If you google “Seminyak beach” you find pictures of beautiful beaches with golden sand, amazing sunsets, and a lot of praise. Needless to say, I was quite looking forward to my visit to the beach.

The first thing I noticed was: This beach doesn’t look as tidy as I thought it would. Was it last night’s party, I wondered. I stepped into the water, and it didn’t take long before I was “attacked” by a plastic bag that was floating around in the waves. No, the visit to the beach wasn’t at all nice. There was plastic waste all over the place. In the water, and in the sand.

I must admit that though I was well aware of the problems we have with plastic in our oceans, this was in some ways an eye opener for me. To literally feel the problem on my own skin made it just more real. I know that from now on, I will strive to use less plastic, and I hope you will too.

Something I have learnt from travelling so much is that I honestly prefer not to stress too much, and Bali just invites you to unwind and take it easy. You have warm days, even when the rain pours down, so running around really isn’t very tempting.

I love going to cafés, restaurants, and look around. Talking to locals is also fascinating, to get their input on things. You learn so much from it! And Indonesians are so friendly and helpful. I think I might have fallen in love with this island, to be sure!

A visit to Bali and not trying out Balinese massage just doesn’t seem right. Though you can get good deals at the massage studios around the city, I picked the hotel spa. They had a promotion, and it was very convenient to go somewhere so close. The massage was relaxing and nice, and did wonders to my body. It all ended with a small cup of strong sweet ginger tea after I was done.

Religion and belief is very present in Bali. All over the place you find house altars, temples (both public and private ones), statues, and small offerings. The Balinese people are also well known for celebrating a lot of festival, something my taxi driver from the airport could confirm. “We celebrate festivals all the time!” he told me.

The main religion in Bali is a form of Hinduism, and they have a strong belief in spirits and demons as well. The taxi driver told me that like the Hindus in India they believed in different gods, however they thought it was the same god. So there was only the one god, but the god had different names depending on where you were and the situation. Balinese religion is definitively something I would love to learn more about.

When I visited the Nyaman Gallery (more about that later), I had a lovely chat with one of the Indonesian women working there. Of course I had to ask about the little offerings I saw outside every house, and if it was for protection. It was for giving thanks, she told me then. Thanking the spirits, the gods, and pretty much the universe. I thought that was such a beautiful thought.

Even before I left Norway, I had decided on that I wanted to visit Nyaman Gallery, located centrally in Seminyak. When I arrived, I was greeted by one of the women working there. An exhibition of the street artists Quint was just put up. Quint is an Indonesian artist originally from Jakarta, but he now lives in Bali, and is now seen as one of the most important street artists of Indonesia.

I was given a guided tour around the gallery, with an explanation on who the different artists were, their background and art. The knowledge of my guide, as well as the diversity of the art, really made a good impression, and should you ever visit Seminyak, you really should visit this gallery.