Bali travel guide blog: What’s missing in Bali?
Bali travel guide blog 2017
Hey y’all. We’ve been in Bali nearly two months now and we have fallen head over heels for this beautiful island. The island itself is glorious, the people are so gentle and warm-hearted, the food is divine and then there’s the weather, the rice paddies, the beaches… I could go on. (Actually I did- for more Bali travel guide blog posts click here).
There are a few things that as Brits, we’ve really noticed an absence of in Bali. No place has everything, that’s to be expected. But there are some things that, after living in London for twenty-six years, we’ve come to expect, and despite searching high and low in Bali, we’ve had to conclude that they simply aren’t here, at least not in the abundance that they are elsewhere in the world. Here they are:
- Road rage
If you have ever travelled to Bali and experienced the roads and driving, you will know why this is on the list. Although you technically need a licence to drive, we’ve seen kids as young as twelve hopping on to mopeds after school is over to give their friends a lift home. People don’t indicate; if they think another driver or pedestrian needs to be aware of their presence, they beep. Everyone beeps, but in two months of driving every day in Bali I haven’t seen one case of road rage. No yelling, no rude gesturing, no swearing under the breath. Instead there’s an acceptance of the slow chaos (the winding roads that criss-cross Bali make it difficult to pick up speed in many areas, thankfully), a fair bit of chuckling and a gentle ‘ohhh’ when someone drives nonsensically. It makes the whole travel affair a lot more pleasant when you know your driver is chill and when people resolve things with discussion, chuckles and gentle beeping instead of rage and legal threats. Kudos to Bali drivers.
2. Street harassment
Despite the fact that we are on the other side of the world, in a culture that until eight weeks ago we knew nothing about, I generally feel much safer walking down the street in Bali than I do in London. Here in Bali I’ve had maybe a third of the cat-calling type rubbish that is, unfortunately, normal for London. The other day I thought a couple of guys were going to start and they simply waved and said “Good morning, sister.” Go Bali.
3. Angry parents
I can’t tell you how much I dig the Bali parenting vibe. As far as I can tell, life as a parent here is lived with a lot of good humour, a ton of patience and the very healthy attitude that your kids’ behaviour is not directly related to your own self-worth as a person. We haven’t seen any yelling or hitting and it’s just pretty chill.
4. Grumpiness
Is that a proper word? You know what I mean though. Balinese people are SO SMILEY. I mean, living in Bali is one awesome reason to smile. It’s just even more noticeable where you come from a city where most people are allergic to eye contact. People here are positive and have a gentle and optimistic spirit. It’s lovely to be around.
5. Scams
After backpacking around south-east Asia when we were younger, we were fairly sure we were going to get scammed here in Bali. Nope. Of course prices are higher in tourist areas, that’s the way it is- but not once have we been scammed, lied to or short-changed by anyone. We’ve had market stall holders run after us to give us change we didn’t even know we were owed. It makes the whole travel experience so much more pleasant when you’re not constantly on edge about being ripped off.
Bali travel guide blog: A wonderful two months
So that’s the five things that we’ve noticed are missing from Bali! Have you been to Bali, would you agree?
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Well done I really wondered How you would find fault. In such a wonderful place xxx
It’s very hard to Karen, it’s SUCH a wonderful place! It’s very difficult to leave now, we will definitely be back! <3
HI HANNAH. HI PATRICK,
LOVELY TO DISCOVER YOUR JOURNEY AND CONGRATULATIONS ON MAKING THE BIG MOVE FROM LONDON. WILL YOU STILL BE IN BALI IN JANUARY?
WE’RE A NEW ZEALAND FAMILY CURRENTLY IN PENANG, MALAYSIA, BUT WE ARE INVESTIGATING LIVING IN BALI AND ARE LOOKING FOR SOME HOMESCHOOLING FAMILIES WE CAN CONNECT WITH WHILE WE ARE THERE.
LIKEWISE, IF YOU ARE COMING THROUGH PENANG, PLEASE SAY HI. WE’D LOVE TO MEET UP.
PS. OUR LITTLE GIRL TURNS FOUR THIS WEEK.
PPS. IF THERE ARE LOTS OF CAPITALS IN THIS COMMENT, PLEASE FORGIVE ME. THE COMMENT BOX WOULDN’T DISPLAY IN NORMAL WRITING, SO FROM MY END, THE WHOLE COMMENT HAS BEEN WRITTEN IN CAPITALS!
Hi Colin! im afraid we are in thailand now and about to head to sri lanka, but we will definitely be back to bali one day- we loved it so much! are you guys still in penang? hope to meet up on the road sometime!