Traveling solo had only been on my bucket list for about a year, but I didn’t think I would have the opportunity to try it so soon. The idea of venturing out into the world alone, relying only on myself, and facing the challenges of navigating new cultures was both exciting and intimidating. Indonesia—specifically Bali and the Gili Islands—seemed like the perfect place to start this adventure. My goal was to push myself, not only by traveling solo, but by hiking, trying new activities, and fully immersing myself in unfamiliar territory.
My journey began in Canggu and Ubud, two of Bali’s most vibrant spots. The first few days were an introduction to the serene beauty that Bali has to offer. Here, I spent my mornings exploring the bustling streets, visiting ancient temples, and walking through the famous rice terraces.
One highlight from Ubud was visiting a coffee plantation and tasting the famous Balinese Luwak coffee. This coffee is made from beans that pass through the digestive system of a civet cat, and though initially this sounded unappealing, the coffee tasted great! I also visited and swam in a couple of waterfalls around the area.
The main highlight of my trip, however, was the midnight trek to the top of Mount Ubud. I knew I wanted to go hiking in Indonesia as it was something I knew I would find challenging but rewarding. My experience was minimal as my last hike was completing my Bronze DofE expedition around six years ago. For Mount Ubud, I first had to wake up at around midnight to meet my tour group (by which point I was unsurprisingly on very little sleep), and we then drove to the base of the mountain. At around 2 a.m., we began our ascent. The first 45 minutes of the climb were up a steep concrete road. This was physically challenging, though not at all scary. The real challenge came after, as the ascent turned into a half-hike/half-climb up an incredibly steep and rocky path. It was crowded and with no natural sunlight, we had to rely on small handheld torches to guide each step. In all honesty, I was exhausted and scared of falling, but I pushed through, with the help of the encouragement of our tour guides and the rest of the group.
We ended up reaching the summit at around 4:30 a.m., which left nearly an hour until sunrise. We enjoyed some hot chocolate, as well as the classic Mount Ubud breakfast – a boiled egg, a slice of bread, and a banana. The sunrise was breathtaking and completely worth the difficult climb. This experience has certainly affirmed to me that I will continue to hike in the future.
I had originally planned to follow up with hikes to Mount Ijen and Mount Bromo, two iconic volcanoes known for their dramatic views. Unfortunately, they were both closed during my time in Indonesia due to volcanic activity. As an alternative, I completed a sunset hike along the Campuhan Ridge. Although a very different experience to the Mount Ubud hike, the Campuhan Ridge offered amazing views and a great experience.
Following the hikes, I wanted to try something entirely new: white water rafting. I had never done it before, but enjoyed it a lot. Surprisingly, it wasn’t very physically challenging, but rowing down the rapid water and going down big jumps was still really fun.
Next, I made my way to the Gili Islands, a small cluster of islands off the coast of Bali. I stayed on Gili T specifically. What makes Gili T special is that there are no cars—just bicycles and horse-drawn carts. I spent my first day cycling around the island’s perimeter to get my bearings. The island is very small, so this only took around 30 minutes.
The following day, I embarked on my first-ever snorkeling trip. We explored three different dive spots. At the first spot, we saw lots of fish and some underwater statues. At the second, we saw lots of coral and more fish. At the third and final stop, we saw turtles (and more fish). We headed to a beach on Gili Air to eat lunch, before getting back on the boat to watch the sunset and get back to Gili T.
For the final leg of my trip, I returned to Bali and spent my last few days in Uluwatu. Here, I decided to try some surfing lessons for the first time. Surfing was extremely challenging, and I spent a lot of time falling over and getting knocked about by the waves. After about an hour however, I finally managed to start balancing on some (very beginner-level) waves quite consistently. Surfing is definitely something I’ll return to in the future.
A huge part of pushing myself by solo-traveling was not just doing a lot of things for the first time, but also the idea of being alone. It is a completely different experience to traveling with friends or family and it really forces you to both take accountability for yourself and all your decisions, but also to really push yourself socially. It certainly helps to develop your soft skills like communication and resilience, which are invaluable for everyone both professionally and personally.
