Hello from the beautiful land of Bali! I've always wanted to go to Indonesia, so this seemed like as good a place as any to start our travels. Bali is just 1 of 17,000 islands that comprise the whole of Indonesia. English is widely spoken on this small island but we've tried our best to pick up a few useful Indonesian phrases. Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world. Bali is primarily Hindu with a dash of Muslim, and it has been very cool to see the melding of religion with daily life. It seems that prayer is the center of life with every home having their own little temple. Offerings of flowers, rice and incense mark every doorway. This foreign land is colorful and beautiful to my western eyes.
Life moves at a different pace here, and Nick and I are adjusting well to it. We wake up early and enjoy a quiet breakfast of tea and fried noodles with a fried egg on top. Then before the heat of the morning hits, we are on the streets, often wandering, exploring, and getting to know the world around us. Food is everywhere and we feel like we are constantly eating. Often our noses will lead us to a woman grilling corn with a spicy chilli-butter or a man fanning the coal of a low coconut husk fire that is cooking skewers of chicken saute slathered in a rich peanut sauce.
When the afternoon heat becomes unbearable, we head back to our hotel room for a rest. It is hot. And humid. And for two mountain kids like us, the heat has become our biggest nemesis. I'm sure that we'll get used to it, but for now, we lie low when the sun is at it hottest.
Our evenings, surprise surprise, consist of more eating. Nasi goreng, ayam goreng, babek, ayam sate. Some of our favorite local dishes. Almost everything is fried and we're loving it. And the juices...oh man! We have given up all other forms of liquid just so we can drink as much fresh fruit juice as possible! I think that my blood is at least 40% Mango juice right now. Hahaha. Life is good.
We spent about 2-3 weeks in Bali visiting the towns of Kuta, Sanur, Pandang Bai, Ubud, and Tulamben.
All the locals have been super friendly and helpful. It feels like Bali is a good introduction to Asia. It is fairly touristy with western amenities and comforts you could ask for, and easy to navigate once you're on the ground. We've seen almost no people begging for money. It seems like everyone has there own little business, even if it's just caring your luggage up a few stair, selling fruit on the side of the road, or offering a ride on their scooter.
We've tried to soak in as much culture as we can. We've visited temples, gone to local dance performances, took an amazing Balinese cooking class, learned about rice cultivation in the rice fields of Ubud, made friends with the kids at a local homestay. The cooking class was particularly fun. Really amazing food and a great teacher! All in all Bali did not disappoint!
The Monkey Forest in Ubud was quite the adventure. Monkey's are funny little creatures with very expressive faces and mischievous minds. Honestly they totally freaked me out, but Nick let a few climb aboard and almost lost his sunglasses as a result. cheeky monkeys!!
There you have it. the time we spent on Bali has been pretty incredible. We are now certified to open water scuba dive. we took some great language and cooking courses. we have watched the clouds pass and the sun set. It is so amazing to travel the world with Nick. Everything I imagined and more. His love, support, and sense of humor keeps me going even when i am the sweaty, H-Angry kid in a hostel with no A/C and a cockroach infested bathroom. Life is an adventure and I couldn't have asked for a better partner to share it with!