Welcome To Paradise

Hi friends! I’ve been home from Bali for a little over a week and I am finally getting around to sharing more content from the trip! I am so excited to share my travels and experiences with you! My trip to Bali was actually my first trip out of the country and as to be expected, it was AMAZING! I have to admit that I was slightly apprehensive and nervous to travel so far away. I was of course very excited as well, but the first time for anything is a bit nerve racking. My fears and doubts proved to be totally silly, as per usual. I was completely blown away by how fun and easy it was to travel across the world!

The Best of the Best

Traveling to a different culture and experiencing a tropical paradise is obviously going to be an astounding exhilarating experience, but let’s talk about my top 3 favorite parts of Bali.

The People

 The people in Bali are SO nice. Although I am not an expert in traveling, I can imagine that showing up to a foreign country and not receiving a warm welcome from the locals is not a very good feeling. I’ve heard from some of my well-traveled friends how hard it can be to communicate and get by in a place where the locals don’t really seem to want you there. We faced no such problem in Bali. The people are super sweet, always smiling, and very helpful. English is not the primary language in Bali but they speak it very well and it made it so easy for us to communicate with them. I was very grateful for this. Plus it was nice to walk down the streets and into shops, restaurants, etc. and always be greeted by warm smiles and friendly hellos.

The Price

 Bali is also amazing because it is so affordable! I’ve often heard that Bali is very similar to Hawaii (especially for Australia) in terms that it is an easy, popular, tropical destination. And I have to admit that I absolutely love Hawaii, and although its only short flight for me, it’s quite expensive in Hawaii.

This is not the case in Bali. Everything there is affordable! Even when we would go out to really high end restaurants the plates were only about 20-ish dollars per person, and I’m talking really nice restaurants. Renting a scooter for the day is around $7, and fancy cocktails that are served in coconuts with flowers and fresh fruit are under $10. And might I add those drinks are served to you while you’re next to an infinity pool overlooking the ocean…I can definitely work with that price and that location 😉 ! We were also able to get a super relaxing 60 minute massage for $20!

Needless to say Bali is a super affordable place. That makes it very desirable to any travelers on a budget!

The Activities

There is honestly so much to do in Bali I think it might be impossible to be bored while there. While we were there for little over a week we did quite a bit. One day we traveled a little over an hour away from where we were staying and explored just about everything. We went to a traditional play and saw the behind the scenes of a few local factories. We also stopped by a coffee/tea plantation that was basically in a dense beautiful jungle. Here we were able to test all of the teas and coffees and it was such a magical experience. We also visited the monkey forest where I clung to my boyfriend the entire hour hoping that no rabid monkeys attacked me, LOL. It was however one of my favorite experiences as it was so exciting! Obviously there is just tons to do.

The Good With The Bad

Okay so as we all know everything can’t be all good right? Well this is true of Bali too.  I had an amazing time and I would totally go back in a heartbeat. But I will also share the parts of Bali that were harder to love.

The heat was a major mood killer sometimes. I am not sure if we went at a particularly hot time or if that is just how Bali is. But it was in the 90’s most of the time and the humidity was around 85%. I was all about getting away from the rainy weather we have been experiencing in the Bay Area. But I didn’t realize how extreme the weather was going to be in Bali. Because of the climate hair and makeup were pretty much a waste of time (thank goodness for my boyfriends SIL who gave me these amazing braids!). It was a little bit hard to shoot while here because I didn’t feel quite like myself while I was dripping sweat and dealing with frizzy hair.

The other major downside of Bali was the bugs. I am actually allergic to mosquitos so when I get bit they turn into huge painful itchy welts. As soon as we showed up I was covered in bites and miserable. We quickly hit the pharmacy and got me some top notch bug spray and  meds. For the rest of the trip I basically took that bug spray everywhere with me and used it religiously. I was able to fend off the bugs pretty well. But there was a few nights where I wasn’t on my A-game and ended up getting a few bites. The bugs were not a huge hit for me but if you don’t mind bugs too much and keep your spray handy you should have no problems with this issue!

Dress – Berkley Elleven

Shoes – Target

Necklace – Forever21