SYDNEYSTUDENTTIMES

Bali is a beautiful island in Indonesia full of culture and diversity. It is very popular for it’s tropical weather, food, waves, people and freedom. It is a perfect place to go to and unshackle from any stress. Anyone will love it, but, you will need a lot of information about the nice places and where to go for certain pleasant spots as Bali can be very busy and crazy in certain places like Kuta. In fact, Bali is a vast island with not many main streets but a countless amount of small streets, so getting around can be a hustle. Here are a couple of personal advises from professional surfer Julian Wilson on where to stay, transports, dining and sunset views. His advises are reliable because he goes to Bali at least once a year. He quotes “I go to Bali at least once every year. [...] as long as you’re avoiding the danger zones, you can have a pretty fun time over there. Here’s how I do it…”.

First, he tells us about the most important, the best places to stay : “I steer clear of Kuta – I haven’t been into Kuta for about five years now. Every time I’ve been recently I just stay in a villa in Canggu or Seminyak, it’s just so hectic in Kuta now that I try to avoid going in there. It’s completely out of control.” As well as the nice sunset and dining spots: “ Man, there’s so many good spots to eat. It’s gotten so much better in recent years. Barbacoa is a mental dinner spot in Seminyak. Betelnut in Canggu, it’s a little treehouse vibe, they do really good breakfast and lunch. There was a really good new cafe we were going to last time called Milk and Madu. The acai bowls were the best thing on the menu.  I think it’s super easy to keep it healthy there and not go into crazy holiday eating mode. It’s nice-healthy, it’s not like you’re sacrificing your tastebuds. [...] I’ve been at Uluwatu a couple of times, I don’t spend too much time out there but it’s pretty nice, and you can go to that Single Fin bar, which gets pretty busy, and I guess it’s cool if you wanna have a bit of a party or whatever. Though, it’s not exactly a chill zone. But there’s places in Seminyak, like Ku De Ta, or Samaya. I’ve been to Potato Head a few times.  We’ll go there and there’ll be a really fun crowd, then we’ll go another time and it’s the most random group of people you’ve ever seen. It depends on whatever tourists are in town. There’s no real regularity to anything. Which is one of the great things about Bali.”

Then, he talks about how to get around in Bali in a safe way and what to avoid doing as Bali is becoming more and more popular and busy: “Obviously late night on a motorbike is something to avoid. Sunset time, if you’re not locked in somewhere, it’s usually pretty hectic.  I feel like that’s kinda prime time over there, when everyone’s racing to the bars to get a spot for the sunset. I still get someone to drive. I wouldn’t be that comfortable driving there. Motorbike from Canggu to Keramas (30-60mins ride) is too gnarly for me. But I always ride a motorbike around the zones I’m staying in, if I’m going to eat or whatever. I’ll go between Seminyak and Canggu comfortably, but I don’t get out on the faster roads or anything too hectic. You pretty much take whatever’s available, you never know”.

 

Theo d.B.