Ahh Bali, my final destination on this short journey! Well, except I did return to Japan after, but that’s another story. Bali was certainly the “pray” part of my trip.

My flight left Thailand around 10 PM, leaving me with a 5 hour layover in Singapore throughout the night. Upon arrival, I tried to find somewhere to charge my phone and ended up just closing my eyes and resting on a few chairs (like many others). Unfortunately, my phone wasn’t able to connect to their wifi in the airport, the kiosks couldn’t read my passport and I didn’t have any coverage to make a phone call like it said, I only had wifi capabilities. Luckily, they do have free internet computers located around the area, so I grabbed one of those to send out a few emails and messages to pass the time. As crazy as it was, I was on the computer and I turned around and saw a bunch of Singapore cops, guns and all, surrounding me! I was terrified, as you can imagine. They asked to see my passport, boarding pass, asked me a few questions and if I was traveling alone. I obviously cooperated and knew I didn’t do anything wrong (or at least I hoped not!) I’m not sure if it was just again, the timeframe that I was traveling (just after the inauguration 2017..) that put them on a higher alert. Or maybe because I was a blonde American female traveling alone? I’m not sure, but it was scary. Even the workers nearby said “That was scary” after they left. Ahh! But it’s okay, we all survived. I still enjoyed the airport, haha 🙂

I finally arrived in Bali bright and early. Immigration went much quicker than in Thailand, that’s for sure. I stopped at an ATM to grab some cash. Of course, in the moment and in a rush to find my airport transfer, I didn’t fully understand how much money I was taking out and ended up taking out only about $100 USD, which I later realized (duh). I figured that probably wasn’t going to last me my whole week, so I had to make another ATM trip once I got to my place of stay.

So while I was in Bali, I stayed at Serenity Eco Guesthouse. My stay included unlimited yoga for the week as well as a single backpackers room (there were a bunch of options, but this is what I chose). Being that it was eco-friendly, there were a few rules/suggestions such as: no toilet paper in the toilet (had to put it in the trash can), lights out when you leave, no sunscreen on before you get in the pool to decrease chemicals, recommended use of organic products, all raw/vegan food served at the restaurant. If you like to recycle and save the planet, I would definitely recommend a place like this. Otherwise, you may want to find a “fancier” hotel or resort! I loved all of the gardens and the atmosphere of the resort..so Bali! The pool wasn’t too bad either 😉

With my stay, I got free breakfast all week! The food was all so amazing and healthy, I loved it!! I drank straight from a coconut, had gluten free breads, nutella pancakes, vegan cheese spreads, rice porridge, fruit smoothies, I even snuck in a few pieces of chocolate here and there. Why not, ya know? This was all at the restaurant “Alkaline,” which was attached to the guesthouse I was at. They also bottled their own water that they had filtered and set at a certain pH level, it was pretty cool! The only food I didn’t like of the whole trip was here.. Gado Gado. You can find this many places, but for some reason I just couldn’t finish it. I think I just like stronger tasting foods. I would definitely still try it if I were you, we all have different taste buds!

My first few days I mainly woke up and went right to the beach. I was staying in Canggu, which, upon booking, I didn’t realize that it was such a surfer’s beach! Pretty cool atmosphere though. There were a lot of people from all over the world who came to surf! The beach didn’t have that crystal blue water, but hey, I was at the beach in January..in Bali, who cares? I will have to say the one thing I didn’t enjoy about laying at the beach was constantly getting approached by the locals to buy bracelets, rings, massages, hair braids. I did buy a few bracelets, but that was only from one local, so the others wanted me to buy some too! I completely understand this is their way of life and how they make a living, and I respect that. It was a little difficult at times to completely relax on the beach, though. I tried to situate myself near others in hopes to not be approached. Let’s be honest, I’m not much of a jewelry girl anyways 😉

I generally hung around the beach for a few hours, wearing sunscreen of course, and still getting sunburnt. Then I would head back for lunch and yoga! Somedays I went to the restaurant downstairs, but I found a few other cute restaurants that I would recommend here:

The Recovery Room: Amazing! I ate here twice and got their avocado coffee, an egg frittata avocado benedict (or something like that), a beautiful smoothie, and even a gourmet grilled cheese. The staff was super friendly, there are couches everywhere and it’s such a chill vibe, I loved it!!

Old Man’s: This is the “hip” spot at Canggu. There are tons of tourists here and it’s definitely a party atmosphere. I went one night for dinner because I was really craving a burger and a beer – something not organic, haha. It was delicious! They had an acoustic reggae band playing while I was there and there were not only younger folks but families as well. Plus I loved the lights that decorated the whole place, not to mention you’re right next to the ocean.

Eden Cafe: Okay so the day I tried this place, I had just walked to the post office from my place of stay which was about a 45 minute walk.. Except it turned into an hour+ because I had to stop in all of the cute shops! Needless to say, when I was heading back and found this place, it was the perfect place for me to cool off with a smoothie bowl..and let my sweat dry haha. It was so satisfying!! I also had some of their homemade lemonade, which was also good!

Obviously while I was here, I did a bunch of different yoga classes. I actually had my first experience with Yin in Bali! And wow, let me tell you, it was amazing and crazy all at the same time. We were focusing on 4 different emotions throughout the class during each of the positions (that you hold for a few minutes, because that’s what you do in yin class). I am not kidding you, I cried! I couldn’t stop myself! We were told to think of different instances where we felt 1) safe 2) thankful 3) love and 4) happy. While I tried to think of other things, I could only think of my boyfriend (sappy, sorry). I won’t go on with the sap, but it was an amazing session, even if I was trying to hide my tears during it, haha.

On the other hand, I also did some aerial yoga and acro yoga!! Again, all of it was amazing and just being surrounded by others who loved yoga was so much fun! We were all definitely sweating after acro!

Besides the yoga and the beach, I felt that a trip to Bali would not be complete without a trip to Ubud, the “cultural center” of Bali. Those words could not have been more true. There was so much artwork and culture in Ubud, it was beautiful. I was able to see a Barong dance, see some beautiful wood carvings as well as watch jewelry being made. I booked a tour for the day which was basically my own personal taxi, costing around ~$50 total for the day, which included pick up around 9 AM and drop off around 6 PM. I ended up additionally having to pay for tickets and parking, so I might have gotten ripped off, but all in all, I still only paid about $70 for the day itself, plus my souvenirs. My tour guide was very kind and informative, even held out an umbrella for me when it was raining.

One of our first stops of the day was the Barong Dance. The Barong dance is a tale of the triumph of good (Barong) over evil (Rangda). I learned from a woodcarver that the Barong is also symbolically said to be a “house protector.”

Our next stop was the holy water spring temple (Tirta Empul). This is a Hindu temple where people come from all over to cleanse themselves. It was packed with locals and people from all over. Just make sure to grab a sarong on the way in (I didn’t know!)

We stopped to eat lunch at a buffet where I could see Mt. Batur and the surrounding areas. Unfortunately, it was a bit cloudy and drizzling that day, so it wasn’t perfectly clear. It was beautiful nonetheless, very peaceful. The only thing I didn’t completely enjoy was the buffet style food. Because of the tour I chose, this was my option. It was definitely overpriced and I tried to get my money’s worth, but I doubt I did. This part of the trip I wouldn’t exactly recommend, but for the view, it may be worth it!

After lunch, we stopped at a Luwak coffee plantation. Luwak coffee is the most expensive coffee in the world. The Luwak (a small mammal) eats the ripe coffee cherry and then, after it travels through the digestive system, the beans are cleaned, roasted, and ground up to make coffee!

After this, we journeyed over to the Tegallalang rice terraces where I ended up trekking through in just my sandals and a dress. I was slightly unprepared, but I didn’t fall so it’s okay! There were a lot of cute restaurants and cafes here. If I had more time, I definitely would have stopped. The view was amazing regardless!

Our final stop of the day was at the Ubud Monkey Forest! This was awesome, and although we could only stay for a little, I got to feed some of the monkeys and see some of the cutest little monkey families. There were literally monkeys everywhere!! I’m not sure I can say monkey one more time in this paragraph, haha.

My last day in Bali was spent mainly laying next to the pool, soaking up some rays before I headed back to Japan. It was peaceful and relaxing. I had the whole day to pack as my flight didn’t leave until midnight and was an overnight flight back to Tokyo. I took Garuda Indonesia, which may have been my favorite airline so far. You can read about my flights here!

Now, just to advise some of you on a few things I didn’t really discuss but you should be aware of..  Many of the locals throughout my stay would come up to me and ask me to buy bracelets, massages, rings, etc. At times, I would need to use a stern voice to ask them to leave, just to have another person come up to me. Sometimes it was even children just asking for money. On the taxi ride to the airport, there was actually a young child that came up to my window in the middle of the highway and held out her hand saying “please.” It was sad, and I’d love to help, but at the same time it was a little frustrating. I completely get why they were all doing it, I really do. It was just hard at times to remember it after being approached and hassled so many times. I wasn’t personally prepared for it, and knowing myself, I probably was a good target for them because I’m much more of a soft-y. But, I think it’s something people should be aware of!

Anywho, I hope you enjoyed reading about my travels!! If you haven’t read my other blogs on Japan and Thailand, be sure to check them out 🙂 And don’t forget to check out my other blogs on my trips to Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

-Jen