Why We Suck At Traveling (like the 2 versions of Bali)

In my interview with Stefan, from Rapid Travel Chai, Stefan talked about how he plans his trips. Recently I also wrote about how I plan trips, using simple methods like google images.

But what Stefan bought up and I failed to mention (but still find extremely important), is that we pick sites that are unique. Stefan talked about going through an entire guide book just to find the few places that stand out.

At this point in my travels, I’m really prone to skip things I feel I can see elsewhere. That being said, I want to talk to you today about Bali.

I’ve written about how much I love Bali more than once, but really there are two Balis.

The Bali in the south is one of beaches packed with Aussies partying. The tourist to local ratio has got to be 100 to 1, which isn’t exactly what I look for.

 

You will still love it either way

So before I say what I’m about to say, understand that Bali is beautiful. Many of the beaches are beautiful, but also Indonesia has a smell and look that is unique in its own.

When I land at the airport I’m glad to be there. I remember my first day on the island going to the Bali Hyatt (currently closed for reconstruction) and I remember the music, the smell, and the incredible gardens. Music I have never heard anywhere else, and plants all around the hotel I had never seen elsewhere. It was an experience of its own.

 

But what makes Bali unique?

The culture is still about as farflung as it gets.

We made a video about Bali’s super super weird ceremonies, called the Real Bali: Discovering Nyepi.

One of the weirder weekends of my life.

And it goes back to this. You can see beaches full of Australians and Europeans… just about everywhere in the world. Everywhere. And outside of Uluwatu, I don’t really get why the beaches in the south are so popular. There are way more beautiful beaches… all over. So why go to Bali?

The culture is a big reason. Those ceremonies, and those experiences aren’t something I’ve had anywhere else. Beaches- I’ve been to hundreds. And way better beaches in Thailand, Fiji, Malaysia, Greece, Puerto Rico, etc…

For Stefan and I, and many other travelers, we’re looking for the thing we can find in each place that we can’t find elsewhere. Bali has lots of that. But…

 

People don’t actually want the local experience

Unfortunately, I have come to realize that people don’t actually want the local food, culture, experience, etc…

I’ll share our second video on Bali, called: In Bali, Balinese food doesn’t make the menu.

Before I give away the punchline of the video, watch it.

Okay. Well, the point is that Balinese food is amazing. It looks a little weird, and if you buy gadogado on the street (a meal for 25 cents if my local friend orders it for me), that definitely looks weird. But it’s delicious. And it’s unique to that area! I haven’t had that dish anywhere close to as I’ve had it there (ground up on a stone and all).

And people travel across the world and want the dolled up version. It’s true. I spent two weeks across the street from the gadogado lady and never saw a non-indonesian buy any. Not once.

And the ceremonies I showed in the first video were done because these people are genuinely religious and they have religious reasons to do all this stuff.

But when you go to Ubud or a resort, you get paid dancers who do the touristy version.

Now the traditional dancing is great, and I’m sure you will enjoy yourself in Ubud. But it’s funny looking back at our photos of our traditional dancing show, there was 1 Balinese dancer and 100 white people. And again… that’s not the ratio I try to keep while traveling.

But people love Ubud, and you would too. It’s fun.

And that’s to my point; people want the accessible version. It doesn’t bother most people to fly all the way around the world and eat pizza, or the only locals they interact with are the staff at their hotel or restaurant.

 

Why?

Why do we go to a different country and want the western version? We can eat our own version of their food anytime.

Why do we fly around the world and hide in a beautiful resort? We can stay in nice hotels at home.

Why do backpackers flock to hostels and spend their time with other backpackers? We can always spend time with like-minded people.

 

It’s easier.

Why would anyone go to Amed, Bali? Most people probably haven’t heard of it and all their friends went to Kuta or Sanur. It’s a long way and $40 by taxi, or a really ghetto local van for cheap. And there aren’t chain hotels or anything.

We know what to expect.

We understand menus when they are in English.

But why travel around the world for what you expect?

 

We travel so we can find what’s different and what’s unique. We’re curious and the adventure is learning how a different society operates.

But, it’s easier and less intimidating to not do anything. Just show up to Ubud and sit in a cafe full of white hippies and watch a funny dance by people who only do it for/because white hippies pay them. We’re suckers. We want something different and we’ll convince ourselves it’s authentic.

Locals don’t pilgrimage to Ubud, white hippies do. Locals don’t go to the overpriced tourist restaurant with english menus, you do.

And that’s what this next video is about. It’s the final Bali video I’ll share and it’s a “Things To Do in Bali” video, but my take on it.

While the 7 main temples in Bali are often touristy, they are unique. That’s my thing. If you go across the world, why sit on a beach partying? And that’s true anywhere.

 

Take Zakynthos, Greece (you can watch that video here) which everyone knows I love. Zakynthos has tons of tourists and there are normalish beaches that are packed with drunk Europeans. But there are weird beaches that are empty in the north and west. There are tons of tourist restaurants that sell pizza, but we got lucky and found Malanos. Malanos is a place where locals flock to have traditional food, friendship, and sometimes traditional music.

Every place has its gems. Look for what makes a place unique and go there, you won’t regret it.