So here we are, Nick and I are at our first stop on our backpacking trip – Bali, Indonesia. Beautiful, beautiful hot-as-balls Bali! After only one day here, I decided to cut all of my hair off, but more on that later!
It’s only been 4 days and we’ve seen a lot already. Our first stop was Kuta, a long and beautiful beach in southern Bali, which is a bit like Waikiki in Hawaii - tourist heaven! So after a day of relaxing on the beach and getting our bearings, we rented a scooter and got the hell out of there!
It’s only been 4 days and we’ve seen a lot already. Our first stop was Kuta, a long and beautiful beach in southern Bali, which is a bit like Waikiki in Hawaii - tourist heaven! So after a day of relaxing on the beach and getting our bearings, we rented a scooter and got the hell out of there!
Having our own transportation has a lot of advantages. Aside from saving us money it gives us complete freedom – freedom to come and go as we please, freedom to roam the island and follow our whims, and freedom to get lost! Completely lost - repeatedly, completely lost! This is partially because even though we have 3 road maps, NONE of them have the names of the actual roads listed, and partially because what look like main roads on the map actually look like this in real life: 
We’ve actually resorted to having people on the side of the road draw us extra maps, also with no street names, which worked better than the maps we paid for. Needless to say, we’ve spent a lot of time on our scooter over the last couple of days, but we’ve found some pretty cool stuff on the way – and with 4 months ahead of us, we’re not really in any rush! So what have I noticed about Bali so far? (besides that it is HOT) The people here seem to be very devoted to their Hindu beliefs, the evenings are filled with their music and in the mornings, fresh offerings are set out. 
You can see little offering plates everywhere; set outside of every business and home, on top of cars, on scooters, in front of temples, on statues… you name it. I haven’t learned much about them yet, but they usually have incense burning in them and from the looks of it, they’re replaced several times throughout the day. 
Because of the huge tourism industry here, the Balinese are also wonderful hawkers. And it’s not just at the markets or on the street corners, they’re EVERYWHERE! We’re sitting outside of our bungalow in the morning, drinking coffee, along comes a hawker selling his paintings. We’re driving our scooter down the road, someone pulls up next to us and asks us if we want to buy silver – WHILE were still moving! And they start young too, this little girl selling post cards was no more than 6 years old! 
And if you’re hiking, you can bet someone is going to start following you. Eventually, you’ll come to a crossroads and they’ll be there to lead the way – and then expect money at the end of the trip for being your guide! But they are beautiful people, friendly and laid back. And their food is delicious!
We’ve actually resorted to having people on the side of the road draw us extra maps, also with no street names, which worked better than the maps we paid for. Needless to say, we’ve spent a lot of time on our scooter over the last couple of days, but we’ve found some pretty cool stuff on the way – and with 4 months ahead of us, we’re not really in any rush! So what have I noticed about Bali so far? (besides that it is HOT) The people here seem to be very devoted to their Hindu beliefs, the evenings are filled with their music and in the mornings, fresh offerings are set out. 
You can see little offering plates everywhere; set outside of every business and home, on top of cars, on scooters, in front of temples, on statues… you name it. I haven’t learned much about them yet, but they usually have incense burning in them and from the looks of it, they’re replaced several times throughout the day. 
Because of the huge tourism industry here, the Balinese are also wonderful hawkers. And it’s not just at the markets or on the street corners, they’re EVERYWHERE! We’re sitting outside of our bungalow in the morning, drinking coffee, along comes a hawker selling his paintings. We’re driving our scooter down the road, someone pulls up next to us and asks us if we want to buy silver – WHILE were still moving! And they start young too, this little girl selling post cards was no more than 6 years old! 
And if you’re hiking, you can bet someone is going to start following you. Eventually, you’ll come to a crossroads and they’ll be there to lead the way – and then expect money at the end of the trip for being your guide! But they are beautiful people, friendly and laid back. And their food is delicious! 
The plates of food look beautiful - like works of art instead of food! yum.
ReplyDeleteWhat's this about your hair? You didn't get back to that.