Bali, the shaking country!
The hardest part of traveling for me is leaving behind all those amazing people you have been meeting through out your journey, I wish I could take them with me and keep them close, I know with those I have a bigger connection I will keep in touch for life (sorry people you are stuck with me). Each person you meet takes part of your journey, they show you something, they teach you things, you learn so much about them and about their stories, each one has their own stories to tell. Everyone has something to share, and I hope I am giving them something back too. I said it is the hardest part because you start to get attached to them and then it's hard to let them go. I guess that's life and we should keep going, but I still have a grandma's heart and I feel sad when I have to depart. The best part is that I have new amazing friends and new stories to tell to those old and new friends life will bring me. Thank you each one of you for making my trip interesting and special, definitely I will always remember you.
My last country on this amazing trip is Indonesia. And I am once again alone, but I guess not for long as I am going to meet a few of my travel buddies over there and I guess I will meet a few more new people. Let's see what my last 3 weeks in Asia will look like and what new stories and adventures I will have.
If you ask me if I'm ready to come back, I would definitely say no, I would love to stay a bit longer to see more around Asia, but I cannot be greedy and have to come back to reality at some point. Maybe in the future I will be able to do this again and discover new places, it's never too late to travel, you just need to have the passion to do it and the curiosity of discovering new places, cultures and it's people. Traveling is one of the most special things on this world. And I know I'm very privileged and lucky to be able to do this and I wish everyone could experienced what I experienced in this trip and discovered what I discovered. This journey made me realize that we are very lucky and that we for some reason were born were we did, we work were we do and we live where we choose. Of course my trip was not always easy and happy, we just tend to show the bright side of it. But in general words I feel my trip was just amazing with it's ups and downs, with moments of feeling alone to moments of being surrounded of amazing people. No journey is perfect, but we have to make the best out of it and keep all those memories and moments in our hearts, at the end every moment of the journey was what was supposed to be.
Bali, everyone talks about Bali. I just landed after hours of journey from Laos and the first thing I see is all these taxi drivers attacking me, and of course over charging you, I managed to get it down from 250k to 100k, they don't even look like taxi drivers so I always think bad, I jumped in the car and pray to arrive to the hostel. Of course having latin mind makes you think that everyone wants to take advantage of you or wants to do something bad, actually I was talking to the driver for 30 mins and was super fun, we even had a video call with his friends and he told me few things about Bali.
I must confess I have been super lazy and I haven't had the time to write at all, will try to remember everything I have been doing these past days, as it has been very funny and I have a lot of stories to share.
The first 2 days I've spent them with some girls I've met in the hostel, walking around Kuta, going to the beach, buying things, eating, drinking and going out. Actually we went out 2 nights to this massive club called Sky Garden, women after 9pm go for free and inside there is free buffet and cheap beers. So while you eat amazing free food, people around you are drunk and dancing, quite a fun scene and good party. After a couple of days in Kuta, I was expecting my good friend that I met in Myanmar to come and we moved to Seminyak. We spent there 2 nights, rented a moto and went around temples, the beach and the crazy roads of Bali, yes they drive like nuts here too. I guess it's something around Asia or in the air that make them drive like crazy.
Moving up north to Ubud was my next destination, here I was expecting my other great friends I' ve met in Laos. We planned to stay for 2 nights and we ended up staying 4, I guess that's the beauty of traveling, you just don't plan anything and go with the flow. Ubud is a magical city. Green, a lot of temples around, rice fields, kind of a hippie town were people come to do yoga, relax with a spa or just enjoy the nice restaurants. Bali is so touristic, every single restaurant is made for westerners, so of course to find a cheap plate in a local warung is very difficult. I really feel I am not in Asia any more, but it makes me feel like I'm back home in Europe. Of course I couldn't leave Bali without trying a Balinese massage, and yes I had 2 of then in no time, what can I do, they are so good and cheap that I can't resist.
Unfortunately the weather hasn't been as expected, sometimes it rains and the sun doesn't go out, during the night it's cold, but we still manage to enjoy every single second and have the best of it.
For 2 days we rented a taxi driver that took us to some points around Ubud, visiting some temples, coffe plantation, rice fields, more temples (at least they are different than in the rest of Asia), we went to a waterfall and last day to the monkey forest, bad thing is every where you go it's full of people and you can't enjoy to the maximum, I still love people don't get me wrong, but sometimes it's too much.
Oh and I forgot we even climbed mount Batur, small active volcano. We start at 4 am, walked with flashlights up the hill, pitch black, to see the most amazing sunrise ever, of course we didn't see anything, it was so cloudy and cold that was most suffering than anything else, at least we had a full day of adventures and lot's of fun.
I feel that this week in Bali has been very relaxed and laid back, It feels more like a holiday than a trip, I just feel so tired after 5 months non stop that it was the perfect place to end up my journey. Beach, eat, drink, sleep, repeat. I still don't know how to feel about Bali, definitely it's not what I had in my mind, paradise, nice beaches, great weather, here most of the beaches are very wavy, that's why it's full of surfers, lot's of wind, not so blue, raining, the sun comes and goes, but there is something in the air that makes me feel good here and I really like the place, even though I had something different in my mind.
We have been changing our plans every day, we wanted to go after Ubud to Amed, then to Gili islands, but the waves were so big that there were no boats to Gili for so many days. So we changed our plan and went to Nusa Lembongan. It was still wavy but we managed to cross. Nusa Lembongan is a very small island, with yet more wavy beaches, so we just enjoyed the sun and the sand our first day, went out to a nice beach bar and had a good time over there. Second day here we rented bicycles and went around the island across the bridge, Nusa Ceningan, very tiny island with some nice spots and great views. Was a good exercise as it was a lot of ups and downs, but we made it. We found a really nice and cheap warung (warungs are the local restaurants, you can eat cheap and local food) and we just went there our 3 days to eat, Dhipa warung was the name, and it was here were we felt the second earthquake, yes I have been here 1 week and already 2 big quakes shaked us, lot's of people died on the first one and even more people on the second one, the worst and most scary was that we had tsunami alert. Sure I was born in Chile, I should be use to earthquakes but I am always very afraid of them, so I jumped from the table and everyone around didn't know what to do or what was happening, I always fight with my fear and tried to stay calm, and because one little kid looked so afraid I didn't want to scare him more I tried to look cool, when the truth was I was super afraid. Once back to the hostel we heard that everyone was evacuating to the mountains as there was tsunami alert, at this point I was a bit scared as we were very close to the beach, but after 1 hour they took the alert out and we just stayed in the hostel trying to have a nice night. The whole night I could hear the big waves so close, was really crazy, maybe there was 1 or 2 after shakes, but small ones during the night. Our last day in this nice and cozy island we went to Nusa Penida, another island just around the corner, it was really bad weather in the morning, raining and cold, but once we arrived there the weather got nice and sunny. Here we rented a truck and went to the famous T-Rex beach, is one of the highlights of the island as the view from top is breathtaking. We got a few shots here and moved to Billabong angels and broken beach, they are very nice views, but just for your Instagram picture, you can't swim on them. On our last stop we went to the cristal bay beach, were we finally had the change to go into the water, it was only 10 mins but worth it!
Moving back to Bali was also an adventure for me, the boat was moving a lot, my god those waves, either I'm just afraid of everything or with age I am getting afraid with everything. I said that for me was enough of adrenaline on this trip so I' ve decided to stay in Bali until my return.
My last week in Bali and I still can not believe this trip is getting to an end, I guess all good things come to an end sooner or later. I really don't know how to feel. I will try to figure it out and let you know. We came back to Kuta to enjoy couple of nights here, go to the beach, go partying and visit once again Sky Garden bar. We had a lot of fun with the Chilean gang, bought some more things and went to visit my friend to the hospital. Yes she ended up in the hospital after the earthquake in Gili, unfortunately she was there when it happened and was not so lucky as others. Actually it was my first time seeing her in person, she is the friend of my friend, but I really felt like I had to go visit her, at least I could make her feel better with my visit and a chocolate. I can't imagine being in her situation, alone in another country and in the hospital. While there listening to her story, I really felt sad and wanted to cry, but sure I need to look strong and make her feel good. You could see in her eyes how sad and scared she looked, I wish nobody experienced what she did. The earthquake killed so many people and she was so lucky to be able to get out of there, even if she broke most of her bones after a huge wall collapsed on her and the woman that was cooking for her with her daughter, unfortunately they were not so lucky. I guess she will remember this moment for ever and unfortunately not as a good memory. The worst part was that a new erthquake happened the moment we were there, on the 5th floor having a talk with her. I started panicking, but I had to show calm, was actually very difficult as I wanted to jump from the 5th floor when the whole building was moving. Finally it stopped and we could be with her until she calm down and I calm down.
After the storm the calm comes. Our next deatination in Bali is Canggu. Surfer paradise, black sand and huge waves, unfortunately we did not have nice weather here, but we did go around a bit and went out for drinks in a nice bar called Old's Man and sand's bar until the rain didn't let us dance any longer in the sand. Canggu apart from being the surfers paradise is the hipsters place to be, amazing fruit bowls, with chia, yogurt, fruits and healthy food. Skate parks and nice bars are in every corner, you can feel the good vibe.
My last stop before finalizing this amazing adventure is Uluwatu. Southest point of Bali and well know place for having nice beaches and good waves. We went to this hostel, which had shuttle buses for party and to the beach as it was a bit far from everything. Our 1st night was a bit of a nightmare as we slept in a room of 16, were 12 of them were really partying hard for 2 nights, it was impossible to sleep. So difficult to sleep and relax, but last 2 nights we managed. We did take the party shuttle twice and the beach one also twice. I think we visited most of the nice beaches, Padang Padang with it's nice sunset, Dreamland with the wonderful colours, Balangan with the nice view point, Melasti with it's long beach and final one Bingin. My last day in Bali was great, beach, massage, pedicure, food and ready to depart. Of course I couldn't leave Asia without doing a massage, so I really enjoyed my last one.
I forgot to say that Balinese people are really kind and happy, always smiling and making jokes. I leave Bali with a huge smile in my face.
How do I feel? I really don't know, I am a bit sad, but at the same time happy and greatfull that I was able to do this amazing trip. I don't regreat any single second of it, I had the best time of my life, I've never felt the necessity of leaving or giving up. I met amazing people and I really had the time of my life. I do feel sad of going back, but I guess I need to go back, sort my life and see what I would love to do. Thanks to every single person that I've met, for all the laughs and great times I had with all of you. Maybe I cried a couple of times during my trip, but I guess it's normal, don't forget I have hormones, but most of the time I had a huge smile on my face, I leave Asia with my heart full, a big smile and a see you soon!
My adventure is over for now, but will be coming back soon for more stories of my trips around the world, if I loved traveling before, now I love it even more! World hold on, cause I am coming for more!
9 countries in Asia, 2 countries in Europe, 182 days in total ( 2 weeks still to come in Greece), 6 months of full adventures and amazing memories, laugh, smiles and crazy moments. Hasta pronto Asia and thanks for everything! Koph khun kap, orkun, salamat po, koph chai la lai, come on, Terima kasih!
My last country on this amazing trip is Indonesia. And I am once again alone, but I guess not for long as I am going to meet a few of my travel buddies over there and I guess I will meet a few more new people. Let's see what my last 3 weeks in Asia will look like and what new stories and adventures I will have.
If you ask me if I'm ready to come back, I would definitely say no, I would love to stay a bit longer to see more around Asia, but I cannot be greedy and have to come back to reality at some point. Maybe in the future I will be able to do this again and discover new places, it's never too late to travel, you just need to have the passion to do it and the curiosity of discovering new places, cultures and it's people. Traveling is one of the most special things on this world. And I know I'm very privileged and lucky to be able to do this and I wish everyone could experienced what I experienced in this trip and discovered what I discovered. This journey made me realize that we are very lucky and that we for some reason were born were we did, we work were we do and we live where we choose. Of course my trip was not always easy and happy, we just tend to show the bright side of it. But in general words I feel my trip was just amazing with it's ups and downs, with moments of feeling alone to moments of being surrounded of amazing people. No journey is perfect, but we have to make the best out of it and keep all those memories and moments in our hearts, at the end every moment of the journey was what was supposed to be.
Bali, everyone talks about Bali. I just landed after hours of journey from Laos and the first thing I see is all these taxi drivers attacking me, and of course over charging you, I managed to get it down from 250k to 100k, they don't even look like taxi drivers so I always think bad, I jumped in the car and pray to arrive to the hostel. Of course having latin mind makes you think that everyone wants to take advantage of you or wants to do something bad, actually I was talking to the driver for 30 mins and was super fun, we even had a video call with his friends and he told me few things about Bali.
I must confess I have been super lazy and I haven't had the time to write at all, will try to remember everything I have been doing these past days, as it has been very funny and I have a lot of stories to share.
The first 2 days I've spent them with some girls I've met in the hostel, walking around Kuta, going to the beach, buying things, eating, drinking and going out. Actually we went out 2 nights to this massive club called Sky Garden, women after 9pm go for free and inside there is free buffet and cheap beers. So while you eat amazing free food, people around you are drunk and dancing, quite a fun scene and good party. After a couple of days in Kuta, I was expecting my good friend that I met in Myanmar to come and we moved to Seminyak. We spent there 2 nights, rented a moto and went around temples, the beach and the crazy roads of Bali, yes they drive like nuts here too. I guess it's something around Asia or in the air that make them drive like crazy.
Moving up north to Ubud was my next destination, here I was expecting my other great friends I' ve met in Laos. We planned to stay for 2 nights and we ended up staying 4, I guess that's the beauty of traveling, you just don't plan anything and go with the flow. Ubud is a magical city. Green, a lot of temples around, rice fields, kind of a hippie town were people come to do yoga, relax with a spa or just enjoy the nice restaurants. Bali is so touristic, every single restaurant is made for westerners, so of course to find a cheap plate in a local warung is very difficult. I really feel I am not in Asia any more, but it makes me feel like I'm back home in Europe. Of course I couldn't leave Bali without trying a Balinese massage, and yes I had 2 of then in no time, what can I do, they are so good and cheap that I can't resist.
Unfortunately the weather hasn't been as expected, sometimes it rains and the sun doesn't go out, during the night it's cold, but we still manage to enjoy every single second and have the best of it.
For 2 days we rented a taxi driver that took us to some points around Ubud, visiting some temples, coffe plantation, rice fields, more temples (at least they are different than in the rest of Asia), we went to a waterfall and last day to the monkey forest, bad thing is every where you go it's full of people and you can't enjoy to the maximum, I still love people don't get me wrong, but sometimes it's too much.
Oh and I forgot we even climbed mount Batur, small active volcano. We start at 4 am, walked with flashlights up the hill, pitch black, to see the most amazing sunrise ever, of course we didn't see anything, it was so cloudy and cold that was most suffering than anything else, at least we had a full day of adventures and lot's of fun.
I feel that this week in Bali has been very relaxed and laid back, It feels more like a holiday than a trip, I just feel so tired after 5 months non stop that it was the perfect place to end up my journey. Beach, eat, drink, sleep, repeat. I still don't know how to feel about Bali, definitely it's not what I had in my mind, paradise, nice beaches, great weather, here most of the beaches are very wavy, that's why it's full of surfers, lot's of wind, not so blue, raining, the sun comes and goes, but there is something in the air that makes me feel good here and I really like the place, even though I had something different in my mind.
We have been changing our plans every day, we wanted to go after Ubud to Amed, then to Gili islands, but the waves were so big that there were no boats to Gili for so many days. So we changed our plan and went to Nusa Lembongan. It was still wavy but we managed to cross. Nusa Lembongan is a very small island, with yet more wavy beaches, so we just enjoyed the sun and the sand our first day, went out to a nice beach bar and had a good time over there. Second day here we rented bicycles and went around the island across the bridge, Nusa Ceningan, very tiny island with some nice spots and great views. Was a good exercise as it was a lot of ups and downs, but we made it. We found a really nice and cheap warung (warungs are the local restaurants, you can eat cheap and local food) and we just went there our 3 days to eat, Dhipa warung was the name, and it was here were we felt the second earthquake, yes I have been here 1 week and already 2 big quakes shaked us, lot's of people died on the first one and even more people on the second one, the worst and most scary was that we had tsunami alert. Sure I was born in Chile, I should be use to earthquakes but I am always very afraid of them, so I jumped from the table and everyone around didn't know what to do or what was happening, I always fight with my fear and tried to stay calm, and because one little kid looked so afraid I didn't want to scare him more I tried to look cool, when the truth was I was super afraid. Once back to the hostel we heard that everyone was evacuating to the mountains as there was tsunami alert, at this point I was a bit scared as we were very close to the beach, but after 1 hour they took the alert out and we just stayed in the hostel trying to have a nice night. The whole night I could hear the big waves so close, was really crazy, maybe there was 1 or 2 after shakes, but small ones during the night. Our last day in this nice and cozy island we went to Nusa Penida, another island just around the corner, it was really bad weather in the morning, raining and cold, but once we arrived there the weather got nice and sunny. Here we rented a truck and went to the famous T-Rex beach, is one of the highlights of the island as the view from top is breathtaking. We got a few shots here and moved to Billabong angels and broken beach, they are very nice views, but just for your Instagram picture, you can't swim on them. On our last stop we went to the cristal bay beach, were we finally had the change to go into the water, it was only 10 mins but worth it!
Moving back to Bali was also an adventure for me, the boat was moving a lot, my god those waves, either I'm just afraid of everything or with age I am getting afraid with everything. I said that for me was enough of adrenaline on this trip so I' ve decided to stay in Bali until my return.
My last week in Bali and I still can not believe this trip is getting to an end, I guess all good things come to an end sooner or later. I really don't know how to feel. I will try to figure it out and let you know. We came back to Kuta to enjoy couple of nights here, go to the beach, go partying and visit once again Sky Garden bar. We had a lot of fun with the Chilean gang, bought some more things and went to visit my friend to the hospital. Yes she ended up in the hospital after the earthquake in Gili, unfortunately she was there when it happened and was not so lucky as others. Actually it was my first time seeing her in person, she is the friend of my friend, but I really felt like I had to go visit her, at least I could make her feel better with my visit and a chocolate. I can't imagine being in her situation, alone in another country and in the hospital. While there listening to her story, I really felt sad and wanted to cry, but sure I need to look strong and make her feel good. You could see in her eyes how sad and scared she looked, I wish nobody experienced what she did. The earthquake killed so many people and she was so lucky to be able to get out of there, even if she broke most of her bones after a huge wall collapsed on her and the woman that was cooking for her with her daughter, unfortunately they were not so lucky. I guess she will remember this moment for ever and unfortunately not as a good memory. The worst part was that a new erthquake happened the moment we were there, on the 5th floor having a talk with her. I started panicking, but I had to show calm, was actually very difficult as I wanted to jump from the 5th floor when the whole building was moving. Finally it stopped and we could be with her until she calm down and I calm down.
After the storm the calm comes. Our next deatination in Bali is Canggu. Surfer paradise, black sand and huge waves, unfortunately we did not have nice weather here, but we did go around a bit and went out for drinks in a nice bar called Old's Man and sand's bar until the rain didn't let us dance any longer in the sand. Canggu apart from being the surfers paradise is the hipsters place to be, amazing fruit bowls, with chia, yogurt, fruits and healthy food. Skate parks and nice bars are in every corner, you can feel the good vibe.
My last stop before finalizing this amazing adventure is Uluwatu. Southest point of Bali and well know place for having nice beaches and good waves. We went to this hostel, which had shuttle buses for party and to the beach as it was a bit far from everything. Our 1st night was a bit of a nightmare as we slept in a room of 16, were 12 of them were really partying hard for 2 nights, it was impossible to sleep. So difficult to sleep and relax, but last 2 nights we managed. We did take the party shuttle twice and the beach one also twice. I think we visited most of the nice beaches, Padang Padang with it's nice sunset, Dreamland with the wonderful colours, Balangan with the nice view point, Melasti with it's long beach and final one Bingin. My last day in Bali was great, beach, massage, pedicure, food and ready to depart. Of course I couldn't leave Asia without doing a massage, so I really enjoyed my last one.
I forgot to say that Balinese people are really kind and happy, always smiling and making jokes. I leave Bali with a huge smile in my face.
How do I feel? I really don't know, I am a bit sad, but at the same time happy and greatfull that I was able to do this amazing trip. I don't regreat any single second of it, I had the best time of my life, I've never felt the necessity of leaving or giving up. I met amazing people and I really had the time of my life. I do feel sad of going back, but I guess I need to go back, sort my life and see what I would love to do. Thanks to every single person that I've met, for all the laughs and great times I had with all of you. Maybe I cried a couple of times during my trip, but I guess it's normal, don't forget I have hormones, but most of the time I had a huge smile on my face, I leave Asia with my heart full, a big smile and a see you soon!
9 countries in Asia, 2 countries in Europe, 182 days in total ( 2 weeks still to come in Greece), 6 months of full adventures and amazing memories, laugh, smiles and crazy moments. Hasta pronto Asia and thanks for everything! Koph khun kap, orkun, salamat po, koph chai la lai, come on, Terima kasih!
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