Hello Young Adventurers!
Locations Visited: Bali Island, Indonesia- Canggu, Ubud, Seminyak; Gili Trawangan Island.
Languages Spoken: Balinese, Indonesian
Words Learned: Hello- om suastiastu; Thank you- suksma;
Goodbye- Titiang lungsur mapamit dumun (translates more to “I’m taking leave now”)
Back in the US the school year is coming to a close and summer is quickly coming, so what a better time than to continue the adventure by going to an actual tropical paradise! After going so hard the past few months, I was definitely looking forward to a few days sitting by the beach and slowing down. Hope you packed your swimwear and some snorkels, there is some stunning nature and science to learn about while we explore!
Canggu
I arrived late at night after my flight, but couldn’t miss out on not seeing the ocean for a bit. I decided to hit the bed pretty soon after, though, so I could enjoy the beach the next day! I felt weird taking a day off to not do any adventures besides sit by the beach. I had to really convince myself that it was okay taking a “day off” (which I know sounds completely ridiculous considering on on a whole “year off”).
Canggu is known for it’s black sand beach and great surfing conditions. I’m not a surfer, so I wasn’t even going to try to learn while here where the waves were big. The sands here really blew me away, though. It’s all black because of the volcanic rock from the island. Over time the black volcanic rocks break down more and more until they become sand and creates black sand beaches. I can’t even pretend I did anything else during this day besides sit on the beach, watch a BEAUTIFUL sunset, and get a pizza for dinner. I was a happy boy!
Gili Trawangan
I only stayed in Canggu for one full day since it was close to the airport. I woke up super early to take a 3 hour bus ride to the port on the east coast of Bali so I could take a boat to Gili Trawangan (Gili T), an island that’s part of the Gili Islands. Friends… this place is an actual paradise on Earth. Bright, white sands. Crystal clear turquoise waters. Plenty of sunshine. And palm trees and coconuts everywhere. I knew the second the boat arrived that I wasn’t going to want to leave.
Similarly to Canggu, I really didn’t do a ton here. I’m not going to bore you with a play by play of the few days I was here. Instead I just basically sat by the beach and rode my bike that I rented around the island. What I will tell you about, though, is when I went snorkeling here! I was debating between doing a big snorkel tour (I knew I had a big hike in a few days, so I didn’t want to go the scuba route without more planning because of the last time I went in Thailand), or just renting it on my own and relaxing. I decided to just get my own snorkel for the day and get a seat by the water where I could relax between swims. Best. Decision. Ever.
After about 5 minutes of being in the water, I stumbled on a SEA TURTLE! Oh man, it was so beautiful to watch swim around and eat sea grass. I just followed it around, keeping my distance so that it could do it’s thing and not feel threatened. I bought a cheap phone case so that I could take some underwater photos, and it was so worth it. Meet my new turtle friend!
Y’all, I love sea turtles so much. And I want them, and all of our wildlife on this planet, to be around for my nieces and students to be able to see when they get older. In order for that to happen, though, we need to take better care of our planet. Now, I know one person can’t solve all of the world’s problems, but I also know that small acts add up quickly. Being better about recycling, cutting out the use of as much single-use plastics (straws, plastic bags, plastic cups, etc) as possible, and being responsible about where we get our food and water from can make a big difference.
The more I have seen of this planet as I’ve traveled, the more I realize it’s as beautiful if not more than any scene in some fantasy movie or story. Our planet is actual magic, and every part fits together like a perfect puzzle. Without each piece, we can’t have the whole picture, and ultimately other pieces will get lost. We have to take care of this planet- it’s the only one we have. Enjoy your summer break, and use it as a chance to help make our planet a little cleaner in the process! Let’s all do our part to leave this world a little better than when we found it. For me, I’m going to work on cleaning up plastic that I find laying on beaches, buy a reusable metal straw so I can stop using single-use straws, and be better about bringing my own bag to the supermarket when I go get groceries once I move back home to reduce my usage of plastic bags. There’s a lot more to improve on outside of those, but every big change starts first with small, obtainable goals. Start small, good habits, and watch them grow into a change that really matters.
Here are a few other pictures of the beautiful corals and fish I swam with while snorkeling too! I seriously could live in this underwater world forever if my body would let me! With your help, we can make sure that it’s still around for a long time for us all to enjoy.
The rest of my time on Gili was filled with beautiful sunsets and gelato! Definitely thankful for the past few days to enjoy the beautiful ocean and relax for a bit.
Ubud, Bali Island
Ubud is city tucked in the middle of Bali Island, away from the ocean and surrounded by jungle, volcanos, and rice paddies. It’s a bustling little paradise that just kinda feels like what a hug would look like if it were a city. My big goal here was to do a sunrise hike at the nearby volcano of Mt. Batur. Besides that, I was ready for an adventure wherever the days were going to take me.
The big thing everyone does if they go to Ubud is visit the Monkey Forest. The Monkey Forest is a sanctuary for Balinese long-tailed monkeys that you can enter and walk around and explore the 3 temples within and see the monkeys. Seeing all of the monkey families playing and running around was really cute, but also a little terrifying. You can see the warning sign below that’s posted right as you come in. They are wild animals, and so it’s important to make sure you respect them as such when you’re in the area. They’re known to steal people’s food, water bottles, and even jump on people’s shoulders. They’re not violent towards people at all, but it’s still important to respect them!
After leaving the forest still in tact and monkey-attack free, I rushed to get to a beautiful walk called the “Ridge Walk” for sunset. My hostel said it would be really nice, so why not? Well, it paid off. It was just the nicest, simple walk over the ridge outside of town, and it couldn’t have been more beautiful than that sunset I saw over the hills and rice paddies. I love that I’ve been able to catch so many sunsets recently- it’s something we always take for granted until we are in a place that’s pretty. But sunsets are beautiful everywhere, let’s be honest. Go out and watch the next sunset- you won’t regret it!
Speaking of sunsets, the next morning I got up at 3:00AM to go do the hike up Mt. Batur, an active volcano on Bali for the sunrise. I was not the happiest camper waking up so early, but I was honestly too excited to care by the time I got in the van to take us to where the trail started. We hiked up the entire volcano in the dark with flashlights to help us see. It’s a pretty famous thing to do in the area, so there were a lot of other people on the trail with us. What was really cool was that when we got higher up and looked down behind us, you could see a trail of lights weeding it’s way down the mountain and through the forest like a row of fireflies. No picture I took did it justice, but it was really pretty. Or, at least I thought it was pretty until the sun began to rise over the clouds and I saw maybe one of the most beautiful sights of my life so far. We found a nice spot on the top of Mt. Batur and sat down, eating a breakfast of toast and eggs that were cooked in the steam of the volcano. Check out the sunrise.
We were so lucky with the clouds in the valley and the other volcano breaking through them. If you look closely, you can even see the steam coming from the top of the other active volcano. We watched the sun rise for about 45 minutes before we made our way to check out some of the other views from the top and then make our way down. We got a good glimpse into one of the main craters, as well as the field of cooled lava down below from an eruption years ago. There were even some more monkeys on the volcano! Can you spot the steam coming from the volcano in the pictures below?
While here in Ubud, I also managed to somehow stumble on a Balinese Gamelan rehearsal! I WAS SO EXCITED. There were even dancers rehearsing at the same time. The music teacher in me couldn’t get enough of it. The gamelan is essentially an ensemble of percussion instruments that a group of people play together for a lot of Indonesian ceremonies. Although I wasn’t able to find out what they were rehearsing for, I was glad to get to listen and watch! Check it out below- can you hear the gamelan being played- it’s hard to miss!
I had one day left in Ubud, so I spent it on a long day trip to the remaining major sites in the area. Our first main stop was one of the famous rice paddies terraces that you see in basically every photo of Bali if it’s not of the beach. There really isn’t much to do here besides take pretty photos for your instagram or pay money to ride a large swing. It was beautiful to see, though!
We also visited a beautiful Hindi Temple where people could go through a cleansing ritual in the waters of the temple. There were some hot springs as well in the temple complex, but they were inaccessible to people. They were beautiful to look at!
We also got to visit a local coffee plantation and try out some local coffees (which all of my students will know was the part I was most excited about. Mr. Weavil LOVES his coffee…). It was really fun getting to see where the coffee beans come from and how they’re harvested and turned into the delicious beverage that keeps me alive on a daily basis. Bali is famous for a particular type of coffee, though, that seems really odd at first. You see, there are these weasel-like animals called civets that eat the coffee berries and then pass it through their bodies whole. The farmers then find the berries in the weasel’s poop, wash them, peel the beans out from the center, and then make coffee out of them. Sounds disgusting, but it’s by far the best coffee I’ve ever tasted. When the weasel digests them, it takes out the caffeine and changes the taste. And don’t worry- they’re all washed and then peeled and roasted, so it’s perfectly safe to drink!
Seminyak
Following the tour, I jumped straight into another car and made the 2 hour journey to Seminyak where I’d spend my last full day at the beach relaxing since it was close to the airport. I honestly didn’t do much here besides eat some delicious pastries at this amazing bakery on the way to the water from my hostel, and enjoy the sun.
My time in Indonesia on Bali and Gili was un-Bali-vable! I needed these days to rest and recover to help me make the final push in the last 3 countries of this crazy journey. Next up I’m heading to the “Land Down Under,” home of koalas and kangaroos, poisonous everything, and a famous opera house. Do you know where we’re off to next? Find out next time, and until then,
Have Courage, & Be Kind,
Mr. Weavil