It is 2 weeks since I returned from Bali and I cannot get over Indonesia’s beauty. For my spring break, three of my friends and I decided to spend the week in Bali. None of us had ever been before and every Aussie we talked to agreed that it is a must go. We decided to spend two nights in Kuta and five nights in Ubud. Many other CAPA students also traveled to Bali during spring break, which made me not as scared to go knowing others would be experiencing a similar journey.
Planning for the trip was fairly manageable. We easily booked our plane tickets and found our accommodation through Airbnb. The main precaution was that we were only allowed one carry-on that had to weigh under 7 kg (15 lbs).
Kuta from the start was a bustling area; the streets were rather narrow and there were always people constantly trying to sell us a taxi ride or handmade item. We stayed in central Kuta and our villa was a street away from the beach. This was my first time seeing a sunset on the water and I loved every second of the changing colors in the sky.
Our Airbnb was also close to the Beach Shopping Mall that housed many international stores like Adidas, H&M, and Ray Bans. One night we walked around the night markets. This was very overwhelming in that we would walk on narrow pathways that motor bikes would also be driving along and sellers would nonstop shout for us to come into their shops.
On Monday, we took the 1hr bus ride to Ubud. We stayed in a very hospitable Balinese home that was just a 15-min walk from the main village. Ubud was just as busy as Kuta, but the streets were a little wider and easier to maneuver. The four main places we traveled to was the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary, Tegalalang Rice Terraces, Batuan Temple, and Tegenungan Waterfall.
Most of these places were about a 30-minute drive from our Airbnb. All the spots we visited had breath-taking views that I could never even imagine. There were also many stray cats and dogs that roamed the streets. My favorite part about Bali was being able to sit under the night sky and gaze upon the millions of stars.
I really enjoyed my trip to Bali and would say that I experienced major culture shock. I became more appreciative with my standard of living back in Sydney, as well as in America. I also learned how to negotiate and like to think I am now an expert in bargaining. Like most people advise, be cautious of the foods and drinks that you consume so as to avoid getting “Bali belly.” All in all, I loved being able to explore such a different culture than my own and see how other people live. I also need to mention how amazing the food tasted with all of the different spices.
Traveling while abroad is definitely worthwhile especially since Australia is close to so many unique countries. I am planning on traveling to Melbourne before the end of the program and I know that it’ll be worth every second!