“I’ve heard that Caucasians, after visiting Bali once, keep revisiting it every year without fail. Case in point, some of my sister’s friends as well as my own colleagues make it an annual routine to revisit Bali, too.”
The “feeling” is what brings visitors back to Bali.
Bali has a lot going for it in terms of a repeat destination.Some places you visit once and you’ve seen it. Great Wall. Pyramids. Macchu Picchu. Because it’s all laid out in front of you and that’s it. I’ve been to about 45 different countries and the one I finally choose to live in was Bali.Bali has no major ‘must-see’ monuments, attractions or icons. I was asked the other day of about a souvenir that would represent Bali and it was very hard to pinpoint something that would sum it up.What Bali does have is an incredible, exotic culture and one of the most beautiful settings in the world. Bali has soul. It’s a rich setting that lets your imagination and heart expand. People return to Bali not to be told the same story but to hear their own story again.Bali is not about a place, food, or person. It’s about a feeling.
- The tranquility of doing yoga over a verdant rice paddy with the trickling sounds of a small river.
- The rush of surfing a 2 meter pipeline barrel.
- The exuberance of roaming with friends bar-hopping through Kuta.
- The cool sophistication of an afternoon DJ and champagne cocktail in a Seminyak beach lounge.
- The opulent luxury of an ocean-view infinity edge villa right by the beach.
- The mysticism of a Balinese Hindu cremation with fire, incense and gongs.
- The belonging you feel when a local village girl looks over and flashes one of the biggest smiles you’ve ever seen.
- The magic of watching fireflies lift off over a broad swath of rice paddies at dusk.
- The relaxation of a four handed massage, flower bath and yogurt scrub.
- The thrill of para-sailing over ocean-blue coral reefs in Nusa Dua.
- The delight of finishing a 5-course degustation menu at a fancy French restaurant and finding it costs less than a family pizza back home.
Visitors come back because it’s so hard to duplicate these feelings anywhere else in the world. Bali offers such a diverse range of experiences that everyone can find something meaningful to return to.Ironically. Bali is short for “kem-bali”. The Indonesian word for “return”.