few more days just relaxing on a beach even.
Now to our last night. This night is one of the only nights we planned before arriving in Bali. Beth, Heather, Ange, and I decided to book into a nice villa in Seminyak, which is just outside of Kuta. We hadn't had a day/night with just the four of us girls in weeks and probably over a month, so we were due for a girls night in. We had our own private villa and our own private pool, so really there was no need to even leave the place! We made sure to go and grab some food and a few bottles of wine to hold us over for the night. this place was beautiful, I just wish I had money to stay in a place like this more often. We sat in the pool all night drinking our wine and catching up about all our different parts of the vacation, since we weren't together the entire time. It was the perfect way to end an absolutely perfect vacation before coming back to Korea.
In the end I would highly recommend Bali to any and all of my friends. It is a touristy island don't get my wrong however, try to get off the beaten path. Get out of the really touristy areas and see the beauty that the island has to offer. Meet and hang out with the locals. Take yourself out of your comfort zone on many different levels. And make sure to eat some of the Balinese food, it is delicious. I loved Bali, and going there makes me want to go back to different parts of Indonesia to see what it is like in some of the places that may not be quite as touristy.
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| Mango smoothies and Indonesian money |
We had about a 5-6 hour layover in Manila, which I have decided is the worlds worst airport ever. We get off our 4 hour flight with a lady waiting for us off to the side. She proceeds to tell us she will take us to check in for our next flight since the computers were down. Two of the girls went and got their luggage and checked it in for the next flight, and the lady takes all 4 of our passports! We were told to sit in a big bright white room with no windows or pictures. It was quite a boring site to say the least. We couldn't go through customs since we didn't have our passport, and were told not to leave this area (so no food and no bathrooms for us!). After about 3 hours of this we were not very happy girls.
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| Where we had to sit for hours in Manilia |
We got to Bali early in the morning and decided to stay in Kuta for 2 nights. Kuta is kind of the party area of Bali and where so many of the Aussies go to party and surf. It was fun, music, clubs, food, beach time, surfing, swimming, and far too many drink discounts.
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| Beach |
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| Doing some shopping |
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| Buy one get one free drinks |
After Kuta we went to Ubud which was about an hour away. It took us quite some time to find a place to sleep (because of course none of us plan anything). Finally, we came across a couple guys that told us about their home stay. They came and picked us all up (all 7 of us) on their scooters and took us to the home stays. These places were beautiful and the people were beyond friendly! We did a couple nights in Ubud. Found some amazing restaurants with even more amazing views. Hung out with the home stay owners and went to monkey forest. We met up with the entire group again here, had a few dinners together, a couple more drinks, and shared a hookah or two.
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| Home Stay |
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| Most beautiful little girl |
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| Home stay |
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| View from an amazing restaurant |
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| Mom and baby monkey |
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| Monkey forest |
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| Monkey forest |
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| Little monkey family |
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| Group out at dinner |
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| Hookah!!! |
After 2 nights in Ubud the 7 of us decided to each pack a small bag, leave our luggage with the homestay, rent scooters, and hit the road for a few days. For our trip we saw traditional villages, volcanoes, lakes, monkeys, people living in really small towns, drank with the locals, ate food from the street vendors, and most importantly avoided Bali Belly through it all! Now keep in mind the drivers in Bali:
1. Drive on the left side of the road
2. Don't really drive on left side of the road
3. Lanes really don't matter
4. Will try to take over the car in front of them even if you are driving straight towards them.
So that being said it was a little scary! Those 3 days were hands down my favorite three days though! We went down dirt roads that we never would have gone down and saw things we probably wouldn't have seen if we didn't go on our own. We did still go to the touristy places but the views we had during our drive were breath taking and something I will remember forever I'm sure. We went to Mount Batur which is one of the active volcanoes in Bali. The air around here was so unbelievably clear, I felt like I could see so far out! The volcano, the lake near the volcano, and the crater we drove around for hours were stunning! We probably could have spent days just sitting there staring off into the distance. Our last night on the road we found these villas set off the main road run by an Italian family. It wasn't the cheapest place we stayed but the view we woke up to in the morning sure was amazing. It was up on a hill over looking palm trees and flowers, and had the mountains in the background. After our stay here we went to the famous rice patties just outside of Ubud.
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| Yellow Chicken |
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| Pink Chicken |
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| Artwork on bamboo |
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| Traditional Village |
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| Villager children playing |
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| Awesome tree |
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| Beach in Candidasa |
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| Bungalow in Candidasa |
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| Welcome drinks |
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| Definitely not fancy and not very good either.. |
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| Learning how to scoot |
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| Bar with live music in Candidasa |
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| Stopped on the side of the road to see this view |
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| Inside the little food shop |
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| Stopped on the road for a bite to eat |
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| Looking over the lake |
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| View from in the crater |
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| In the crater |
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| In the sticks |
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| Hot springs |
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| View we had at dinner |
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| Dinner view |
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| Rice Patties |
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| The girls of the scooter group |
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| At the rice patties |
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| Elephant Cave |
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| Cool roots at the Elephant Caves |
To end our trip we took a 2 hour boat ride to Gili Trawangan. We stayed here for the last three nights of our trip and this was our relaxing part. It is a small island, probably took about an hour to walk around the entire island. The Gili's are a set of three islands and Trawangan is the largest. This was again with about 14 of us meeting up again, and Darren and his friend from home joined us on the second and third nights. Gili was a different vibe and definitely had that island feel to it. Everyone is really relaxed and laid back, no shoes, not shirts, and I think about 95% of the people on the island were on some sort of drug. The group kind of did their own thing during the day and we would always meet up at night for dinner and then hitting the bars. One day we rented a boat for the day. We were taken to the other two islands, which were much much quieter than the one we were on, and snorkeling in several different places. I got to see my first sea turtle which was pretty exciting. The Gili's were amazing and I loved my time there. I probably could have spent a few more days just relaxing on a beach even.
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| Waiting for our boat |
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| On our way to the Gili's! |
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| The meet up spot every night |
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| Want some mushrooms?! |
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| Girls |
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| Gili Trawangan |
Now to our last night. This night is one of the only nights we planned before arriving in Bali. Beth, Heather, Ange, and I decided to book into a nice villa in Seminyak, which is just outside of Kuta. We hadn't had a day/night with just the four of us girls in weeks and probably over a month, so we were due for a girls night in. We had our own private villa and our own private pool, so really there was no need to even leave the place! We made sure to go and grab some food and a few bottles of wine to hold us over for the night. this place was beautiful, I just wish I had money to stay in a place like this more often. We sat in the pool all night drinking our wine and catching up about all our different parts of the vacation, since we weren't together the entire time. It was the perfect way to end an absolutely perfect vacation before coming back to Korea.
In the end I would highly recommend Bali to any and all of my friends. It is a touristy island don't get my wrong however, try to get off the beaten path. Get out of the really touristy areas and see the beauty that the island has to offer. Meet and hang out with the locals. Take yourself out of your comfort zone on many different levels. And make sure to eat some of the Balinese food, it is delicious. I loved Bali, and going there makes me want to go back to different parts of Indonesia to see what it is like in some of the places that may not be quite as touristy.
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