Indonesia

Bali, Indonesia: January 2024, December 2024

Spotify Playlist for this trip!

What to do/ where to go:

Uluwatu, Bali:

Where we stayed: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/901781644311569771?check_in=2025-01-06&check_out=2025-01-09&guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique_share_id=f5f9791d-3a74-4655-ac64-d14729379cff
Rent a moped! There are places all over Uluwatu that you can rent a moped from! It is the best experience and best way to get around.
Go to BGS Coffee shop for all of your coffee and matcha needs! They also sell surf equipment and merch!
Visit Suka Espresso for breakfast and lunch! They have a wide variety of food options, all so good!
Lola’s Cantina Mexicana for dinner! The best mexican ever!!!
Nourish for pizza! Can get a whole pizza for $4-5 USD!
Pandang Pandang beach for surfing, swimming, and laying out (you have to pay a small beach access fee, but it ends up coming to around $.65 USD) also a great spot to see monkeys
Tapas del Mar Uluwatu- MUST try this spot! The freshest food I had in Bali, great menu and everything is 10/10!!
Drifter Surf Shop: They have a cafe, but also is a surf shop! I got a juice and journaled here for about 2 hours! Very peaceful, also serves as a bookstore.
Visit Ripcurl Uluwatu! They have unique items just for their Bali location! A great store to browse around.
Dreamland Beach for sunset!

Ubud, Bali:

Where we stayed: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/38683023?guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique_share_id=18c356ec-7201-4b90-bf71-c3421ca747c0
Monkey Forest: beware, these monkeys will steal your things, but they’re all over the place here!
Yoga Barn: if you visit Ubud, you should totally consider booking a class at the Yoga Barn! Such a cool experience! I believe our class cost around $10 USD and they also had a cafe you could purchase food and smoothies from!
Campuhan Ridge Walk for incredible views of Ubud!
Visit the rice fields in Bali, they have some dinner and lunch options over the rice fields, I would book in advance for those!

Canggu, Bali:

Where we stayed: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/41704547?guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique_share_id=898e8f0d-d68b-4649-b662-6be5276180d4
When we went back in December 2024, we stayed here. Great location, about 5 minutes away from the beach and the kindest staff!
Deus Ex Machina for shopping, cafe, and lunch!
Zycle for a morning workout!
Chandra Yoga!! Book a class if you are in Canggu, this was located with a stunning view of the rice fields and you can hear the waterfall in the back as you take the class! Best yoga class ever!
BGS Coffee Shop! They had a location in Uluwatu as well, their coffee never disappoints and they have the kindest staff!
Zin Cafe for dinner/lunch needs!! They had such a large menu and everything was SO good!
Visit Gigi Susu for coffee!
La Brisa Sunday markets

Gili Trawangan, Indonesia:

Where we stayed: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/43822860?guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique_share_id=1fc8ede7-d38a-4546-8312-13a7adfbb1ce
We took a ferry from Bali to Gili Trawangan and stayed for two nights! I wouldn’t recommend staying any less or any more! The island can be explored on foot or bike, however there are no vehicles allowed on the island.
We went snorkeling for $20 and it was one of the best experiences! We booked on Get Your Guide
If you are interested in diving, Gili T is the best spot!
Sama Sama Coffee!!
Coffee & Thyme for breakfast and coffee!!

Indonesia was not a planned trip, we actually had made plans to go to Australia to visit one of our friends, Stephanie, who had recently moved to Sydney for grad school. However, like usual, we were eager to book the cheapest tickets (which were non-refundable) before actually confirming that our dates aligned with her schedule. Stephanie’s landlord had actually listed her apartment on Airbnb for the holiday, which mean’t we couldn’t stay with her one of the weeks we had originally planned to.

We started looking at countries nearby that would be cool to go to and landed on Bali, Indonesia as it seemed the most budget-friendly. We honestly had done zero research on Indonesia and our family and friends only knew what they’ve read in the news and warned us against going. But, we were set on going and soon we started to look at different videos and websites to fill our minds with all we needed to know about Indonesia.

Two weeks before we took off, we called a good friends of ours, Thea. We met Thea during a summer program in Hawaii we had all done a couple summers prior. It didn’t take us and Thea long to become good friend, her positivity is contagious and she’s simply like no one else I’ve met. She is one of those people who has no sense of fear, so we knew she’d be down for any adventure. When we asked if she wanted to join us, she replied, “Let me get back to you in 3 days.”

3 days later, we got a text from Thea, she sent us a picture of her flight confirmation. Turns out she picked up a side gig as a Door-Dasher for the past 3 days and made $1200, she bought the flight after she cashed out.

The travel day from Dallas to Bali was one of the toughest I had experienced at that point in my life. It began with a layover in LAX, followed by stops in Fiji, Melbourne, and Sydney, before finally, after 32 hours, we landed in Bali, Indonesia. As we stepped off the plane, we cashed in our remaining dollars and instantly became “millionaires” in Indonesian Rupiah (which only takes about $62 USD to accomplish).

When we stepped out of the airport we were met with hundreds of taxi drivers shouting in Indonesian and quickly became overwhelmed. We stepped inside a nearby gas station and looked up reliable apps to call taxi drivers on, we found the app Grab to be the most reliable and were soon on our way to Uluwatu.

If you’ve ever traveled to Asia you might know that the biggest ‘culture shock comes from the roads of Asia. As we journeyed the 40 minutes to our Airbnb, we were amazed at the way the roads worked, no stop signs, no lights, no traffic rules, but hundreds of cars, mopeds, and pedestrians all going different ways– it was chaos. But somehow it worked. When we got to our Airbnb we hit the hay and 16 hours of sleep later we woke up ready to explore Uluwatu.

As we strolled into town, we met a friendly local family renting out mopeds. We rented a moped for the week for about $15 USD and then attempted to give ourselves lessons on how to drive on (probably not the brightest idea to learn how to drive a moped in Indonesia). Nervously, we wobbled our way onto the narrow street leading to the main road, convinced we were in way over our heads. But after a few shaky laps back and forth, we found our rhythm. Before long, we found the confidence to make it on the main roads.

Megan and I headed to the beach, and later explored the town of Uluwatu. Thea arrived later that night. The next three days in Uluwatu we surfed, went to every smoothie shop in town, and spent our free time doing yoga, or journaling in nearby coffee shops.

After our amazing 4 days in Uluwatu, we headed to Ubud, which is in the center of Bali and is about a 2 hour drive from Uluwatu. When we arrived in Ubud we were shocked by how drastic the environment was from Uluwatu. Ubud held more locals in their surrounding areas and showed off more of Indonesia’s culture, which we really loved. When we arrived at our Airbnb (which was $40 a night) we were so impressed! Our backyard held its own private pool and we each enjoyed our own bedroom with a massive living room. Not to mention, puppies were roaming free all around our villa.

The next day in Ubud we had the owner of the house arrange two mopeds for us to use. As we attempted to ride into town for coffee, Thea crashed her moped into a tree. The moped suffered severe damage, but Thea thankfully was fine.

We looked around at each other scared of what the damage might cost, but after telling the owner what had happened, he quickly got it fixed and it only cost Thea around $40 USD for the repairs, so I guess my advice here is: if you’re going to crash a moped, do it in Bali. We eventually made it into town and visited the infamous Yoga Barn for a yoga class, it did not disappoint. We got acai bowls from a cafe nearby and ended the day with a movie at our villa.

The next morning we woke up early, and headed towards a waterfall we all had been wanting to go to. The drive from Ubud to the waterfall was nearly 4 hours by car, but we loaded up and went North. As we neared our destination, we drove about an hour up a mountain.

During this commute my eyes saw some of the most devastating living situations I could have ever imagined. Families that lived on the edges of the mountain had little to no shelter; they attempted to build huts with leaves and the ends of trees, which provided some sort of covering from any potential rain. The children helped their parents work in whatever capacity may be required of them and did so happily.It allowed me, for one of the first times in my life, to reflect on the simple “necessities” in my life I so easily took for granted. It was heartbreaking, yet sweet to see families in this condition filled with such joy. This trip changed my view on the world, and forced me to think about the conditions in which my brothers and sisters live in everyday.

When we made it to the waterfall, we met our guide, who was one of the kindest people I had ever met. He talked about his life in Bali, he grew up on the island and because of the extreme poverty of the country and lack of job opportunities, he had never had the chance to go outside of Bali, or much less even 3 hours down the road, as it was too expensive. He had two children and a wife, he was full of joy and looked out for Megan, Thea and I the whole day. The trail to the waterfall was a commute, nearly 2 miles in the jungle and eventually we declined 800 feet in elevation to reach the waterfall. When we arrived at the waterfall our eyes couldn’t comprehend what we were seeing. A huge waterfall with an area for us to swim, and we had it all to ourselves. We stripped into our swimsuits and jumped into the freezing water.

We swam for about an hour and then headed back up 800 feet and through the 2 mile trail. Our guide held our bags when he sensed we were struggling. This interaction with our guide helped me realize that the things I had heard before about the Balinese people were false. Everyone I had met up to the point had been so gracious and eager to connect with us. Their kindness was nothing like I had been met with before.

As our time concluded in Bali, we were sad to go. Since our first trip to Indonesia, we have been lucky enough to go back twice more. The first time visiting Indonesia, however, was one of the first times I had been in a country so vastly different from the one I had grown up in. To see people living in such different ways and living in a culture that prioritized family and community. It opened my eyes to the comfort we love in America, we become so distracted with the idea of “more” we can barely appreciate all we have. While many Americans may say they’re thankful they don’t live in a third world country, I would argue we might have a thing or two to learn from them.