Dreaming International: Bali & Singapore

Lured by an acro yoga festival (more photos from that to come) in Ubud, I traveled to Bali for the first time. I think it’s cute that my brother and I independently both went to Bali, Singapore, and Bangkok for the first time over the past year. One of the best parts was that my high school best friend joined me in Ubud, after visiting me in Taipei for a couple days.

I had a fantastic time surfing the big rolling waves of Canggu, but Bali was not what I was expecting. It is extremely touristy, with very little meaningful interaction between locals and expats, which I’ve come to treasure in Taipei. I learned 50% of Bali’s GDP comes from tourism. There’s also quite a bit of pollution; the beach at Kuta was so dirty we didn’t even swim. Even to reach the nice natural escapes, it’s crushing to maneuver through all the dangerous traffic.

Offerings placed before every doorstep daily

Uma Andar Waterfall

Besides an insular trip to Jakarta (on a different island) in 2016, my main contact with Indonesia has been my Indo friends studying at NTU. They all look just like Taiwanese people (but don’t speak Mandarin), so I assumed most Indonesians looked East Asian. The reality is that Balinese people are darker skinned and Hindu—making Bali a destination if you’re looking to eat pork in mostly Muslim Indonesia. The Indonesians who do go to Taiwan end up being wealthier Chinese diasporas. I also didn’t realize how far Indonesia is from Taiwan. I had to transfer planes in Singapore and cross south of the Equator to get there, but the tropical weather was worth it.

Monkey Forest was FILLED with monkeys

While my travel buddy was felled by Bali belly and unable to leave the hostel, I fell head over heels for Singapore during a one-day layover on the way home. It’s extremely diverse but in a different way than the American melting pot. From the mix of Chinese, Indians, and Malays who immigrated there, Singaporeans have a charmingly unique English accent. I didn’t witness much mixing between the communities, however. The neighborhoods even smelled different, the food in each was so authentically distinct. It was SO different than the flat version of the city depicted in Crazy Rich Asians, but I suppose the movie does effectively communicate the disproportionate purchasing power of the lighter skinned residents.

Sultan Mosque

Sri Mariamman Temple

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple

Singapore reminded me a bit of Hong Kong, less posh but still an Asia metropolis that has benefited from the free trade economic growth of its colonialist past—i.e. both places my grandma loves to go for shopping. Raffles’ name is still everywhere around the island. The urban architecture seems inspired by the tropics, with fantastical skyscrapers heavy with jungle plants.