Bali Part 1

Ubud, Bali

24.03-30.03

OH BALI OH BALI I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU

In the morning, I had banana pancakes in the hostel and then I set off to explore Ubud. It's incredible! Besides the typical tourist souvenir shops, there are also proper air-conditioned stores with everything 😂

I bought two new dresses (one of them from one of the tourist shops).

I'M HAPPY. I spent my afternoon at the vegan 'Atman Kafe', eating vegan porridge, drinking one smoothie after another, and enjoying the atmosphere.

The streets of Bali are filled with the smell of incense sticks, and everywhere you can find greenery (trees or simply plants in front of and around shops). There are also small fountains or other water features everywhere.

In the evening, I had pizza by myself and then talked to Daniel (25, a doctor from South Africa) back at the hostel. We made plans to meet the next day at 7 am to go to the rice fields, etc.

25.03: My alarm went off at 6:30 am and I took a nice warm shower (since our room is cooled down to about 18 degrees and I even sleep in long clothes, a warm shower is a must 😂)

At 7, we had breakfast together, and less than 10 minutes later, despite the warnings from others, we rented 2 scooters.

Neither of us had ever ridden a scooter before, so after a few practice attempts in the side street of our hostel, we set off.

I almost crashed into the next temple (I was totally incompetent and the brakes were not very good 🤔)

I barely remember the way to the rice terraces, but I do recall seeing a lot of greenery passing by. However, I was too focused on the hundreds of other scooter riders and overtaking buses and cars, so I didn't pay much attention to the surroundings.

The rice fields offered an incredible view! The lush green shone in the morning sunlight, and we started walking through the different levels of terraces.

We took some great photos and spent about 1.5 hours there until sweat started dripping from our elbows and noses. It was now 35 degrees, and there was hardly any shade in the rice fields.

We then continued on the scooters to the first waterfall: Kanto Lampo. We paid about 50 cents for admission and were the only ones there, except for another girl and two staff members who were basically conducting a full photo shoot for her. The waterfall was very impressive, and it was especially cool that the sun only shone on the waterfall.

Of course, we also took some cool pictures, but mainly enjoyed the cold water and the cooling effect it had. After a rather challenging walk through the river to the next (much smaller) waterfall, we started feeling hungry. David took some more photos of himself before we climbed back up and got back on our scooters. And then it happened: David fell off his scooter and even bled! He said it wasn't too bad; it just scared him a lot.

On the way to the second waterfall, we stopped at a pretty cool 'restaurant'. We had smoothies and ate rice with vegetables (what else?).

The second (and most famous) waterfall we went to was crowded and a huge tourist attraction. I didn't like it at all, with thousands of people in the water in front of the waterfall, and souvenir sellers almost harassing you everywhere.

Back at the hostel, we talked to Marvin (24, from Karlsruhe) and later in the evening, we went out to eat with 2 English girls. Although the two English girls hardly touched their food..

I found it delicious (vegan pizza), but my portion was a bit small, so I ordered a portion of noodles afterwards 😂

26.03: I had originally planned to go to the Monkey Forest in the morning with David, but it was pouring rain, so after breakfast, I crawled back into bed and watched Peaky Blinders.

In the afternoon, I said goodbye to David (he wrote me a note, thinking I was still asleep, so cute)

I also dropped off my laundry at the laundry service across the street.

The rest of the day, I lazed around and only went out to eat 😄

27.03: In the morning, I picked up my laundry and then walked around the city for the whole morning. I had one more meal at 'kafe atman' and bought some things because March 28th is the 'silent day' in Bali (which is basically the Hindu New Year, where no one is allowed to leave their houses, and officially, there is no electricity.)

In the city and supermarkets, everyone was dressed traditionally, and preparations were being made on the streets for the parade and the 'Ogoh-Ogoh Festival'.

In the evening, I went to the festival with 3 American girls, although I lost them at some point during the evening, so I was back at the hostel by 9:30 pm to avoid walking alone outside in the dark for too long.

28.03 - Day of Silence

The internet was good enough to watch a few YouTube videos by Casey Neistat and others, and the food provided by the hostel was very delicious.

29.03: In the morning, I chatted with Sandra (from Spain) during breakfast, and we decided to go to the Monkey Forest together with 2 others (Sarah & Charlotte, both 32).

The monkey forest itself was really beautiful to see, with lots of greenery (as the name suggests, it's a forest) and moss-covered statues, bridges, and ponds everywhere. In total, 4 different monkeys climbed on me.

Sometimes, you could see monkeys fighting or snatching water bottles or bananas from other tourists. Afterward, Sandra left, and the other three of us went to have some smoothies.

In the afternoon, I went with Andrew and Charlotte to a temple (described on the internet as 'the one behind Starbucks'), but unfortunately, we couldn't go inside. However, the exterior was very beautiful with a lotus pond, etc.

In the evening, Charlotte (32, from Vancouver), Sarah (32, from Australia), Anette (31, from Bochum), Andrew (18, from Cambridge), and I went out to eat together. We went to the vegan restaurant 'Seeds of Life', and after contemplating for about 30 minutes on what to order, the waitress informed us that they basically had nothing left. So, we found another restaurant, and I ordered the 'Pasta of the Day', which turned out to be risotto - the waitress couldn't quite explain where the pasta was 😂😂

After dinner, we all sat together in the hostel, played cards, and chatted.

30.03: Today, I'm heading to Canggu, a small and less touristy surfing town.