In May of 2002, Niyati and I went on a week long trip to Bali. Its a hell of a long flight for just one week, but it is totally and completely worth it. We highly highly recommend a trip to Bali, even in light of the highly tragic events that just occurred there. It is as peaceful a place and people as you will ever come across, and there are sights and activities (or non-activities) to keep you occupied for weeks without getting bored. The quality of the hotels is phenomenal, and what you get in terms of luxury you could never afford in the US or Europe. If you stay away from the overcrowded touristy areas, you will still find Bali to seem very remote, quiet, and every bit of paradise. If you go to the wrong places, you will find it nothing more than an Australian Daytona Beach.

Beaches

On the whole, the beach at our hotel were not as good as I expected. Our beach at the Hyatt was uncrowded and nice, but nothing in the way of what you can find in Hawaii, the Caribbean, or what we found in Thailand. It was not a great place to swim either. There are other places in Bali with fantastic beaches , we just didn't go to them. There are also very nice beaches which are way too crowded and definitely not a 'get away'. Additionally, there is great diving and snorkling if you take day trips out to the reefs and islands. We did not get the time to do this.

If you are looking for strictly a beach vacation, I would stick with Hawaii and the Caribbean, and if you want something more exotic, Thailand or perhaps Australia or Fiji. Relaxation comes in other forms in Bali, mainly just the tranquility of the place, and the luxury of the hotels and their grounds. The beaches are there, it would just be a shame to go there only for that.

Countryside and Rice Terraces

The real natural beauty of Bali comes from the countryside. The rice terraces are sublime, and the images of farmers and workers in the fields are straight out of a movie. Add to that a few mountains and volcanoes, the pacific ocean, and fabulous weather, and you could spend days and days just touring the back country. The unfortunate downside of this is the lack of native wildlife or forest left. There is one national park, which is home to monkeys and some birds, but in comparison to other islands in the area (in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea), there is very little fauna to be seen, as most of the land has been cultivated. Indonesia as a whole is so rich in spectacular wildlife, but most of it is now endangered, and much is extinct...Bali is deceptive evidence of this.

Niyati and I spent one full day touring the eastern backcountry of Bali in a private vehicle. For the entire day, it cost us only $35 for a driver to take us anywhere we wanted to go. We basically sought out the best rice terrace viewing opportunities in our Lonely Planet guide, and had him take us there. We took a guided walk through some of the terraces to get a closer look a the farmers and how they tended to the farms. Most interesting was the plastic bag scarecrows, and the old ladies that just walked around the fields yelling 'HA!', to scare away the birds stealing rice.

I also took another walk with a guide through another area of farms, where the most entertaining aspect were the ducks used for something or another in the fields. Hundreds and hundreds of ducks being herded by a human is a comical sight, and is comical to listen to.

The rice terraces in western Bali are supposed to be better, but we did not have time to venture out that way. We were also fortunate to see the two volcanoes (inactive) on Bali. People climb these to get spectacular views of the island and nearby Lombok at sunrise, but we were not on this trip for anything strenuous. Maybe next time.

People

90% of Bali is Hindu, and most of these people are farmers or are in the tourist industry. No one speaks Hindi, but EVERYONE loves the Bollywood Hindi movies coming out of India, and they know all the stars. Their impression of India is as they see it in the movies, so they are always fascinated to see Indians and talk to them about the movies.

Everyone is super friendly, even when bargaining with you, even when trying to cheat you (which wasn't as much a problem as in other places we have visited). There is a smile on everyone's face when the speak to you, and no one is troubled if you take their pictures.

It is very common to see processions of people dressed extravagantly for various religious customs and festivals, walking along the road. Although we saw much of this, I unfortunately did not capture it on film.

On my farm walk, we were fortunate enough to stop by a local market (which started at 4 AM), and catch the activity there. This is where I got some good photos of the people of the nearby villages. You don't see these things if you just stay in the tourist areas.

Dances

Balinese dance is fabulous. The costumes, music, dance, and stories told all make it so. There are about 5-6 main dances that are performed, most telling stories from the Ramayan, an ancient Hindu text. We saw three of these dances, one of which had no music, only the chanting of 70 men. I wish I got it on tape. While the men chant, the dance is performed often by stunning looking women in beautiful costumes. The dances are mainly put on for tourists of course, but they still seem very authentic, and are performed at their best in the arts center of Bali, Ubud. They are primarily performed outdoors, in front of temples. The best time to see the dances are during the Bali dance festival, when they are performed non-stop.

Temples

There are hundreds of thousands of Hindu temples in Bali, taking on a very different style than the Hindu temples you would see in India. The most spectacular of these have dramatic cliffside, or water side locations, making them ideal locations to see sunset. The temples themselves have beautiful carvings and symbolism, but it is mainly their location that makes them so fabulous. Each village has multiple temples as well.

At one cliffside temple we visited, a monkey stole the glasses right off the face of our driver. He broke one of the lenses, and dangled the glasses precariously over the cliff, which dropped probably 200 feet below to the sea. In order to get the glasses back, the monkey was bribed with a few kumquats, otherwise he had no intention of returning them.

Hotels

I think the hotels in Bali must be the best anywhere, at least in terms of beauty and service. We stayed in two separate locations in Bali. First, we spent four nights at the Bali Hyatt in Sanur, on the beach. Its a large hotel, with phenomenal landscaping, great service, beautiful pools, and really nice rooms. We had a suite there, with a large private deck which had an outdoor shower, lounge chairs, and a hammock. We took advantage of all these things. Niyati used the spa there, which is considered one of the better spas (by the way, you can get massages at any of the spas in town for less than $10...and they are good) in a spa riddled island. They take spa to another level in Bali, and they make it affordable.

Like I mentioned before, the beach was good, not spectacular, although the sunrise was beautiful, and it was good to take walks along. You can easily reach other beaches by cab, and snorkling is not too far off if you want to do it. Since we had a suite, we had a really fantastic private area in which to have breakfast each morning, surrounded by lily ponds.

The hotel is large...355 rooms, but was only about 40% full when we went, which was just at the end of low season. Definitely the best time to go. There are many other boutique hotels around for a more secluded atmosphere.

The final three nights, we stayed near Ubud at the Begawan Giri hotel. Some of you have probably heard us rave about this place...I would be surprised if it isn't simply the best hotel in the world. There is no description I can give it to do it justice, and my photos are a sad representation. For a true sense of the place, visit www.begawan.com ...even this does not describe the place well enough.

From the moment we walked onto the grounds of the hotel, I found it hard to catch my breath I was so in awe. The setting is spectacular, isolated high above a river in the rainforest. The hotel has a maximum of 40 guests at a time, and employs 255 people to tend after these people...70 of which are gardeners. While we were there, there were only 4 others, and we never saw them. The place is divided into 5 'residences', each residence with 4-5 rooms, and its own pool. Our residence, the Wanakasa, had no others in it, so it was all to ourselves. We visited the other residences, each with a different architecture, and I think ours was the best. Everything is pure luxury, but in its simplest most primitive form.

We had an outdoor shower, a private outdoor hottub, and even an outdoor bed if we chose to sleep outside. Our suite was perched 25 feet above the ground, and our bedroom was at the edge, with floor to ceiling windows on three sides looking out over the forest.

We had a private butler to tend to any and all of our needs. He would be there before we woke up, and would not go home until we went to our rooms for the night. Anything we wanted, he would take care of. He came with us to the airport, bargained for us, had breakfast arranged for us anywhere we wanted it...seriously...he could do anything. He even offered to unpack and pack our bags for us.

The hotel also had three natural spring pools surrounded by jungle. The spa was amazing, and even I partook in some weird scrubs and massages. We only ate at the restaurant once, but the food was the best we had, and again the setting was unbeatable.

I cannot say enough about this place, and how it makes you feel. The hardest part was leaving the hotel to vist the town of Ubud and the surrounding countryside. Its very hard to go back to normal life, even after just one day there. Of course, this all comes at a very steep price...more than we are likely to pay for a place for a long time. But again, for the same amount in the US or Europe, you would get I think less than 1/2 as much.

You can stay at other fabulous hotels in the Ubud area (this is where the coolest places are) for much less money, and still be treated to a great experience. The Begawan Giri is definitely over the top, but its done so tastefully.

Bali also offers very cheap accomodations for the budget traveller, and they will be better than similarly priced options elsewhere. It is not like the Caribbean or Hawaii, where you have to dole out big bucks just to be there. Food, shopping, transportation are all very cheap. Its just up to you how to you want to stay. If not for so many other places in the world to visit, and its distance from Chicago, Bali is definitely a place we could go back to every year.

Home  Recent Events  Vacations  Our Friends' Sites   Miscellaneous  About Us

This site best viewed in 1024x768 resolution