Ylliks

It’s been 4 days since my return from Bali and am still enjoying some time off. My visit to Bali was the first to an Asian country and I have to say that if the entire continent has the same atmosphere as that small island in Indonesia, it’s a continent where I would love to spend more time. Here are some of the things I noticed on my visit there.

The people are extremely friendly. In large part this has to do with their religious beliefs and search for good karma. Staff will go out of their way to help you with any inquiry or wish you might have and even people who don’t want to sell you anything will go the extra mile. I’ve heard numerous stories from other travelers of locals who will bring you to the place you want to go when you’re lost without wanting something in return or point you where to go when you make a mistake in traffic (side note: the traffic rules seem to be something of a suggestion as well there; just stay on the left, honk your horn alot and all will be good). It’s quite a change to the sometimes unwillingness of people in my knack of the woods.

The food is in one word: delicious. I’ve known Indonesian cuisine for some time now due to the large amount of Indonesian restaurants we have in Holland, but no matter how good it gets here, there’s no substitute for the real thing. Whether it’s going to a small warung (my prefered choice) in the countryside or a local restaurant the food is going to be fresh, (if you want it) spicy and delightfull. I especially liked the Padang kitchen, bbq-ed prawns and the Balinese roast pork.

Nature has gone all out on Bali with luscious green hills and forests. Then there are the rice fields that seem to be going on for miles and miles. With the beaches, lakes and vulcanoes Bali has some magnificent sights. Cities and villages however are another story. Because there’s no real waste disposal system in progress on the island, people just throw it out on the side of the road, often setting it on fire. With the ever growing consumption of plastic, this is very harmful to the environment. Hopefully the government will see this and will provide a service soon before the island has turned into a garbage dump. It’s nowhere near as bad yet fortunately, but a solution must arise sooner than later.

Locals have turned to tourism for jobs and this leaves the local farming community in dire need for workers. The Balinese youth have realized that working in tourism isn’t as hard as working in the fields so aren’t willing to do so. Since the local farms provide for the food on Bali there’s a chance that in the future they will no longer be able to provide the necessary goods and food will have to be imported. This of course will mean a rise in prices and according to some locals I’ve talked to inflation already was high. Luckily some NGO’s out there are promoting local farming and are trying to deal with the situation.

Tourism also has caused the introduction of multinational chains to open up branches on the island. You can get all the fast food you want, especially in the larger cities, but I often wonder why you would do such a thing. As said above, I loved the food, but besides that, for me the beauty of travel is meeting locals, see their customs and try their food. I could have fast food every day of the year when I’m not on holiday if I wished, so why would I do so on holiday? Really baffles me to see people who do.

The overall sentiment on the island can be described as easy-going. Locals are sitting around a lot, talking with each other. Time of appointments are more a suggestions (it’s a courtesy to be late) and locals seem to have all the time in the world with their motto of “Sin Ken Ken” (roughly translated: no worries) . This of course leads to a relaxed atmosphere which makes vacationing there easy. It’s a breath of fresh air compared to the fast-moving western world.

I’ve had a great time in Bali and enjoyed my time there immensely. As stated the people are friendly, the sights beautiful and the food mouth watering. As my first impression of Asia, I couldn’t have gone to a better place.

If you want to get an impression of the island you can take a look at my holiday pictures.

I don’t mind giving way to my colleagues who have to take their partners or school holiday into account when it comes to summer holiday planning. Far from it. I prefer to have my summer holiday in september, simply because it has so many benefits.

First of all, rates for hotels/hostels/B&B’s are down from peak season. Since they’re trying to fill their rooms, their are some real bargains to get. As an example, for my upcoming trip the places I will stay are around 50% cheaper than during peak season. Same goes for air tickets.

Secondly, because I travel just outside of peak season, it’s not as busy at touristic sites (if you would be inclined to go there). Sure, there are still people around, but it’s not standing-in-line-and-hope-you-get-more-than-a-few-seconds-to-look-busy.

Third, because more than half of the country is out on holiday during july/august, work isn’t as busy as normal and you can “ease” into your holiday.

And last but not least, there’s a bit of (maybe sadistic?) joy in reminding your colleagues that your holiday is still coming up while theirs is still a year away.

Over the last 2 plus weeks I’ve been on holiday to the south of Mexico. It was a vacation of firsts: first time seeing Mayan temples up close and personal, first time in Central America and the first time I went on a group holiday. Here are some of the things I’ve noticed.

Despite all the violence that’s on the news I never felt afraid or scared while in Mexico. Locals tended to be helpful and nice and I had a great time interacting with them (despite my lacking Spanish). I have to admit there was a shooting in the bar across our hotel in Palenque (we hadn’t noticed a thing until our guide told us) and while on the night bus to Playa del Carmen we were stopped and checked by drug enforcement agencies 3 times but all in all nothing worth mentioning really. Mexicans believe the violence is between the gangs themselves and the police while bystanders who got involved just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Also the drug violence is situated in the northern part of the country which was way off from where I was traveling. I did however talk to a Spanish girl who told me she was terrified but when asked why she couldn’t give me a reason. But as far as me and the people I was traveling with goes all was fine.

The south of Mexico is a beautiful place with luscious green hills, jungle and forests that seem to go on forever. The coastal line around Cancun and Playa del Carmen is turning into the Spanish Costa Brava more and more, but there are still some mostly undiscovered sites where you can relax or snorkel next to turtles and coral reefs. Then there are the mountains around San Christobal de las Casas with its high tops and canyons like the Canon del Sumidero. There are sights and sounds for everyone.

I’ve been wanting to visit Mayan sites since I was as a little kid. It took me until this year to finally go and see them and they didn’t disappoint. I had a blast visiting sites such as Chichen Itza, Uxmal, Yaxchilan, Bonampak and Palenque (Tulum felt more like a golf course to me somehow) with Uxmal being my favorite. Maybe it was because of the lack of commercialization on the site (on others sites there were dozens of pushy merchants trying to sell “real” Mayan artifacts) but it just felt different than the other ones. I can’t fault the people for trying to make a living at the sites nor did it really distract me from enjoying the architecture and learning about the fascinating Mayan culture.

Mexican people tend to be on the short but large side. Our guide told us that Mexico had officially passed the US as the country with the fattest people in the world (although this study ranks them the same). And that’s no surprise. No matter how small the village, there will be several small stores where you can only buy sodas, potato chips and candies. And of course there’s the rich Mexican food. It’s no wonder that with an abundance of unhealthy food people will gain weight.

Speaking of Mexican food: it may not be the most healthy of choices, but it was good. And I had no trouble with my stomach whatsoever (you won’t neither when you follow 2 simple rules: either go where it’s very busy or go where the locals eat). I savored tortillas, empanadas, quesadillas and tacos, chicken, beef and shrimp dishes and all other kinds of tasty, excellent food (Weight wise I was lucky we walked and hiked a lot). And if you like it spicy there’s plenty of ways to add peppers or spicy sauces. My taste buds had a great time.

With Mexico being the first country I visited in Central America I now know for certain what I already figured: I want to see more of that part of the world. Somehow Central and South America always had a bigger attraction to me than say Africa or Asia. I’m pretty sure that for the next couple of trips there will be quite a few going in that direction.

Despite my Spanish experiment, my Spanish was lacking. Sure, after spending some time there I could understand a bit, but the locals speak so quickly that even my buddy Tim, who happens to be a translator (not Spanish though) and knows quite a bit of Spanish had some troubles at first. However, since I’m planning to go towards that part of the world again in the near future, I need to brush up on it. Note to self though: I’ll make sure that whatever road to learning I’ll take there be more speaking/listening than reading.

This trip to Mexico was also my first with a group vacation. Since my friend Tim joined me I knew I would have a great time no matter what, but the group we joined kind of clicked immediately and we had no trouble whatsoever. We agreed on excursions or where to go within minutes and did pretty much everything as a group. This bunch helped to make this a great holiday and I hope to spend more time with them in the near future.

This trip to Mexico has been one of the best holidays I’ve ever been on and I enjoyed it tremendously. If you want to get an impression of it you could visit my Flickr Mexico photo set.

As mentioned yesterday I’m going on holiday to Mexico next week. And whenever I talk to someone and tell them that no matter what type of vacation I only take one carry-on bag I always get the same kind of question with the accompanying look:”How could you take everything with you in just one bag?” To me, one bag travel has all kinds of advantages. Especially the flexibility and the fact that it’s impossible for me to lose my bags during air transfer (if I don’t leave them in the plane myself of course) is a real plus.

When packing for travel everyone has their comfort zone. I don’t mind washing some clothes during my travels and I buy my travel clothes accordingly (quick dry, non-wrinkle, light, multi-usable). But if you don’t want to do that your only choice is to take enough clothing with you to last the duration of your stay. I also don’t pack for all eventualities. Some people like to take enough with them so that no matter what, they’ll have clothing for the situation. Although I wonder if it’s possible to pack that much.

What goes for packing also goes for how you spend your holiday/travels. Some are happy going to Egypt and stay in an all-inclusive resort. I would go to Egypt to see the pyramids and other historic landmarks. Some go to Bali to lay on the beach for 2 weeks, I would travel the country. None of the possibilities are either good or bad, it’s all about what you want out of your travels.

I’ve seen both sides of the story when it comes to travel. I come from a family with a mother who’s all about packing for every situation, while I now try to pack as little as I’m comfortable with. I did the laying-at-the-beach holidays and the ones where I went exploring. And for most of my travels I had a blast.

Being comfortable in your way of travel is important. For many of us a holiday is a way of letting of steam and relax. There’s no sense in having any stress then.