On Island Time in Bali

Hello from Indonesia! A fun fact I learned recently: Indonesia is the fourth most populated country in the world, after India, China, and the United States. It’s also the world’s largest island country, made up of more than 17,000 islands. We only visited one of them this week - Bali - but even that felt surprisingly big. Part of it is the driving. Many roads are narrow, winding, and barely seem wide enough for two cars, yet somehow the drivers manage to squeeze by each other without incident. Getting anywhere takes much longer than you’d expect from looking at a map.

We split our week between three different parts of Bali: Uluwatu, Ubud, and Sanur. Even though they’re all on the same island, each had a completely different atmosphere.

Uluwatu

We started in Uluwatu, on the southern coast of Bali, an area known for surfing, dramatic cliffs, and luxury resorts overlooking the ocean. We decided to splurge a little and booked a villa with a private pool (when in Bali…).

After checking into our room, we went outside to check out our pool, when a monkey suddenly climbed onto the roof. Then a few more followed, including several mothers with adorable babies clinging to their backs. They sat up there for a while, observing the surroundings - sizing us up, possibly - before disappearing into the trees. We tried our best to observe them without making too much eye contact.

Most of our time in Uluwatu was intentionally, wonderfully unproductive. We spent hours reading by the pool, swimming, napping, and eating. The hotel had a great Indonesian restaurant where we had Bebek Betutu, or Balinese roast duck, which was excellent. The breakfast buffets were probably my favorite part of the stay. Every morning we loaded our plates with tropical fruit, pastries, eggs, noodles, and Indonesian dishes, then went back to our room and took another nap. On our last evening, we watched the sunset from the cliffside bar as waves crashed against the rocks below. Traveling full time rarely feels like a true vacation since we’re constantly on the move; these few days definitely did.

Ubud

After Uluwatu, we drove two and half hours north to Ubud, which felt completely different. Ubud is considered the cultural and spiritual center of Bali, surrounded by jungle, rice terraces, and river valleys. It was greener, quieter, and cooler than the coast.

It’s also famous for the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary, though we never actually went because there were already so many monkeys around our hotel. After settling into our room, I stepped onto our patio with a banana in hand to admire the river valley below when a monkey suddenly dangled down from the awning directly in front of me. He stared at me. I stared back, suddenly very aware of the banana still in my hand. He seemed fairly calm, but I decided not to test our relationship further and retreated inside.

The next afternoon, we came across an entire troop gathered in the grassy area near our room - at least thirty monkeys sprawled across the lawn and trees like they were hosting a family reunion. Some shook branches high overhead while others waited below for falling fruit. Tiny babies clung to their mothers as the group moved together from tree to tree in loose formation. Watching them interact, it became obvious how social and coordinated they were. If one monkey moved to another area, the rest followed closely behind.

One day we hired a driver to explore northern Bali, which ended up being one of the highlights of the trip. Our first stop was a viewpoint overlooking the stunningly blue twin lakes of Buyan and Tamblingan, separated by a thin strip of jungle. It looked nothing like the Bali we'd imagined - more like the crater lakes of the Azores, honestly. From there we hiked down to Banyumala Waterfall, a steep trek through the forest that ended at a wide cascade pouring into a clear pool.

That afternoon, we visited Pura Ulun Danu Beratan, one of Bali’s most iconic temples. Sitting at the edge of Lake Beratan, it’s often called the “floating temple” because the still water creates the illusion that the temple is suspended above the lake. Mist drifted across the water and partially obscured the surrounding mountains, giving the whole place an almost unreal atmosphere. The temple is dedicated to Dewi Danu, the Balinese goddess of lakes and rivers - water is central to the island's rice farming culture, and therefore to its spiritual life.

Which is a good moment to mention: unlike most of Indonesia, which gradually became predominantly Muslim through trade and the rise of Islamic kingdoms, Bali remained largely Hindu thanks in part to its relative geographic isolation and an influx of Hindu nobles, priests, and artists fleeing Java after the fall of the Majapahit Empire centuries ago. As our driver explained, worship is deeply woven into daily life and doesn’t just happen at major temples - nearly every home and business has its own shrine where daily offerings are made. Once he pointed it out, we started noticing them everywhere, from huge famous temples to tiny shrines peeking out behind homes and shops.

We ended the day at the Jatiluwih Rice Terraces, the largest rice terraces on the island and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We arrived just before sunset, when the low golden light washed across the stepped fields, each terrace reflecting slightly different shades of green and gold. We walked along quiet footpaths weaving through the paddies, and aside from a few other visitors and local villagers, it was remarkably peaceful. It was one of the most beautiful places we visited in Bali.

Sanur

We spent our final few nights in Sanur, a quieter beach town on Bali’s east coast known for calm water and relaxed energy. Unlike the dramatic cliffs of Uluwatu, Sanur felt slower and softer.

It’s famous for its sunrises, though unfortunately we never quite managed to wake up in time to see one. Instead, we took long walks along the beachfront boardwalk in the late afternoons, passing fishing boats, cafés, and locals relaxing by the water. Like Uluwatu, most of our time there was spent doing very little: swimming, reading, getting massages, and lingering over long meals. One massage was so relaxing I spent most of it trying not to fall asleep on the table.

After months of near-constant movement, Bali felt like exactly the pause we needed. Next up: China.

Talk soon,

Tanya