Bali, worth the visa run Part 1

Bali had been on our travel wish list for decades.

Back when we were teenagers, we used to hear stories about travelers renting one-dollar huts on the beach in Bali and living on almost nothing. At the time, this sounded less like a vacation and more like a financially realistic life plan. Those famous one-dollar beach huts no longer exist, and admittedly our standards have risen slightly over the years, but Bali still manages to feel surprisingly affordable.

For this part of our visa run we stayed seven days in Bali, mostly in Ubud, and fully understood within about twenty-four hours why so many people fall in love with the island.

Our first impression, however, was not what we expected.

Bali felt far more modern, yet underdeveloped, and overcrowded, all at the same time. Different from the dreamy backpacker paradise we had imagined for years. After quiet anchorages and remote parts of Indonesia, arriving in Bali felt a bit like suddenly stumbling back into frenzied civilization. Traffic was dense everywhere. Scooters flowed around cars like schools of fish hurrying past. Tourists wandered through narrow streets adding to the crowds of locals trying to go about their daily lives.

But after freezing our way through Western Australia, the warmth felt wonderful.

Our hotel sat down a long grassy driveway, hidden away from the chaos like some sort of secret jungle refuge. 

Bob taking a lap on our first night

The winding pool curved beneath little bridges and past statues pouring water from stone urns. Every morning we swam laps listening to birds calling in the jungle while roosters announced the sunrise in the distance. By sailing standards, this was luxury on a truly impressive scale, especially at fifty dollars a night, with an excellent breakfast included.

One of the things that surprised us most was how different Bali felt from the rest of Indonesia we have visited.

Bali is the only majority Hindu island in Indonesia, and the cultural differences were immediately visible. The women’s clothing was generally less conservative and far more expressive and colorful than what we had become accustomed to elsewhere in Indonesia. 

Even though Bali is Hindu, there is still a strong Muslim influence throughout

Daily offerings were everywhere, small woven baskets filled with flowers and other items placed carefully along sidewalks, stairs, storefronts, and entrances.

The offerings became part of the rhythm of walking through town. We spent a surprising amount of time carefully watching where we stepped, trying not to accidentally crush somebody’s morning devotional offering. Judging from the occasional flattened basket in the road, not everyone was equally successful.

Ubud itself was fascinating, artistic, lush, crowded, beautiful, and completely overwhelmed by traffic. The streets often felt like narrow 19th century cart paths somehow attempting to survive under the weight of 21st century tourism. 

Scooters squeezed through gaps that appeared physically impossible while pedestrians flattened themselves against walls hoping not to become part of the transportation system.

Walking opportunities in town itself were limited, but one of our favorite discoveries was the Campuhan Ridge Walk. We ended up doing it twice. The trail wound through jungle and alongside rice paddies, giving us a chance to escape the traffic and simply enjoy walking again.

Walking the ridge, surrounded by jungle and rice paddies with the sounds of birds replacing scooter horns for a little while, we finally started to settle into the rhythm of Bali.

Unfortunately, tranquility in Bali is often temporary.

Our next outing involved monkeys, attempted theft, and a surprisingly determined attack on Bob’s hat. More on that in part 2