Bali: Part 1

PART 1: An Overview of Bali

PART 2: My Thoughts on Solo Travel 

PART 3: (eventually) An itinerary and quick tips for the confused solo traveler in Bali 

PART 1:

No, this is not a tale of how I "found myself in Bali" or how I had "an eye-opening cultural experience," although some of things I describe will get a bit sappy... but, if you've visited my page before, you should've already seen that coming anyway :)

Bali: What's it Really Like?

I have a lot to say about Indonesia. In 7 days, I saw so much, and honestly, it's a lot to process in such a short time.  I'll try to give you a picture of what my week has been like.  Like most of my other blog posts this semester, this post is combo of my thoughts and pictures, creating a more interesting and efficient way to describe my experiences.  To me, this a lot better than the inadequate conversation of: 

"Hey, how was Bali?"

"Great! Super pretty. Lots of fun." 

That's pretty much how it goes, right?  But sometimes I need more time and more words to tell you how something really was.

Getting Started

When I exchanged money for the week in Bali, I started with $200 Australian dollars to convert to Indonesian rupiah, and that gave me $1.5 million rupiah. aka I was a millionaire by Bali standards.  But that didn't last long... It's true that Bali is very cheap, but you still obviously spend money every day and that adds up.  Handing over $50,000 IDR for lunch is only $5 AUD (so it's more like $3.50 in USD!) but at first, it feels like so much more than that and it takes some getting used to. The first full day I was not really used to it. 

I knew in my head how to convert the currency and how to bargain with vendors on the streets, but actually doing it was another story entirely.  There were 1 or 2 times where I paid quite a bit more than I should have for something.  It's not the end of the world... most things are pretty inexpensive to begin with, but it can be very frustrating. The Balinese love to bargain. I didn't enjoy it before, but once I got used to it, I thought it was pretty cool.  You bargain pretty much everywhere except places with posted set prices, like restaurants, chain convenient stores, and metered taxis.  I even bargained the price of my room at a nice chain hotel and got the "special price."  It was incredibly strange.  But also really awesome.

"genuine fake shop"

For me, the economy in Bali creates a blurred line between wanting to give money to these hardworking people or wanting to get a good deal for myself and to actually pay what I think the activity or item is worth.  For example, one morning a shop owner stopped me and shook my hand and before I knew it, he pulled me in to his tent-covered shop to look at the clothes.  It was a little uncomfortable how he grabbed my hand as I was walking down the street, but I didn't feel pressured.  Honestly, I could have politely said "No thank you" and walked straight out.  But I figured why not buy 1 thing? 

It would be the shop's first sale of the day, and in Bali, this signifies good luck and is often a cheaper price. I bought a romper ("playsuit" for you non-Americans) and bargained the price down from $12 to $5, and as much as I know that man could really use the extra $7, I also wanted to selfishly save it for myself, and I knew the outfit was really only worth $5. And, so I've been told, the Balinese really do expect you to bargain with them. There will be plenty of times that some tourists pay a lot extra, and some who pay a lot less, and this hopefully will balance out and give both the seller and the buyer what they want. This system of heckling and bargaining is such a strange way of life, but it's also super interesting and enticing.

Speaking of the economy, the poverty in Bali is one of the things that struck me most this week. Like many other tropical tourist destinations around the world, Bali's economy feeds on tourism but is still stuck in poverty. Bali is full of great resorts, nice restaurants, and tourist activities all juxtaposed to dirt-covered side streets, little concrete or wooden shacks behind shop fronts, and homeless starving people. It's heartbreaking. It's dizzying. It's something you expect to see, but you don't really get it until you actually walk through it.

Hindu offering on the sidewalk in front of a shop.
People burn incense & put these out every single morning.

Even though I stayed in fairly nice hostels in good locations, I was often face-to-face with the harsh reality of the living situations in Bali. Little old men pull their whole shop on a giant cart, trying to make sales. Countless injured dogs and skinny cats roam the streets looking for food, often putting themselves in danger of being hit by bikes and cars. Sad-looking women hold their babies in dark doorways or on street corners, begging for money. Amidst all this however, it's pretty unbelievable to walk through the streets and take note of how happy many of the people are, adults and children alike. 

One of my favorite moments of the whole week happened one night when I was walking out of the hostel to get dinner. I was walking with a few other people, and suddenly we were caught in the middle of about 20 little Indonesian kids running around the street.  They were playing tag- hiding, running, screaming, laughing, and having the time of their lives- with seemingly no rules of the game at all. These were the same boys I'd seen earlier riding bikes, 2 or 3 on one bike with no shoes and no helmet. The same girls I'd seen helping mom sweep up trash, barely tall enough to hold a broom. One of the little boys tagged me, and I laughed and tagged him back. As we made our way through the little crowd, I ran around tagging some of the others as they sped around me. I could've spent hours there.

                          

Traveling to a country like Indonesia gives you chances to do a lot of things, like trying new food (it's a lot of rice & noodles in Indonesia, but really good!) to see incredible natural sights (like the 2 volcanoes Mt Batur and Mt Angung), and even holding monkeys or swimming with turtles.  Aside from all those great things, I think visiting a place like Bali also gives you a chance to appreciate what you have at home.  As cheesy as it is, I think it's true. How could you not be more grateful for everything you have after seeing the conditions in which many families here are living.

      

Yesterday I learned something really cool from another American traveler. She donated blood at a children's hospital in Bali because when she goes back to America, her travel will prevent her from donating for a year anyway, so why not give blood in Indonesia where they have a huge need for donors? This woman told me that when she was sitting in the waiting area, an Indonesian mother and daughter were sitting near her, and she ended up finding out the little girl was in need of heart surgery. She was waiting for more blood donors before she could have the surgery, and they were hoping a tourist would walk in and donate, and that's exactly what happened.

Donating blood in another country is such a cool idea (when it's in a safe and legitimate place of course, like a children's hospital) but it's certainly not something I would've thought of on my own. Personally, my body needs 2 or 3 days to get myself feeling good enough to donate blood, so I wasn't prepared this time, but I'd love to do it someday on my next trip.

It's such an oxymoron isn't it?  People like me who come to islands like this don't want to leave.  We relax on tropical beaches or get to know the local culture and nature (in my fortunate case, both) and we are sad to depart from it.  Contrastingly, the workers on these islands, the people who work their asses off every day to try to sell their tourist services, handmade items, or even just bottled water and snacks, would kill to get a chance to leave these places and see a new part of the world.  They'd love to make enough money to travel, to get a new job, or even simply to get their family above the poverty line. 

I guess that's just the way it is, isn't it? We make the most of what we have, whether that's a little or a lot.