On our last day in Yogyakarta we slept in, Skyped with our parents and then had lunch. At noon we boarded a bus bound for Bali – a journey that would take about a day. Although we knew we would go a little insane, it was definitely the cheaper way to go. Unfortunately, the budget airline Air Asia does not fly from Yogy to Bali. I amused myself with my ipod and Nook again and Sean alternately read and napped. The bus wasn’t that comfortable but at least it was air conditioned. Incredibly, we didn’t even have to pay for meals. Each time we got off (which was minimal), they gave us a little coupon which entitled us to buffet access. At about 3am we reached the coast and boarded the ferry to the island of Bali. ($8 lunch, $50 bus tickets)
All the Java locals like to talk about Bali. Most told me that since it is so different you can’t even consider Bali to be part of Indonesia. Many call it jokingly “Little Australia” because of the number of Aussie tourists that frequent the island. Though Java is mostly Muslim, Bali is mostly Hindu.
Bali is the little island that has it all: surfing, culture, volcanoes, hiking, temples, great food, diving and snorkeling, lots of rapids for rafting and of course loads and loads of beaches. We had five days slotted for Bali and we knew that even though it seemed like a lot of time, there would still be a lot we wouldn’t be able to see and do. One of the cool things about Bali is that there are places for all kinds of budgets, from top end to budget hostels. Each beach and city has its own character from where the retired people hung out, to the extreme hippy surfers and yoga junkies. Even though Indonesia is so huge, for many tourists, Bali is the only part of the country that they see and I was very eager to see what all the hype was about. Total for 2 people = $58h
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