When looking back on experiences, and certain times in our lives, it’s natural to reflect on only the good times, the highlights. For Bali, mine include taking a sound healing class, making a silver ring, dipping in healing water at a temple, white water rafting and swimming with dolphins. Not to mention the general day to day exploring, nights out, trying new foods and meeting people from all walks of life. Though, this destination wasn't everything I thought it would be.
Ok, so, it has been a while but continuing from the previous blog… where was I? Oh, yes from Ulutwatu to Canggu, one extreme to the other. I’m really relying on my journal and camera roll for this one.
Canggu
We had 5 crazy nights staying in Layday Hostel, Canggu. The owner Erik really is one of the happiest guys I have ever seen, long dark hair, full fringe, and a constant grin from ear to ear and his laugh. It’s completely contagious. The team at Layday really take each guest under their wing making sure they’re involved with the hostel’s atmosphere, but more so the party antics meaning joss shots, the safari challenge, and half price doubles during happy hour! If you did all these together, it was certain the night was going to be somewhat interesting… or just an absolute mess.
The atmosphere in Canggu was very social and party orientated, we met a lot of good people here, some who I have stayed in touch with. And actually, there have been quite a few people that I’ve bumped into (by chance) in different destinations during the trip. It really is a small world. I have checked into hostels and even turned corners (in different countries) and there they are. It’s crazy, out of all the times and places, we meet again. The world seems small, but when you’re backpacking SE Asia, it seems even smaller.
The nightlife culture in Bali, particularly Canggu, is heavily clubbing which I really struggled with, anyone that knows me knows that I love a good bar with some live music, but I somehow found myself in underground raves and techno nightclubs, gotta go with the crowd I guess… but, no, I shouldn’t have, nor should I have felt the need to. Ah well, lesson learnt. One of the nights we went to a place with more of a bar vibe, the difference in enjoyment was insane, I had a great time that night.
The sound healing class at Udara Bali was a great experience. We lay in a hammock for 75 minutes, it was right by the sea at sunset, a wholesome evening, nearly too good to be true. The people leading the class struck different sounds which was meant to put us into a deep relaxing, meditative state. The effect it had on me is hard to explain, I felt so relaxed in a physical sense, but my mind was on overdrive, it was as if every single thought, even subconscious ones were brought to light, my mind thought them through and let them go. I lay there observing my thoughts and letting my mind run wild with them, it was a crazy sensation that led to a feeling of peace afterwards. I’m not sure if this is what it was meant to evoke, but it was my experience, and I felt it was a positive one.
I met a guy who is big into his surf, we made a deal. A surf lesson for a tune (on the Pipes), that was fair, right? Let’s just say surfing in Canggu certainly isn’t for the faint hearted, or beginners. Shannon got attacked by the waves over and over again. I have a little surfing experience so I could handle it a bit better but oh my, after an hour I was in agony, we spent more time trying to paddle past the current and choppy waves than we did trying to catch a wave of any size. But a deal is a deal, regardless of the experience, I owed him a tune. Off to the beach we went, and I played a few sets. Upon arriving back at the hostel, I was spotted with the Pipes (I had kept this fairly quiet until now) and was ‘prompted’ to give a tune, from then on, I was known as ‘the girl who plays the bagpipes’, so many people were genuinely baffled that I had brought them with me, which is understandable considering the emphasis on packing as little and light as possible. But, for me, they were an essential.
After 5 nights in Canggu, particularly Layday, we were more than ready for the chilled vibes Ubud is best known for. My favourite thing about Canggu? The man who sells corn beside Old Man’s, what an excellent post night out food. A corn on the cob covered in garlic and chilli paste is top quality. One night we were on our way to either Old Man’s or Sandbar and stopped by his stall, and, well, we never actually made it out, we stood and attempted to sell his corn to anyone and everyone who walked by, honestly, we laughed a lot that night, it was great and gave us a break from the inevitable hangover that follows a night out in Canggu. It also lashed our whole way home, we had to pull over several times because it was too dangerous, a 5/10-minute drive which took us 4 times as long.
*Click the arrow to flick through the carousel of photos*.
Ubud
Excerpt from journal entry on 26 Sept
“First impression of Ubud? I love it. I just get the feeling, the spark walking down the street here. Similar to the one felt when walking through Belfast City or Glasgow.”
Quite a few people reiterated that there was nothing to do in Ubud, it’s boring and two days was enough. This place was my favourite in Bali, okay there isn’t a lot of partying to do but Balinese culture is oozing out of here. And if you’re searching for waterfalls this is the place to go. When I first arrived in Ubud I felt a feeling that I had been searching for on my travels so far, a feeling of curiosity, and excitement for a particular place, like you’re in alignment with the atmosphere present there, as mentioned in the journal excerpt above. I experience this feeling a few times throughout my trip.
Shannon was quite ill in Ubud, the first few days were lowkey and focused on getting her back to normal. We had a list of activities we wanted to do in including the Monkey Forest, White Water Rafting, Rice Terraces, Waterfalls and Agung Silver Ring Making, which by the way isn’t as close to Ubud as people make out. We were driving in circles trying to find this place… So worth the hassle though. I have worn my ring every day since.
We visited Pura Tirta Empul, a temple in Bali that has a healing pool. Watching people undertake this ritual was really inspiring. You could see the significance to each individual and how much they needed this for themselves and the effect they hoped it would have on them. We also dipped in the pool and completed what we thought was the ritual (taking notes from the people surrounding us) until I looked it up afterwards, we may have missed a step or two… And Shannon nearly dipped under one of the fountains relating to the dead until a man swiftly guided her to skip it. I don’t think that would have gone down well. Though afterwards I did notice that the water had eased my bruises and scars from the endless mosquito bites.
We travelled from Ubud to Lovina to see the Dolphins first thing in the morning (a 3am start) on a private boat. A total pinch me moment. To see the dolphins an ethical environment, they weren’t in any way trapped or restricted but there were more boats than I had expected surrounding the waters waiting patiently for the widely anticipated sighting, this made me feel a little uneasy. I wondered if the presence of the boats stressed the dolphins as they glided through the water. Were they trying to escape the boat ridden waters? We experience many sightings, and I jumped in the water and held onto the boat as it chased the next sighting, I could literally see the dolphins scattering to peace below me. A truly majestic moment.
One hostel that stands out in Bali, and the whole trip is Puri Garden. What a spot. Now, it’s a bit pricier at £20 per night but this included a massage, breakfast, and yoga class. It can also include dinner and other activities (varying each day). Oh, and not to mention probably the best night’s sleep I had on the whole trip, the rooms were a delight. Bathroom and shower facilities too. It really had a retreat vibe about it. We moved between hostels a few times in Ubud, I distinctly remember thinking 'it's only a 25 minute walk'. Well, with our bags, down side streets that felt like main streets, it was 25 minutes that felt was never going to end.
Seminyak
After a chilled time in Bali, we were ready to get our party on in the next best thing to Canggu. Our time here was spent partying and socialising. A highlight? Luigi's. A nightclub that sells pizza, and insane pizza too. A group of us went to a Waterbom Bali, a waterpark, that was a fun day. Half-way through our time in Seminyak I was ready to leave Bali. I was scunnered and ready to move on. Quite a few of my journal entries documented anxiousness, feeling homesick and a phase of ‘this isn’t what I thought it would be'.
Although I have documented all the amazing things I got to do there, as I look back on my journal, Bali is the destination I least enjoyed but looked forward to the most, perhaps there was too much of an existing expectation? I guess it was kind of inevitable considering how often it pops up on my social media feed as a ‘must-visit’ ridiculously cheap destination. Essentially paradise. Yes, it’s a ridiculously cheap place to live for those earning a UK based wage in search of escaping the 9 to 5 or a luxury holiday, definitely amazing value for money (once the flights are paid). But, in my opinion, not cheap enough for a backpacker lifestyle, this left us slightly deflated as we had spent more than we had initially budgeted. But then again, look at the amazing things we got to do, it was worth every penny.
There are quite a few dates where I have documented that I felt ready to move on, and that I was struggling in some ways, though, at that stage, backpacking was still new to me, and we were still adjusting which led to us spending a few days too long in each stop (we couldn't resist grasping onto comfort and familiarity when we could). With this in mind, did Bali even stand a chance? I can't pinpoint it exactly but for me, it seemed to be missing something. Perhaps the feeling felt in Ubud (I'd return there in a heartbeat), I didn't feel it anywhere else in Bali like I had expected to.
The transition into getting the hang of things seems to occur while I’m in Gili Trawangan. Seriously, I still think about this island today. Paradise.
You’ll hear all about it soon.
So loved this. Always tempting to only tell about the good things. Absolutely love your honesty ❤️
Absolutely loved reading that. Such honesty. Thank you for sharing your feelings.