On a recent trip to East Bali, it occurred to me that if s person arrived in Bali with a day pack, containing a couple of shirt, shorts, pants, hat and not much else, they could let go of the worry about luggage and valuables. It also occurred to me, that is a person took a Perama bus out to East Bali, got dropped off and found a place they liked, things would happen for them. One place I visited this last time was Pasir Putih, the white sand beach in Perasi, just past Candi Dasa. If you showed up, chatted with locals and asked if anyone had a room for rent, you'd find somewhere no doubt at all.
Imagine the experiences you have after a month, hanging out with Balinese locals in Bali! The day times would be learning about their daily life and routine, plus exploring the lesser known areas. If your hosts were fishermen, you'd be able to tag along and experience how a Balinese fisherman actually operates. Local ceremonies would no doubt come along which you'd be invited to. Evenings would be a mixture of traditional village life, combining with elements of the 21st Century (motorbikes, TV, etc). The cost for your month would probably be amazingly low, considering in many remote places its all local shops and warungs.
How possible is this kind of experience? Its all possible, you've just got to ask for it. I have had situations just like this in many countries in the world, while travelling, hitch hiking etc. Now your guide book / travel agent isn't going to sell you this kind of experience for 2 reasons; 1) They can't make this kind of things happen, 2) there's no money it for them. This is actually great news for travelers, since where travel agents and guidebooks don't go, you will find the best experiences.
So for an awesome Bali adventure, leave your possessions at home, bring a small bag and a sense of adventure. That's my tip for visiting Bali.
Any time you see westerners AND Indonesians eating in an Indonesian food place, that means the food is good and cheap. Examples of this are Warung Nikmat off of Jl. Bakung Sari in Kuta and Warung Kolega, on Jl. Petitenget in Kerobokan.
Trying to decide if its time to return to Bali. I've been many time. In fact, used to live in Sumatra. The US State Department just issued a new warning about travel to Indonesia. My memory is full of all you describe and an overall sense of complete safety and friendliness. Of course, most places feel peaceful right before the terrorist attack happened. So its hard to assess whether Bali is a risky place to visit. Its hard to defy something like a State Department Warning. But at the same time, my draw to Bali is strong. What insights can you offer about the sentiment of Balinese to Americans these days and the over feeling of security there.
Posts: 27 | Location: Boulder, CO | Registered: 18 October 2005
I'm sure New York, London and Madrid all felt pretty peaceful before the attacks too, just to name a few examples.
It's easy to defy a State department warning. State department warnings are a bunch of BS. At best, the US government is just trying to cover itself to not be liable in the case of a major disaster. At worst, its an attempt to keep Americans from discovering that the world is not the way it is portrayed in the media, whether you watch Fox News or CNN.
We recently visited Bali, and we live in Morocco. We know a little about being on the other side of the "terror" perspective.
You can't let warnings and threats govern your life or where you travel. We had a wonderful time in Bali and met nothing but friendly people, we would not hesitate to go back. We found the Balinese to be very similar to Moroccans in that they disagreed with the politics of the US, but in general liked Americans as people, something which really should hold true no matter what nationality. It seems as if only in the western media do we immediately paint an entire country as "evil" based off the colour of the government.
WillinBoulder - you ask what is the sentiment towards Americans, they love you, they miss you, they want you back. Don't wait - go. We just got back after 16 nights (Sanur, Ubud and Candidasa) it was great. John
Posts: 25 | Location: Florida | Registered: 27 April 2007
Major media often clouds the picture regarding Bali / Indonesia. What is often portrayed is 'Indonesia, world largest Muslim country, home of JI, Bali bombings, Islamic boarding schools, etc. What you will find in Bali is nothing like that. People are Hindu, they have nothing in common with terrorists and like Americans.
Across the country people will be interested to meet you if you are American. Sure there are a few nuts, but out of 200 million people 99.9% harbor you no ill will.
