13 Travel Mistakes to Avoid in BALI • ENGLISH • The Poor Traveler Indonesia
00:52.4
Which is why it is difficult to not get overexcited.
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So much so, let's get started.
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So much so that sometimes, we tend to overlook the other aspects of a trip that could lead us to making bad decisions.
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So, without further ado, here are the mistakes you should avoid when traveling to Bali.
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I made my first mistake even before I arrived in the island.
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For some reason, I assumed that Bali is just as small as Phuket or Santorini or Singapore.
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My friends, Bali is a hell of a lot bigger than those.
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It is 8 times bigger than Singapore,
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10 times bigger than Phuket,
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64 times bigger than Santorini,
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and 500 plus times bigger than Boracay.
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Keep that in mind when building your itinerary.
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Don't schedule your activities immediately after another if they're in different parts of the island.
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Getting from, say, Kuta to Ubud does not take just a few minutes.
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It takes a couple of hours.
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And those faraway temples like Lempuyang,
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much, much longer.
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Depending on your itinerary and what you're in Bali for, to begin with,
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you need to pick the most ideal area to stay so you won't waste too much time on the road.
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If you're staying in the Kuta or Seminyak area,
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there's another thing you shouldn't underestimate.
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Bali welcomes millions and millions of visitors per year.
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In fact, from January to October 2023 alone,
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it has recorded almost 1 million visitors per year.
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It has recorded almost 1 million visitors per year.
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It has recorded almost 4.4 million foreign tourist arrivals.
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And a great fraction of them chose to stay in this area,
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where you'll find Kuta and Seminyak.
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And most of them do not use the public transportation,
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which is not as reliable as one could hope.
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Most tourists prefer a private tour by car or booking Grab or Gojek
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to get from one place to another.
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It's no wonder traffic buildup is a constant occurrence here.
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So if you have a tour, a show, or a flight to catch,
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it's always best to have plenty of lead time.
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Traffic is not as bad in other areas, though.
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But I also noticed traffic jams in Ubud City Center.
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While we're in the subject of food, do not, I repeat,
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do not drink tap water.
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Not even the locals do this,
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and they highly discourage me too.
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Most accommodations provide filtered water.
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If not, head to the grocery and buy those giant containers
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and just refill your reusable bottle every now and then.
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Because tap water in Bali is gonna whoop your insides like it did mine.
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I never really believed in the term Bali-Beli until it was happening to me.
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I spent an entire night in the toilet without ever coming out
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because every 15 minutes, something inside me was starting a revolution.
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So no, don't drink tap water, I beg you.
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And don't forget to bring anti-diarrhea meds too.
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Partly because of the many expats who call this island home,
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Bali has a vibrant international food scene.
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Before coming to Bali, my friends told me I should try this place
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with the best burgers and the best Greek food and the best tacos and so on.
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Lots of fast food chains and cafes too.
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And that's great and all, but don't leave without digging into local food.
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Balinese cuisine is spectacular to say the least.
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From the mouth-watering babi guling or spit-roasted pork,
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to the ubiquitous sate and nasi campur,
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to traditional cakes.
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The best part, they're everywhere too.
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You'll find them at high-end restaurants,
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to humble warung or small family-run eateries.
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Most of them serve homey, hearty meals.
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But if you want insider scoop, best to book a guided food tour.
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By joining a food tour, you'll get to know the local favorites
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and sample them while learning more about the Balinese food culture and other tips.
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Thankfully, there are a lot of food tours available on Get Your Guide,
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the sponsor of this video.
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We actually booked our food tour in Bali with Get Your Guide
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even before they approached us.
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So we're really happy that we're now collaborating for this video
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because we already trusted them even before.
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We booked an authentic food tour from Ubud
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and our guide John K was polite, friendly, and knowledgeable
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and could communicate in English really well.
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He brought us to this babi guling place outside the city center
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as well as this coffee luwak farm
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and to Gyanyar Night Market
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where he introduced to us more traditional dishes like betutu
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and an assortment of desserts.
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In between food stops, we dropped by rice terraces
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and Tirta Empul, one of the holiest temples in the island.
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This is just one of the many food-related activities available on Get Your Guide.
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Some tours are for join-in while others are private.
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Some will show you around the market so you get a better understanding
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of the local ingredients and other produce.
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You could also join a cooking class.
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And these are just the food-related tours.
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With more than 60,000 curated activities
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in over 3,600 destinations around the world,
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from tours like this to skip-the-line tickets,
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Get Your Guide is the best place to discover
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the world's most unforgettable travel experiences.
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And their tours are always led by knowledgeable local experts,
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giving insights into the culture.
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We booked our Bali food tour using the app
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and we never needed to print anything.
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24x7 support and free cancellation up to 24 hours before schedule.
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are also available.
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To download the Get Your Guide app,
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just click the link in the description and pinned comment.
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And by street ATMs,
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I mean those cash machines that you see in the streets,
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out in the open and can easily be tampered with.
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If you need to withdraw from an ATM,
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choose a machine that is inside a bank
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or other guarded or enclosed establishments,
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but the bank is your best bet.
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And you'll find a lot of virus-reputable banks,
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throughout the island.
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If you must withdraw from a street ATM,
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always double-check for signs of tampering.
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When in doubt, don't do it
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and just find another way to pay or get cash.
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Speaking of cash,
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In Bali, the official currency is the Indonesian rupiah.
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And 100 USD is roughly 1.5 million rupiah.
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The highest denomination is 100,000.
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Yes, that's 1 followed by 5 zeros.
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For those who are familiar with the currency,
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the notes can be easily differentiated by the color.
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20,000 is green, and so on.
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But for us who aren't used to seeing that many zeros,
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it can be a bit confusing,
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especially because these zeros don't have a thousand separator.
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No period, no comma, no space, nada.
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So it's easy to think that 10,000 is 100,000.
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It was so easy to make that mistake.
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And just like any other destination,
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you may run into someone who is willing to take advantage
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when the opportunity presents itself.
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It was already my fourth day when I finally got the hang of it.
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But maybe I'm just slow in general.
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But thankfully, I never really had to pay cash that much.
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Most of my tours had been pre-booked
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and I usually paid by card when available.
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Fortunately, the supermarket in front of our hotel accepted credit cards.
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Bali is generally safe and has a relatively low crime rate,
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considering how busy and touristy it is.
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But like many other tourist hotspots,
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petty crimes do exist in Bali,
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especially within developed areas like Kuta.
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So, don't hold your phone, purse, or wallet out in the open
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when walking or standing by the road
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because someone on a motorbike might just snatch it away.
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Keep it away from other people's reach
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and don't leave them unattended on the beach
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or use them to reserve a table at a food court.
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Overpricing Taxis
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Overpricing taxis are rampant in Bali.
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In fact, we have been told by the locals to not hail a cab,
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but use Grab or Go-Jek instead.
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And if we must, only use Bluebird,
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said to be the only reputable taxi company on the island.
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If coming from the airport,
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you may also pre-arrange a pickup service online.
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If you prefer traveling by motorbike,
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beware of scams too.
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I don't ride motorcycles abroad,
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so this isn't something I'm concerned about.
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But I had been warned about rental shops
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that would charge you for pre-existing damages on the bike.
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Police scams are said to be prevalent too.
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They say that some officers would just stop motorbike drivers
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for whatever reason they could think of
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just so you could pay them to let you go.
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But if you insist on renting a motorbike,
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make sure you have the proper driving license
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and always wear a helmet.
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Before you book multiple day tours,
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check the itinerary first.
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Most tours in Bali have similar attractions.
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Usually, there's a stop at Tegalalang Rice Terraces,
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a coffee luwak farm where you could taste
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a variety of coffee and tea flavors,
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and Instagrammable spots with a giant swing and the like.
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And to be honest,
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if you've experienced one of each kind,
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you've experienced them all.
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So if you're booking more than one private tour,
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ask your contact or guide if you could replace
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some of these stops to avoid a repetitive journey
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and you could experience more of Bali.
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We've done it before and every guide obliged
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because it's not difficult to find another point of interest along the route.
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Of all the destinations I had set foot in,
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Bali is perhaps the most IG-worthy.
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It's just bursting with Instagrammable spots,
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both natural and man-made.
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By now, you probably know about this,
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the Gate of Heaven at Lempuyang Temple.
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And you might already be aware that this is just a mirror trick
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and that there's no body of water on site.
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But that's not the only thing you should be aware of.
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You see, it's so popular that the line for this photo
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can get crazy long.
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We're talking about up to three hours of waiting time here,
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just for a minute of photo session.
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On our last trip,
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we arrived in the afternoon in time for the sunset
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and we waited two and a half hours.
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They say that to avoid waiting times,
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go in the early morning.
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My teammate Paikan did just that
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in time for sunrise.
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They were second in line.
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But even if your timing is right,
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don't expect everything to be picture perfect.
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Most photos you see were either taken under the best conditions
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or enhanced digitally.
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Often, the skies don't cooperate.
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It's more likely that you'll get a plain white backdrop
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because the mountain is hiding behind the clouds or fog.
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A lookalike can be found in the north.
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This is Handara Gate,
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which also has the same effect.
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It's not as popular as the Gate of Heaven,
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but you could still wait for 40 minutes to an hour for your turn.
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Even here at Tirta Ganga,
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the lines can get crazy long,
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especially at this spot.
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I personally don't mind the waiting times
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because I know how to keep myself busy.
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I usually spend the time chatting with our guide and other locals.
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But if you're not really into IG-worthy spots
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and you want to maximize your stay,
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you might just be wasting a lot of time queuing.
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There are other picturesque but less crowded attractions elsewhere in the island.
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But if you really want these shots,
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You're already in Bali,
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might as well experience the full package,
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Since we're already talking about temples,
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know that you must dress modestly within the vicinity.
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Some temples provide sarongs that you may borrow,
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just wear something that covers your shoulders,
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upper arms, and legs.
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This applies to both men and women.
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If you're bleeding,
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say you have an open wound,
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if you're menstruating,
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you should not enter the temples.
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Even when there's a lot of tourism activity in the island,
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Bali remains religious,
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It will become apparent to you on your first day
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just by taking a short walk.
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In front of the houses and on the sidewalk,
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you'll see small palm trees with flowers and food.
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These are Chanang Sari,
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which are daily offerings to the Supreme God of Indonesian Hinduism
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as a symbol of gratitude.
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So watch your step and please do not step on them.
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Also, when handing out something to a local,
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always use your right hand.
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Your left hand is considered dirty and is for toilet duties.
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And never touch anyone's head,
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which is considered a sacred part of the body.
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Mosquitoes are common in Bali,
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so it's best to be prepared.
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We didn't think of it until we checked into our hotel room
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where we found a free mosquito repellent spray.
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some places and some months are more prone than others,
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but to be on the safe side,
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just bring one with you when touring.
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The last thing you want is to catch dengue or other mozzie-related diseases.
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When we think of Bali,
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we immediately conjure up images of its beaches.
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I thought of Bali as a beach paradise.
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But when I was there,
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I realized that Bali's biggest assets are not its sandy shores,
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but its well-preserved culture and inland natural attractions.
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I was much more awed by its temples and waterfalls and cuisine
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than by its beaches.
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Don't get me wrong,
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the beaches here are not bad.
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But just to manage your expectations,
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if you've been to other beaches in Indonesia
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and you're expecting Bali to give you the same sparkling beach scape,
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then you'll be underwhelmed.
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That's not to say that you shouldn't come to Bali at all
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because you definitely should.
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But there's so much more to Bali than its shores.
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I know it sounds obvious,
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but it is very important that you know this.
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don't do drugs anywhere you travel to.
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But especially here in Bali
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because Indonesia has some of the strictest laws
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when it comes to drugs.
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Possession is punishable by imprisonment for 4 to 12 years or
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if the amount is big enough,
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you can be imprisoned for life
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plus fines of up to 8 billion rupiah.
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the death penalty may be imposed.
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That's not the kind of adventure you want to experience abroad.
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In our next video,
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we'll be sharing with you how to plan a trip to Bali.
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Yes, that's our comprehensive Bali travel guide
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That's all for now.
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Remember, plan smart, travel safe,
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and make every trip worth it!
