AmyHuang
Bali - a misunderstood destination
Husband was a little unsure when I first suggested that we go to Bali this year to celebrate our first year wedding anniversary. (Can you believe it? It's been a year since Vanuatu!) Bali's reputation of being crowded, dirty, and full of Aussies, as well as 'dangerous' (an after effect of the bombings earlier this century) have stopped certain people travelling there as a holiday destination, including myself about five years ago. In 2009 I decided that I shouldn't judge a place until I've personally been there to see for myself, and I was pleasantly surprised. So this time I was determined to prove to my husband that Bali is in fact, still a pleasant and exciting place to go.
Don't get me wrong - Bali is in fact, everything what people say about it. In the main beaches of Kuta, Legian and Seminyak, it's crowded, full of cars and people, parts of it dirty and are patrolled by persistent hawkers trying to sell you everything imaginable. 80% of tourism comes from Australia so the Aussie accent is distinctively audible and even the locals would first greet you with a 'G'day mate!' or 'Want transport mate?'. They also know to call out 'Aussie Aussie Aussie!' and will, from somewhere at the back of the bus will come the reply 'Oi Oi Oi!'. It is in Bali you suddenly feel the arrogance we Australians so hate about the Americans, on display with the way we interact with the Balinese, and for some reason, we have the urge to come to Bali and do to the place everything we are not allowed to do back home.
However - that's the only unpleasant part, and you can easily escape that by simply just walking off the side lane ways or going off to the country. A trip to Ubud, the east coast or the north coast will show you the other side, the more authentic side of Bali that I madly fell in love with back in 2009, and it is in these parts you realise just how much the island has been misunderstood. From Balinese's spiritualism (devote Hindus who love having guests at their ceremonies) to their food and their laid back culture - these are the things that tourism cannot change about them, and these are the things that should be known about Bali - not the Australians, the attacks from other parts of Indonesia or the dirty beaches littered with tourist crap.
Bali is indeed misunderstood, and those who don't understand it or have a fear of it are likely to never have visited Bali. Despite all people say, there is just something about Bali that is irresistible. You shall see way in the next few posts (with photos to come).
[To be continued]
Don't get me wrong - Bali is in fact, everything what people say about it. In the main beaches of Kuta, Legian and Seminyak, it's crowded, full of cars and people, parts of it dirty and are patrolled by persistent hawkers trying to sell you everything imaginable. 80% of tourism comes from Australia so the Aussie accent is distinctively audible and even the locals would first greet you with a 'G'day mate!' or 'Want transport mate?'. They also know to call out 'Aussie Aussie Aussie!' and will, from somewhere at the back of the bus will come the reply 'Oi Oi Oi!'. It is in Bali you suddenly feel the arrogance we Australians so hate about the Americans, on display with the way we interact with the Balinese, and for some reason, we have the urge to come to Bali and do to the place everything we are not allowed to do back home.
However - that's the only unpleasant part, and you can easily escape that by simply just walking off the side lane ways or going off to the country. A trip to Ubud, the east coast or the north coast will show you the other side, the more authentic side of Bali that I madly fell in love with back in 2009, and it is in these parts you realise just how much the island has been misunderstood. From Balinese's spiritualism (devote Hindus who love having guests at their ceremonies) to their food and their laid back culture - these are the things that tourism cannot change about them, and these are the things that should be known about Bali - not the Australians, the attacks from other parts of Indonesia or the dirty beaches littered with tourist crap.
Bali is indeed misunderstood, and those who don't understand it or have a fear of it are likely to never have visited Bali. Despite all people say, there is just something about Bali that is irresistible. You shall see way in the next few posts (with photos to come).
[To be continued]
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Yes sorry photos to come with more detailed posts in the next few days. I still need to get them off my camera
Amy