April 6 - 11, 2017After I flew from Tokyo to Bali one-way...





















April 6 - 11, 2017

After I flew from Tokyo to Bali one-way for $307.50 on Malaysia Airlines, my first thought was that the increase in temperature was a welcome change. Then, along with the warm weather, it was just days of good food and happy people. We started our trip in Canggu at Agung Homestay ($146 for five nights). They picked us up at the airport for 300K Indonesian Rupiah and the host, Mark ([email protected]), was super helpful.

There were lots of festivities and the local kids were off of school. Galungan is when Balinese Hindus commemorate the legendary battle of good versus evil, or the triumph of the spread of Hinduism in Bali. Households decorate curved bamboo poles with elements of harvests and natural produce, such as rice, fruit, coconuts, and leaves. These ’penjor’ poles symbolize blessings by Mother Nature. These ornamental bamboo poles lined every road throughout Bali. We were in Bali for the full moon and Kuningan Day, which caused a lot of businesses to be closed as offerings and prayers are conducted at temples and shrines before noon.

I didn’t swim in the oceans here as the black sands are not my favorite, but I still loved being by the beach. Whether you want a homey homestay or luxurious resort, hidden rice-paddy location or an epic party on the beach, Canggu has it. I highly recommend renting a scooter (RP 50K a day is a good price) to get around, whether it’s just to the beach (where parking is RP 2K a scooter) or a bit further of a drive to Tanah Lot Temple.

In Canggu, I loved eating and drinking at Deus Ex Machina, Old Man’s, Monggo, Moana, Black Shores, and Captain Catch. Ride your scooter on the shortcut to Berawa to eat at Milk and Madu. Also, some great places to practice yoga in Canggu include Samadi, Serenity, and Desa Seni. If you want a professional massage, go to Therapy on Echo Beach, or if you want something cheaper, go to Amy’s Spa in Batu Bolong.

Jaya is the person to go to for private surf lessons. A 2-hour one-on-one lesson is RP 350K. He’s a genuinely kind person and excellent teacher.

My friend, Agung, drove us from Canggu to Ubud for RP 300K. If you can get Grab or Uber to work, it’ll be a third of the price but then you won’t have the great company of Agung for an hour.

We returned to Canggu for a night for the Pharcyde show on Saturday, April 15 (RP 150K a ticket) to see Bootie Brown and Imani rock the stage to Old Man’s. Probably one of the highlights of our trip! Also present were DJs Dubwill, Scratchy Conik, Michaelis + special guest Living Legends (Sunspot Jonz and the Grouch).

About 

Hi, I'm Stacy. I'm from Portland, Oregon, USA, and am currently living in Busan, South Korea. Check me out on: Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, Lastfm, and Flickr.