After 30+ hours of travel from Zanzibar to Doha (the creepiest airport I’ve ever been in) to Kula Lumpur, Malaysia, I finally made it to Indonesia. I booked a hostel in Canggu, Bali. I’ll let you know right away that I think Bali is highly overrated and the real magic of Indonesia is elsewhere. Unless you like resorts and Starbucks in SE Asia. I can imagine 20 years ago it was a different place completely. I read online that Canggu is a “backpackers paradise”. I showed up visibly dirty. I was in dire need of a washing machine and a shower. I still had the Zanzibar sand everywhere, it even made its way into my travel documents, which was a funny moment when I checked into my hostel in Canggu, pulled out my passport and grains of sand fell out of it. I couldn’t find any backpackers but there was an abundance of instagram influencers. Nothing against this lifestyle. I just prefer to do a bit more than have my photo taken a million times at a temple to post on my feed and spend the rest of my day in the air conditioning. I wasn’t having the best time making friends. I was getting flashbacks to middle school. I met what was seemingly a nice group of girls one evening who pretended like I was a total stranger the next morning when I asked to join them for coffee but the “table was full”. Maybe I should have brushed my hair before I introduced myself the first time. But here is a photo of a gorgeous sunset I witnessed on my first night in Bali.
I worked my way north of Canggu to Ubud. If you’ve read Eat Pray Love, this is where Elizabeth Gilbert fell in love with Indonesia. Success to Liz and her best seller, but Ubud has a different feeling now and has become a tourist hot spot. It’s beautiful nonetheless. I stayed at a female only hostel Arya. Only girls allowed to stay here, the beds were so comfortable, they had complemenatary shampoo AND conditioner in the showers, I met some indcredible women travelers, and they had free massages, manis and pedis every day. Also free yoga in the morning and many other events like family dinners.
Arya was so refreshing, but when I came down with a minor cold I made my way north to Bali Bamboo Jungle Huts. I took a scooter for almost an hour through rice fields and I felt like I could breathe for the first time in Bali. I stayed here for three nights, relaxing, writing, taking myself out to eat and giving myself some time to process Zanzibar. I met this funny group of young German travelers, 19-21 years old, and they convinced me to join them for an ATV adventure through the jungle which was the most pure-hearted-fun I’ve had in awhile. Non Stop laughing, I was covered in mud after.
My room (:
I have a pretty funny story about this hostel. When I called my mom and told her she was in tears laughing so I’ll share it with you too. So this place is tucked away in the rice field and is owned by a very sweet Indonesian couple that treats their backpacking guests like their own children. Bumbum and his wife, Siri have been running this hostel for close to ten years. I noticed something strange on arrival. I’ll just cut straight to the point: there were wooden penis decorations everywhere. Some had wings, some were attached to funny little animals, all shapes and sizes, one was even made into a bottle opener. I asked Bumbum what this was all about. He let out this big belly laugh and asked if I wanted the full story. Of course I did. He poured me a shot of his homemade “jungle juice” and began to share the legend of the wooden penises. When Bumbum was a baby, Bali was barely discovered by foreign tourists. He lived in a small village in the jungle of Ubud and his grandfather was a woodworker. His favorite thing to carve? Male genitalia. I asked Bumbum what this was all about, is it like a cultural thing? Does it have some deeper meaning in your village? Nope. “They’re funny and easy to carve”. Duh.
One day Americans came to his village on bicycles. He said he’ll never forget the day when the first tourists visited his home. They were welcomed and greeted by his family and his grandfather showed him his pieces, or should I say members, of art. The Americans loved them, along with the other wooden sculptures he was making. They left with a few of each and about 6 months later the Americans returned on their fleet of bicycles and said that they would give Bumbum’s grandfather $40,000 if he worked with them and shipped his carvings back to the U.S on a contract. These peddling Americans were from Pier One Imports.
Bumbum's grandfather received enough money for his entire family to move out of the village and into society, where they had electricity and running water for the first time. They opened up a wood art shop that transformed into the hostel we were sitting in. He is so proud of his grandfather and his phallic art forms.
Here’s a glimpse of the hospitality I received from Sri when I wasn’t feeling well. Also, Bumbum and Sri made sure I held a jungle snake before I left their hostel.
Before I left Ubud I made sure I made it to a Holy Water Temple. Pura Tirta Empul is a Hindu temple. It’s dedicated to Vishnu, the Hindu god of water, and is one of Bali’s most important temples. The sacred spring within the temple is believed to have purifying powers, and many Balinese Hindus come here for ritual purification. The blend of spirituality and natural beauty makes it a unique and meaningful experience in Bali’s Hindu culture. This sacred place, known for its crystal-clear springs and spiritual purification rituals, has been a center of healing and blessings since the 10th century. Watching locals and travelers alike cleanse in the holy waters is a beautiful reminder of the island’s rich spiritual roots.
I wore a surang, entered the water, and cleansed under each fountain. The first pool is for health. You say a little prayer, approach the fountain, splash your face three times and then submerge your head. There were many fountains for health. At first I was saying prayers for my own health but I decided to dedicate the next fountains to people in my life. I did one for my mom’s health, my sister, my best friend Myah, my grandma and grandpa and loved ones from home that I know could use a miracle. No one really knows if these practices work but the more I’ve traveled the more I believe in these rituals and the power of prayer, or positive thoughts, directed toward a certain person, situation or experience.
I also got the chance to visit a temple for the traditional Legong dance. Legong dancers are famous for their intense, side-to-side eye movements, which are a hallmark of the dance. The Legong is typically performed by young girls dressed in vibrant costumes, telling stories through detailed, controlled hand and eye movements. This dance captures the Balinese ideals of grace and beauty. The most intriguing thing to me about this dance was the eye movements. They were dancing with their eyes! The Legong dance is accompanied by a traditional gamelan orchestra. The orchestra consists of bronze percussion instruments, gongs, metallophones, and drums, which create this enchanting backdrop for the dancers.
It was about time to move on from Bali to a different island of Indonesia. I wanted to meet more locals and experience Javanese culture. I booked a $50 one way flight to the neighboring island, Java. I also had a few volcanoes on my list to hike and the artist city of Yogyakarta was calling my name.
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