A New Kind of Birthday Celebration: Trips to Bali

Before coming to Indonesia, I would look at people who traveled a lot and think, how on earth can they travel that much!  But now that I'm here, I realize how fun it is to get out of the city. And with famous places... like Bali... that are a short ride away, getaway trips are commonplace.  It's the thing to do to celebrate your birthday.  

I've been here for about eight months (8 months already!!) and have taken two birthday trips to Bali.  It seems crazy to hop on a plane, spend two days drinking luak coffee, riding bikes through rice paddies, touring Balinese homes to learn about their culture and religion, swimming in the pool, doing some shopping, and then hopping on a plane back to Jakarta.  All in two or three days.

Back in September I went with Janna and a few friends who work at SPH Kemang Village.  It was Janna's birthday and Bali was her request, so we hopped on a plane Friday night, went bike riding on Saturday, and flew home Sunday morning.  A whirlwind trip, but totally worth it!

Roasting Kopi Luak (Cat poo coffee)

 One of the things we did was try Kopi Luak, which is coffee made from beans that have been through the digestive system of a cat.  Disgusting? Definitely!  The best, smoothest coffee I've ever had?  Absolutely.

Just a few weeks ago, a group from SPH Lippo Village went together to celebrate the birthdays of a couple of the girls... and we had a long weekend because of Chinese New Year.  So we also got to see the monkey forest, the bike ride, and do some shopping! 

We stayed in Ubud, which is a gorgeous mountain town.  So much nicer than Kuta, the Australian's favorite party holiday destination.  We tend to steer clear of that area as much as possible.

Pretty awesome place to spend the weekend

 

Enjoying our kopi luak!

 

I can't think of much that's more beautiful than this in the world

Yes, I held a huge spider. It was gross.  But exciting.

In some areas people enforce the driving age... apparently not in rural Bali

The company we went with this time supports some of the local
elementary schools, so we got to stop at one during our trip! So fun to see!

So much art.  So many "special price just for you"

One of my favorite purchases!  So fun to learn with this awesome girl!

Thanks to Lauren, Becca, Lindsey, and Janna who have shared many of their pictures with me so that I can share them here!