Going solo: Bali

 Bali, Bali where do I begin. Well, let's start off by saying I knew Bali was going to be awesome when I met my taxi driver who later became my tour guide. After almost being conned by a taxi marshall who quoted me triple the taxi cost, I met Anton, my guide. I must say, he made Bali extra special and made sure that I had the full Balinese experience in the short time I was there.

Anton, the best tour guide ever! He said I am his best friend guys, hahaha. How about dat!

 SEMINYAK

My first leg of the Bali experience was spent in Seminyak. Seminyak is a beach resort area with many cafes, restaurants, villas and spas. I woke up that morning to tropical rains that didn’t give in until late that evening. Because of the rain, I decided to do something indoors and relaxing. And what’s more relaxing than a day at the spa?

I had so much fun putting together different looks for this trip. 

Bali is known for its spas, relaxing pools and peaceful atmosphere so I had many spa options to choose from. I chose Prana Spa which had an Indian and Middle Eastern feel to it.  

Prana Spa Seminyak

Cold and hot plunge pools... I felt like I was in Morocco.

I spent three hours being pampered and treated like a queen. I started off in the hot and cold plunge pools to stimulate blood circulation then went off to have a foot massage. It was followed by a relaxing full body massage and facial treatment. They ended the experience off with a scalp massage and hair crème bath. The masseuse mentioned that it was the first time she washed kinky hair like mine. Hahaha, black child, we are occupying spaces, yaas!

After the spa day, Anton fetched me and took me to a Balinese dance show. I must say, I was a little freaked out at first because of the repetitive chanting and scary costumes. The one performer, fully dressed in a Lesilo-type costume, came up to me and started dancing in front of me. I played it cool but deep down I was shit scared hahaha. But I soon realized that they were harmless and pretty talented.

Performers chanting.

So this guy kicked that fire towards the audience. I was ducking and diving hahaha.

Thereafter, Anton took me to the temple. Now, I must add that there was an entire ceremony taking place. He insisted that I go and check it out, although I protested. I felt like an intruder but he was busy taking photos of me and encouraging me to go further inside, hahaha. The worshippers were giving thanks to their gods and singing and chanting. It is honestly nothing like anything I had ever seen before. It was indeed interesting to see how other people worship. 

Balinese dancer.

After that Anton took me on an evening tour of Bali. I honestly think we went everywhere, hahaha. At some point I was like “Anton, I’m tired fam, please take me home.” but no, he kept on going hleng! I was so annoyed, yoh, but looking back I am grateful he did that. 

He took me to where the movie ‘Eat, pray, love’ was shot. He also took me to a market and bought me exotic Balinese fruits and even went to a local pub to buy me their traditional beer and street food. We went to a souvenir shop too and that basically left me broke as hell haha, then he still insisted on taking me to the ‘nightlife’ street of Seminyak. At this point, it was late in the night and your girl wasn’t having any of it, hahaha! 

Tasted some fruits such as mangosteen and snake fruit.
Surprisingly, they tasted quite delicious, especially the mangosteen.

UBUD

The next day we headed out to Ubud. Ubud is a town that is the hub of all things cultural. It is also surrounded by rainforest and rice terraces. It is absolutely amazing. A must-see if ever you go to Bali.

This mama hand drew a t-shirt for me using the batik technique. So cool!

We stopped at another beautiful temple called Batuan Temple, which is on the way to Ubud. It was there that Anton flexed his photography skills, hahaha! He was not only taking the photos but he was also directing me on what I should do, hahaha! Wow, I miss Anton bathong! 

Angles! Anton was doing the things.

I stayed in this amazingly tranquil villa. I really felt like I had made it in life hahaha, even if it was just for those two days. 

Green Bird Villa

My room was so boho chic and my bathroom was half open so that
I felt like I was outside. Loved it! 

Getting lost

So normally I like to take a walk around the neighbourhood just to get a feel for a place. So after dinner instead of calling the villa for transport to come pick me up as we’d agreed, I decided to walk back. The restaurant was not really that far away and Bali is pretty safe so I thought, ‘Why not?’. I began walking and walking and walking... At some point I was like ‘Haibo, the villa wasn’t this far away though’ but still, I kept walking. Eventually, I was at the end of the road and it was pitch dark. I was alone in the street and I began to panic. 

'How did I miss the villa?', I thought. I called the villa but the language barrier got in the way so they couldn’t understand where I was. Eventually, I flagged down a scooter guy and after negotiating a fair price I got on and he took me home. I was scared but nonetheless, I made it home safe and shared the story with the villa staff over a cold glass of Bev, hahaha! 

Beautiful sunset.

The following day, one of the staff members took me on a tour around Ubud on his scooter. We went to the rice terraces where I went on the big swing and then he took me to an elephant park. The elephant park was deep in the rainforest and I swear I thought that if something happened to us, no one would find us. But thank God everything went smoothly.

Rice fields.

Cute lil elephant! I won't lie, I was low key panicking when he gave me that hug.

Bali was absolutely wonderful. My time was limited but I feel like I experienced a lot. The Balinese people were warm and hospitable and genuinely wanted to share their culture with me. The overall atmosphere was tranquil and peaceful and I am sure of one thing;

Bali, I will be back!