What’s Up Next

A couple of weeks ago I posted about deciding where I was going to go for my next trip. The post is titled “I don’t know where I’m going, but I’ll get there someday”. It features a short comprehensive list of the steps I take to narrow down my decision to one location. Well, as I said, it’s been a couple of weeks and I have finally narrowed down my choices to one destination.

We’re going to Bali, Indonesia!

Yes, yes, I know. You must be thinking, “Southeast Asia again?” and well, yes. Southeast Asia has stolen my heart. Every time I sit down to plan a trip to some European country I always find myself looking clicking on deals to exotic asian countries instead. I don’t know what it is; I guess Southeast Asia has a mystique to me that is unique to the rest of the world.

When I started planning for the next trip, I immediately thought Greece and Italy. I began planning for a trip 3 week trip when I saw flights to Tokyo. They were crazy cheap. I’m talking $650 roundtrip leaving out of LAX. I nearly had to tie myself to the chair to stop myself from running to get the credit card out of my purse. Thankfully my rational side overcame my eagerness and I began doing my research; figuring out the logistics. 

Tokyo isn’t cheap and when I travel I like to get as much bang for my buck as possible and have a lavished experience.  Hotels in Tokyo run anywhere from $100-$1000 a night and even the hostels run anywhere from $30-$100 a night. That being said, Japan just wasn’t logical for us at this current point in time. That’s what lead me to do a broader search and use sites like skyscanner. Skyscanner is a great site because it allows you to search for flights during specific times of year and flying into and out of various airports. Basically, it allows you to find great deals to countries that you wouldn’t have even thought about prior to the fact. 

This is what allowed me to stumble upon flights to Jakarta. Jakarta is the capital city of Java (and all of Indonesia), one of the thousands of islands that make up Indonesia. Java just also happens to be conveniently located right next to (almost touching) Bali. The flights that I had found were being advertised for $810. I knew that if I waited a little and did some research that I would be able to find even cheaper flights. So thats precisely what I did and I was able to book flights for $100 cheaper through STAtravel. I knew that if I could just get to Jakarta, flights to Denpasar, the capital of Bali, would be cheap and easy. 

Lucky for me I know a thing or two about Bali. Thanks to my favorite Travel Channel hosts Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern, and my favorite blogger Brooke Saward, the genius behind World of Wanderlust, I have been able to develop a rather thorough image of what Bali should be like. Brooke is an Aussie travel blogger who frequents Bali on the regular and she has a great compilation of all the treasures that Bali holds.

I am beyond excited to be going back to Southeast Asia. Bali has always sparked my need for adventure. From the biodiverse reef, to the rice fields, to the unique people that tend them, Bali is sure to be a unique experience unlike any that I’ve had before.

I can’t wait to be on another adventure with my man in Bali, Indonesia.