The shift from spending a few weeks traveling in Vanuatu to spending a few weeks traveling in Bali made for a curious transition. Not just experientially, but also visually, in terms of choosing what to post on places like Instagram.
In Vanuatu, our travel was difficult, frequently uncomfortable, rarely tourist-friendly, and mostly unique to itself. The photos and videos we shot there depict what we saw, as we saw it. There was little to crop out, because everything felt authentic to the islands we visited.
In Bali, on the other hand, our travels were reliably tourist-friendly. There were plenty of accessible things to see and do, an abundance of comfortable lodging, and enough great food, enjoyable yoga classes, and inexpensive massages to make Kiki a very happy traveler.
The thing is, Bali — and the area around Ubud in particular — is so beloved by tourists that it can be hard to depict it honestly in a photo or a video without revealing crowds of our fellow travelers, as well as all the local businesses that have sprung up to cater to them.
Hence, while I was tempted to crop out the presence of our fellow tourists in Bali, I instead present this simple footage (see below) of Kiki strolling her way through central Ubud — an area as enjoyable (and faintly interchangeable in its affordable, tourist-friendly perks) as similar districts in Chiang Mai, Luang Prabang, Siem Reap, and other bucket-list outposts across Asia.
Note: “Dispatches” are short vignettes, profiles, and mini-essays written and posted from the road, often in tandem with my Instagram account. I don’t host a “comments” section, but I’m happy to hear your thoughts via my Contact page.
Share This
