Welcome to Bali
After having spent more than two weeks on Sumatra and Java, I travelled to the beautiful island of Bali. I had red a lot about this piece of land, that it would be different from the rest of Indonesia and it happened to be exactly like that! Actually I almost experienced something like a cultural shock.
The main difference of course is the religion. On Bali you’ll find more than 93% Hindus and only 5% Muslims whereas on Sumatra it is the other way round. For a western eye it looks like people live with less regulations. And for a photographer the Hindu culture offers more picturesque photo options, especially if you look at all the temples, flower sacrifices and nicely decorated homes.
And I think you’ve guessed it already, yes there are more tourists, many more of them. I haven’t met a white guy on Sumatra, but loads of them on Bali. Therefore the Balinese tourism industry offers you a lot of convenient options to choose from.
It seems like every well know hotel chain has to have its top of the class wellness and spa resort on the island. You also find any kind of restaurants for every budget, beauty farms and organized adventure trips there.
Even a small town like Ubud, which happens to be something like an arts and crafts centre, not only has a few souvenir shops and workshops, but hundreds of them! The offer really was incredible - how can they all make money?
After the intense impressions and experienced I gained on Sumatra I felt a little fed up with everything, I needed time to "process my thoughts". And Bali seemed to be like a whole new holiday in a different country.
So I decided to go for less excitements but a relaxing program: staying in nice hotels, enjoying at least one hour of massage and a three-course dinner a day… I can tell ya, it worked well!