INDONESIA!

One of the main reasons for coming to teach English in South Korea is that I will have the opportunity to do some traveling during my vacation periods. I have only been here for 4 months and this opportunity has already presented itself.
One of the many places to see on my big to-do-list was Indonesia. July month was going to be ideal weather conditions and I had only 2 weeks off to make this journey.
I was extremely excited to go traveling and more so knowing that Clementine would be joining me. Clementine arrived 3 days prior to the trip and we took off for Jakarta Indonesia as the Saturday morning calm came to an end in Korea. Two weeks in Tropical Indonesia – Lets GO!

We arrived in Jakarta at night and boarded a connection flight to Mataram in Lombok. It was dark and the beautiful landscapes and lush green vegetation had not presented itself yet. A complete different place to the South Korea we left that morning. In the dark we were exposed to busy streets with people, scooters, children and street vendors. Dark alleys with potholed roads and street dogs not chained up as in Ganghwa. I could smell the fresh air and my level of excitement grew as we neared the ocean.

Unlock Ubud

From Gili Meno it was straight inland to the town of Ubud. Bali’s cultural hub and stop over for nearly every tourist to Bali. Ubud is a busy tourist town with many artworks, souvenirs stores, restaurants and sights. At the centre of town you’ll find the busy Ubud market that sells a variety of useful and useless goods. A bargaining hotspot and home to many sights and smells.











One of the many attractions in Ubud is the Monkey Sanctuary. It’s a temple in the South of town, but most people come here to see the monkeys rather than to worship. The monkeys are tame and are only looking for a free meal. Some of them are really voracious and eager, but you’ll never feel threatened by them. The odd show of the teeth or jumping on you unannounced might result in a scream as the case with some tourists.











We used Ubud as a base to see more of central Bali. One day we took a bicycle tour from Mount Batur back down to Ubud. It was approximately 25km of downhill to Ubud – easy again. I was complaining that I wanted to see the people of Bali, not the ones serving me beer or asking if I needed a taxi. I wanted to see the ones working the fields, living in the countryside, the hard working man, the real Bali. This cycle trip was the ideal opportunity to see the ‘real’ Bali.
You don’t need to go on a tour for this. Rent your own bike, even better, rent a scooter and get lost. The cycle trip was cool, but we wanted more freedom, so we decided to rent a scooter later during the trip. Something we should have done as we set foot in Bali – scooters are the way to go!
The cycle trip took us through many rice paddies and gave me the opportunity to wonder off and take some photos of what I saw to be the Bali behind the tourist veil.

Surf The South

Southern Bali is renowned for its famous surf spots. We decided to go and have a look at the surf as many of the spots were not too far away.



Bali has a variety of accommodation options available ranging from high priced hotels to home stays. Home stays are the ideal option for the budget traveler. Home stays are where Indonesian families rent out an outdoor room to travelers for a reasonable price, often including breakfast to.
We made use of this accommodation option as it was well priced, often had a good location, no reservations required and don’t forget the breakfast. It was the perfect option for us as we did not spend much time at the home stay and only needed a place to leave our bags and crash the night.





In Southern Bali we stayed at yet another home stay. This one did not have a rat doing its rounds as in Ubud and Padangbai. The home stay was a stone throw away from the famous Padang-Padang surf spot. Watching the perfect waves break in this beautiful surrounding made me want to be a surfer for one day.

The best way to explore Southern Bali is on a scooter. We rented a scooter for only $5 for the day and explored more of the coast.





Uluwatu is another famous surf spot that attracts thousands of surfers per year. This spot is fascinating as it’s situated next to cliffs and one can easily overlook the surf and see the sets as they roll in. The swell was not that big and was expected to pick up the next day. We witnessed some great surfing even though it was over crowded on the day we visited.

Right on the Southern Tip of Bali is the Uluwatu temple with grand views of the cliffs and greedy monkeys robbing tourists of their caps and sunglasses. A beautiful temple built at the edge of the cliff and a reason to visit the south other than for its epic surf and gorgeous beaches.

Explore The East Coast

I don’t like to charter a private taxi to travel over long distances. It’s like… just wrong for me. I want to find the local transport. At this stage of my life at least while I am young, tolerant, on a budget and full of energy. I don’t know how to put it. Wrong things out there that some people despise: like drawing a cartoon of Mohammed or smelling your own fart. But still people (you and I) do it. So even though I find it wrong and I despise lazy long distance traveling by private taxi, it somehow happened that I did it.
By (private) taxi from the South of Bali to Padangbai is about 60km and a little over two hours. We paid a lot extra and yes it had aircon, but I still think I was lazy and will next time look harder to find the public transport.

In Padangbai we rented a scooter ($5) to explore more of Bali’s East Coast.
I’ll say it again: “scooter travel is the way to go in Bali if you are not afraid of busy roads, have a flexible time schedule and not too much luggage”.
We rented the scooter in the morning and didn’t know exactly where we were going or what we wanted to see and do. We had to draw money in Amlapura, but other than that it was an open schedule. A day of scooter exploration! It’s often that when you’re not looking for anything and have no big expectations that you find something great or have an awesome experience. This day was one of those.

The East Coast of Bali is dry and arid when compared to crowded Ubud or the South. We made quick progress as we weaved through the traffic and drove like the Indonesians. Every now and then Clementine would squeeze me as we overtook a truck or dodged a street dog. An exciting ride that kept us alert all the time.

We stopped at a bay and saw some people snorkeling in the distance and decided to join. It was a famous East Coast snorkeling spot with a sunken ship and an abundance of colourful fish and coral. A better snorkel spot when compared to the Gili Islands.
It was our last day in Bali and I would have loved to scooter all around Bali - next time.

We headed back to Padangbai at sunset and took the early morning ferry to Lombok for our flight out of Mataram to Jakarta and back to humid Korea.

12 days were short, but we did as much as we possibly could. A fun filled vacation in one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. I would love to travel through Indonesia with no time limit. Stopping and staying as long as you’d like to. You need months to see all of Indonesia. There are so many hidden gems to be found in this archipelago.
I am a working man with some responsibilities for now, but I know I’ll have my freedom to travel at my own time and pace back soon. That’s at least the goal and dream for the near future.

It was a great trip, especially having Clementine with me. A place I would recommend to anyone. There are so many different travel options to take. Bali caters for everyone. From the backpacker eating street food to the lady with her Louis Vuitton handbag in Ubud. A country (the small part I visited) with friendly (English speaking) people, good cheap food, colourful landscapes and a tourism infrastructure that caters for everyone.

My dreams are getting bigger as the world is getting smaller. There’s so much more to see, experience, taste, witness and do. I am back in Korea, back on my Island teaching English to a handful of students, taking a ferry to work every day, communicating with my hands while keeping my dreams alive of getting out there again as soon as possible!