For the final stop of our Indonesia leg, we decided on Canggu, Bali. We’d originally considered Uluwatu for the great surf, but after talking with some fellow backpackers, we learned that Uluwatu was way out of our price range. Canggu is generally a lot more affordable and backpacker-friendly with surf spots for all levels. It also contains some famous beach clubs, notably Finns, and has hundreds of restaurants packed into a very small area.
By the time we made it to our hotel it was already night, so we went wandering to find a dinner spot. I was in foodie heaven — from hot pot to Italian to Spanish food, the downtown is filled with high-quality, Instagram-worthy restaurants. We settled on a two-story place called Lusa, which serves a variety of different cuisines and unique cocktails. I ended up picking one with rum, Aperol, smoked pineapple syrup, bitters, and Campari while Matt got a caramel espresso martini. We were so excited about our order that I didn’t notice that our table candle had set a massive stack of napkins on fire until people started yelling. The servants had to rush over and extinguish the fire. Matt couldn’t stop laughing at me the entire time.
After we finished our meal in disgrace, we headed to Finns Beach Club. It’s arguably the most popular club in the town. The deck has multiple pools with swim-up bars, cabanas, and a dance floor bumping House music. We were offered free, brightly-colored shots immediately upon entering. I traded my pink one for Matt’s blue and we knocked them back. We then headed to one of the bars to get a cocktail. While checking out the menu, I noticed that one of the three shots they’d handed out contained lychee. This caused major panic as I’m allergic to lychee and I wasn’t sure which shooter I’d consumed. (The first and last time I had lychee was in my senior year of college. I’d sampled my roommate’s lychee before bed and woke up that night covered in massive hives. Not knowing what caused it, I ate another lychee the next night and had the same reaction.) Luckily, the waiters confirmed the lychee shot was pink — the one I had traded with Matt. Talk about an eventful night.
The next day, Matt decided to go surfing. The waves were big and choppy, so I spent that time shopping. I was annoyed to discover that all the stores adjust their prices to the Australian-equivalent so it felt like I was still in California. Empty-handed and sweaty, Matt and I met up and headed to Finns Beach Club again. We ended up staying for several hours way into the night, chatting with an Austrian couple who were on vacation for a few weeks. The difference in attitude surrounding work and vacation hours is fascinating. Europeans talk so casually about their month-long trips, which doesn’t include the time off they receive for the holidays. It put further into perspective our backpacking trip. If I were to give myself 15 days of total vacation a year, then subtract five days to account for the holidays, by the end of the trip I will have taken the equivalent of about seven years’ worth of vacations. What makes it even more interesting is that Americans don’t necessarily take just one international two-week vacation a year either. They’ll split their days into little chunks, so they can attend their kid’s graduation, celebrate a birthday, tend to a sick child, attend a festival, and more. This knowledge made me extra grateful I took the leap to quit my job and travel before I have any major responsibilities (namely pets, a mortgage, children, or a dream job.)
Our final day in Indonesia was tamer in comparison. Exhausted by the heat and an eventful night out, we spent half the day lounging by the hotel pool. Rather than heading out into the heat, Matt decided he wanted to see the new Mission Impossible movie. The catch? The closest movie theater was an hour drive away. I can’t say I’m that passionate about Mission Impossible, but for reasons unknown Tom Cruz is Matt’s favorite actor (also the only actor’s name he actually knows.) Thus we ordered a Grab (Southeast Asia’s Uber equivalent) and started on our way.
The traffic in Bali during rush hour is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. About 45 minutes into our journey, we looked at the map to see we were still within walking distance to our hotel. The car had been in a standstill for half that time. We decided to abandon our plans to see the movie, but our Grab driver was not happy about this cancellation. We assured him we’d still pay him the full amount, but he started frantically locking the car doors and refusing to let us out. The next few moments were tense; we had to pay a decent chunk for him to agree to let us exit the car. The guilt I felt leaving him trapped in that gridlock was terrible, but at least he didn’t have to drive an extra hour all the way to the movie theater. This ended up being a good lesson for us not to underestimate traffic in areas with poor infrastructure.
Arguably the best part of our day was dinner. We were having severe cravings for Mexican food and happened upon a Mexican restaurant as we wandered the streets. Their tacos were so good that after we finished we both ordered the same dish a second time much to the waiter’s bemusement. At this point, I was feeling uncomfortably full, but Matt absolutely insisted that we stop at a nearby cookie shop. This ended up being both an excellent and terrible decision; their gooey Nutella cookies were reminiscent of American-style cookies but put me into a food coma the rest of the night. Most couples would likely have spent the final night out at one of the beach clubs, living it up as best they can before departing the country. Meanwhile, we spent the evening devouring desserts and going to bed by nine p.m. in preparation for our four a.m. ride to the airport the next day. Funnily enough, those kinds of evenings end up being some of my favorites on vacation.
As we flew out of Indonesia the next morning, we reminisced on our favorite memories and both of us rated the Gili Islands as our top destination in Indonesia. We enjoyed every stop, but we have some clear winners if we were to do the trip over again. After three weeks in Indonesia, we felt ready to explore the third country lined up in our backpacking trip: Malaysia!
Rianna and Matt’s recommendations in Indonesia, from most to least favorite:
- The Gili Islands
- Nusa Penida/Lembongan
- Canggu, Bali
- Ubud, Bali
- Lombok Island
Postcards Home to Mum 
Leave a comment