Ever heard of a place called Bali? It's a bit more name brand than "Yogyakarta", our previous destination.
Bali is the party capital of Indonesia, and is easily among the top party destinations in both Oceania and SE Asia. How does one city rule an entire continental region? It takes a hell of a lot of empty ocean and gentrification to get there.
When we arrived in Bali, we immediately noticed how different the airport was from other Indonesian cities. The terminal was waaaaay more busy than other cities and stuffed with touristy photo ops everywhere. As soon as we stepped out the airport, we were bombarded with street buskers trying to get our dumb attention and dirty money for anything they could sell. Flutes? Wristbands? Hats? Tours? Taxi? Weed? Lunch? Hotel? Hookah? Girlfriends? Colored wristbands?
Saying the atmosphere was pretty fucking annoying is an understatement.
After a shitty hour drive in infamous Bali traffic, we arrived at our hostel which was shockingly modern. We just grabbed a place that looked decent on a budget and got spoiled with amenities... It was the only place we had both hot water AND good water pressure!
We settled in and discovered that we ended up in the clubbing district of Canggu. The vibe was like Miami Beach; muscle bros and fit chicks passing through the day until they can let go and party. While it wasn't our normal scene, we buckled in and made the most of it.
We made some hostel friends and went to the beach for lunch and some oceanside hookah.
Another disappointment of the day was the waterfront. The beach was unfortunately among the most polluted scenes I've ever seen. A few people were trying to swim or learn to surf, but many folks were tanning well away from the water.
We laid low until it was party time. Without us knowing it, we arrived on cue for the big Monday night scene. We tried making the most of it but it was very much not our vibe.
Most of the people I spoke with were interested in which clubs were going off and NOT exploring the local lifestyle. We felt like it was a treasonous reason to travel. Why come thousands of miles if your primary goal is a cheaper drink and exciting party scene?
The next day, we decided to go venture out and experience some authentic Balisan culture.
In true Veithbros fashion, we first hit some sketchy backroads looking for a butterfly house...
...which was actually well worth the effort of getting there! They have a big enclosure and show guests how they continually breed the resident butterflies that live anywhere from two weeks to a few hours!
We found another little detour where we went thrift shopping and got lunch from a little roadside buffet. After you serve yourself, they give you little cards saying how much your dish cost. 35,000 IDR = $2.30 (Jan 2023).
Everyone recommended visiting the Tegallalang rice fields and when we got there... here's our reaction.
To be fair, the fields are in a scenic ravine and are very photogenic. But if you're visiting any mountainous regions in SE Asia, pretty looking rice fields are like seeing a forest next to a highway.
At the end of the second day, we reflected on our trip so far and decided to bail on Bali.
We heard the Gili islands were worth checking out so we met up with our friends from Yogyakarta and continued the adventure.
Fuck Bali and their inauthentic touristy shit.