Weekend in Bali

I went to Bali for the weekend! I never thought I’d say that! It all seemed so far once in my life...anyway, Renzo (a Peruvian friend who was here for work) told me he was going to Bali for the weekend and last minute I decided to come with him (why not?), hehehe. It was short but I could have a good feel of what Bali is, as you will see it in the pics. So as I expected the beaches are not so fantastic (they are beautiful though, and I did not see too many to judge), but really the nightlife is amazing! And also the inner culture of the island, which I could see a little by visiting Ubud, is very interesting. It was really beautiful to see the rice fields and also interesting to visit the Monkey Forest. We went out both Friday and Saturday, and there are a lot of bars full of locals but also foreigners (mainly Australians, Europeans and people from other Asian countries). I even met 3 Brazilians! One of them lived between Bali and East Timor (you always meet the craziest people when you travel!). The food was also very good and super cheap. Some facts:

Balinese culture was strongly influenced by Indian, and particularly Sanskrit, culture, in a process beginning around the 1st century AD
The First European contact with Bali is thought to have been when Dutch explorer Cornelis de Houtman arrived in 1597, though a Portuguese ship had foundered off the Bukit Peninsula as early as 1585
Bali lies 3.2 km east of Java and approximately 8 degrees south of the equator (so I went from North to South hemisphere going from Singapore to Bali)
Unlike most of Muslim-majority Indonesia, about 93% of Bali's population adheres to Balinese Hinduism

Pics: http://flickr.com/photos/gibin/sets/72157602252447009/


Fui a Bali para el fin de semana! Nunca pense que diria esto, ya que parecia tan distante en algun momento. Renzo, un amigo peruano que vive en Londres y estaba aquí por trabajo, me dijo que iba a Bali para el finde y decidi acompanarlo (por que no? Jejeje). Fue corto pero aprovechamos mucho. Las playas no me parecieron súper fantasticas, pero lo interesante fue la vida nocturna, con muchos bares y mucha mezcla de locales con extranjeros (muchos australianos, europeos y gente de otros paises asiáticos....hasta me encontré 3 brasilenos! Uno de ellos vivia entre Bali y Timor Oriental! En estos viajes encontramos la gente mas loca!). También la cultura de Bali es súper interesante, fui al centro de la isla a Ubud donde vi muchos templos, los campos de arroz, y la selva de monos. La comida también era muy rica, y mejor todavía, muy barata!

Fotos: http://flickr.com/photos/gibin/sets/72157602252447009/