Traveling, writing and living around the world
Dear Indonesia,
Tag, you’re it.
One of the hardest questions that travelers can be asked is, “What’s your favorite country?”. It often sends our brains scrambling while an immediate, knee-jerk response like, “Ooooooh that’s a difficult one”, fills the quiet void that question created.
For me, the answer is you.
“How should I address you,” the young woman asked me. “Ms. Petri? Ms. Alexandra?”
I was floored. “No – Allie is fine. You can just call me Allie.”
She smiled.
I’d never had my own personal butler before, but there is a first time for everything I guess. I stood there in my beautiful ocean view suite – the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean vast and calm before me, local fishermen paddling through the waters for daily catch – in my tattered backpacking clothes. This is luxury on a new level, I thought to myself. I tried to mask my giddy, childlike smile, but I couldn’t help it. I was just overcome with excitement.
All-inclusive resort. I had never taken a proper stance on the matter, never was truly in the place to make a fair judgement on whether such resorts were really worth it. Part of me was hesitant at the thought of an all-inclusive stay, but I quickly learned that I was most definitely a fan. If I ever go away with my girlfriends (or maybe my travel-loving boyfriend), all-inclusive is definitely going to be something I vouch for.
We sat in the common area of our hostel watching the minutes pass. Then the hours. We were told to be ready for 7:30 a.m., and it was now getting close to 9. The thick, Bali heat was hitting us.
“We are definitely getting so ripped off with this tour,” we all said, echoing one another’s thoughts.
A couple of my friends and I had signed up to do a bike tour of Ubud, which is something that so many backpackers and travelers raved about.
Ubud is one of those places that travelers budget two or three days for but wind up staying one week or more.
This town in the center of Bali captures the essence of what this island is all about. Sure it is touristic, and sure everyone who comes to Bali to find themselves starts that search in Ubud.
But Ubud is much more than that, and it is a far cry from the bikini-clad bodies, stoned backpackers and intense scene that makes up the Kuta area.
