(Slaps) (Laughter)
(Slaps) (Pitched down laughter)
(Music)
Hi and welcome to the channel.
My name is Megan and today's video is just going to be a bit of a fun one,
talking about one of the day trips that I took here in Bali.
I've been working and living all around Asia for several years now,
often listening to people rave about Bali while I sit there and smile and nod,
secretly thinking "drunk Australians, volcanoes, earthquakes, vegan food,
lots of 'woowoo' cacao ceremony stuff that I just don't really understand."
I have never had an interest in going to Bali…
and then I went.
I spent the month of June in Canggu, Bali
on a co-working retreat with Work Wanderers.
So, the people were awesome, that was great.
I have a 20% discount cost for their next retreat coming up in Cape Town,
if you're interested. I'll link that one down below.
The retreat that I was on, we had a few organized day trips,
and they would be the style where you get in a van and you go
and you hit the top tourist spots, which was what we all wanted to do.
We wanted the photos, like we know what we're getting ourselves into.
But we didn't know what we were getting ourselves into.
So, you know that photo that you see all over Instagram
of someone it's swinging on the beautiful Bali swing off into the jungle?
Yeah, you get there and this place is like Bali Disneyland for Instagram,
Okay? (Laughter)
You pay an entrance fee, you line up in a big line,
you get one swing, you take the picture really fast,
and then you move on to the next line up, where you take another picture.
And we thought that was…
We thought that was a lot.
There's another photo that you see on Instagram.
This beautiful gate, the Handara Gate.
So we want that photo standing right in the middle.
We get there, we see the gate.
You know what else we see?
It's the entrance to a golf course!
Yeah. (Laughter)
And get this…
to take a picture at the entrance to the golf course,
which is the Handara Gate.
You need to pay a fee and then get in a big line up
and then take your picture.
Some of our group did decide to do it
but I hung back with my friend Gal and Hank.
So Gal, who is about to have his neck snapped, is from Israel,
and then, following him, is Hank from South Africa,
and we were all on this Work Wanderers retreat together.
Oh my goodness! (Laughter)
The people that we met, the locals in Bali, they were so much fun!
So, the security guard from this golf course
sees that were hanging back and he comes over to say hi.
takes a particular liking in Gal first
and this happens...
(Laughter) (Screams)
Yeah, it's good.
That's amazing.
(Buzzing sound) (Music)
Oh! It's my turn!?
And then Hank what next, very brave man.
(Buzzing sound) (Music)
(Slaps) (Manic laughter)
Gal and Hank survived, they’re okay.
They said their neck actually felt fantastic after.
I think they were lucky.
It was so fun!
And that's the vibe that you will get from the locals all over Bali,
which surprises me, because often when you go somewhere
that's so overrun with tourism, people don't like you anymore.
Not the case.
And then I complain about the food in Canggu being all vegan and fancy,
jackfruit tempeh with nut butter parmesan...
(Cricket chirping)
That's also for the tourists.
If you go and you have the local Balinese food,
it's fantastic.
There was this soup I… Oh! Gonna butcher the name!
Soto Mayora?
It was like a spicy turmeric, Indonesian soup,
with egg and shredded chicken.
The Balinese food, very, very good
and cheap, not overpriced.
...else we did on this day trip was go to the water temple,
which is considered to be one of the most sacred places in the world.
After Handara Gate, after the Bali swing,
I'm expecting to go there and see just all of these tourists inside.
I don't know, low expectations...
totally blown out of the water.
That was a pun! beause that's the water...
Nevermind.
What I loved most about this place was the fact that 99% of the people
going through this water ceremony were Indonesian.
And this is not like jump in the pool on a hot day,
this water was freezing,
So, you see all of these Indonesians in the water, with their families,
putting their heads, dumping them under fountain after fountain,
shivering in little lineups, waiting to get to the next fountain.
They truly believe in this and it was so beautiful to see.
And of course, tourists can join in, and they're encouraged to.
Not that many did, though.
The way it works is, you get in a lineup, you start at the first fountain
and you get your head completely under it,
and then you move on to the next fountain, and you just go down the line like this.
But there are a few fountains near the end that no one goes to,
and there's a reason, because they represent death
in some possible way.
And one of the members of our retreat ended up in that fountain.
(Grim music)
It was pretty funny and almost a little bit scary to see the…
of the local.
He realized pretty quickly to move on to the next one.
If you go to Bali, I highly recommend you check out this water temple,
and then, also, a waterfall that we went to after.
It's a little bit off the beaten path
and I'll link the names to both of these below for you.
But there was no one there, it was beautiful.
And then, at the end of the day, when you come back and you realize
that there are places like this that exist
if you just go a little bit off the beaten path.
And then you have experiences with the locals,
eating the local food or getting massaged by the security guard
who's just having a laugh with you.
You realize that... get out of the tourist mindset
get away from the tourist spots and anywhere can be beautiful.
So, would I go back to Bali? Absolutely.
Would I go back to the Bali tourist hotspots and stay in Canggu?
Probably not, probably not.
I was not sold on where we were staying in Bali.
The roads in Canggu... Oh my goodness!
Where we were staying on the main strip, it is road, cement trench.
No sidewalk in there, at all.
And if you don't have a motorbike, it's incredibly difficult to get around.
They don't have a Grab or an Uber, so you're flagging down a taxi
or using the taxi app,
and often they have these imposter taxis
that would come and they'll charge you more.
It's Blue Bird that you want, but there would be fake Blue Birds.
The ocean was right there, that was beautiful.
(Cricket chirping)
If you've ever been to Bali or if you went to Bali,
would you pay for the Instagram photo at the gate or at the swing?
Or both of them?
Let us know in the comments below, we can laugh at each other.
(Giggles)
That's it for me today, have a fantastic week,
and I will see you next Tuesday. Bye!
Oh!
(Manic Laughter) (Slaps)
(Pitched down laughter) (Slaps)