I am on a mad, slightly outlandish mission to see every nook and cranny of Southeast Asia before the end of my internship. This desire led me straight to Bali, Indonesia – no passing Go, no collecting $200.
Bali is the kind of place where you take off your watch, let your hair down and bask under the sun forever. You leave your stress at the departure gate, and hope it miraculously disappears when you get back to reality. The single most important thing on everyone’s mind is how to get a good tan. Something I unfortunately have no problem with - I have become so karo! In Bali, you let go of your inhibitions and just embrace life fully. Our motto for the weekend: try everything once. Before you read on, make sure your seatbelt is securely fastened because these last four days have been one heck of a roller coaster ride!
Adventure #1: Bali is where surfers around the world unite, all looking to catch the perfect wave. You will never believe this but I am now a proud member of that group. No April Fool’s joke, no ‘just kidding’ coming. I actually surfed! It is so much harder than beach-blond Californian surfer dudes make it look on the Discovery Channel. When a big wave hits, you have literally seconds to paddle, push yourself up and jump onto your feet, while maintaining balance, keeping your head forward and steering with your legs so you don’t hit the million other surfers all trying to do the exact same thing as you. Better yet, the board is strapped to your ankle so you must catch the wave at the correct angle or you risk being smacked square in the face with your own board. The cardinal rule of surfing: don’t think, just do. I think too much ergo, I make a terrible surfer. But I can proudly say I surfed in Bali. Cowabanga dude!
Posing with Rudy, my surfing instructor.
Adventure #2: What better way to enjoy the beauty of Bali than by watching the vibrant colours of the sunset while listening to the waves crashing against the rocks…all on a horse! I went on a two hour horseback ride along the beach and through a Balinese village. I felt like a character straight out of a fairytale. It was delightful.
Adventure #3: Later that night, I swapped my horse for a totally rocking, completely amazing motorcycle. A motorcycle! Learning how to ride it was relatively easy. Navigating through the narrow streets of Bali was a much tougher task. There are no traffic lights, no stop signs, no traffic rules…and you drive on the wrong side of the road. But once you get started, goodness you cannot stop! Riding a motorcycle with the wind wisping through your hair is the most liberating experience ever. I loved every second of it. And I think riding a motorcycle through the streets of Bali officially puts me on the cool scale!
By day 3, every single part of my body ached. Through surfing, horseback riding and dancing the nights away, I discovered muscles in my body that I had no idea existed! So we opted for something less adventurous - a 12 hour day tour of the island. We started off the morning watching a traditional Balinese performance. The performers used music, dance and acting to portray the endless struggle between good and evil.
Next we ventured to Ubud – the art district of Bali – and witnessed gold and silver jewelry, wooden sculptures and traditional Balinese art being crafted from scratch.
From there, we visited an ancient Hindu temple, one of about a kazillion on the island. In fact, since Hinduism is the predominant religion in Bali, every house has its own temple. I bet they have no trouble with reserving chairs! There are thousands of statues that adorn the grounds of the temple. My favourite was Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge. Students present offerings to this goddess before writing a big exam. It’s apparently a sure fire way of acing it. Mommy, Daddy - I suppose you must send me back to Indonesia before tackling my grad school exam in August!
After the temple, we visited a plantation to see how tea and coffee are made from scratch. There was an elderly woman, perhaps in her seventies, stirring a pot full of coffee beans over a hot fire. One kilo of coffee needs to be stirred for 3 hours before it is ready for brewing. Their most expensive and sought after coffee undergoes a bit of a different process. I rather not explain, just see the picture below..
We ended the day by watching the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen. It was absolutely exquisite!
Adventure #4: Left the hotel at 1am. Arrived in Batur at 3:30am. Began climbing Mount Batur, an active volcano, at 4:00am under a starlit sky. Drenched in sweat by 5:00am. Reached the peak at 6:45am. Watched the sunrise from 1717 metres above ground. The experience was beyond words..
Bali is only 1 of 17,508 islands in Indonesia. One down, only 17,507 more to see!
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