I started my time in Indonesia on the island of Bali by spending a few days relaxing and exploring. I wandered around the streets, taking in a totally new culture. The plants and statues that line the roads are beautiful. There is a lot of noise and congestion too. The city roads are constantly filled with shouts of “transport” or “taxi” wherever you go.

 

There are also people encouraging you to come in their shops to buy cheap clothing, knockoff watches and bags. My haggling skills were put to the test but I fared well. Wearing the same clothes for the last few months has gotten old, so adding a cheap item or two to my backpack felt awesome. I also switched my diet from cooking in hostels to eating out. It was nice to be able to sample the local cuisine.

 

Since hotels (and most things) in Bali are cheaper than my previous travel spots, I had no problem splurging for a few nights. I chilled by the pool and even had a luxury spa day. I would have loved to continue traveling like that but my budget is lower for Southeast Asia, so back to reality I went.

 

For my first time exploring Southeast Asia I decided I would be most comfortable on a group tour. There are pros and cons to traveling this way. The benefits include that there’s so much to do, you’ve got a built-in group of friends, and everything is planned for you. The biggest downside would be the cost, I simply cannot afford to constantly be on group tours. The other factor is if you want to stay longer in one area, or do something that the group isn’t, you can’t. Luckily, I felt that the pros highly outweighed the cons for this tour.

 

Our group met in Kuta and started our first day off with a welcome dinner. I tried my best to learn everyone’s names and countries as quickly as possible. This was my first tour that would be the same group for the entire thing. Everyone was friendly and the group was a nice mix of ages, countries, and travel types (i.e. vacation from work, gap year traveling). I even got a cool roomie that I quickly attached to.

 

 

Our tour visited three main areas:

 

Kuta

Kuta was a lot of fun. The nightlife consisted of me frequenting the best place in town. I spent several nights at an all you can eat and drink venue, getting the most for my money. By the time our group was enjoying the free flow of food and drinks on the second day, we had bonded quite well.

 

My group also visited two temples, Tanah Lot and Uluwatu. It was interesting to see the architecture and statues surrounding both places. As I watched the sunset at the temple, I took some time to reflect on my journey thus far and how special it felt to be there. This is really becoming a once in a lifetime experience.

 

 

The best part of Kuta for me, was that I developed another hobby: surfing. I took my first ever surf lesson on the tour and had so much fun I took another one when the tour ended. I felt a rush from standing up. At first I thought it was just luck that I got up, but after riding a few waves, I realized I was having the time of my life.

 

 

Ubud

The tour picked up the pace when we got to Ubud. On our first day we visited a waterfall and walked around a monkey forest. I was hesitant to get to close but got a few cute pictures. My travel mates were braver than I and fed them, becoming climbing posts for a brief moment.

 

 

The second day was by far my favorite of the whole tour. A few members of the group decided to go to an early morning yoga class. I thought it would be a great experience to do some yoga in Ubud. Although, looking back, I’m not sure why. I have never had great balance or shown any yoga skill, so I found the “morning flow” class quite difficult. The heat didn’t help either. Regardless, it was still a very enjoyable experience.

 

We then visited a local school where we played with kids and taught them some words in English. I felt very in my element, especially bringing up interactive songs from my camp days.

 

 

We then sampled coffee and tea including the world’s most expensive coffee at a plantation. The day was topped off with a walk among the rice paddies, which were breathtaking.

 

 

Gili Islands

We took a boat out from Bali to the Gili Islands, right near Lombok. The Islands are absolutely picturesque. I enjoyed watching the sunset on swings over the water, and I felt like I had reached paradise. Because of this, some of my best pictures were taken on the Gili Islands.

 

 

We spent the following day on a boat visiting three snorkel spots. It was great to be in the water looking at the Indonesian sea life. I was even able to see several turtles, something I missed out on during all my previous snorkels- including the Great Barrier Reef! Luckily some of the turtles were right below us within free diving range so I was able to touch their shells.

 

 

Saying goodbye to the tour group was sad, this was a whole week with the same people, something that hadn’t happened for me in a while! I want to thank them for an awesome experience and help taking photos to ensure I could capture all the great moments. I’m sure I’ll see some of them again soon.

 

Bonus: Stopover in Singapore

On my way to my next stop, I realized I scheduled a stopover for 10 hours in Singapore. When I groaned about this out loud, a travel mate told me about how awesome it was; I was not let down. I enjoyed the shopping and restaurants, gardens, butterfly exhibit, video-game center, movie theatre, and a free tour of the city!

 

 

 

I’m very exited to say that next up is Thailand!