Welcome back, friends! I hope you enjoyed part one of my Thailand adventures because today I am back with part two! In the first half of my experience, I was still learning the way of life in Thailand and how I fit in it all. Compared to London, I had a difficult time leaving home mentally. I didn't want to leave my friends and knew my relationships would change. Travel isn't as pretty as we make it seem. I've really had to adapt to letting go and becoming unattached in order to live the life I've always dreamed about. The first semester tested and taught me just that. I was surrounded by Buddhism as a way of life. I was still holding on to the possibilities of what could be if I stayed at home when the possibility was never possible. I learned that by being attached to something, an idea, wish, object, or even person, only leads to suffering. That was the greatest lesson I learned in Thailand. To let it be and let it go.
Thailand taught me a lot of life lessons, but it was also filled with wanderlust and adventure. The second half of Thailand was when I got to travel out of the country, have my dad visit, and really start to feel part of the community. There were a lot of ups and downs, but I also made an effort to push myself out of my own head and connect with more people. Most importantly, the weather either calmed down or I finally adjusted to the heat and humidity. That is still a mystery. I am thankful either way because my and my roommate's room was the only room without A/C. Go figure!
The second half of the semester started with fall break. I started a solo trip to Bali, met up with Calien in Bali, had a long night of travel in Malaysia, spent 24 hours in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, and then met up with Nicha in Da Nang, Vietnam. There were a lot of ups and downs. Looking back at it, it was one of the most mentally challenging but rewarding experiences.
The beginning of my trip was, well, traumatic of sorts. I almost missed my layover from Bangkok to Bali and that was just the beginning. Once I arrived in Bali, it was 2 am. I had originally planned to stay in the airport until morning to go to my Airbnb, but the airport did not allow for me to stay inside. As soon as I stepped outside with no plan, I was surrounded by hundreds of taxi drivers in my face. I tried to hide, but they found me and wouldn't leave me alone. Eventually, I broke down and went with a taxi driver that told me he would give me a bargain as it was his last drive of the night and told me he could take me to a hostel. I was ignorant, tired, fed up and well...believed him.
He was a fun taxi driver, I'll give him that. I blasted my music, he let me honk the horn a lot, and we got to talk about our lives. He drove me to the center of Ubud which took about 45 minutes. I paid him, we exchanged social media, and he pointed me down an alley where a hostel was. It wasn't until later that I realized I paid around 50 dollars for the ride. In London, that would be a deal if you missed your train. In Asia, it should have been 10 dollars. So taxi driver, if you are reading this, I hope enjoyed every cent. At least I got my biggest travel mistake ever out of the way.
The trauma was not over though! The hostel he took me to had no one working there so I spent the next 2 hours walking the streets alone at 3 am. It was a long night. At one point I almost wanted to sleep outside with the drunks and call it a night. I finally found an expensive resort though and desperately gave them my money and called it a night.
Things got better after that night and you bet I stayed in that resort for as long as possible soaking in all the luxury. After I checked out of the resort, I walked to a cafe for breakfast that became my safe place in Bali. I ate there every day, I made Calien eat there every day, and I became friends with the staff. I loved it there. Like Pai, I was obsessed with eating as much bruschetta as possible. I know, a weird food to be obsessed with. Along with the bruschetta, I also loved the eggs and tomatoes and smoothies! It was a feast every morning.
The first day I just checked in to my AirBnB and walked around Ubud in amazement that I was actually in Indonesia. I remember talking to an old friend from Indonesia a few years ago about how Indonesia was a place I dreamed of going but seemed out of reach. I'm so thankful that I got to go, but I'm also proud of myself for making it happen. I loved walking around and hopping into the shops there. They all seemed to have a quirky but holistic vibe.
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| My view of rice paddies from the resort |
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| My AirBnB Pool |
The second day, I had planned on going to the beach to snorkel, but I was too stubborn to deal with the taxi drivers and Uber was banned in Ubud. Instead, I went to the Monkey Forest. Now, I am scared of monkeys. They are too fast, too smart, and too strong. If they see that you could possibly have food or anything interesting, there will be a swarm of them jumping on you to get inside your bags and pockets. Even if you look at them the wrong way or turn your back on you, they will attack. Now that I think of it, I think I fear monkeys more than beavers now. And for people that know me, they know my strong fear of beavers. Anyhow, traveling is for facing fears and making memories; so I did just that.
I'm glad that I went because it ended up being one of my favorite things I did. It was practically an open forest where the monkeys ran free with the humans. It was another one of those things that is okay in Asia but would never be legal in the states. I tried my hardest to not give direct eye contact, not have a monkey behind me, or make my backpack look inviting but with over a thousand monkeys, that's a difficult feat. A monkey eventually eyed up my backpack, jumped on me, and ran off with my bag. The workers got it back for me but I was just thankful all my limbs were still attached.
Don't get me wrong, the monkeys were so cool to watch. I felt like a professional wildlife photographer capturing all their monkey business (my mom doesn't even think I'm funny, you don't have to act like that pun was funny). There were monkeys of all sizes from babies still holding on to their mothers all the way to old, wise monkeys.
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| People working in the rice paddies along my walk |
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| One of those pictures that you cannot possibly capture the reality. It was a magical bridge and a giant tree. |
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| Same, Same |
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| Sacred Tree |
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| Proof that they are out to kill! |
On the third day, I had had enough of being confined to Ubud. I wasn't willing to satisfy the taxi drivers that stood right next to the entry of my Airbnb but I also really wanted to go check out the coast. Luckily, after having my daily hangout session with my friends at the cafe, I also learned they were connected to the resort that has scooter rentals. Before I knew it I was in Bali traffic headed toward the coast.
Anyone who knows me knows that driving scooters in another country is my FAVORITE thing to do. I've driven in Italy, Pai, and now, Bali. It is normally so freeing and fun. Rome was exciting to drive past landmarks I'd seen on tv and in pictures for years while my friend Rachel navigated on the back and Colby and Libby following behind. In Pai, I had a blast driving on the backroads through villages. Bali traffic was fun...but different. It was crazy and incredibly intense. People were weaving everywhere, driving on the sidewalks, and were all jammed together all-the-while blaring their horns constantly. Somehow I never saw a wreck and I learned quite quickly how to drive like them. I loved driving up on the sidewalks and weaving anywhere and everywhere.
My first destination was Kynd Community. It was a vegan restaurant that was practically made for Instagram and the menu was packed with a variety of smoothie bowls, smoothies, avocado toast, etc. I was in paradise. I love making acai bowls at home but had never had one at a restaurant. Not only was the Kynd Community's acai bowl beautiful, but it the tasted out of this world. Fruits in the states are nothing compared to fruit in Asia.
I'll be honest. I was pretty disappointed with the Bali beach. I really didn't have expectations, but I still felt let down. I went to the west side of the island and the beach wasn't very pretty and the waves were too aggressive to get in. However, two of my friends went to Bali on the east side later in the semester and snorkeled with sea turtles. So, maybe just my experience?
On the last day by myself, I was determined to make the most of it and drive to some waterfalls. The GPS doesn't do a very good job factoring in the traffic to the drive time. When it says 45 minutes it actually means at least an hour and a half plus a possible 15 minute pull-over time for anxiety-filled deep breathing. At one point I was in the middle of nowhere driving in-between rice paddies and drove past a group of completely naked women doing laundry. Part of the adventure I guess! No...I did not stop and ask them for directions...
I was one of the first people to get to Tegenungan waterfall in hopes of seeing it in all its majestic glory without a crowd of tourists. I didn't like how early I had to get there but it was so worth it. I love finding those moments in time where you and your problems feel so small. The waterfall was so powerful yet calming.
The second waterfall took forever to get to and I have no idea what the name is because it was in the middle of nowhere. Once I finally found the parking lot I had to hike for a while and then climb into a cave/cove to see the waterfall. Female solo traveling does have a few downfalls as you get some creepy people to talk to you, but for the most part, you get pushed into talking to more people than you normally would. In this case, I met a couple from Saudi Arabia who took my picture for me and hiked back to the scooters with me. Once I got to the scooters I met a guy from New Zealand who I hung out with and raced back into town with. I love meeting other travelers and getting to share where we have been.
Calien arrived that night and at 1 am in the morning we waited outside our hostel for our ride to arrive to take us to Mount Batur. Typically, when going on a guided experience, tourists are picked up in a shuttle bus. When our ride finally arrived, it was in a small car with two guys in the front (not sketchy at all...). Calien and I, however, made sure they told us our names and where they were taking us and then we were on our way!
Normally, we try to avoid paying for guides or "experiences" and do it on our own. However, a mafia ran the part of the island we were going to and the only safe way to go there was to pay a guide. I had snoozed off on the long ride but was awoken suddenly with people yelling and lights flashing in the car. We were in a mafia checkpoint...and it was scary cool! Calien and I instinctively hunched down to make ourselves less visible until we got past the checkpoint.
The excitement was not over though! As we were on the last leg of our journey on a dirt road, a car flew past ours and hit us. Horns were blaring and the drivers were both yelling at one another. I kept thinking someone was going to pull out a gun. We weren't in America though. Instead, they both calmed down and went upon their way. That's something I noticed in Asia. Unless it's a serious crash, they don't call insurance or even the police. They see it as a waste of time.
As soon as we got to the base of the mountain, I was freezing cold. You don't think about bringing warmer layers when packing for Indonesia! Luckily, Calien being the gentleman that he is, lent me his sweater. I don't have much to say on the hike other than it was uphill the entire way and it was almost all sand which made it so much harder. A few months of no exercise and too many noodles and rice may have also played a factor in the difficulty. On top of that, it was completely dark and you had to be careful of motorbikes zooming up the mountain. At one point I paid a guy on a motorbike to take me up a bit of the mountain. It was so much fun! It was so fast and bumpy and we were sliding all over the sand. I felt like I was going to fall off the back because it was so steep!
After a long hike, we finally made it to the top as the sun was rising. It was an unbelievable view that I cannot possibly put into words. All the pain of hiking and the chills from the cold didn't matter anymore. It all dissolved into the mountain mist around us. Our guide found us a nice place to sit and then went off to make us breakfast. He brought us egg sandwiches, Tim-tams, an apple, and the worst coffee I have ever had in my life. I try to drink or eat a drink or dish out of respect most of the time, but this was one of those circumstances where you sneakily pour it off the mountain when the guide wasn't looking.
Our sunrise view was too short, but I could have stayed up there forever. We ended up running down the mountain and made it down in record time. We hopped back in the car and headed to a coffee farm to experience the world's most expensive coffee.
On our travels, it was a running joke that he didn't pay attention to details and he NEVER believed anything I would ever say. The coffee farm was one of those instances where he booked the hiking trip and didn't realize a trip to the coffee farm was included. So I was well aware that we were going there but I think he was paranoid that we were getting kidnapped.
The coffee farms in Indonesia are known for having the world's most expensive coffee that is called "Kopi Luwak". It is made from the poop of the asian palm civet. The cat-like animal eats the coffee cherries, cannot digest the bean but absorbs the acidity, and then poops out the bean. It makes the coffee super smooth and is known to be the best coffee in the world.
At the farm, we got to see how coffee and teas were grown, see an asian palm civet, and taste a large variety of coffee, teas, and chocolate. The Kopi Luwak was very good, but I think I preferred the coconut coffee and spiced tea the most.
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| Coffee Tree |
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| Coffee and Tea Tasting |
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| Asian Palm Civet |
On our last full day, I drove our scooter back down to the coast in search of the temple in the ocean. We almost didn't get to go because the ATM ate Calien's card and it took FOREVER to get back. A pro tip that I ignored in Indonesia is to always use ATMs attached to a bank. Since I never had problems before, we got lazy and messed up.
The temple in the ocean was so mystical and enchanting. Unfortunately, tourists are not allowed inside but the outside view alone was worth the drive. We had dinner overlooking the sunset on the beach and relaxed after a stressful day.
The next day, an hour before we had to head to the airport, a different ATM ate my card! This time I had to get on the back of a stranger's motorbike and ride across Ubud in search of a bank to retrieve the card. In my head, I was imagining that I would get kidnapped and that my parents would quickly replace me with a new cat. I made it though, only to find out that there was only one mechanic and he was an hour away. In the meantime, I still had to return my scooter and make it to the airport. Lucky for me, my friends at the cafe pulled some strings and got us a ride to get my card and go to the airport. It was pure luck.
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"Travel is about crossing boundaries and mastering the fear of strangers, about making the effort to understand other cultures and thereby empowering yourself."
-Fatima Mernissi
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