CAN YOU BELIEVE I WENT TO BALI?! WHAT IS LIFE?!

Never in a million years would I have ever thought I would step foot in the soil of Indonesia. In my mind Bali was an exotic place that will forever be far beyond my reach. It’s way too beautiful of a place for someone like me to go.

It’s like being in an elevator and suddenly the hottest man to ever walk the earth enters and stands casually beside you and he’s so far beyond good looking that you can’t even look at him in the eyes and there’s no WAY you’d ever speak to him without stuttering from nerves. IT’S LIKE BEING STUCK IN AN ATM VESTIBULE WITH JILL GOODACRE! If anyone understands this reference, we are friends forever. Where am I going with this.. oh yes! Bali has always been a place I never thought I would go but a few months ago in a random act of picking a new adventure, Bali was chosen.

On August 10, 2016 my friend Leni and I packed our carry-ons and jet set off to the land of monkeys, rice terraces, and colourful sarongs. Our journey began with boarding  Air Asia for the nine hour flight from Busan, South Korea to Kuta, Indonesia.

We arrived in Kuta around 1:00AM (..oy) and stayed at Denayu Homestay, which I booked through Airbnb. If you’ve never booked through Airbnb you can save $25 on your first stay by clicking HERE (dat promo doe). Our place was only a six minute drive from the Ngurah Rai International Airport and a 10 minute walk to Kuta Beach.

We didn’t stay in Kuta for too long but we did spend the afternoon walking along the beach and admiring the surfers and boaters. Coming from Korea, I noticed there were A LOT of foreigners around the city and it didn’t even feel like we were in Asia since everyone spoke English. To be honest, it was kind of nice to not have to use hand gestures when asking for directions or get lost in translation at restaurants. Don’t get me wrong, that’s one the most interesting parts of traveling (communicating with someone who doesn’t speak your language) but where I live it’s my daily life so, it’s a nice break.

Our first meal in Bali consisted of pork skewers, coconut lime salads, rice, and smoothies. I could rave for hours about the food in Bali, it was SO good and SO cheap! Meals cost anywhere between $3-$12, and I mean two dishes and a smoothie type meals. I looked forward waking up  every day to eat the goodness that is fresh, Indonesian cuisine.

We made our way out from Kuta to Ubud, a place known for being featured in the movie Eat, Pray, Love starring my spirit animal Julia Roberts. Our homestay in Kuta set up a private driver to give us a ride from Kuta to Ubud and it was only $30 for an hour and a half trip. In Ubud we stayed at Umah Belos 5 Homestay and had an awesome view on our balcony, even though roosters crowed literally ALL DAY AND NIGHT!

The place was clean and situated on a cute dirt road with a ton of local restaurants and spas. Made (the homestay owner) gave us great suggestions on what to do and set us up with fun activities including a rice terrace and temple tour we took the next day.

The first order of business, before touring temples, were to see Tegallalang Rice Terraces. It’s a stunning view that can’t quite be captured properly on camera.

After we awed at the terraces, we made our way to Tirta Empul Holy Water Temple. We had to wear a sarong when entering the temples, which you could borrow once you pay the entrance fee ($1.50).

This temple is known for its public baths where the holy water is believed to be a source of life and prosperity. You can bathe in the water or collect some in a little bottle to take home. It’s crazy to think people have come to this temple for more than a 1000 years.

Often times the temples will have rules such as “put your hair up” or “take off your shoes” or “sprinkle holy water over your head before entering.” It was actually quite nice to walk barefoot through the temples and feel the mud between your toes.

My favourite temple was the Goa Gajah, also known as the Elephant Cave. There were ancient relics (dating back to the 11th century!), bathing pools, lush trees and rice paddies that surrounded the area. It was absolutely beautiful.

Our tour guide was kind enough to drive us to Tegenungan to enjoy lunch beside a roaring waterfall. The water was brown because it rained on and off that day but apparently the water is crystal blue when it’s warm and sunny. Paradise indeed.

Our homestay in Ubud had a plethora of pretty birdies in cages. Although, anytime we wore a hat this bird FLIPPED OUT! I love the look of birdcages and kind of want one for my apartment just to stare at on occasion.

My favourite day in Bali is when we went for a bike ride along the streets of Ubud and waving to locals who were outside doing their daily chores. It was a gorgeous scenery and perfect weather to boot.

SEE! GORGEOUS! THIS COULD LITERALLY BE A DESKTOP BACKGROUND!

Catch all the action of my Bali trip in my travel vlog below! Watch my friend Leni and I eat ALL THE DELICIOUS BALINESE FOOD (including poop coffee.. LOL), explore temples, and fall into a muddy rice terrace. Yup, that actually happened.