Goodbye Bali

    The first part of my trip is now behind me, and as I head to the Philippines I remember all the wonderful things about my experience in Bali. I spent most of my time in Ubud, and smaller town in central Bali. It is a very touristy place (and a "destination" because of the book Eat, Pray, Love), but I will always have a special place in my heart for Bali. It is the first place I have travelled to since being diagnosed with IBS, where I had no problems eating. This is HUGE for me. I forgot what it was like to travel and actually be comfortable. Eating has always been a challenge for me when I travel, thus making travel always stressful. I cannot even explain the happiness and comfort I felt these last two weeks. For this reason Bali (especially Ubud) will always be a place I know I can come and nourish myself. 

     In retrospect, Ubud is probably the best place to land when you get to Bali and then from there you can figure out what you want to do. Figure out if you want to spend your time lounging on beaches, or spending time in nature. Bali can offer all of the above and more. Maybe head to Lovina and stay in the mountains, and rice patties for more nature. Or possibly head to Nusa Lembongang or the Gilis for a whole lot of peaceful island time. The best thing you can do in Bali is rent a motorbike. If you don't know how to ride one, it's time for you to learn. No argument, you will not appreciate Bali in the same way unless you jump on a bike and have adventures all day, everyday. Take any and every road you can, and get hopelessly lost (just make sure you have a compass to get yourself going back in the right direction). I also loved the time I spent out on the islands, which was pure playtime. I will have to write a little blog about those adventures, so stay posted. Get massages every other day (it only costs $8 for a full hour), and nourish your body. Make sure to eat at the Bali Buddha, Alchemy (at least once, its a little expensive), Clear Cafe, and try to stay in a guesthouse off the beating track and get yourself some authentic Indonesian food. I stayed at a nice guesthouse about 10 min drive out of the town center in Ubud called the Alang Alang Guesthouse. This is run by Fujita and Ketut, and is a really nice place to stay! You will definitely have to rent a motor bike, or you taxi rides in and out of town will cost you $10+ a day. Ketut's daughter in law makes a wonderful Nasi Goreng (an Indonesian fried rice), and the island's best Cap-cay (a soup-like vegetable dish). Even after staying here for 4 nights I had to come back my last few days just to get lunch here again. Almost everyone speaks decent english so you will have no problems getting by with any food restrictions. I chose not to take any yoga classes because it was all american prices, about $13 a class was the cheapest I found in Ubud, but that is a great option if you want to pay for it. Overall Bali was absolutely amazing, and I feel I am the luckiest girl in the world that I got to come here to visit this island, and meet all the people I did. I cannot be more grateful that Bali was my first stop, I will forever long to be riding along the small streets through the rice patties and sprawling green terrain of Bali's countryside. Thank you Bali for the most wonderful start to my journey!