So I told you before that I lived in New Zealand for a year, back in 2009. So after working there for 12 months, I saved enough money to travel to Asia. I checked for the cheapest ticket there and I ended up on my way to beautiful Indonesia.
It was my first stop on this 4 month trip, so I decided to book my accommodation in advance. I went for a guest house that offered pickups from the airport. It was the beginning of my proper backpacking trip to live on a budget. I still had a lot to learn.
I flew from Christchurch, New Zealand, to Denpasar, Bali with a stopover at Brisbane, Australia. When I arrived to the airport, a man was waiting for me. It was the owner of the guest house. We had a 2 hour drive to this place, I didn’t do much research so I was a bit confused.
We arrived at this beautiful little hotel in front of a rice paddy. My room was spacious with a private bathroom and a balcony. It was my first place, so it wasn’t that cheap but I really liked it and breakfast was included (Top Tip: when possible always look for breakfast included).
Eventually I realised, yes indeed I was in Bali, but Bali isn’t just that beach place that everybody talks about and goes to party. Bali is an island, one of the many island that form Indonesia. The place that everybody talks about is Kuta, Kuta beach and I was in Ubud, in the middle of the island.
I made a mistake, one of many that would come, but it was just part of the trip so I took advantage of it to the max.
I went to visit the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary. Its a crazy big park with amazing vegetation, cool trees and vines, Hindus temple, bridges and statues EVERYWHERE, and, of course, a lot of crazy monkeys. These playful cute creatures getting into fights are adorable to watch but then they start climbing on people that’s when you need to be careful. They are pick pocketers! They will take whatever you have in your pocket or whatever shiny object you wear, sunglasses and earrings included. I must admit I’m not the biggest fan of these funny, hairy friends.
I also went to The Blanco Renaissance Museum, the old residence of Antonio Blanco, a Filipino artist that lived in Bali. His paintings were really interesting, women were the focus of his art, and he also captured the greatness of the Balinese dancers. He also made the frame from different objects that he found which was quite original.
Another place that I visited was a beautiful Botanic Garden, with a cactus garden, a bamboo area as well as orchids in the green house. I spent hours in there just going through the 6 hectares, enjoying the quiet spots where you can just sit and relax. I definitely recommend checking this place out! ;).
Of course something had to happen. The day that I arrived it rained, so the next day when I went to the botanic garden everything was still a bit wet and moss, that green slippery thing on rocks, was everywhere.
I was going down some steps (most of my accidents start with stairs) and at the end of it there was a creek. As soon as I steeped on the ground I slipped. My instinct was to grab something, so I put my right arm around a trip, hitting my camera on it in the process, of course. The problem was that my left my leg kept going towards the creek, while my right foot was firm on the ground but my knee was going the same way as the left one. It was so painful, I twisted my knee, so as to stop all this I had to let myself go and fall on my bottom. I couldn’t walk properly but it was ok, these things happen.
I spent 2 days, 3 nights in Ubud and then it was time to make a move. Beach here I come!!!!
I’ll tell you more next time. Don’t miss what’s coming next and please don’t forget to Like my page on Facebook.
See you later xx