Bali | My ego traps

One of peculiar things about Bali that there is no functional public transportation or at least this is what all the guide books and everyone we have talked to say. Locals rely mostly on motorbikes and a more wealthy kind on private cars. Taxis, although cheap for short distances become prohibitively expensive for intercity travel. As an alternative there are bemos, shared ride taxis, which in the worst case combine the negative sides of taxis and public transportation. If you are unlucky, for a price of a taxi, you get a slow ride that you get to share with other people. However there is another mode of transportation, which not many people know about. Namely public buses that cruise between cities and pick people on the way. There are no timetables and you have to figure routes out yourself, but apparently this is the cheapest (and certainly not the fastest) way to travel on Bali. We learned about the buses on our last day in Indonesia, so did not get a chance to use them. Maybe next time then.

Munduk

Munduk was an unexpected choice. We were supposed to fly to Komodo, but Merpati (the airline) cancelled all the flights without any prior notice. Just like that. So at 7AM in the Denpasar airport a new plan was hatched to explore the north of Bali. Munduk is a small mountain village in North Bali. The altitude is high enough to warrant for chill temperatures (read +26C) during the day and heavy showers in the nighttime. The scenery is stunning: a couple of impressive waterfalls, endless rice terraces spread over the mountains and allegedly Bali’s oldest tree (aka The Big Tree). It is enough to fill two days with hikes, but it gets old quickly. The village itself is too hectic with passing traffic and lacks any chill out facilities. Still worth a visit for the different Bali, especially if hiking and stunning views are your cup of tea.

Lovina

Lovina is a small beach resort situated in the north of Bali, known for black sand beaches and dolphins, which can be spotted by booking one of the numerous tours. Other than that Lovina is popular among seniors, who clearly dominate the local scene. Essentially, a retirement home set in a tropical paradise. One of the elder Dutch couples we met on our way out of Lovina even told us boldly that they did not like young people. Maybe give it a few decades and I will grow fond of the place, but for now it is not exactly the most exciting part of Bali.

Eloquence at its best near Munduk.

And the view itself.

And a different take on the beautiful view.

Rice fields near Munduk

The road to Bali's biggest tree was long and arduous.

Us vs the biggest tree in Bali.

Lush nature near the Munduk waterfall

The mighty waterfall of Munduk.

Huge bamboo trees growing near the waterfall.

Balinese traffic signs are rather weird. Half man, half gorilla as a pedestrian sign.

An abandoned resort in Lovina.

With Buddha guarding the entrance to the resort

Before coming to Bali, we were skeptical about the island and almost skipped it altogether in favour of Lombok and Gilis. However upon setting my foot on the island I immediately noticed a strike difference to Java. Apart from the Hindu influence, there was a sense of aesthetics and polish in everything. As if the locals were preoccupied with trying to make the environment they live to look more pleasing instead of just having a roof over one’s head and getting by. Once in search of a temple we wondered into a private house (a protip: never trust Google Maps while in Indonesia) and actually mistook it for the temple, until the owner came out and told us politely to get out. Indeed there is little point to see attractions around Ubud for example, as the surroundings provide enough eye-candy. Apart from the distinct architecture the Balinese culture is marked by its own dance and music styles. Unfortunately we have not had a chance to experience any of the dance shows, but gamelan music was served as a soundtrack everywhere in Bali. Repetitive and samey, but never got boring nonetheless. I wonder when Western electronic music scene will discover rhythm and patterns of gamelan.
Of course tourist development has left an ugly mark on the island and especially areas like Ubud. Nonetheless it is still magical and well worth a trip. We spent 11 days on Bali altogether, longer than in any other part of Indonesia, but there is something about Bali that makes me want to visit it again.

Kuta

Having heard so many negative things about Kuta made me actually want to see it for myself. As it turned out it was not all that bad, at least for a quick in and out visit. It is all about eating, shopping and surfing. At times Kuta felt like a downtown of a metropolis with big brand stores, fancy restaurants and luxurious hotels. What makes Kuta stand out from the places of this kind is a spectacular, but way too popular (equally with surfers and hawkers) beach. It marked my first time swimming in Indian Ocean. No surfing this time, though. The horror stories of bulldozers cleaning the beach turned out to be true, but I could not see what all the fuss was. The beach of this caliber gets inevitably dirty and the fact the they clean it on a regular basis is nothing but a positive thing. This was my first impression of Kuta. On our second visit it partially lost its initial appeal, but not to the point of “never again”. It makes an excellent point of entry to and exit from Bali. Good food, even better shopping possibilities and cheap motorbikes.

Padang Bai

Essentially Padang Bai is a transit village, where ferries and boats to Lombok leave from. We did not plan to devote any additional time to it, but ended up spending three nights there. Apart from the laid-back atmosphere of the place and regular horns of the ferries coming from Lombok, there is an excellent beach and decent nightlife (read live reggae music) for a place of this size. The beach, Bias Tegul (the hidden beach), got its name for a reason. You cannot see it from any place on the land, until you reach it. The waves are high and reach out almost to the highest point of the beach. It was fun to watch unsuspecting people camping on the beach only to get wet with a particularly strong wave. The beach is served by several warungs with surprisingly low prices given the remoteness and adorable staff. The award of the best fruit salad in Indonesia goes to one of the warungs there. Even hawkers are nice there. Polite and not a sign of pushiness. We felt actually bad about not buying exquisite wooden boxes from an older hawker with puppy eyes. Another guy spent a lot effort selling a single coconut and once sold switched to selling decent massage. The best beach in Bali, hands down.