My friends and I chose to visit Bali for semester break, and it was easily one of the coolest and most scenic places I’ve ever visited. I flew solo to Bali in order to check in to our villa, and my friends arrived later that night.
I spent most of my first day unpacking and getting settled into our villa. Our villa had a private pool, so I spent a lot of time in the water that day. Later in the day, I headed to the beach so I could catch the sunset, and the view did not disappoint.
The next morning, we woke up at 2:30 a.m. to be picked up for our sunrise tour at Mount Batur. It poured on us most of the drive, but I was really tired, so I slept for most of the time. When we got to the volcano, we boarded our Jeep to head up the side. We didn’t go all the way to the summit, but we did stop at a pretty cool viewpoint on the side. After a brief but heavy downpour for about 15 minutes, we were finally able to see the sun peeking through the clouds.
Since we got rained on, I remember being a little disappointed with how the morning turned out, but I was still looking forward to what we had planned for the rest of the tour. After watching the sun slowly peek above the clouds, we left the side of the mountain and went to explore a couple more places. Our first stop was at an old lava field, where we were able to stop and walk around for about fifteen minutes.
Once we left the lava fields, our next stop was a natural hot spring. We stopped and swam for a bit, enjoying the warm water and the breathtaking views. Afterward, we headed back to our villa so we could unwind and relax for the rest of the day since we had to wake up early again.
The next day, we took a boat to Nusa Penida, which is an island about 45 minutes off the coast of Bali. We took a boat to four different snorkeling spots, where we were able to snorkel with manta rays and sea turtles! It was one of the most surreal experiences of my life. Being able to swim with these animals was a memory that I will hold on to forever. The boat ride itself was also really scenic, with large cliffs and cool rock formations.
We docked on the island, and our tour guide took us in a rental van to a few places. My favorite spot on the island was Kelinking Beach, one of Bali’s biggest attractions.
After Kelinking Beach, we got back on the boat and headed back to Bali, where we spent the rest of the day hanging out at our villa. The next day, we visited Ubud, where it fully felt like we were in Indonesia. We started off the day by visiting a Hindu temple, and I thought that it was really cool to learn more about Hindu culture.
Our next stop was at a waterfall. Exploring the area reminded me of some waterfalls that I’ve seen on hikes back in the U.S., but the main difference was how lush the surroundings were.
After the waterfall, we headed to the Ubud Monkey Forest, where we saw a LOT of monkeys running around. Some were swimming, some were eating, and some were just chilling. It was really cool seeing how all of the monkeys interacted with each other, a lot like humans do.
Our final stop of the day was at the rice terraces. We stopped to get lunch, and I had the best chicken and rice I’d ever eaten. After lunch, we walked around the fields for a little bit and got to see farmers harvesting rice. The rice terraces opened my eyes to different forms of agriculture that I hadn’t thought about previously, and I really enjoyed learning how they worked.
The rest of our trip was spent relaxing at the pool and beach before we went back to Australia. But on our second-to-last night, I got sick with a really bad case of Bali belly and spent the whole next day lying in bed. The day after, I felt a little better and was well enough to fly back to Australia.
Overall, I would highly recommend Bali to anyone interested in visiting Southeast Asia! The culture, natural beauty, and people all make Bali a special place that shouldn’t be missed.
Jake Reeves, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is studying abroad in Australia with TEAN.
