I went to Bali in belief that I was going to have a 2 weeks luxury vacation after 5,5 months of backpacking. I checked in at my fancy hotel, after taking a taxi from the airport, went to a restaurant to have some dinner and had a nice long shower before laying down in my queen sized bed. So far so good. After a good nights sleep, I went for a massage, went down to the beach to have a beer and had a good chat with an Australian couple who has been in Kuta more times than they can count. They gave me some advise and introduced me to the boys serving beer by the beach (2 of them, there are so many people selling different stuff on the beach in Kuta). I had a really nice day. The two following days, I explored as much of Kuta and Semanyak as I could, I had massages, ate in restaurants and relaxed by the beach. Then I got bored.

I packed my 35 l backpack, left my big suitcase at the hotel and took a bus to Ubud. After walking around Ubud for forever, I found a completely new hotel. I was their first guest and I had the whole hotel for myself. It was an amazing hotel, the American owners were very friendly and happy that I had chose to stay in their hotel and the staff helped me with everything I could have ever needed. The receptionist, Febry, and I talked a lot. We compared our countries and our way of life, very interesting. I went to the famous Monkey Forest, in Ubud, the monkeys were so cute!! I also went to the market a couple of times and at night I tried to explore the Indonesian food.

After a few nights in Ubud I decided to rent a motorbike and travel around the island for two days. It was amazing! I drove along side the rice fields, in the forests and up to the volcano. I continued up to the north coast and stayed in a small hotel/guest house in Lovina, where I met a really nice Danish couple. I don't know how many times I got lost on my road trip, but that is the best thing about traveling, getting lost. That's when you see the most extraordinary things. I was so happy that I chose to rent the bike, it took me to places I would definitely not have seen otherwise.

I loved Bali, especially the parts where I felt like a traveler and not a tourist. If you ever go to Bali, make sure you see the real Bali and not just the touristy Kuta.

cheers!