7) Monkey Forest Sanctuary
Although somewhat of a tourist trap, it is really worth it to have a monkey sit on your lap and try to eat your necklace. SO CUTE. The monkeys run free…and are not held responsible for stealing your things or biting you… hati-hati!
8) Jatuh…
…is the Indonesian word for fall, and that is exactly what I did on my first attempt at riding a motorbike… even though it was manual! Thankfully for the motorbike, I broke its fall, but still managed to dent it pretty badly and snap the mirror off… a total wipeout! I surprisingly wasn’t hurt, nor did I burn myself on the pipe, so all it left was to cry my way out of having to pay for repairs…which actually worked! I instead hired a driver to take me to Mushroom Bay on Nusa Lembongang island, where I spent the day practicing Italian with new friends.
9) Masakan bule
From risotto to chocolate mousse, Bali is for sure the best place in Indonesia for western food! To be honest, and this may be deprivation talking, it was some of the best western food I have had!
10) Shopping
Although Jakarta has every store you could probably ever want (except for Couche Tard), Bali provides quality over quantity. Plus Miss Sixty jeans are only about $25 US here… It also has the best wood furniture and handicrafts… Need to come back here to decorate my house…
Actually, need to find a job, to buy a house… then come back!
11) Party
“Kuta! Kuta! Kuta!”… really I am probably too old for shouting such things while walking down public streets, but still fun once in a while. It’s herd behavior! Plus there are Cosmo Royales in Kuta… I couldn’t help myself…
12) Traditional Dance
Cak-cak-cak! Kecak (pronounced kei-chak) is a traditional performance of the Ramayana where a troupe of 50(?) men make the accompanying music and 10 or so dancers reenact the story.
Lebong is performed to gamelan and has no more than four dancers for each segment of the performance.
The dance style is pretty similar for both, and they are definite must-sees when in Ubud!
Check this poorly lit video of the Kecak
Ten years ago I set a goal to visit 30 countries by my 30th birthday. With no plan or country list to fulfill this goal, I decided to let life take me where it wished.
“See Simi Travel Blog | Adventures of a travel snob“, is just that. The account of an ex-20-something year old exploring the world, usually solo, and on a very limited budget.
Every other week I try to tell you a story about the friends, food, fun and fails I’ve had along the way.
