Bali, Indonesia

I honestly never thought I’d land in Bali. I knew it was a popular holiday destination for many, especially Australians, but I never thought I’d ever include myself in that crowd. It was a pretty spontaneous trip. But aren’t those the best kind of trips?

The environment reminded me of Mexico border towns. The way the people live, the marketplaces, and the overall friendliness of all the local people made you feel like the reality you left back at home didn’t exist. However, the traffic was shocking. It’s a good thing my husband can be trusted on a scooter/bike because I’d probably still be stuck in traffic at the moment if I were the one driving. And also, crossing the street is near impossible unless you’re with someone who knows what they’re doing.

Before arriving in Bali, naturally, I was really concerned about the amount of gluten-free that would be readily available. Surprisingly, there were a good amount of restaurants that were aware of gluten. But there were also some restaurants that weren’t really sure what gluten was, so they were a bit vague on their ingredients. In situations like that, I played it safe and went for a salad or something that would be guaranteed gluten-free. I did also bring gluten-free bread with me from Australia just in case.

Thankfully my husband’s aunt and uncle have been living in Bali for about a year or so, so we were able to enjoy our time with them and they knew the dos and don’ts of Bali. They took us to visit a few beaches where we saw monkeys roaming around casually. The beaches were an especially nice place to visit in the early mornings before they got packed with tourists.

We also visited a couple of rice fields which were breathtaking. The amount of work it takes to harvest every grain of rice is unbelievable. I wasn’t aware of how small of an amount of rice each plant delivers. It makes sense that vast fields of rice are essential for a good amount of rice to be harvested.

Sadly, we were only in Bali for 4 nights. My husband couldn’t take too many days off from work. But hopefully, we’ll be able to visit again and do a few more things in the northern part of Bali.

xx