Bali, Bali, Bali… what I would do to go back right now! This was
the first destination on our adventure and we almost didn’t make it. Thankfully
running late and a flat tire could not hold us back because we were, Bali
bound! While we were in Bali, we made three stops… Kuta, Ubud, and Gili Trawangan
of The Gili Islands. (Beware! This is a short novel)
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| Bubba Gump's in Kuta, this is for you Kenz! |
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And onto Ubud we go, Ubud was about an hour and a half taxi
ride away from Kuta. I was not aware of how lush and green it would be. This
was one of the most peaceful places I went throughout the two months. Our
guesthouse was in a great location where pretty much everything we wanted to
see was in walking distance. There was one main street, which had all of the
shops and restaurants. On this street we found both AMAZING Mexican food (and
guacamole!) and Pizza. Anna and I had both been feeling pretty deprived of
Western food, so to say we ate it a lot is an understatement. In Ubud there are
many different Yoga studios, and honestly if there is a perfect place for a
yoga studio Ubud is it. The largest among them is The Yoga Barn, and I fell in
love with this place and you could say yoga is not a favorite activity of mine.
Typically visiting yoga studios is not something that I would take time to do
on a trip, but this place was worth it. At the Yoga Barn people were there for
just a class and some were there for a weeklong cleanse! Anna and I stopped by
for a class, to take pictures while pretending to be Yogi’s and eat one of our
only healthy meals of the trip. We had wheat grass shots, grilled veggie wraps,
and some other sort of green and pink drinks. It became an on going joke about
things Anna would order to drink, it seemed regardless of what she ordered it
came out green. This drink was one neither of us could drink and we even joked
about pouring it out. Less than 2 minutes later a gust of wind came knocked
over numerous things on our table and the drink was dumped out completely…
someone was looking out for us haha! My favorite part of Ubud was renting a
motorbike and driving around seeing the views. We encountered many rice fields,
small village like neighborhoods, and even some monkeys! Because we enjoyed our
time so much we ended up extending our stay. After awaking really early one
morning, stood on a road with all of our things, and were picked up in a
sketchy van… we were on our way to The Gili Islands!!
The Gili Islands is made up of three different islands Gili
Air, Gili Menos, and Gili Trawangan. We went to Gili Trawangan also called Gili
T, and this my friends is the most beautiful beach location I have ever been
to. From the moment we showed up I was smiling ear-to-ear I knew I had found my
“happy place”. This island had no cars and everything was accessible by
walking, bicycle, or horse and carriage (yes, this happened). The only thing about
Gili T is the Mosk. Out of the Mosk came the loudest chanting/singing/prayer I
have ever heard in my life. It could be heard at all places on the island and
yes, I had a daily wakeup call at 4:30am. Although at times it was quite
obnoxious, it did give the island a cultural feel. On the first day we found a
restaurant for breakfast directly on the beach, we ended up spending everyday
here. In front of the café was GIANT beach beanbag chairs. It is fair to say we
absolutely did not leave this place from the hours of 11-5. Also straight out
from the café was a deserted boat you could swim out to and hang out on. One of
my absolute favorite moments of traveling happened here. One day while we were lying
out, it started pouring and everyone was frantically packing up his or her
stuff. Anna and I were doing the same when we decided to stash our stuff off to
the side and swim out to the boat. We had our own little dance party in the
rain on this boat and I remember feeling so happy! Lying on the beach, stand up
paddle boarding, and a yoga session took most of our time and I could not be
happier about it. Little did I know I had over a month of exhausting traveling
just around the corner and I would need this rest. By far this was my favorite
place in Bali and I have no doubt I will be back here someday.
PS: Im not sure if I mentioned this before but FYI… After
being at Yaowawit for 2 months, school was let out for summer break! This means
that from March 15- May 11 I was out and about through Southeast Asia. I am
doing my best, kind of J
to catch up on all of my blogging so you can hear about my adventures!
PPS: I apologize for the way the pictures are arranged, blogger is not being my friend today. ALSO there will be so many more pictures on facebook, someday when I get around to it!
