You know those places you see on postcards — impossibly blue oceans, temples standing proudly against golden skies, rice fields so green they almost look fake? Yeah, I thought they were fake too.
Until I went to Bali.
I landed in Denpasar after a flight that was way too long and way too cramped. (Middle seat. Enough said.) The air was thick and smelled like frangipani and mystery. Right from the airport, Bali doesn’t whisper “welcome” — it shouts “let’s go live a little!”
First Stop: Ubud — Where Time Melts
Ubud is the kind of place where you think you’re going for a yoga class… and somehow end up adopting a vegan diet, learning to paint, and questioning your entire existence.
The mornings were all mist and chanting birds. I stayed in a little guesthouse run by a lady named Wayan (everyone’s named Wayan, it’s a thing). She made banana pancakes that could honestly solve world peace.
I got lost in the rice fields more times than I care to admit. Pro tip: when Google Maps says “shortcut,” it probably means “you’re about to wrestle a water buffalo.”
Then Came The Beaches — Oh, The Beaches
Seminyak was all trendy cafés and people way cooler than me.
Canggu was for the surfers — shirtless, barefoot, sun-kissed gods who made falling off a board look glamorous.
And Uluwatu?
Uluwatu was magic.
The clifftop temples at sunset made me believe in something bigger, even if that something was just the art of watching the sun bleed into the Indian Ocean with a cold Bintang beer in hand.
Adventure? Check. Emotion? Double Check.
One afternoon, I decided to hike Mount Batur to watch the sunrise.
Sounds romantic, right?
Wrong.
It’s 3 a.m., pitch black, and I’m questioning all my life choices. I’m sweating, panting, tripping over volcanic rocks.
But then —
The horizon cracked open like an egg, spilling orange and pink over a sea of clouds. And for a few minutes, every sore muscle, every mosquito bite, every bad decision I’d ever made just… didn’t matter.
I cried. Not even embarrassed about it.
The People Make the Place
The Balinese are the kind of people who smile at you like they already know you’re doing your best. I learned how to say “terima kasih” (thank you) real fast — partly because it’s polite, mostly because I felt grateful every five minutes.
Would I Go Back?
In a heartbeat.
Bali didn’t just give me photos for Instagram. It gave me stories, strangers who became friends, a reminder that the world is still full of wonder if you’re brave enough to look for it.
If you ever need a place to lose yourself — and maybe, find yourself too —
Catch the next flight to Bali.
Just… maybe book an aisle seat. 😉