Update: Bali
First Impressions: Another tropical paradise overrun by tourism. Growing up, Bali always symbolized an Asian tropical honeymoon paradise. A small island on the other side of the world for the perfect romantic getaway. But like so many other dream vacation getaways, globalism, Instagram and the internet have caused it to grow faster than it could handle. This is happening all over the world and some really one of a kind places are being destroyed, for example Venice. I have compiled a list of 10 world famous tourist destinations you have to see now before it’s too late. I’ll be posting that blog soon.
We arrived in Indonesia on the island of Bali and were in shock leaving the airport. The traffic was as bad as any major Asian city. Thousands of scooters and taxis moving about in what can only be described as chaos. There are 4 main towns on the island and our first stop was in Seminyak where we planned to spend 4 nights at a 5 star resort. The resort itself was really nice but the actual town was not what I expected. From our rooftop pool and bar if you look in one direction you can see the ocean but if you look the other direction all you see is a sea of rooftops. There doesn’t seem to be any land not developed here. Just one building after another with no room in between.
It seems all the tourist dollars aren’t finding their way back to the town. As Indonesias biggest tourist draw I expected the town to be a bit nicer. The roads are over crowded and noisey, the side walks are broken, slanted and narrow making it impossible to walk around comfortabley. The beaches are average but nothing special and the people are very welcoming. Most speak English. Shopping and dinning are mediocre at best. We have been here for 4 days and this town served it’s purpose. We got in a lot of much needed relaxation and are feeling totally recharged and ready to start exploring. Tomorrow we are heading 30 minutes north of here to Changgu. From what we have been told this is more the place we had in mind.
Overall, expectations set aside, it has been as good a start to the trip as possible considering the day we left Spokane I had to get a tooth pulled and then we got a flat on the way to the airport. Good times!
