BALI

Bali was my first trip outside Canada. At the ripe old age of 29. And I did it solo. As my husband would say:

“That’s two pretty big cherries!”

I was also deeply unsatisfied with my job and I felt stuck in a rut. It was a mid-life crisis delivered 20 years early – and just in time to put me on track for the nomadic life I always knew I was meant to live. 

getting to bali

Like any responsible adult, I quit my job, cashed out all my RRSPs, and spent 2 weeks researching backpacks and hiking sandals and downloading pages from WikiTravel (remember those?). By the time I booked my flight to Denpasar I’d spent about $400 on travel supplies and $1,000 on flights. Then I budgeted $20/day for accommodation and food (an easily achievable goal back in 2010) and hit the road.

Since I’d never flown internationally I had no idea how comfortable travelling in coach could be. Compared to coach on domestic flights, it felt like I was flying first-class! We were given hot towels at takeoff, there was extra leg room in all rows, and we could choose our hot meal in-flight. Oh! And free drinks, which I know is fairly standard on international flights, but for someone on a budget it was a happy revelation. I snuggled into my big comfy seat for 8 hours of uninterrupted movies and adult beverages.

If I was a kitten I would’ve been purring.

If the flight from Vancouver to Narita was comfortable, then the flight from Narita to Denpasar was heaven. It was nearly empty with all the same attention and amenities. As we took off I lay across a whole row of seats and slept for most of the 7hr flight. I had got to chatting with one of the flight attendants at takeoff, so she knew it was my first time to Bali. She was kind enough to wake me up as we were descending – not just to check my seatbelt – but to make sure I was looking out the window: it was a full moon and there were no clouds. As we circled the island I could make out Mt. Agung, the tallest volcano in Bali, surrounded by a canopy of midnight green and an ocean of diamonds.

Pure. Magic.

first impressions

Here’s a Bali experience you can have in your home right now: light a stick of incense. Any incense will do. Now step back, close your eyes, and take a deep breath. That’s what Bali smells like. It’ll hit you the moment you step off the plane, and it’ll follow you everywhere until you leave. 

Want to know what else will follow you the same way? A sense of calm and well-being.

I blame the locals. And the culture.

The beautiful people of Bali are always smiling. They’re incredibly friendly, and their kindness isn’t bound in commerce. They’ll still be chatting you up long after you’ve paid for your meal, checked out of your homestay, or purchased your gorgeous hand-carved wooden souvenir.

And almost everywhere you go in Bali you’ll find beautifully carved statues. Some are gods that adorn plinths at temples and entrances to tourist attractions, like Rama and Sinta at Bali Botanic Garden (below left). Smaller statues at the entrances to homes and businesses are called bedogols, or guardians, whose purpose is to protect the spiritual energy of the site. The act of artistically creating of the statues and guardians is itself a form of worship, and just like the incense, the love and energy they exude is palpable and ubiquitous.

the itinerary

The plan for my trip was to stay at as many different places as possible while also doing justice to the culture on the island. I don’t think I was unique with my travel plans, but as a first-timer I really thought I was blazing a trail.

Travelling around Bali was made easy by all of the seemingly brand-new blacktop roads and all the locals eager to scooter around tourists on a budget (like me!). These roads connected the heavily touristed centres like Ubud and Denpasar with more remote temples, volcano hikes and diving centres.

While I was there I took in as much of Bali as I could, but I ultimately missed out on the entire left side of the island. My plan was to stay a whole month but three weeks into the trip Dengue fever and an amoebic parasite had other plans. More on that later.

denpasar, the capital of bali

Denpasar is a huge city that holds one sixth of the population of the island – and it seemed like all 788,000 residents were buzzing around on scooters when I landed at 1AM. As a person who doesn’t drive, riding in the passenger seat of a taxi weaving through traffic in Denpasar made me really nervous. Everyone jockeys for position at a red light. And the lines on the road are (apparently) just for decoration. And no one wears a helmet.

When I got checked into my hostel the light in my room wasn’t working, but I was too tired to deal with it. Then I noticed something in the shadows crawling on the ceiling over my bed. So I pulled out my camera and braced myself for a giant spider and a sleepless night.

It was a baby gecko!

I fell asleep to the sound of this sweet baby lizard chirping at me. I felt like a Disney princess.

In the morning I woke to the sticky sweet smell of fresh fruit. There, within easy reach of my bedroom window, was a mango tree hanging with overripe fruit.

Apparently my flights had gotten mixed up; this wasn’t Bali, it was Nirvana!

sanur

It was everywhere: floating on top of the water, laying on the ocean floor, gathered in ditches, piled up along the road, stuck to food growing in the fields. Heck, I even found it at the top of terraced rice paddies.

It was depressing, but the altruist in me decided that:

“something must be done!”

And so it was there on the fine golden sands of Sanur that I started Googling beach cleanup tours (yes, there is such a thing). I was happy to find one not far away in Amed.

Since Amed was a 2hr drive across the island I decided to cut the journey in half and stop in Candi-Dasa (“chondee-dassa“) for some world-renowned snorkelling. Two days later (after many hours of massage and sunbathing) I was off on my first Bali adventure.

candi-dasa

We sailed for about half an hour toward islands in the distance that turned out to be a gorgeous atoll hanging with greenery and hundreds of birds. Once we got within about 150m I was told that it was too dangerous to get any closer, so my guides dropped anchor and invited me to jump in the swell.

“There are some pretty corals out here!”

Like an idiot I jumped into the washing machine. I was immediately rolled by two massive swells. There was no chance I could keep my head in the water, and when I opened my eyes the visibility was basically zero. 

When I finally surfaced they yanked me back into the boat and sailed me on a guided tour of the atoll instead, complete with picnic lunch and a gorgeous sunset. I was used to playing ballast on my boyfriend’s dad’s racing boat back home, so I took great joy in the tour and the sights once I knew I wasn’t getting in the water.

amed

My garbage-picking tour in Amed is nostalgic and sepia-coloured because it was a novelty experience, and it’s where I met two fellow travellers whose company became a highlight of the trip. 

I arrived around sunrise on the only bus heading east from Candi-Dasa. I didn’t even try to check-in to my hostel and instead settled into one of two plastic seats outside a gelato shop overlooking the beach. That’s where I met Hannah from .. Sweden? It’s been over a decade, and we didn’t stay in touch, but we became roommates for a week at that gelato stand. She took me to beaches I hadn’t planned to visit and on daring scooter rides that I wouldn’t have gone on alone. 

I’m not gonna lie: my time with Hannah is a blur. Not only because her plans deviated so wildly from my own, but because her energy was so blessedly, perfectly unpredictable. She was quintessentially European (read: worldly), which to my sheltered Canadian self felt both welcoming and risque. The only time I said no is when she wanted to sample the local magic mushrooms. I’d read enough about dabbling in illicits in Bali to know I wanted no part of it: the island is predominantly Hindu, but the rest of Indonesia is Muslim and it’s from that religion that many laws are derived (and enforced). So, before you travel:

Do your research and get familiar with local laws and customs.

The expedition launched just outside Amed in a tiny farming community that was spread out along the coast. Not realising that the farm runoff must inevitably find its way to shore and out to sea, my altruist garbage picking expedition started with me swimming through said runoff. It was not an auspicious start, but one of my teammates was a professional diver and he quickly steered me to fresh waters. This lovely Frenchman (whose name I’ve long forgotten) and I worked as a team: he would swim down 15-20 feet to collect garbage and then hand off the bag to me on the surface. I’d swim ashore to drop off the bag and then swim back out with another. I felt like a glorified cheerleader but he was gracious and we ended up having a lovely dinner that night with others from the expedition. 

I went to sleep with a full heart, having done something small to give back to this beautiful island and also having shared stories from home with some fellow travellers.

Watching the sunrise from the balcony in my room the next morning is a highlight from the trip.

tirta gangga

The water palace at Tirta Gangga is probably the most photographed and recognizable temple in Bali, and with good reason: it’s absolutely stunning. I made a point of staying at a bungalow on site so that I could have the place to myself at dawn, and I was not disappointed.

The spell was broken as tour buses started to arrive, but the reverence of the place encouraged the rabble of tourists (myself included) to carry on quietly, respectful of those who were there for the gods as much as the photos.

Tirta Gangga was one of the few temples that I visited where I was not required to observe the religious custom of donning a sari before entering. At almost every other temple I was treated to an artful wrap-and-tuck that required mincing steps while balanced on tippy-toes. 

Later that afternoon as I sat waiting for a bus I was approached by an elderly gentleman who offered to give me a private walking tour of his farm. I was astonished to find that the rice paddies bordering Tirta Gangga were privately owned by locals. These enterprising farmers subsidise their income by taking tourists like me up for a guided tour of their rice terraces and the spectacular views of Tirta Gangga far below.

nusa lembongan

Something else I’ll never forget: the harrowing boat ride out to Nusa Lembongan.

A few days after leaving Tirta Gangga, Hannah and I were once again in Sanur and headed out to one of the many small islands off the east coast of Bali. A wooden boat that was designed to seat maybe 40 was crowded with about twice that many people. Also on board were stacks of clay tile and bags of concrete, building supplies making their way to a new hotel development on the island. These supplies were stacked on the floors and seats while people, suitcases and backpacks were squished together on top of a wooden deck that I’m certain was designed as a sun shade and not as a load-bearing structure. As we set off I became alarmingly aware of how rough the waters were and wondered whether I shouldn’t have got my affairs in order before we set off.

What was supposed to be a three-day stay was shortened instead to just one, but we made the most of it by renting a small boat and paddling our way through another enchanted Bali experience. With the tide out, the mangrove forest looked like a lady holding up her skirts and tip-toeing through the shallows: the roots, long and skinny, reached up spindly legs to regroup in the canopy 6 or 8 feet above, almost completely blocking the sunlight. The swell calmed considerably in these narrow canals and for long moments we would drift with the current (with only the buzzing of flies to break the spell).

Once back in Sanur we hired a driver, Agung Komping, to take us on a driving tour to Ubud, GitGit Waterfall, Bali Botanic Garden, and to the black volcanic beaches at Lovina on the north tip of the island. For me, hiring Agung was the best decision and the money best spent on the whole trip.

ubud, the cultural centre of bali

If Denpasar is the thriving metropolis of Bali, then Ubud is the cultural centre. Here, daytime and nighttime markets thrive seven days a week selling everything from street meat to expertly carved, impossibly delicate art like hand carved stone statues and wooden masks, wall hangings and doors that the Balinese are known for. Also weirdly prominent are glass storefronts selling high-end western fashions beside hand-painted Balinese saris, skirts, dresses and hand-crafted jewellery. 

gitgit waterfall and bali botanic garden

The hawkers spoke patiently about how they grow and harvest their incredible array of hand-packed coffee beans and spices, explaining how they roast the beans and recommending what foods their spices should be cooked with. They were teaching a couple what spices to buy and combine at home to make their own incense. That was my first time buying spices on a trip, and since then they’ve become my favourite souvenir to bring home. 

Later that day Agung drove us through Bali Botanic Garden. Since the garden spans an incredible 359 acres we didn’t see all of it, but Agung is a knowledgeable guide who took us to the quieter areas where we could walk through deserted glass gardens and wander around manicured forests full of vines, ferns and flower gardens.

getting to lovina

Most tourists travel by tour bus or scooter, but neither of those options has much to offer in the way of air conditioning. The heat and humidity in the interior of the island (away from any sort of coastal breeze) and the fact that the roads twist and turn through close jungle canopy makes it AC a need, not a want.  

The drive from Ubud to Lovina can take between two and three hours depending on traffic. Agung’s SUV was super comfy, and he provided a running narrative of Balinese culture and temples and activities as he drove. Agung still drives, and I highly recommend his services. You can find him here on Facebook. We’ve stayed in touch on Facebook and I hired him again when my husband and I visited Bali on a two-week holiday during our seven-month Australia road trip in 2017 (travel diary coming soon!).

tanah lot temple

When I was dropped off at Tanah Lot I just sort of stood there staring at it for a few minutes. It looked just like the photos! And not because there weren’t people to obstruct the view, but because Tanah Lot is so huge that the people appear tiny by comparison. After two weeks visiting temples I was still hit hard by a deep sense of reverence for this place. And, even though tourists aren’t allowed inside (it’s for Balinese nationals only), I stayed until well past sunset.

My next stop was Kuta, which (unbeknownst to me at the time) was the last place I’d stay in Bali. From there I’d have to cut my trip short and take an early flight home to British Columbia. My plans to explore Nusa Dua Beach and Uluwatu Temple in the south, and Mount Merbuk in the west would have to wait for another trip.

kuta beach

Kuta Beach! What can I say other than that it’s a super fun surf town that (in May) was flooded with Australian surfers and the people who chase them. The average age in town – including the vendors, hostel staff and bartenders – was around 20-25. I was older than almost everyone, but I got caught up in the energy just the same. 

My first day there I moved from a mouldy hostel – think bare light bulbs and a sweaty mattress – into a slightly less mouldy cabin with a breeze closer to the beach. At check-in I caught what was unmistakably a Canadian accent from the corner of my ear. I didn’t even realise I was homesick until I heard it. So I did as any responsible solo female traveller would do: I dropped my pack and sprinted head first into the arms of a stranger. He embraced me like a long-lost friend and then asked me how we knew each other.

“We don’t! I just know you’re Canadian and I’ve been travelling alone for 3 weeks!” 

That night I joined him and his friends for a wild night out in Kuta. We sampled food from a few street vendors and then party hopped from one beach club to another, dancing and ordering a raft of Bintang to the table. When the music shut down we headed to the beach and swam through bioluminescent algae under a sky full of stars. Around sunrise we fell asleep on the bali hut massage tables at a fancy beach resort. 

The trick to sleeping on the beach is to wake just before security shows up to chase off the rabble. That sort of thing can have a diminishing effect on the magic that’s already fading in the light of day with a raging hangover.

I made my way back to my room to snooze a little longer, with plans to meet up again later that afternoon.

being sick abroad

When I woke up I was so sick. It was mid-day, so it had to be 30+ degrees, but I was wrapped up in a sweaty sheet and shivering. I was so delirious from fever and pain that it took me a couple of hours just to get out of bed.

My first thought was to get myself to a local walk-in clinic. I was so out of it that I forgot I had travel insurance and access to first-world medical care at the Blue Cross clinic.

Here’s where I pause the story to tell you to get travel insurance. I know it can feel like a waste if you’re a perfectly healthy person who’s not allergic to anything and who is risk-averse. But there are a lot of other reasons you might need travel insurance.

The clinic was over-crowded and very hot and I was the only tourist there. I was hovering between sleepiness and hyper-alertness from waves of pain and that left me weak as a kitten. Eventually I remembered that I had insurance and asked the receptionist to call me a cab. The driver seemed to recognize the symptoms – and that I was a tourist – and simply said “Blue Cross?” Away we went.

I had been at the Blue Cross clinic for about an hour when the nurse who took my blood came back to tell me that I had Dengue fever and an amoebic parasite. The Dengue was definitely from a mosquito bite, and the parasite was probably from eating undercooked BBQ chicken at a street vendor. Both infections are very common in Bali, especially in the heavily touristed areas like Kuta beach, and it makes sense: where there are more people, there’s a better chance of the same mosquito infecting multiple targets, and the street meat vendors partially cook the chicken in advance and then quickly finish it on the BBQ to feed a larger volume of tourists.

The scary thing about Dengue is that it’s a hemorrhagic fever that can cause the platelet levels in your blood to drop suddenly. I was told that there was a possibility I could bleed out at altitude from an uncontrollable fever-induced nosebleed (or bleeding from other parts of the body). I had three days to fly home to Canada, or stay in Bali for two weeks until the fever passed.

I don’t remember much about those 3 days, but I spent the entire 24hr journey home (with an 8hr layover in Narita this time – fun!) walking from one washroom to another. At the hospital in Canada I was given 3 bags of saline. My boyfriend at the time says he watched me reinflate from a wrinkled old woman back into myself. It would be 3 weeks before I could stay awake for more than 4 hours at a time. In 2020 I finally noticed that the bone-crushing pain that had become part of every flu and cold finally went away. A decade after I got Dengue fever.

So, yah. Please get travel insurance. It not only got me first-world medical care fast – which enabled me to fly home to be with family and friends to ride out the Dengue – it also saved me thousands of dollars in medical fees, accommodation, and flight changes.

final impressions

My goal in telling you about getting sick in Bali isn’t so that you won’t go. It seems a crummy way to end a trip, and it was, but I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat (next time: more bug spray, less BBQ chicken).

I’ll leave you with a tidy list of considerations for your upcoming trip to Bali – because you’re going now, aren’t you?

I’ll see you there!

Renee | June 2024

“Keep your face always toward the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind you” – Walt Whitman

what to do in bali:

• Wear bug spray, day and night. The mosquitos will get you in the shade on a sunny day.
• Learn about the customs, culture, appropriate attire, religion and laws before you go.
• Research the safety records for the charter company before you get on the boat.
• Make friends with the locals.
• Find the off-the-beaten path experiences.
• Get a beach massage under a bali hut (palapa).
• Hire Agung to drive you around. He’s been doing it for over a decade and he’s good at what he does. 
• Visit the black sand beaches.
• Keep a diary.
• Take lots of photos!

what NOT to do in bali:

• Eat BBQ chicken street meat.

PS: Keep this list someplace safe, and when you’re ready to travel do like I do and add it to your packing list. It’ll get you in the right mindset for a stellar travel experience, and I guarantee you’ll come back with stories to tell.