Bali & Gili, Indonesia

Tending to the King in Ubud's Monkey Forest

Bali - the name conjures romantic visions of tropical island paradise. Prior to planning our trip, we assumed it was just a small resort town filled with expensive beachfront hotels and lush jungle gardens. We were pleasantly surprised to learn, as any visitor quickly will, that Bali is in fact an entire island province populated by over 4 million people, most of whom have never surfed a wave or sipped a banana daiquiri. And while the beaches and jungle are indeed gorgeous, it's the unique people and culture that make this "Island of the Gods" a world class destination. But just to make sure we didn't miss out on some good old fashioned beach hedonism, we also set aside some time for a boat trip over to nearby Gili Trawangan, aka "The Party Island," where the attractions are a little less... subtle.

Our first airport pick-up sign! Unfortunately, it was associated with the "Suastika House", our homestay in Bali. If Ashley ever runs for public office, let's hope no one leaks this photo to the media.

We chose this lovely (though poorly named) homestay in Ubud, Bali and we were not disappointed. The swastika actually has a very positive spiritual meaning in Eastern culture that dates back long before Nazi Germany. Unfortunately once the Nazis made the symbol their own, it didn't look right when anyone else used it...

We indulged every morning in a massive breakfast. Walt Jr. would be proud.

The grounds of the hotel

Our hotel was located in Ubud, a small (though increasingly touristy) town set in the green interior of the island. The town is the cultural and spiritual center of Bali. While almost all other Indonesian islands are predominantly Islamic, Bali is dominated by a Balinese Hinduism, a unique flavor of the religion that is well represented in the island's ubiquitous art, dance, and music. Most homes in Bali are built with adjacent open air temples, or Puras, which turns even a short stroll down the street into a picturesque tour of ancient culture and religion.

Taking a walk through the rice paddies

A Balinese take on Chicken Kiev and green curry. So good.

Modern-day Wang Lung tending the fields

Authentic Bali desktop background art. You're welcome.

Not sure how he got up there.

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Offerings to the Gods are an integral part of daily life in Bali and they are meticulously put together and placed on the ground in front of homes, shops, temples and hotels. Unfortunately Joe's clown feet ended up squashing most of the offerings within a three block radius. This one, consisting of banana leaf with rice, flowers and incense, was spared.

A statue of the lesser-known Goddess of Longtitties. Her teachings state that with age comes wisdom, holiness, virtue and droopy boobs.

En route to the famous Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary in Ubud, we knew we were close when we came across this little guy chillin' in the street like a boss.

Mama and baby! The Monkey Forest is an incredible spot to watch monkeys in their natural habitat. It is an incredibly well-maintained site featuring expansive grounds, walkways and temples. A far cry from many of the other animal sites we've seen in SE Asia, like Ko Lanta's Monkey Prison and Yogyakarta's Little Birdshop of Horrors.

Here's a cheeky monkey. There was no shortage of high-pitched shrieks coming from tourists who just had a monkey jump on their back.

The only thing missing was the David Attenborough narrative.

Time for a butt cleaning!

Pura Dalem temple

Parkour!

Indonesian children are the sweetest things in the world. We came across these three birds grabbing gas for our motorbike. They were the only positive part of another foolish motorbike endeavor we took to visit the beach in Kuta. When will we learn our lesson??

Post-motorbike hell on the beach in Kuta. Underestimating the distance, type of roads and lack of street signs, we found ourselves lost for hours trying to get to the beach. When we finally arrived (around 4pm!) we took a seat and grabbed a beer.

The no-frills beachside bars of Kuta. After calming his nerves with a few Bintangs from the stressful ride in, Joe took to the waves for a little surfing. Ashley's knees were still shaking, so she kept herself on solid ground.

At Gunung Kawi (Poet Mountain) we got caught in the rain. Thank goodness for nature's umbrella. And don't worry, Ashley hasn't gotten so bad with her travel fashion that she's started wearing tablecloths, that's a mandatory temple-issued sarong. 

Ubud is famous for its babi guling, roast suckling pig. We grabbed a Fanta, perched ourselves overlooking a beautiful pura and dug in.  They don't waste anything in this nutritious assortment of meat, blood sausage, and massive pieces of crispy pig skin.

Ubud has a great deal of arts and craft shops and many with incredible wood carvings. Here's a vintage coffee table from the Jackie Treehorn collection.

From Ubud, we took a quick ferry to Gili Trawangan (Gili T) for some beach and partying. There are no motorized vehicles on the island, so you get around by foot, bike or house-drawn carriage.

Outriggers are common to stabilize boats in Indonesia's choppy waters.

We opted to stay a few blocks in from the beach. We were amazed how quickly the island transitioned from bars and tourists to barefoot children and traditional, modest homes. Our bungalow was traditional, but not so modest.

Awaiting some delicious thin-crust goodness at a great pizzeria we discovered.

Every hour is happy hour in Gili T! We decided to grab some extra cheap local whiskey and sodas, only to discover the next day that Gili T has a history of serving methanol in its "local" alcohol. Young travelers and locals alike have died drinking it in excess! We stuck to sealed bottled beer from then on.

Snorkeling on Gili T is incredibly popular due to the massive turtles that feed on the reef a mere 30 yards from the beach. After a great day of snorkeling where we saw many huge old turtles (some must have been 80 years old!), we got up early the next morning to pay them a visit. Ashley was so excited to see her new buddy Franklin Ocean. Unfortunately about 10 minutes after this photo was taken, she ran into something else...

A JELLYFISH! And not just any ordinary jellyfish, a blue bottle jellyfish which are known for their barbed wire-like tentacles which cling on and release poison until you pull them off. Picture a poisonous limp transparent spaghetti on your skin. Jellyfish tend to feed at the surface. Plus they're often almost impossible to see since the bodies have been eaten by other fish, but their tentacles remain floating in the water still able to sting with poison. The stingers got Ashley right across the face and mouth and on both arms. She knew it was bad when the pain got so severe she thought she might go into shock. Once out of the water, people poured everything from vinegar to milk to aloe on her to no avail. A retired Aussie lifeguard approached and told her the best bet was to get a shot of painkillers right away. Since there were no cars on the island, we made the painful walk to the only small clinic on the island.

Ashley waited patiently staring at the calming color of neon puke green for over an hour before the meds started to kick in.

Gah! One of the arm wounds. Urine is commonly used to ease the pain of jellyfish stings, but unfortunately Joe had just relieved himself in the water, thereby missing his chance to pee on Ashley. Rather than face a lifetime of regret, he sneakily shook a few drops on her arm in the bathroom a few hours later.  The pain had long since subsided, but in this case he wanted to take no chances.

After a few days Ashley's face looked like this. Once the pain had subsided, Ashley (aka Scarface) reveled in the story associated with her badass scar. In fact, she'll be milking it for years. 

Next stop, Nusa Lembongan in Bali. Famous for its surfing, stunning coral reef and marine life. The pool at the hotel was also pretty awesome.

Taking a well-deserved break after our first surf lessons! Our instructors took us to an advanced break called Lacerations due to the proximity to coral reef. Eek! But we were fine and mostly hung out in the whitewash. It was a little intimidating surfing next to the likes of Bodhi and his Point Break crew, but it was a pretty successful day with both of us getting up on our boards and catching a few waves. 

Babyface Joe showing off his travel beard. Those bald spots should fill in any day now.

After unsuccessfully searching the island for any bar showing the NBA Finals, we stumbled upon a restaurant that had installed a 40" HD TV with satellite less than a week prior. Joe grunted for joy a la Verne Lundquist and settled in for the game.

The locals gather and dry seaweed to sell to Japanese companies for use in fancy skincare products.

We opted to try out more snorkeling since there were a number of incredible sites off the island including Crystal Bay, The Wall and Manta Point. Ashley debated wearing a full body wetsuit including waterproof balaclava, but opted to brave it instead. We saw some of the most colorful and interesting coral reef we've seen all trip and some massive fish! When we got back to the hotel, we caught the sunset from our pool chairs. 

The rest of the Bali & Gili photos are here!