Today I will share with you some practical tips that made my trip to Bali just great, but I will also mention some tourist traps and things that you might want to avoid.
Authentic Bali adventure. Local gems recommended by locals.
Bali or the island of Gods is one of the most spiritual places on the Earth. If you have ever visited the island, you might have probably felt this incredible energy that is not easy to describe. It can be explained by so-called ley lines that meet on the island. Therefore, Bali belongs to the most magical places on our planet and it is believed to be able to heal not only our bodies, but also souls.
From the first minute on the island, I could perceive this incredible spiritual flow, but I did not fully understand it… yet. It was my intuition and internal peace that made me look for the answer within myself, among local people and finally on the Internet:)
Today I will share with you some practical tips that made my trip to Bali just great, but I will also mention some tourist traps and things that you might want to avoid.
1) Cheap airlines might not be the best option in Indonesia. Do not save your safety!
Our trip to Asia started this time in Singapore, continued in Malaysia and finally we landed in Indonesia. Bali was our last stop. One of our good friends from Singapore, who knows a lot about the local aviation industry, recommended us to fly with AirAsia. It is because the quality of planes, as we learnt, matters a lot in the region. Some airlines repurchase old planes, even after 20 or 30 years!!!! Yes, this sounds a bit scary and it is one of the reasons why sometimes we hear about plane crashes in Indonesia.
To our surprise, food on the plane was just amazing. We have ordered a national dish of Indonesia – Nasi Goreng. The dish is made of rice and some mixture of spices, which gives it a smoky flavor. The secret is the sweet, caramelized soy sauce and the shrimp paste. I would definitely recommend you trying it when you are in Indonesia. All in all, the Air Asia flight to Bali was pleasant. Some passengers were complaining though that there was no business class available, and they were just seated with non-priority passengers, but that was the biggest “problem”on the board:)
2) Rent a local car driver to explore the island
Many of you might be wondering why traveling with a local driver is better than exploring the island on your own. Here are the answers:
- a) On Bali you need to drive on the left-hand sideof the road. This might be really confusing!
- b) Driving on the island requires incredible driving skills. Many times I was asking myself how people manage to drive through such crowded and narrow streets, for example in the Ubud area. This is why renting a scooter was not an option for us.
- c) Local drivers are the best tour guides. Not only are they very friendly and helpful, but they really do their best to make your Balinese experience unforgettable. They show you their real world, the authentic Balinese culture, a lot of local restaurants and they take you to places, where they bring their own families. Some of the spots cannot be even found in the guidebooks and are breathtaking.
As our driver was born on Bali, he shared with us a lot of interesting facts about the island, local religion (Balinese Hinduism) and beautiful customs, such as famous Balinese offerings called canang sari.