About beauty and what is real

A boat with a broken air conditioner brings us from the harbor of Gili T to the shores of Bali. From there it is another hour to Ubud with the shuttle bus. The taxi drivers waiting on the dock try to convince us it will be at least 4 hours. “Come with me! It will be much faster! There will be five stops across Bali and you’ll be in a bus with 20 people!” We’ve heard about this scam, and kindly decline their offer. We end up in a little bus with 9 people who are all going to the same place. It’s easy to make friends in the bus: “Where are you from? How long are you staying in Bali?” When the topic changes to ‘music’, I pull out my ukulele and start playing in the bus. Zach from Canada has been playing the guitar for many years and he picks up the ukulele chords pretty quick. We start jamming together and the other people in the bus sing along. “Somewhere over the rainbow..” So much fun! 

When we arrive in Ubud we notice we’re in the jungle as monkeys are literally crossing the streets. We rent a motor bike to explore the area. By now we are seasoned motor bike pros and I’ll conveniently forget to mention my crash in Lombok (no worries mom, I jumped off right on time). 

We visit the Elephant Cave (Goa Gajah), the Holy Spring Temple (Tirta Empul) and the rice terrace in Tegallalang. This part of Bali is stunning. To drive through fields of green and visit holy places is such an incredible experience. 

Like in Gili T, there are a lot more tourists here in Ubud than there were in Lombok or Java, but I guess there is a reason why certain places become tourist attractions. Being lucky for having seen quite some parts of the world, I must to say that Ubud’s surroundings definitely makes my top 5 of most beautiful places.

Yet, a downside of more tourism is the higher amount of tourist scams around here than elsewhere in Indonesia. Next to the already mentioned taxi drivers, we encounter people throughout the rice terraces randomly demanding donation fees on top of our purchased ticket. The prospect of earning money does not always bring out the best in people. 

However, to put things in perspective: Indonesian salaries are low compared to our Western European standards. For us it is very cheap to sleep and eat here. I sometimes get a bit uncomfortable when I hear locals say they’ve never left their island because they lack money. It makes me realize that I’m incredibly lucky to be born in the Netherlands. I’m privileged in many ways and aware of that. With that being said, all I can do is to live my life to the fullest and try to have a positive impact wherever I go.

I like to write stories about the things and places I get to experience. Great pictures help make a story more visual. The pictures on this journey are representations of what we’ve seen in Indonesia. However, these are the most beautiful things we’ve seen. As we are cooling down at the infinity pool of Jungle Fish we notice two girls taking pictures of each other for 1.5 hours (I’m not exaggerating). They’re making facial expressions that are often seen on platforms like Instagram. I realize that by only posting the most beautiful pictures of ones journey (read ‘life’), you’re not telling the whole story and readers may get a skewed view of what is actually happening. So with that, not every sight in Bali is picture perfect.

Our journey through Indonesia comes to an end and I’m grateful for this experience. The combination of four different islands, a few cities, gorgeous nature and impressing temples made this journey a great one. In between activities I read a lot, played a lot on my ukulele and most of the time I had no clue what date or day of the week it was. 

I’m especially grateful to be able to travel with my best friend. Together we played games; witnessed beauty; made music; meditated; had deep conversations; laughed and cried; reached milestones and let go of what is no longer serving us. Most of all: we got to spend time together. 

Next up is a couple of days in Singapore before flying back home.