Bali Bali and Beyond ☀

As we had hoped our vacation to Indonesia was filled with beautiful sunsets, colourful cocktails, whitesand beaches and amazing people. The Land of a Thousand Kings did not disappoint!

We left KL almost two weeks ago heading to the island of Bali. After a quick flight and an hour drive through the countryside, we arrived in a village called Padang Bai. Padang Bai is very small, and only frequented by travelers who are into diving, or taking a ferry to the next island. As a seemingly random place to go directly, we did have a purpose; diving. Tyler and I have wanted to try it for awhile, and as some of the best diving sites in the world are in and around S.E Asia we decided to pull the trigger! I was a bit nervous, but the whole thing was awesome and as a result, maybe becoming our new obsession! The first day we got some confidence and spent the day getting used to the gear and learning some skills in a pool. The next couple of days we were out with our instructor on a boat and under the ocean! We dove (dived?) between 12-18m which sounds a bit scary, but once you are under water, everything is so calm and there's lots to check out, your mind is not thinking about the depth. I was seriously blown away with the colorful coral, creatures (my favourite was definitely the giant sea turtles!) , and the feeling of breathing and swimming under water! Needless to say, we loved it! If anyone is thinking about trying diving, go for it! (...and if you're in Bali, Indonesia, check out OK Divers, Elana was great!)

Besides diving in the days, we did the rounds of the local night spots (we were on vacation after all..) Being a pretty small town, there are only a few bars and restaurants, and each night seemed to be happening at a different spot. Our evenings consisted of fantastic seafood dinners of Mahi Mahi (so fun to say), barracuda and snapper on the cheap and cocktails made with arak. Arak is local coconut liquor probably best compared to Korea's soju....but made in a man's bathtub in the jungle (or the Indonesian equivalent). Needless to say, we were easily able to kill some time when not diving.(Side-note and big UPS to our friend Danielle who wasn't diving; She was a trooper to hang around and got to know every vendor, bartender, traveler and spa worker) Our fav. was Sunshine Bar, who had some live music (with cameos from Danielle and I), fire poi shows, and the smiliest, friendiest staff! On the island of Bali, the Balianse are Hindu, and through chatting with some of the bar-staff, and asking a million questions, they explained that the Balanese Hindus live their lives with respect, and by respecting others. They even respect the demons, leaving offerings of fruit and flowers on the ground outside their doors each day, in order to show respect, and in return in hopes of getting respect. The philosophy sounded wonderful, and must ring true in some senses, as as a whole, every person we met while traveling was very personable, had the warmest smile, and most positive attitude!

Not quite as cool as the Ghost Rider.

Padang Bai

Dee entertaining at Sunshine Bar View from our first bungalows :) Downgraded slightly for our last night in Padang Bai...We all loved summer camp tho! After four days, we finally left this town, where most just stop for lunch feeling like we had really explored most nooks and crannies. We jumped on a two hour boat ride headed for paradise by the name of Gili Trawangan. Tyler spent the entire trip on the roof of the boat, and as the boat started rolling and rocking I was convinced I would see him flying past the window into the ocean. Of course, no need to worry, and he got some pretty great pictures on the ride over. As we were nearing the islands, he convinced Danielle and I head up top, only to get soaked! Wet t-shirt contest anyone?

We were instantly in love with this island! Since we hadn't done much beach lounging since arriving in Indo, we had minimal goals in mind for the island, but they did include tanning, diving, cocktails, shopping and spa treatments. Upon arrival, we quickly checked into a bungalow and hit the beach! The water and sand were amazingly clear and one of the most beautiful I have ever seen! On top of that, Gili T. had no vehicles on the island! This means, no honking, no exhaust, and no ducking out of the way for motorcycles on the sidewalk...for anyone who has lived/visited Asia, this is heaven. We were feeling pretty good! That night we hit up the obligatory reggae bar that is found in every tourist spot in S.E Asia...and even though cheesy, they never seem to disappoint! We watched a band, had some drinks and wandered home. The next day we walked past the bungalows, restaurants and bars and lounged at a beautiful resort on the edge of 'town' called 'The Pearl', taking in the again, beautiful scenery. That night we rented bikes and headed down the road (its a one road kind of island) to watch the sunset with a couple we had met, Hannah and Dan. From there the night progressed to a night market, and drinks on the beach, followed by night swims. 

Main street, Gili T.

Lounging at The Pearl

Sunset Bar

The next day Tyler and I biked around the island (which only took about an hour), checking out kilometres of empty beaches, stopping to marvel at the swanky resorts being built up and having a little picnic. That night we all prepped for a quiet night, lounging on giant pillows, and watching a movie on the beach. Just as the movie was finishing up, our friend Hutchy who lives in the same apartment building as us in KL showed up! We knew that he was heading to Bali, and a neighboring island (Gili Air) but didn't know if we would see him...turns out, through missed boats, and beverage-induced decisions, that we spent the next three days together! Our quiet night turned into something a bit different, as Hutchy decided to spend the night on Gili T. and go diving the next morning with us. 

After a morning dive (which is the best cure for a hangover), we met up with Hannah and Dan and all went out on a boat for some snorkeling. Since we had taken a boat and stopped at all three Gili Islands to do some snorkeling, we took advantage of the free ride and got dropped off at Hutchy's island to spend the night there with his friends. Turns out, Hutchy's friend&family were opening a bar and restaurant on Gili Air. They were having an opening party for their friends (and friends of friends in our case) so we tagged along! It was a fun night of drinks, dancing and the most incredible sunset! As small and unpopulated we thought Gili T. was, Gili Air was that much smaller. It still had the beautiful beaches, the dive shops, restaurants and bars, but on a smaller scale (instead of a two lane horse&carriage road, Gili Air was reduced to single lane traffic). 

The next morning, we dove again and got dropped off on Gili T. feeling a bit worn out and down a few pairs of shoes (?) Unfortunately (for him) Hutchy missed his boat back to Bali, so the boys went to do a 'night dive', and as I am afraid of the dark on land, Danielle and I headed off to catch one last romantic sunset. After we all met up again, we spent our last night together eating fish and drinking martinis. Before we left we all ran for the spa and got some treatments, hopped on the boat back to Bali and headed home dragging our feet a bit.
Although not the most culturally enriched vacation we have taken, we met our share of Wayans (Balanese only have a few names and regardless of being male or female, each person receives one of four names based on birth order), had the best time splashing about, getting into a new hobby, laughing it up, and soaking up the beautiful Bali sun!