Bali: My First Impressions

Our first morning in Bali we woke up bright and early just before 5 a.m..

Why did we wake up so early after not sleeping very much at all the last two days?

The Adhan is why.

The Adhan is the call to prayer in Bali and it is a religious song played through loudspeakers from the top of mosques with the purpose to remind Muslims to pray.

It is broadcast from the mosque five times a day.

It was quite the surprise to wake up to a loud male voice singing a song I didn’t understand before the sun was even up.

Consider this culture shock number two.

(And all the stray dogs everywhere can be culture shock number three).

This was also the start to Bryce’s 21st birthday.

We laid in bed for a couple hours after the Adhan played and tried to get some more rest before getting up and ready for Bryce’s big day.

When we did get up, Bryce got in the shower and I got to work stringing a “Happy Birthday” and a “Cheers” sign while also blowing up balloons and taping them to the wall.

The goal was to make a sweet gesture for him the same way he did for me on my birthday a few months before.

When he came out of the bathroom I jumped on to the bed, spread my arms out and (quietly) yelled “Happy Birthday!!”

He appreciated it a lot.

I joked about how I had to look up if I could bring balloons in my carry-on before leaving Queensbury.

When we were both ready we went to the grocery store, Pepitos, which is about a five minute walk away and we got ingredients to make breakfast sandwiches (our go-to breakfast) and a couple other things. We were celebrating a 21st birthday after all so we had to grab some of Bali’s finest beer, Bintang, for Bryce and a couple Smirnoff Ice for me.

Made our way back to the AirBnb, had some breakfast and enjoyed each other's company.

I gave Bryce some presents I brought for him, a new bathing suit, a nice button up and a blue stainless steel koozie with a built-in bottle opener.

Later on we ordered lunch to our place which was about 76k IDR (5 USD) total for chicken fried rice and vegetable lo-mein. That included the delivery fee as well.

We took a nap in our room in between debating whether or not Bryce wanted to go out for his birthday.

We were so exhausted but decided we had to go out because you only turn 21 once and we’re in Bali, come on!

So we put on some nicer clothes and ordered a Gojek to Old Man's bar.

The ride took about 10 minutes and cost 45k IDR (less than 3 USD).

Once we got to Old Mans we ordered two personal sized pizzas and two vodka Redbulls (we had to stay awake so that seemed like the best drink of choice for the night).

We made our way to a table with our drinks and talked while we waited for our pizzas to come out.

As we enjoyed our drinks and pizzas our table started to fill up quickly with other couples.

At first it was a couple from Norway and then a couple from Wales.

Bryce and I laughed as we overheard them try and guess where the other was from based on their accents.

It didn’t take long for Bryce and I to be included in the conversations as well.

We talked to them all for a while as we ordered more drinks.

Quickly we started to get closer with the couple from Wales.

Their names are Harley and Caedia and we are all close in age.

They even offered to buy us a drink and their selling point was “for the Queen”.

How could we say no to that?

That would just be rude to the late Queen.

So we hung out with them some more, exchanged Snapchats and after a couple hours Bryce and I wanted to go to the next bar over, Sand Bar, right on the beach.

We invited Harley and Caedia to meet us there.

Bryce got a Bintang and then not long after that our new UK friends were with us again.

The four of us sang and danced together until it was late and our first official night, and Bryce’s birthday in Bali, had ended.

Our next big endevor in Bali was getting our moped.

The vehicle that was our key to get anywhere on the island.

But at the same time one of the most intimidating aspects of our trip.

Driving in Bali traffic is not for the weak and you have to do it with confidence or else it will be a challenge to even make it onto the main road.

Bryce was nervous for this, understandably, because I was too and I wasn't even the one driving.

The moped was dropped off at our door and the rental company owner gave us a quick review of how the moped worked. We paid him 800k IDR (50 USD) for the month and he was on his way.

Bryce took a quick practice drive on our quiet street and he seemed a little more confident after that.

The next day we took the moped out for our first little drive together.

Our first stop was for gas and we topped off the half empty tank for 16k IDR (1 USD and change).

We ripped a quick 15 or so minute ride over to Pererenan Beach where we paid 2k IDR (13 US cents) to enter.

As we walked on to the beach we met Mona who sported her name on her bucket hat and was trying to sell us jewelry while also complimenting my “beautiful hair” in hopes I’d let her braid it for some money.

Politely declining, we began our walk on the gorgeous black sand beach.

I don't know if this is common knowledge or not but later that night I googled what made black sand black and it is due to nearby volcanic activity.

The more you know.

We walked for a while then climbed up onto what looked like a black reef structure, but above water, and enjoyed watching the waves crash together.

Simultaneously relishing in the moment and in disbelief of where I was.

Right beside us on the rock was an offering to the Gods placed by a local.

They represent the people’s gratuity to the Gods and are also an invitation for the Gods to come down to the island and help it prosper.

They include offerings of flowers, rice, incense, fruits, crackers, sweets, and more, placed on woven bamboo. They can be seen everywhere and are commonly found outside of houses, businesses, on beaches and even next to registers inside grocery stores.

A couple days later we went on a fun moped trip.

We dropped a pin on the map in a place that looked like a bunch of rice fields and we began the 15 or so minute drive there.

Once there we pulled over and enjoyed the peaceful view for a little bit and then decided we were going to turn the map off and just get lost for a while.

We drove all around the area and experienced some more rural parts of Bali and the richer culture when compared to the touristy spot we are in.

It was fun to see a different side of Bali.

The more everyday, pre-tourism side.

After about an hour we decided to head back to our villa.

I want to wrap this blog up with our biggest adventure of the trip yet (in my opinion).

Leke Leke Waterfall.

We drove an hour north on our mopeds with Harley and Caedia to a beautiful waterfall.

When we arrived, there was a picture-esque entrance where we paid 50k IDR (3 USD and change) each to enter.

We followed a staircase that led down to what looked like a closed restaurant on the way to the trail to the waterfall.

Just before the trail began there was a swing and of course we had to stop and get the quintessential Bali swing pic so we took turns taking pictures of each other.

On the trail, there were more cute little photo-op stops but we decided to just make our way to what we went there for.

About a 15 minute, very muddy, jungle walk later we caught the first glimpse of the huge waterfall.

When you make the last few steps to the waterfall you can really admire all 50 feet of it without trees and leaves obscuring the view.

We snacked on chips and waited a few minutes for Harley and Caedia to get there. We lost them somewhere along the drive there.

Once we met up again it was bathing suit and swimming time.

Making the last few steps to the water, we stopped and took turns taking a couple pictures up on a rock right in front of the waterfall.

After that it was officially time to swim.

Bryce turned on his GoPro and we walked into the water.

We swam around for about 20 minutes.

Enjoying the amazing scenery and beautiful water.

Taking turns being under the waterfall as it crashed down on us.

It was one of those I-can't-believe-this-is-the-life-I'm-living-right-now moments.

We finished up there and made the walk back up to the mopeds, drove back to Canggu, went to Pasta Bar with Harley and Caedia, where we got delicious 60k IDR (4 USD) pasta, then called it a day.

My first impressions of Bali are great, to say the least.

It is beautiful and affordable living and in the 12 days we have been here I have already made memories that will last forever.

There is so much more that we plan to see in the next couple weeks in Bali and I am so eager to experience it all.