🇮🇩 Indonesia | Bali - worth going ? Why?

GF is indonesian and loved visiting Bali. Shes been twice last year. OUtside of some really deluxe hotels, whats there in Bali to excite a guy who grew up in Taiwan and lives in California?

I just cant seem to get into whats the attraction? I guess for someone close by but to fly upteen hours to get there ?? I just donno

Like this clip above? Wouldnt excite me at all !

I just got get the attraction?

Dunno. Our station manager went there for her honeymoon and loved it. Great pics with tigers and other touristy stuff.Everyone says you have to get off teh beaten path to really enjoy it, though.

Was just there a few weeks ago for over two weeks, stayed in 5 different hotels from Kuta to Seminyak, and did key tourist things but did not dare get on the buses, took all my activities by private car.

The island has become hell-aciously touristy with unfathomable traffic. Of the 30 or more countries I have visited, mostly for pleasure, Bali is about the worst place to visit.

Ohhh… but the freagin’ worldclass upscale clubs are mostly amazing, and every handsome/sexy man/woman will get lucky and have great memories to remember/forget.

“whats there in Bali to excite a guy who grew up in Taiwan and lives in California”? That question is even hard for someone to answer that should even understand. If you’re going with gf, get away from the mass tourism and find the romance… if you’re going without gf, then, well, you’ll have fun…

I was there for a visit with my wife some years ago already and we found the tourist trap stuff unbearable. Getting hounded to buy hats, shirts, and endless other crap everywhere you walk is something I’m not prepared to put up with.

wow, you guys are describing a very different Bali that I remember…

I just remember the small roads, that country side that reminds of the Taiwan when I was young (rice paddies as far as I can see). Green rolling hills. Pretty awesome food (was on an all vegetarian tour, and the food was still great).

The places that I went to the houses, clothing and practices feels pretty traditional. I admit I didn’t visit too many tourist streets, maybe that’s the difference. I’ve heard if you go to the north side of the island it’s less touristy. Also, I heard there are great diving areas. But I didn’t get to experience those.

Kuta is over developed and a tourist hell hole.

Ubud is heavenly.

If you want a beach holiday then don’t go to Bali. If you want nature., culture, hiking, cycling or relaxation it’s perfect.

Just the South West corner of the island, unless you’re looking to party.

Aren’t there other islands in Indonesia now that are more upmarket, no vehicles on the islands and such?

Seems early every “small road, that country side” is either now a crowded “tourist street” or at least, heavily crowded with traffic. I literally sat in the vehicle due to traffic for upwards of 5 hours a couple days just going a few kilometers between tourist spots.

There’s always that Lombok one island next to Bali. Heard it is special because of the Wallace line, where natural life are more similar to Australia or something… I always liked the shape of Sulawesi, it looks like a wiggly worm.

Yeah i heard Lombok is kinda what Bali USED TO BE. They say.

Admittedly i wouldnt mind hanging out at nice hotels like these:

see the virtual tour. The rock bar seems pretty awesome a place to get SMASHED !!

Bali is awesome, but you have to avoid Kuta beach. It is choked with traffic and touts. I’d also avoid going in the winter months as a lot of the main tourist beaches are covered in Javanese garbage (this has to do with the sea flow).

They were saying that 15-16 years ago when I was on Lombok.

bali becoming less “the place”

I was skeptical about how great Bali was before I went. Then I went. And I was overwhelmed by its awesomeness.

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Bali is great. Ubud is awesome. Loved the music and shows, even if touristy. People were on average the friendliest I have encountered anywhere. Incredible food. Been a few years, would love to go back.

can you elaborate exactly what the awesomeness is ?? what is it that makes it awesome?

The sheer beauty of the place. The houses whose grounds look more like temples than residences. Besakih. The volcanic vistas. The historic sites. Monkey Forest. The hiking and walking in the hills and countryside. The friendly, helpful people. The food. The vegetation. The butterflies. The dance. The rituals. The laid-backness. The patience and delight they showed when I attempted to converse with them in Indonesian.

cool ! I must have been seeing the wrong youtube vids because so far what iv seen does not inspire me at all. Outside of some super lux hotels that would be awesome (and costly) to stay at. Of course i may be hard to please !! That stupid dance with a bunch of men clucking ? Doestn do it for me. sorry :slight_smile: The rice fields of ubud?? Ho hum.

I did like that place with those giant statues of creatures, that seems kinda cool BALI HAI like.
The beaches? Didnt look that cool from what iv seen so far? just ok. And the volcanos could be cool (or get real hot real fast) >

Indo food? I can give much of it a miss. Theres a few things i like.
But yeah, i guess one has to visit and stay a week to get a better idea of why Bali has been famous for so long. Maybe id come back raving bout it ? Who knows? I remain skeptical.

but i know its the Hawaii of Indonesia. But is it as nice as Hawaii is?

That’s kind of what I said, “okay I’ve seen rice fields” and wound up staying on a river valley, which was awesome. Huge geckos and frogs running around all over.

I like it a lot, but it’s the fusion-type food there that I found amazing.

Been to Kawai and Oahu. Depends, what do you like about Hawaii?

They say Kawai and Maui are the places to go, sadly havent been to either yet. And the big island of Hawaii itself is good for the volcanos but it has black sand beaches so they say. Oahu is touristy.

Ok , my perception and “ease-of-pleasing” may be much hardened now then when i last visited Oahu in the 80s. And maybe I will be more critical of it now then i was then. But i thought it was gorgeous for the two weeks i was there. I thought it was a place that (rare) really looked as pretty as the pictures showed it to be. Maybe i need a hawaiian revisit soon to get the real story of what it is today.

I think if i lived in Taiwan, for sure id make it a point to visit Bali (five hour flight?) at some point.
But no such plans to do so from all the way out here.

I did kinda regret not going there last year instead of jakarta, but it was not possible to coordinate my indo visit with my gf’s then preplanned visit to bali . Missed it by just about a week.

So im kinda wondering what EXACTLY i missed here, thats all.