2-5 of April I was very focused on a project that I was working on for my Creative Arts class. I got crammed for time because of my upcoming trip to Bali prevented me from working on the project over study break. Essentially I did most the writing, storyboarding, filming, and editing in this time. I finished writing on Monday, filmed the entire drama and dance piece Tuesday, Was in the lab all day until 1am encoding and editing the dance piece wednesday, and was in the lab till 6pm encoding and editing the drama on Thursday. I then quickly packed and caught a ride from my friend Joel up to the Brisbane airport for our flight out to Denpasar, Bali the following morning at 5:15am. Thus started our #10daysinbali! and by we, I mean Me, Max, Keller, and Kayla. They were the group of people who were perfectly okay with me tagging along on their trip that they had already (mostly) planned out.
We went to Bali and had a grand time! Our itinerary included:
- first staying in Uluwatu and seeing the Uluwatu temple (day 1),
- travelling to Senur where we went to a beach that wasn't all that great and met our man Komain who helped us arrange a lot of future transportation (day 2),
- cooking our own breakfast at our Airbnb because it had it's own kitchen and took ferry out to Nusa Lembongan where we walked to Dream beach (amazing) and Devil's tear (also amazing) (day 3),
- Renting some mopeds and riding them to Blue Lagoon and Cennigan Island where we promptly went swimming off non-traditional diving boards (day 4),
- Snorkeled side by side with some Manta rays and got really close to being side-swiped by one as well as went to KelingKing beach and got super tired by the hike down and up to the beach (day 5),
- Took a taxi, and then a boat, and then a taxi, and then another boat and another taxi to get back to the Balie mainland where we all promptly crashed (day 6),
- Went to the Tegenugan waterfall and Monkey forest on a moped riding through the busy streets of Bali and then got a taxi to Sideman (day 7),
- Saw the rice terraces and taxied to Batuan Resto right next to Mount Batur as well as got into watching some Naruto (day 8),
- Woke up at 3am to climb Mount Batur and ate some food off of the volcano steam vents as well as hiked through the most recent solidified lava flow (about 1920s) (day 9),
- Taxied back to Denpasar where we promptly did very little of anything except some souvenir shopping (day 10)
- Went to the Woterbom water park and then walked to the airport where we caught our 10pm flight back to Brisbane (day 11)
Okay, so #10daysinbali was really 11 days and 10 nights but whatever. I'm trying to be trendy here and #10daysinbali works better than #11daysand10nightsinbali. Sue me.
Over all, there were a lot of places we went and a lot of things we saw. There were some great sites and some very liberating and relaxing moments. In the past 18 days, I've also completed 5 books which has been an amazing feeling. We had a lot of down moments, especially towards the end of our trip, where I did a lot of reading and it was very nice to just get some time to really dive into some books.
However, I've been thinking a lot about travelling and the aspects behind tourism.
I read an Op-Ed article once (that I can't seem to find again) that had the title something along the lines of "The world is not your self-realization bucket". In the article, the author makes a case against the way people (and specifically, most commonly, white people) travel, saying that people tend to travel with this idea that travelling the world and seeing new and amazing sites and cultures will enlighten them and change them in a way that makes them more wholesome or something. Now, that's not to say that doesn't happen. Finding more about different groups of people in a respectful way is a great way to gain a better perspective on certain issues. Also, getting out of your comfort zone and going somewhere completely new can be a very validating experience and is the basis of most experiential learning programs (programs such as CCM, one I've benefited quite a lot through). But I think there's something inherently wrong with going somewhere with the intention and near demand for that new place and culture and people to teach you something. The world is not there to help you become a better person. People just live their lives and sometimes you just happen to be around to see it.
During my time in Bali, I felt much better about being there when I could simply be an observer and not a participant. I very much enjoyed riding a moped around the roads and seeing people living their lives, playing games, running their shops, and going from one place on the farm to another. I also enjoyed the times spent in the Uluwatu temple or Monkey forest or climbing Mount Batur.
The former, however, was much more pleasant for me.
Sure, the latter was certainly beautiful. The sites made for some amazing Vinny pics and I had some great experiences there. And I'm certainly not going to say that "in order to be a true traveler you must stay away from tourist places and only go to this X obscure hipster area where you get down to RAW f***ing REALITY in the culture maaaaaaan" because that's not it. In the former, on the moped, I observed. And in the latter, in the temple, I participated.
Either way, it's impossible to deny being a tourist in a country or pretend that you aren't one because you are one. And especially in a place like Bali, it's good to be a tourist. The money you spend in those tourist locations actually helps the country economy quite a good lot (that is, as far as I know, given my limited knowledge in economics or the logistics/ethics of tourism). Often times, too, trying to fit in with the locals and deeply rooting yourself is participating and it isn't always healthy, as that's the form of active participation the often feels entitled to being "awoken" by a place and a people.
I'd much rather be the observer.
Now maybe the mindset of observation is a bit toxic too, but for me, being an observer feels far less intrusive and it allows me to potentially see the perspective without feeling entitled to it. I don't always see it too. I didn't come away from Bali with any dramatic new realizations about life and the state of my humanity. I did observe a good amount of poverty and low level development while around on the Nusa Islands, which is something I've definitely never seen to that extent before, but it wasn't life changing. It was mostly sad and intriguing. The world isn't my self-realization bucket and I shouldn't expect it to inspire change in me, just like I shouldn't expect creative inspiration to knock on my doorstep one day when I'm eating lunch.
Now, I do know I'm actually not much of a travel-bug addict and that most the times I even prefer the comfort of playing a game of D&D with friends over the frantic and beauty of travel around the world. And maybe that puts me in a position to not really judge the way that people who actually do really enjoy travel do so. I don't know.
But that aside, I did enjoy the trip. I returned tired and weary from the trip and have spent this week in a bit of a grog trying to get back in the swing of things. I finished up my video project and submitted it Wednesday afternoon (the day after I returned) and have been planning and playing a lot of D&D since! Things are going well, but there are a lot of assignments around the corner that I've got to start working on. I spent all of today taking a day off and will be going into school work all next week.
Wish me the best of luck! If you're interested, here is the link to the finished project of my CA dance project: https://youtu.be/qQ8DLAqRzc0
Also, if you aren't already friends with me on Goodreads, you are missing out. I'm getting really into reviewing the books I'm reading and you should take a look! Also now that I've been reading a lot more, I've been finding that I have more and more to say about each one after I read them so if you ever want to talk about the books I've read or books I should read, I'm down.
During my time in Bali, I felt much better about being there when I could simply be an observer and not a participant. I very much enjoyed riding a moped around the roads and seeing people living their lives, playing games, running their shops, and going from one place on the farm to another. I also enjoyed the times spent in the Uluwatu temple or Monkey forest or climbing Mount Batur.
The former, however, was much more pleasant for me.
Sure, the latter was certainly beautiful. The sites made for some amazing Vinny pics and I had some great experiences there. And I'm certainly not going to say that "in order to be a true traveler you must stay away from tourist places and only go to this X obscure hipster area where you get down to RAW f***ing REALITY in the culture maaaaaaan" because that's not it. In the former, on the moped, I observed. And in the latter, in the temple, I participated.
Either way, it's impossible to deny being a tourist in a country or pretend that you aren't one because you are one. And especially in a place like Bali, it's good to be a tourist. The money you spend in those tourist locations actually helps the country economy quite a good lot (that is, as far as I know, given my limited knowledge in economics or the logistics/ethics of tourism). Often times, too, trying to fit in with the locals and deeply rooting yourself is participating and it isn't always healthy, as that's the form of active participation the often feels entitled to being "awoken" by a place and a people.
I'd much rather be the observer.
Now maybe the mindset of observation is a bit toxic too, but for me, being an observer feels far less intrusive and it allows me to potentially see the perspective without feeling entitled to it. I don't always see it too. I didn't come away from Bali with any dramatic new realizations about life and the state of my humanity. I did observe a good amount of poverty and low level development while around on the Nusa Islands, which is something I've definitely never seen to that extent before, but it wasn't life changing. It was mostly sad and intriguing. The world isn't my self-realization bucket and I shouldn't expect it to inspire change in me, just like I shouldn't expect creative inspiration to knock on my doorstep one day when I'm eating lunch.
Now, I do know I'm actually not much of a travel-bug addict and that most the times I even prefer the comfort of playing a game of D&D with friends over the frantic and beauty of travel around the world. And maybe that puts me in a position to not really judge the way that people who actually do really enjoy travel do so. I don't know.
But that aside, I did enjoy the trip. I returned tired and weary from the trip and have spent this week in a bit of a grog trying to get back in the swing of things. I finished up my video project and submitted it Wednesday afternoon (the day after I returned) and have been planning and playing a lot of D&D since! Things are going well, but there are a lot of assignments around the corner that I've got to start working on. I spent all of today taking a day off and will be going into school work all next week.
Wish me the best of luck! If you're interested, here is the link to the finished project of my CA dance project: https://youtu.be/qQ8DLAqRzc0
Also, if you aren't already friends with me on Goodreads, you are missing out. I'm getting really into reviewing the books I'm reading and you should take a look! Also now that I've been reading a lot more, I've been finding that I have more and more to say about each one after I read them so if you ever want to talk about the books I've read or books I should read, I'm down.
That was an awesome video. In my unbiased opinion that is definitely an "A". Sounds like your trip to Bali was also awesome. You such a good writer. I love reading your blogs.
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