On my second visit in 2018, I spent most of my time around Ubud with my boyfriend and we were able to enjoy the island by staying outside the center.
A Balinese friend told me the drastic change in Bali came with  “Eat, Pray, Love” which has brought millions of people to this magical island since its release. In a short time, the roads became insufficient to handle the heavy traffic, sidewalks scarce for people to walk on, the beaches were dirty, nature got disturbed by the never-ending construction of luxury resorts, shops, and restaurants, and the prices went up with the increasing demand.

 I don’t know how many people who go to Bali intend to learn and understand the religion, culture, and rituals.  Sadly, most I’ve witnessed during my visits was consumerism and yoga selfies.

OK, let’s focus on the positive since this island of Gods has amazing things to offer especially if you’re visiting for a short time and not looking for your new home like I did.

Bali is gorgeous period. Tall tropical trees, colorful flowers spilling over walls, lush green rice fields, wild forests, waterfalls, majestic volcanos, tropical birds, sea turtles, geckos…  I can’t describe how happy nature in Bali makes me! You just need to stay away from the heavily touristed towns like Ubud, Kuta, and Seminyak to be able to soak in the magic of nature. Rural areas are spectacular especially if you seek peace (or solitude) among nature.

As for the beaches, the sea is super wavy hence it makes it ideal for surfing for thousands of surfers crowding the waters of Bali. I wasn’t able to find a quiet white sand beach to chill and swim on and can’t recommend Bali for its beaches. Regardless, it was super fun to watch the surfers at Bingin Beach and Uluwatu, especially during the sunset.

The Balinese are the friendliest people I’ve met who managed to remain kind and pure despite of the flood of tourism and rapid change. They were able to protect their culture, rituals and traditional clothes and most of them spoke English! I loved that we could make friends easily and do activities together. They are genuinely interested in you, they stop on the road to ask you how you are doing, where you are going, if they can help, etc. This was pretty surprising for me after living in Thailand for 3 years where interaction with locals is at a minimum due to the language barrier. Since I’ve started learning Thai, I realized how sweet the Thais are so the problem was the language. Kudos to the Balinese education system that teaches sufficient English in schools.

A couple of times a week, the Balinese ladies in our village got together with their baskets and prepared for  something.. I still couldn’t figure out what that was actually but they looked so happy and beautiful together. This is how the real women circles must be like 💕

There are plenty of dining options ranging from a casual cafe brunch, organic vegan food, raw food, quality local coffee, tempting patisseries, and fresh seafood. It’s easy to find authentic cheap local fare and discover something different and exciting for every meal.

I had no idea about how amazing Balinese cuisine was before visiting Bali.  They have a lot of meat in their dishes but for the vegetarians, they would replace meat with tofu in most cases and they didn’t go nuts with hot spices  (unlike India and Thailand). I was able to eat my first non-spicy curry in Bali and discovered that I actually loved curry!

You must try Nasi Kampur (white rice and a mixture of small Balinese dishes), Nasi Goreng (fried rice) and salads.

Bali has a lot of Western influence, from diverse restaurants to yoga classes, and is the most “foreigner-friendly” island in Indonesia.

This is the reason why you can find a lot of digital nomads, photographers, and yogis who chose this island as their home. There is good wifi, cheap housing, a ton of co-working spaces, and it’s fairly easy to get a proper visa to stay long-term.

Since Bali has become a huge hub for ‘Destination Working’, more and more shared/ co-working spaces are popping up. Hubud in Ubud and Dojo in Canggu are the most popular ones I heard of but you can find more info on specialized blogs like this if you’re planning to work out of Bali. I preferred to work from my beautiful home with fast wifi to avoid riding in heavy traffic.

Thanks to several Facebook groups, in Ubud you can find a beautiful house with a private pool and cleaning service for about $300-400/month.  Due to the heavy traffic inside Ubud town and the popular area Penestanan, I opted to stay in a quiet area of Jalan Suweta, 15 mins north of the town.

With the super cute scooter I rented for $30/month, it was pleasant to ride through villages and rice fields to get to the madness of Ubud every once in a while for dinner dates or supermarket shopping.

You can find something for every budget.  If you’re tight with money, it’s easy to find local restaurants (warung) with half of the price.  If you’d like to try a fancy vegan dish, there are plenty of beautiful restaurants to choose from. The same applies to clothing. You can find expensive stuff in the boutiques in the tourist areas or you can go to the local market and find super cheap dresses and tops that are also hip! Don’t forget to negotiate. The Balinese are open to negotiation and the best part is they don’t get upset if you don’t buy (Thais have a lot to learn from them).

The influence of the predominant religion of Hinduism in daily life is hard to miss.  You can see everywhere Balinese houses (kuren) that consist of a number of related families living within one compound, praying at a common family temple, with one gate, and sharing a common kitchen. Their doors are usually open and we’ve been invited many times to come in and chat with them. They showed us around, offered fruits, and sometimes showed us the products they sold. But it was clear that their intention was not to sell stuff and they were coming from a pure heart. Such an awesome experience!

You can also witness everywhere the daily ceremonies in which Balinese women give offerings to Gods twice a day.

Besides its stunning nature and beautiful people, another amazing thing about Bali is its spectacular spas everywhere! You can indulge yourself in an upscale resort spa or at a regular spa you can find all around. They all are so clean, smell nice, and you’re treated kindly. You can take a shower before going back to the real world.

I’m not a spa type of gal (wasn’t) but I couldn’t resist the treatment with a body massage followed by a fragrant scrub made of blended herbs and spices. Then a refreshing yogurt moisturizer is finished with a soothing fresh-flower bath. Oh they also offered fruits while I was in the bathtub. All for $15! Not joking. You’ve got to try Venezia Spa near Monkey Forest.

Yoga in Ubud:

To be honest, after having traveled in India and Thailand for 3 years, I found Ubud’s yogi/spiritual scene very superficial. I often thought of  J.P. Sears’  videos that must have been inspired by what’s going on in the yoga and vegan scene in Bali 🙂

No offense, I’m sure there are amazing retreats and places I have missed. But since the purpose of my journey was  (and is) to stay away from the cookie-cutter world, I was amazed to see how spirituality and healthy living became a trend and consumerism took them over. I had left the Western world and all its programming behind expecting the people who escaped earlier had realized something different.  While running from a rat race, I felt like I found myself in another one but the masks looked prettier here. As my father would put it “same shit different smell”.

I chose to continue my daily home practice and discovered Anand Ashram , which I was so happy to have found a bit outside of Ubud. During our 2 month stay in 2018, my boyfriend and I joined their kirtans (devotional signing), satsangs (spirtual discourse with their founder/guru) and community dinners on donation. No-fuss, no ego type of place and a proof that spiritual practice doesn’t need to cost a fortune.

What to do, where to eat

• 9 Angels, Ubud: I love the concept of this place as well as its chill atmosphere.
  You pay for what you eat and no one questions you. They have suggested the price for each dish and you drop the money in a glass jar. They trust your generosity.
  You wash your own dishes when you’re done like you’re home! There are open mic nights and random live music jams.
• Atman Nourish, Ubud – Have to try vegan nasi goreng!
• Warung Bintang Bali, Ubud – Quiet setting and good food outside the Ubud maze, overlooking a rice field.
• Sayuri, Ubud – A hip vegan restaurant with a great atmosphere.
• Bali Buda, Ubud – A large veg/non-veg menu to choose from, in a central location and they have a health store.
• Warung Sopa, Ubud: A humble yet beautiful spot where you can make your own plate by selecting from yummy vegetarian options in the display.
• Sweet Orange Warung, Ubud. Take a walk around the rice paddies and stop to eat at Sweet Orange.
• Bambu Indah, Ubud. A beautiful resort/restaurant set in a beautiful serene setting a bit outside of Ubud. The best part? they make the food from the freshly sourced vegetables coming straight out of their in-house organic farm.
• The Shady Shack, Canggu – a great place to eat, chat, relax..a large selection of vegan, GF, conscious yummy food and drinks.
• Campuhan Ridge Walk, Ubud – Good way to spend an hour or two away from the bustle of Ubud. An easy scenic walk with great views and the reward is the restaurants at the end perched among rice fields. We did it closer to sunset due to the heat and walking in flip-flops wasn’t a problem. You can enjoy one of these rewards at the end of your walk:
  • Dragonfly Village, Ubud. A beautiful retreat center, cafe, and herbal steam sauna set in the midst of one of the most beautiful rice fields).
  • Sari Organic (restaurant)
  • Karma Cafe (restaurant)
  • Yugi Warung (restaurant)
• Pyramids of Chi, Ubud – Experience the power of sound inside the two Pyramids. Make sure to make a reservation for the session you’d like to join.
• Venezia Spa, Ubud – a perfect day to spend in Bali indulging yourself.
• Kecak Fire & Trance Dance (Pura Dalem Taman Kaja)

• Cafe Lotus, Ubud is a very touristic spot in the middle of the market but a fruit shake break with this view was a good call. The most appealing part was I left behind the crowded street noise upon entering this place and I found myself in a zen garden.

Kuta/Seminyak

Tanah Lot:

Taman Ayun: 

Uluwatu

In summary: Bali is beautiful and has a unique energy. Every time I left Bali,  I felt so grateful for its beauty, kindness, and hospitality. But I know, for now, I prefer to live in a less developed, less manicured, less commercialized place so I can focus inwards. See you next time, Bali!