The first week in Bali

We took it easy the last few days in Hoi An. Our excitement for Bali was huge, and it has more than lived up to our expectations so far.

After a long day of travel, we arrived exhausted at Denpesar Airport and were greeted by thousands of Balinese taxi drivers vying for our attention. Of course, we negotiated the price smartly, but in the end, we were still ripped off. After about a ten-minute drive, the smiling taxi driver dropped us off in a narrow alley and charged us about €10. However, we were just looking forward to a bed and checked into a hostel after a long time. Since we have gotten used to homestays with double beds and private bathrooms, our accommodation looked more like a dive to us... After a short night, thanks to the booming bass of Skygarden, we set off the next morning to explore Kuta. And it truly lives up to its reputation: loads of Australian tourists, many slightly pushy street vendors, it just feels like we've landed in Mallorca... So, we decided to spend the day at Kuta Beach and watch surfers and those who want to be surfers. Since we had booked two more nights in the dormitory, we stayed in Kuta the next day to leave as soon as possible on Monday afternoon with an Uber.

We were drawn to the small village of Uluwatu, in the far south of the island, where we stayed in a nice, sociable container hostel with an outdoor bathroom. Here, we discovered a beautiful, almost deserted beach with turquoise blue sea.

After two days in this tranquil village, we made our way to the artistic and spiritual center of Bali, Ubud. After a two-hour drive through the absolutely crazy traffic, we arrived at our homestay and explored Ubud on foot for the time being. From the beginning, we were quite overwhelmed by the beauty of the place and its surroundings. Almost every house here has its own temple with a green garden, and the Balinese people are incredibly friendly.

We rented a scooter again for the next two days and explored the city. Nana maneuvered through the crowded streets as if she had never done anything else, with me in tow, heading towards the amazingly beautiful rice terraces...