Indoniesia

Indonesia: Bali & Nusa Penida

Landing in Bali was like walking into a tropical fever dream — it was very hot, exceptionally beautiful, and I no clue where I was actually going, except the Jungle Room and Kelingking beach eventually. It took awhile to realize just how narrow my worldview was. Starting when the flight announced that in Indonesia drugs are punishable by death. This radically changed the outcome of this country, in my opinion, because unlike the streets of New York, I didn't see any homeless people, and unlike Mexico, cartels were obviously no where to be seen. The Indonesians I met spoke perfect English and came across as friendly, but more reserved and less carefree, than the friendly, outgoing Thai people I'd just left. As an American, I feel like most of our lives, we live in a bubble of working and loving in the same small corner of the world, and stepping way out of that bubble is life changing, in a way you'll never forget. Even small things, like everyone riding scooters on the opposite side of the street, instead of driving cars makes you wonder a bit about sociology, why we behave differently as people, in different places.

Bali

The Gateway to Indonesia

After arriving in Kuta, I stayed at the JungleRoom because I'd been influenced by the influencers. My Instagram feed before coming here was the JungleRoom, Hideout Bali and Kelingking beach, for years, so coming here was a dream come true for me. I was walking on Seminyak beach, "Follow your dreams, but envision them first." this girl with a billionaire boyfriend told me, who had traveled around the world, and was still traveling solo with his credit card. How did she end up in that position? To get what you want in life, it's possible, you have to make a vision board and follow through with it, she told me. I agreed with her, but as I continued my journey I realized something, I'd already half realized after working with a celebrity who played on one of my favorite songs... When a dream becomes reality, I think a lot of the time you're bound to be disappointed by some things, surprised by others, and eventually grateful for the experience. Personally, I was a bit disappointed by the quiet, serious culture of Indonesia, after having just come from the wild party scene of Thailand, with songs like Tarzan Boy blasting on the beach. Even though I'm quiet and not a partier myself, the energy of Thailand was just more exciting to be around. As for surprises, Canguu surprised me, because the beaches were pretty awful as far as beaches in Southeast Asia go, and full of litter... but the food was absolutely incredible, the best vegan burger, and acai bowl, I'd ever had in my life were at the vegan Kynd restaurant there. In general, I'm convinced Indonesia has the best food in the world, and not by a small margin either. When I think of Bali, I think cafés, rice paddies, and a cultural parade for Nyepi, a day of mandatory fasting for everyone, tourists included, that was less, “Instagram me!” and more about the realization that I had no clue about Indonesian culture. To be fair, their history was kept secret until now, almost 60 years later, and it wasn't until after I got home that I learned the United States government killed over half a million Indonesians in an effort to stop communism. Imagining the scale of this tragedy is just impossible, and the only way to maybe come close, is to imagine if Indonesia invaded, killed every single resident on Rhode Island, kids included, in an effort to stop the British monarchy from spreading to America. And then, after actually killing all those people, the British monarchy remained anyway. It's unfathomable to me that something like this happened and I think people should travel here just to see, inside, people are the same everywhere. There's no excuse for what happened, and maybe the best we can do is be extra kind to everyone we meet.

Nusa Penida

Kelingking & Diamond Beach

From Bali I took the ferry over to Nusa Penida, the day after a cyclone flipped one of the ferries to the island and killed an Australian tourist. But Nusa Penida, mislabeled as Bali, was on my Instagram feed for years, so I wasn't going to let that stop me from visiting the world famous Kelingking beach. Absolutely not, my friend. First stop: obviously Kelingking Beach, aka “That Jaw-Dropping T-Rex Cliff.” Just kidding, it was actually Broken Beach, the worst of the bunch, and even that was one of the best ocean views I've ever seen. Arriving at Kelingking the first time, I was struck by the enormous scale of it and felt immense pressure to take as many photos as possible in the five minutes we were allowed to stay. It wasn't enough time, so I actually changed my plans and booked a three night stay by the beach, because Bali wasn't anywhere near as photogenic. I got there in the morning, the next day, when there were no tourists from the group tours and almost cried from how beautiful it was and the realization of a long time dream. From up top, I was expecting just to frame the perfect image of the dinosaur-shaped rock jutting into the majestic light blue sea, and find something else aesthetic but neglected nearby, but actually ended up photographing the monkeys that were trying to steal my orange juice instead most of the time instead. You can't reach any other ocean views on foot nearby, as it's all cliffs, and drivers only go to the famous spots, which are probably the only accessible spots. After this escapade, I photographed a few people free and one of them turned out to be a famous influencer from Venezuela. Then, I scrambled down the steps, which eventually became steeper and steeper until it was just impossibly steep rock, that the locals reassured me no one had died on... that day. They say Bangkok is the hottest city in the world, but I'm here to tell you, Bangkok has nice comfortable weather compared to whatever this was hiking back up that mountain in rural Indonesia. Before leaving the island, I got a ride to Diamond Beach in a taxi that bumped up and down the whole way and thought of what my friend had told me, "bumpy roads lead to beautiful destinations."