Last week was Spring Break, and I wasn’t in Australia. I think I mentioned in my first post that I’m not a planner. Sometimes that can be disastrous, and other times, it leads to the best experiences ever. This Spring break was definitely a case of the latter.  

My original plans for my week off were to explore Australia. Instead, I ended up in Bali, Indonesia. I know that sounds a little random, but Bali is less than a 4-hour flight from Perth and a pretty popular spot for holiday for those from Perth.

I decided to go to Bali in the span of about five minutes when the two other girls going explained that they had gotten a really great deal on plane tickets and that they wouldn’t mind having me tag along. Given the choice between aimlessly wandering Australia and getting another stamp on my passport, it was a no brainer. 

The weather in Australia is currently cool and relatively rainy so I was super excited to step off the plane and have it feel like summer or at least the warmer end of a Texas Spring. Bali is more humid than Perth but nowhere near as bad as all of the Aussies had been warning me about. The island itself is absolutely stunning. I think we went to a different beach every day. I don’t even swim, but the view and the people watching made it enjoyable. 

My favorite Bali adventure was a full-day tour which gave us a chance to get out of the more populated area we were staying in and interact more with the Balinese people. We started the day with an elephant ride and ended it with amazing sunset at a Hindu temple that sits atop a cliff. The biggest surprise of the day were our interactions with animals which we didn’t know was a part of the tour. There are few things on the planet that make me happier than meeting new animals so getting to hold and feed sea turtles, a bat, a tucan, and a luwak (which is responsible for pooping the coffee beans used for Balinese Luwok coffee) was essentially the best thing ever. 

Beyond the nature aspect, the island itself is very much tourist-centered, and most attractions and venues were run like well-oiled, money-making machines. Having never been to a country where bartering for everything is a norm, the back and forth of bartering and the sheer number of people always trying to sell something was overwhelming in the beginning, but I eventually got the hang of it.

Bali also has a pretty crazy nightlife, especially compared to sleepy Perth and Freo. Everything is open until at least 4 a.m. and there was always somewhere to grab a late dinner or go dancing.

It was a lot more similar to nights out I’ve had at home. It was weird and fun and exactly the chaos that I had come to expect from Bali at that point. 

All in all, it was a perfect week, but I’m so happy to be back in Freo to see what the rest of the semester will bring.