Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard of this little island called Bali. Bali is an island in Indonesia which is made up of hundreds of islands, but this particular one draws in the most visitors.
Temples
I spent about 10 days on the island Bali, but I didn’t feel like I got to really learn about the culture. The Balinese are Hindu, so all of the temples are coated in a black paint versus in Thailand where everything is painted gold and bejeweled. Sarongs are required to be worn around your legs for both men and women and you must cover your shoulders. I noticed that there were a lot of monkey statues around the temples that usually had exaggerated features.
Canang Sari
In the morning and evenings the Balinese with leave out daily offerings called canang sari which is accompanied with incense. You can see these offerings left out on the streets and they are usually placed in the entryway of buildings.
Daily Life
While I was at a salon getting a mani pedi, I talked with some of the girls working and we chatted about our lives and what life is like in Bali. They both grew up on the island, but their families live in smaller villages outside of the main tourist areas. One of them has family on a completely different island. Each of them works long hours with an occasional off every week or two depending on if the salon is busy or not.
If they have a day off they will go to temple and see their families in the village. Neither of them finished their university studies because they had to help their families with money. One of them has been working at the salon for seven years and is the same age as me.
Having conversations like these with people the same age as me, makes you takes a step back and look at your life. It makes you appreciate the little things more.
Even in struggle people can find happiness.
