Although I knew it would be a short, fast trip, Gabby and I decided to squeeze in a weekend trip to Bali. I had heard from so many other travelers how much they loved Bali, and after being recommended a sunrise volcano hike that sounded incredible, I knew I had to add it to my list.
At the airport, I couldn’t help noticing that out of all the countless flights I had taken in the last five months, this one would definitely be the one with the most westerners so far. So many backpackers headed from Thailand to Bali… I don’t know why I was surprised. Getting cheap flights involved also getting oddly timed flights, so we arrived in Bali at 1 a.m. on Thursday and went straight to our hostel in Seminyak. There were a few too many loud, drunk, messy Europeans there for my taste, but I tried my best to sleep as long as possible.
The next morning, Gabby and I woke up and got ready to spend some time on the beach! A short walk later, we followed some signs for the “Potato Head Beach Club.” We had to get our bags checked by various security personnel three times and ask “where is the beach” twice, but we somehow ended up at this super nice, beachside resort with an infinity pool and bar and restaurant. After a couple hours lying on the beach and playing in the giant waves, we went back to the club and had some drinks in the pool. It was a relaxing afternoon.
After showering and getting changed (we were covered in sand in every single place possible), we took a long walk to the beach in the other direction of the hostel; I really wanted to catch the sunset over the Indian Ocean. We got there right in time, and it was breathtakingly beautiful. There were tons of people enjoying the beauty and water and sun, and dogs were running everywhere and playing. We sat on the beanbags at a little beachside bar and had a Bintang (the local beer) and once the sun went down, I smiled to myself as I watched the stars begin to shine through the leftover light. Bali has stars! We took a motorcycle back to the hostel, I was so tired at this point I wasn’t even sure I’d make it to my bed.
It was a good thing I went to sleep so early because the next morning was our sunrise volcano hike, which I was so excited about! However, we’d have to wake up at 1 a.m. to be driven to the base of the volcano so we could start our hike at 4 a.m. I slept most of the car ride there and then was blessed with the greatest cup of coffee ever at the meeting point at the base of Mount Batur. Around 4, we began our trek up the volcano. I had been expecting it to be a pretty easy hike, but it really was tough! It was disorienting hiking in the pitch dark with nothing but the glow of our flashlights. However, the entire hike up to the top, the main issue was that I kept tripping over my own feet because I couldn’t stop staring straight up. THE STARS!! Between clouds, city lights, and pollution in Bangkok, I hadn’t seen stars like that in months. It was incredible. I would go back to Bali just to see more of those stars. It made me so excited to be able to see skies like that every night again back in Wisconsin. The higher we hiked the more unstable I felt as well. I was so happy once we reached the top.
It was surprisingly cold at the top. I was shivering, but we got there right in time to see the sun pop over the top. As it got later, I looked down at the town we started at two hours before and realized just how high we had walked. I also noticed there was a lake at the bottom… it was so dark when we started I didn’t even know there was a lake. We got some bananas, a tangerine, a banana sandwich and hard boiled eggs for breakfast at the top. Plus, took tons of pictures and warmed up over the hot steam seeping out from the ground.
The hike down was tedious as the gravel/pebble pathway slipped with each step I took. I could feel my muscles tensing as I tried to hold back and take each step slowly and carefully, all my legs wanted to do was run down as fast as possible. Eventually, I gave up being careful and did just that for the last mile down the trail. It was the most freeing feeling, just flying down the trail as fast as I wanted to. Running downhill made the uphill a little more worth it (I finally understand some of my mom’s #OneBlessing running tweets. However, I still have to get on board with the “running the uphills” part of the deal.)
We napped on the van ride back to our hostel, finished checking out, grabbed some coffee and tacos for lunch, then took a Grab to our next hostel, in Ubud. Our next hostel was an absolute dream. Our bunk beds were almost the size of double beds, there was a pool and yoga and breakfast included in the morning, plus a great little cafe attached… I was in love. We spent the whole rest of the day lounging by the pool in the sunshine, and I began (and finished a few days later) reading The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.
The next morning, we woke up for our 7 a.m. yoga class near the pool. My muscles were stiff and sore from the long hike yesterday, so yoga felt great. After a complimentary breakfast, we ordered a Grab to take us to the Tegallalang rice terraces. We watched tourists pay to swing on giant swings that hung over the edge of the terraces and walked around in the heat for awhile. But, we were both sore from our hike the day before and already worn out from the sun, so we didn’t stay much longer than to just see what the place was all about.
Getting a Grab is relatively difficult in Bali. It seems the local taxi services have formed a type of mafia and are out to discover and ruin Grab drivers. I’m not perfectly certain of the details, but there are areas that Grab drivers will refuse to pick up tourists out of fear or local taxi drivers that might be nearby. And often they will message you multiple times to make sure you don’t have too many bags, are waiting exactly where you entered your location, haven’t told anyone you ordered a Grab, and will get in the car as soon as they show up. I don’t know what happens to a Grab driver if they are discovered, but it seems very serious. So, that being said, we were unable to get a Grab from the rice terraces to the waterfall, where we wanted to go next, because of how many local taxi businesses were surrounding the area. I let Gabby take the reins negotiating with the local taxi drivers for a price to the Tegenungan waterfall. I hate negotiating, I’m so uncomfortable with it, I have no poker face and I cave or get freaked out way too easily… Gabby does a much better job than me with it. But the drivers we were talking to were friendly and not intimidating which made the process a lot easier. After some discussion, we managed to talk a driver into taking us for a reasonable price, as well as agree to drop us off at our hostel again when we were done. Compared to some of the beautiful waterfalls I had seen in Thailand, this waterfall’s water wasn’t nearly as clear or blue or beautiful, although it was large, powerful and impressive.
Afterward, we had another chill afternoon of reading, tanning and swimming at the hostel pool. I was starting to understand why so many people chose Bali to do absolutely nothing but vacation at. It’s a beautiful place to lounge.
Our last morning in Bali, we decided to walk down the Monkey Forest Sanctuary. It’s a large space with tons of monkeys, that are noticeably less pesky than the ones in Lop Buri, I might add.
We practically had another full day in Ubud, since our flight wasn’t until 9 p.m. that night. So we spent it relaxing and doing some window shopping before getting a Grab to the airport. I know there’s so much more left to explore in Indonesia, and I left feeling like it was a place I could see myself needing to come back to in order to really feel I’ve experienced the real thing. But, for now, Bali you served as a perfect vacation from my loooong trip that has been studying abroad. So, thanks for allowing for naps in the sun and beautiful morning hikes, it was just what I needed.
Mckenzie Lena Halling 