It’s 2020, people haven’t been able to travel or go on vacation for a while now. It’s only a matter of when we can travel again, that’s when many first timers will visit Bali. It used to have hundreds of thousands of visitors each month, more than several millions a year.
Every first-timer gasps in awe about the things that is considered normal in Bali and Indonesia. So I want to share the culture shocks I found online at Quora. So you can expect what’s considered normal when we get to travel again. Prepare yourself for an amazing life experience visiting Bali Indonesia.
Note that these were all expectations from other people that went to Bali before the Coronavirus pandemic.
Luxury comfortable accommodation for a cheap price
Accommodation comes at a cheap price. The accommodation that are around 30$ a night are very comfortable. Swimming pool, sun and smiling people!
There are so many hotels in every type of price category. Due to a lot of competition, prices go down easily.
Traffic
Traffic in Seminyak, Kuta, Legian and Ubud can be horrible. You can stay stuck in traffic for some better part of the day if you are in a taxi. The motorbikes/scooters are also driving a bit crazy but that’s the way it goes in Bali. A lot of tourists are actually renting a scooter.
Plastic
This is a bit sad since there is almost plastic everywhere. In the bushes, the sea during diving or snorkeling. It’s a big issue that tourists do not like at all. But we in Bali are getting slowly better at it. At the beach it just washes up from what was thrown in the sea a long time ago or from other islands. Mind you that there are 17000 islands or so in Indonesia alone.
Petrol sold in bottles alongside the road
Imagine driving around and you keep seeing bottles with yellow and green liquid? Is that detergent? Do they was their windshield that much with that much soap. Nope, it’s Petrol. The yellow one is “Premium Bensin” and the green one is “Pertalite”. Blue ones are also sold this is pertamax. Cars and scooters sometimes are in need of this when traffic is congested, or the nearest petrol station is simply too far.
In Bali if you take a trip up north, you might notice no gas station at all! So then there are plenty of locals selling petrol on the side of the road.
Flies and mosquitos
There are so many flies an mosquitos in Bali. But this goes for any tropical place. Where there is humidity, or just a puddle of water. Mosquitos will reproduce themselves so much. Watch out for Dengue!
Flies have their busy season as well. Warungs don’t have walls, and are basically an open buffet for flies as well. Leave your plate unattended and expect flies to come at you. Best to light a candle.
Traffic Part 2: Scooters on the pedestrian footpath
Due to heavy traffic, sometimes scooters will go up on the walking area. Of course this is now allowed and when caught by the police you can expect a fine!
Pedestrians have to look out, this is especially not nice if you are traveling with a Baby in Bali. So be sure to check out travel tips with a baby for in Bali.
Luckily this does not happen everywhere! So don’t think that scooters are going wild constantly where ever people can walk.
Bali is not the only place
Some people think that Bali is the only tourist island. This is wrong! There is Lombok Island, Raja Ampat, Komodo Island, Flores, Lake Toba, Tana Toraja, Bunaken Mount Bromo, Nias and others.! A lot of foreigners still don’t know these amazing places!
Bali became a bit more popular due to social media. The infrastructure for tourism is very great and accessible. But other places should also be discovered more.
Food is delicious but sometimes Oily
Indonesian Foods are a delight. In fact look at Top 50 dishes in the world: Rendang is ranking number 11. There are plenty of delicious foods. But there is also a lot of deep-frying going on making many foods oily.
If you are interested in food, I cook on Youtube and share my recipes.
The country is hue, the islands as well
Going from east to west or south to north is going to take a while. The island looks small on the map. Distances also seem relatively small. But there are mountains and areas difficult to pass. So it can come to a shock that going from south to north west can take a quarter of a day minimum!
Indonesia is the 4th biggest country in the world when it comes to population.
Unheard fruits for the western people
Indonesia has a lot of different and tasty fruits. The fruit that keeps amazing people are often : Snake fruit, Durian which tastes better than they ever imagined. Not to forget Dragon fruit. The names itself sound already very exotic. Check out my must-try Indonesian Fruits
Did you experience any culture shocks while in Indonesia? Share them in the comments.
Hi I am Dwi. I am a blogger, travel agent and a mom of a lovely daughter and wife to a supportive husband. I customize and plan tours in Bali and islands nearby for a living and have been doing this for more than 14 years. Get in touch via contact [at] taletravels.com