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Published: December 28th 2009
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Bali. The name alone evokes an image of an exotic paradise. But my introduction to Bali was far from heavenly. I arrived in Bali shortly after midnight, after a long travel day that involved late arrivals, missed flights, delayed flights and many hours of sitting around airports, plus going through immigration, customs and airport security checks three different times (Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia). After all this, I was obviously quite exhausted. Coming to Bali was a last minute decision so I had no guidebook, no reservations, and no idea where I was going to stay. I started wondering if it was a mistake to be so unprepared, especially given the late hour and how tired I was. When I got out of the airport terminal, trying to assess my options, I made the mistake of talking to two different taxi drivers. As a result, a fistfight almost broke out, with several people joining the side of the first taxi driver, and some joining the second. There was a lot of shouting going on. Finally, my bags, which had been loaded into the first taxi, were unloaded and I went with the other taxi driver. I picked up a brochure at the
airport of a hotel that looked decent, and was in my price range. The taxi driver dropped me off there and drove off. It was about 1:30 AM at this point. I hardly slept the night before, because I had to get up at 5 AM to go to the airport in Colombo. I went to check in, and was told the hotel was fully booked. I almost cried. I was really tired, and when I get to a new country, especially at night, I first want to just rest and get oriented the next day. Not start fighting with taxi drivers or looking for hotel rooms at 1:30 AM. I asked the hotel worker if there was any other place available. He said all the hotels in Kuta Beach are full, this is the high season. I was getting really concerned. Did I make a huge mistake coming here without reservations? I traveled for 6 months last year, in 18 different countries, and it was never an issue, but maybe this would be the exception. Finally, he called his manager. I begged and pleaded, and at last, after 15 minutes or so, they came up with an absolutely brilliant
idea: They would call their sister hotel (same hotel chain), 10 minutes away, and see if they had any rooms. Duh! Why didn’t they think of this first? Anyway, they did have rooms, so I went straight there. The room was really nice, like a small apartment actually, complete with balcony, living room, a fridge, satellite TV, and wifi internet. And a large outdoor swimming pool. I was happy to spend the next few days there.
By the way, I rarely write about the frustrations of traveling, like this taxi and hotel incident. But these kind of things happen a lot when you travel in foreign countries (in some countries more than others, of course), and it’s just the downside of traveling. Hopefully, and most of the time, these minor frustrations are more than compensated for by the thrill of discovering new places and having exciting experiences. When that stops being the case, you know it’s time to either take a break, change locations, or go home.
The next day, after a much needed good night’s sleep, I was off to explore Kuta Beach. Kuta reminded me of Phuket in Thailand, or Cancun on spring break, or any of
thousands of resort towns around the world. Everything seemed to cater to foreigners, and there was little to indicate whether you were in Indonesia, the Bahamas, Mexico, Thailand, or Australia for that matter. Filled with strip malls, souvenir shops, bars, massage parlors, nightclubs, Pizza Huts, McDonald’s, Bubba Gump’s restaurant, the Hard Rock Café, and more Starbucks per block than most US cities. There are so many Australians here, that shopkeepers yell out “Hello, mate!” when you pass their store. The vendors are very aggressive too. In a 5 minute walk along Kuta Beach, I was approached three times: "Sex massage?" "Marijuana?" "Taxi?". No, thanks. I don't need a taxi…
Although this wasn’t what I had in mind when I came to Bali, I did take the opportunity to eat some non-indigenous food, like Turkish kebab and sushi. Indonesian food is pretty good, though. The second day I barely left my hotel room, catching up on reality TV from home (“Survivor”) and internet surfing, now that I had wifi, ordering room service, and swimming in the pool. It was clear that if I wanted to see the real Bali, I needed to get the hell out of Kuta. So that
night, I booked a trip to Ubud, a cultural center in the interior of the island.
It was to the Ubud area in central Bali, that a small number of European artists and intellectuals came in the 1920’s and 30’s, and helped establish the reputation of Bali as a mystical paradise. It was in and around Ubud that I saw two Balinese dance and Gamelan (traditional Indonesian music) performances, many art galleries, unique temples, woodcarving, the royal palace where the royal family (no longer having any official power, but still very respected) still lives, painting by hand of batik, beautiful Balinese architecture, and so much more. There were still many aggressive vendors, and it was still very touristy, but in a much more traditional way. For example, instead of large hotels, like in Kuta, which could be anywhere in the world (yes, I stayed in one too; guilty as charged), in Ubud there were small guesthouses with traditional Balinese architecture. Art and culture were everywhere, there were more cultural tourists and fewer drunk ones. By the way, I don’t want to disparage a nationality, but while all along Kuta, there were mostly Australian tourists, inland, they were mostly Europeans
and some Japanese. This tells me something that is obvious if you spent any time in Kuta: The Australians who come to Bali don’t come here for the culture. It’s for them what Cancun is for North Americans, or Ibiza is for the Northern Europeans: a close and cheap place to party by night and go to the beach by day. Who cares what country this is? All that matters is the beer is cheap, and we’re not at home, so we can really let loose.
I heard the name Bali so many times, but I never really knew what to expect. Spending some time in the center of the island, I discovered what makes Bali unique. It is not the natural beauty of the island. It’s nice, but not very different from thousands of other tropical islands. Its nature is actually quite similar to another island I just came from - Sri Lanka. In both cases, the beaches are OK, but not great (not of the clear water and white sand variety found elsewhere). The interior is lush and green. It’s hot, humid, and it rains quite a bit. In Sri Lanka, the interior is mainly tea plantations.
Here, it is mostly rice terraces. Same same. (I actually preferred the tea plantations in Sri Lanka, and saw more rivers and waterfalls there). What makes Bali special is its unique culture and religion - such as its own brand of Hinduism in an overwhelmingly Muslim country, and surrounded by Muslim islands to the East and West. Its dance, music, art, architecture and so on are beautiful, and different from any other. Who hasn’t heard of Balinese dance? Balinese masks? Balinese architecture? They are unlike anything else. Even the Hinduism as it is practiced here, and the Hindu temples here are different from the Hindu ones in India, or from the Buddhist ones I have seen elsewhere. Is Bali paradise? Not quite. But definitely a unique culture, and that will appeal to anyone who appreciates art and culture. Unfortunately, it loses points for being overdeveloped and commercialized. A long line of gift shops (all selling the same crap) lines every major temple and attraction. Whether in Kuta or Ubud, you can’t walk down the street without hearing “Taxi? Massage?” every 10 seconds. There is a sense that if this were ever a paradise, that paradise has been at least somewhat
lost.
I wanted to rediscover paradise, and a couple people told me about the Gili Islands. Plus there were brochures for the boats to them all over Bali. Closer to the island of Lombok than Bali, they are small islands, each so small that you could walk around it in a couple hours. I was told they have nice beaches, great snorkeling, and are very laid back. So I got on a speedboat from Bali, and arrived about an hour later.
There are three Gili Islands, and I decided to come to the middle one, Gili Meno. A friend of mine was here about 10 years ago, and she said at the time it was just a couple of shacks. There’s a lot more than a couple shacks now. There are many bungalows along the beach, dive centers, a grocery store, cafes and restaurants, and even an internet cafe. But somehow, it is still very quiet and laid back. It never felt crowded, and I often had long stretches of beach to myself. And this is the height of the high season, right around Christmas (I arrived on Christmas day, in fact). No hassles, no aggressive vendors. A pleasant
change after Bali. Oh, and there are no motorized vehicles allowed on any of the Gili Islands. With no cars or motorcycles, the only way to get around is by foot or horse carriage, a common means of transport in much of Indonesia. The sand here was pretty white, although there was quite a bit of coral on the beach, so you did have to watch your step; and the water was clear. Definitely nicer than the beaches in Sri Lanka or Bali. A bungalow is between $15 to $40 a night, depending whether it has air con or just a fan, and how nice it is. These are high season prices. Off peak is half that. I got a nice bungalow near the beach for $20 a night. I spent a lot of time at the beachside cafes drinking fresh juice (watermelon, pineapple, orange) and staring out into the clear blue ocean. Ate some good lobster for a fraction of what it would cost back home. Went snorkeling a couple times and all I can say is I wish I had an underwater camera. Saw so many colorful fish of every size, shape and color imaginable; and a couple
small turtles too. I almost went to the Maldives on this trip. Maybe the islands and diving are better there, but I can’t imagine that by much. The Gilis are pretty close to perfection. Hopefully, they never become as overdeveloped as Bali, although it’s certainly possible, maybe even likely. So come before they do!
Check out my photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/pfnjobs/BaliAndGiliIndonesia02
Youtube link to Balinese dance performances I recorded:
Some great travel info on the Gili Islands:
http://tezzasthaiinfo.blogspot.com/2007/07/some-info-on-gili-islands.html
http://wikitravel.org/en/Gili_Islands
Happy New Year!
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chattster
non-member comment
good reading
yes i enjoyed reading your opinions, i actually have have been to these places ten years ago, and i thought you put it realy well, it will certaionly help the first time traveler