Lost in Bali
- Vincent Perez
- Mar 28, 2018
- 8 min read
Paradise! I have finally arrived on the beautiful island of Bali.
Day 1-
I woke up around 8 am on Wednesday morning and I thought to myself, "today is going to be a good day". Not because I'm in Bali but because I actually get to have some alone time for once (so I thought)....
I took a cab north to the town of Ubud, small town just north of Denpasar. I'll be spending a few nights here before making my way back south to Kuta. The hotel I stayed at is called Gatra Ubud Inn and it is the coolest/cutest little place that I have stayed at so far. I walk outside my room to a little breakfast table and I see two lovely ladies sitting chatting to each other in Spanish. I decide to have a seat next to them and immediately start talking to them because apparently I can't stay quiet (insert eye roll). After breakfast they leave and head back to their room and I just hang out for a little by myself and check social media and what not. Five minutes later, they come back and ask me if I want to come with them to the monkey park. I didn't want to be rude, so of course I said yes. So instead of having an alone week for once, I immediately find myself meeting new friends. By no means is that a bad thing, but I really was hoping to just relax by myself and think about life on the beach on this tropical island. We made our way to the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary where we were swarmed with monkeys running wild. It was pretty cool to see so many monkeys but some monkeys were not very nice. A little tip for you, don't touch the baby monkeys because momma monkeys get really really angry. You can even buy bananas and other food to feed them. Tip: don't buy the bananas if you want to try and get a picture with them because they will just steal the banana and leave. After about two hours we left and had lunch at a quaint little restaurant called Maha. Really good place to grab a bite to eat. Once our bellies were stuffed, we hopped in a taxi and headed to the famous Bali Swing. What I didn't know was how expensive it was to get on one of these swings. The thing about the swings that no one tells you is that they have a bunch of swings and river rafting that is included. I, however, didn't care to do any of that. I just wanted a cool picture and that's it. Well, after some negotiating, I was able to pay $20 to swing on the swing and get some pictures. Was it worth $20, probably not. But I wasn't going to leave Bali without getting the picture that has flooded my Instagram feed. Needless to say, I got it and left a happy man.
Next stop was the Art Market. I'm not really into art but the market was pretty cool and it was huge. So many cool things to buy besides art and definitely worth checking out if you're ever in Ubud. Later that night I went and had dinner at Nomad. Not sure how or why I decided on this restaurant but it did not disappoint. I had a tuna steak which was amazing and afterwards I went and spoiled myself with some gelato ice cream, equally amazing.
Day 2
I had breakfast around 8:30 and figured out what I wanted to do today. I packed some things, grabbed a cab, and decided to check out the famous rice fields. Unfortunately, my cab driver, Gede, took me to a completely different rice field than the one I told him to take me to. According to him, "this was the best rice field". The one I wanted to go was twenty minutes away and the one he took me to was an hour and twenty minutes away! Needless to say, he made a lot more money on this trip. With all that being said, I got some cool drone footage and my cab driver even took some pretty good photos of me.
After walking through the luscious rice fields, we had lunch at some expensive buffet that Gede picked. The food wasn't bad but when it came time to pay, he tells the waitress that I'm paying. I'm like, "wtf?!". I bite my tongue and pay the bill because in my mind, I'll just take that out of what I owe him in the end. After lunch we make our way to Habana golf resort where one of the iconic Bali gates is located. As soon as we pulled up it started to rain. So I didn't have much time to get "the perfect shot". I think my driver Gede actually took some good photos of me, which is nice because everyone that I ask to take a photo of me is usually pretty bad or it's not what I want. If taxi driving doesn't work out for Gede, he could make a decent photographer. Sadly, because it was raining I didn't want to take my drone out, even though it would've been a really cool shot, it wasn't worth the risk. Guess I'll have to drone it another time. After all the hours of driving in the cab, I arrived back at my hotel around 2 pm and I was exhausted.
Later that night I went and had dinner at Taco Casa! The last time I had Mexican food was in Hanoi and I couldn't even eat anything because of the food sickness that I caught when I was in Ha Long Bay. So I was pretty excited to find this place because if you know me, then you know that I love Mexican food. I ordered an 8-layer burrito with shrimp! Let's just say I destroyed the entire thing, it was so delicious. After dinner I went back to my room and started working on my blogs and then watched Netflix before going to sleep. Nothing too exciting but remember, I'm trying to use my time in Ubud as a detox/relaxation time for myself and I'm enjoying every minute of "me" time.
Day 3
Today I am checking out of my hotel in Ubud and making my way to the beach destination of Kuta! But wait!! Of course it couldn't just be easy to get to Kuta. No no no. There's always something that happens that messes with my plans. So apparently it is Hindu New Year tomorrow (3/17) and because of this, everyone is closed or is closing early and no taxi's want to take me to Kuta. The ones that I talked to that were interested in taking me to Kuta were asking 800,000 IDR (~56 US dollars)!! A ridiculous amount considering the "normal" rate was 300,000 IDR (~28 US dollars) but even that is always negotiable. I walked away from that taxi guy and of course he comes running after me and asked how much I would pay. Considering I've been walking around the entire town carrying my luggage for 45 minutes, I was open to paying a bit more just as long as I was able to get to Kuta. So I counted with 350,000 IDR and he shook his head like that was a ridiculously low amount and he re-countered with a price of 600,000 IDR. I told him no that it was way too much and so he told me to hang on while he talked to the other drivers. I waited about 5 minutes and then he comes back to me and says, "ok my friend, 350,000!" I was relieved and almost happy to pay ~4 dollars more to get out of Ubud because if I didn't leave today, then I would be stuck here until Sunday because the holiday is all day Saturday and nobody will be working then. So even though I paid a bit more than usual, I will call it a win because I was able to get out of Ubud and I paid less than 400,000 IDR!
Here's a travel tip for ya'll: Never, ever pay full price for taxis, market items, or anything that could be negotiated. Locals will always, ALWAYS start with the highest price because they know there are some tourists who will pay that price and not negotiate at all. Another thing I like to do is to act like I'm not interested in an item because the locals can tell when you really like something and will always start with the high price because they know you want it. To practice your negotiating skills, find something you could care less about and ask how much. Then low ball an offer and see if they come back with a counter. Probably the easiest way to bargain, if you are a beginner. It'll help you out in the future when you come across something that you really do want, trust me. So be aware, be savvy, and try to hustle them a bit because in the end, the locals want to make a sale and will do anything to get you to buy something. It's a win for both sides.
Day 4
Today is Nyepi, which the Balinese call, "A day of silence". Which for tourists means, "A day to do absolutely nothing." That is exactly what I did for 24 hours. My hotel, Grand Barong Hotel, literally blocked off the exit from the hotel and trapped us all inside like caged animals, I kid you not. It was the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen or been apart of. Literally spent the entire day down by the pool watching Netflix. There was nothing to do, literally nothing. So if you plan on going to Bali in the future, do NOT go during Nyepi. It happens in March and the days are always changing, so pay attention to when that day is so you don't get stuck inside like I did.
Day 5
Free at last, free at last, Thank god almighty I am free at last. I am finally able to leave my hotel and enjoy Kuta. I decided today that I am going to relax by the beach and possibly do a little surfing. I am from California, so you would think that I surf all the time but actually, this is the first time that I have ever surfed in my life! I have to say that it was awesome! This is coming from a guy who is afraid of the ocean but I really had a good time and I was pretty good at it for a first timer. I must say though, I was exhausted afterwards. Surfing is exhausting and it sucked the life out of me.
I stayed in Kuta for 2 more days but to be honest, I don't really remember what I did the last two days. I lost my phone that had all my notes and information that I had written down from my time in Bali and so that was a bummer. I do know that I have to go back to Bali one day because it was underwhelming to say the least. I really enjoyed Ubud and thought that was such a cool place but I didn't really like Kuta and would not recommend it for solo travelers. It's great for families because it is a family type of vibe but I was looking for a different vibe. I left Bali with a chip on my shoulder because I know I did not do Bali right. So many people that I met gave me tips and things to do but I just didn't have enough time to do it all. Needless to say, I want to go back to Bali one day. This was the one country/island that I feel I must go back to do it justice because when people think of Bali they think of this tropical oasis and magical place. I don't see it as such a place and I think if I go back and do Bali right that I would feel the same way like all my other traveler friends. I will be back Bali....one day.
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