We made it to Bali! 

ULUWATU DAY 1

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It took a 13 hour flight from LAX to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, and then a 5 hour flight from Taiwan to Denpasar. I immediately noticed the amount of tourists flooding the airport hall towards baggage claim. There were a lot of them, and we were part of it. I don’t know how but somehow I packed verrrrry light for this trip and only brought my Deuter backpack. I was very thankful for this because that meant I didn’t have to wait in line for my bags, and I wouldn’t have to worry about losing my luggage.

We stepped out to the arrivals area and were greeted by about a hundred hoteliers and taxi drivers holding up signs with all sorts of names on them. I prearranged a pick up with a guy named Mario who we were referred to, but after half an hour of searching for him and feeling lost, we decided to go with another taxi driver who approached us asking if we needed a ride. The drive was a 1.5-hour sensory overload ride from Denpasar to Uluwatu. It was about 4pm and traffic was peaking. Lucky for us, our taxi driver knew all the backroads so we barely had to stop. The road was bumpy, the air smelled of fuel, and I got a little motion sickness. I didn’t care, I was having the time of my life. By about 5pm, we finally arrived at Batu Jaran Hill – our beautiful AirBnB clifftop cabin.

Can you believe it only cost $55 USD per night? After a quick dip in the infinity pool, Ian rented a scooter and we zipped off to Pantai Suluban beach just in time for a magnificent red sunset into the ocean’s horizon.

To get there, we traversed down many flights of uneven steps and ended up below the cliffs and marveled at the beach access. It’s known locally as Suluban Beach (“sulub” meaning to dodge) because surfers may need to crawl beneath the cliff rocks. We stopped for dinner at Delpi Waroeng at the top of the cliff, and I got my first taste of the Indonesia’s most popular meal – nasi goreng (fried rice).

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low res images / high quality memories

I was too excited to sit in our BnB, no matter how beautiful it was. So we moto’d around Uluwatu looking for a power adapter and a SIM card, but to no avail. By 9pm we had retreated back to our cabin and got some much needed sleep.

I barely took any photos on this first day. I was soaking it all in and prioritized the present. And didn’t want to risk bringing my camera while we were scootering around at first. But I do want to take more photos in the coming days!

What would you like to see from Bali? More to come!