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Bali Island
This was our first-ever international trip together and also my first one ever, so it will always have a special place in my heart. There were tons of things to do every day on this island which made it so fun. We went snorkeling, partying, ate great food, and did some hikes to the most amazing beaches with the bluest water ever.
The first thing we noticed was that there were not many vehicles; mostly everyone drove a bike around so there were few to no stoplights or stop signs, and the roads were also very narrow. The food is also very cheap, along with everything else. You could find a beach club just about anywhere which was super nice!
We ended up renting our own bikes to get around, and I fell on the first day, so I never drove one again. I just rode on the back of Mark’s the whole trip; it was a little funny, but I would definitely try it again if we ever go back. We went to so many temples while here, and it was so cool to see their culture and how beautiful it was. We also visited the monkey forest, which is just how it sounds. There were TONS of monkeys, all so cute!
Nusa Penida
This island right beside Bali was just a ferry away. It was way smaller, which made exploring the whole island super easy, which we absolutely did. We went down to one side of the island to see this beach that was super far down off of a mountain. The way to get down was anything but relaxed; we basically had to scale the side of the mountain, using ropes and roots to hold onto to get to the beach. Once we got down there though, the beach was so beautiful. The waves were so big it did make it super hard to swim but fun once you got out into the water far enough. Definitely worth the scary hike down.
For dinner one night, we stopped at this place right over the edge of a mountain by the ocean, and it was so amazing. Since it was so cheap, we all drank and ate and hung out for hours until the power went out on the whole island… When the power went out, we decided to go home but they couldn’t take card because the machine was out so we ended up giving them USD which was way more than what it cost but what can you do. It was a funny story and great experience in the end!
Towards the end of our trip, I started to get really sick and I ended up throwing up for a couple of days straight and couldn’t eat. Mark was fine, so he went snorkeling and got super close to a sea turtle! But not long after that, Mark also started to feel sick and he ended up throwing up the days after I finally got better. After asking around, we found out that we had gotten Bali belly, which is when tourists drink the water there and get super sick because we are not used to it. Thankfully it was at the end, so we didn’t miss out on much, but it definitely was not fun. Poor Mark was throwing up on the plane, which is the worst.
