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After my visit to Bali<\/a>, I totally saw why so many expats move there. Bali is a beautiful, cheap, and verdant tropical island worthy of everything that is written about it. If it had better Internet and ended those rolling blackouts, I would move there. <\/p>\n There’s a reason why so many “digital nomads” set up shop there. <\/p>\n I see the appeal. <\/p>\n Except for Kuta beach. <\/p>\n Kuta beach is the tourist mecca of Bali. Once you leave Kuta and the other tourist areas of Ubud and the Gili Islands<\/a>, there are so few tourists on this island that you might think Bali had yet to be \u201cdiscovered.\u201d (I was shocked at how few people explored outside the main areas. It’s there’s like an invisible barrier preventing people from getting out of their bubble.)<\/p>\n But then you get back to Kuta beach with its big bars, overpriced clothes, Western (and overpriced) food, large hotels and resorts, polluted beacj, and drunk tourists, and you sadly realize, that yup, Bali has been discovered – and then some<\/a>.<\/p>\n This place was once a lonely little village where people surfed. <\/p>\n Now is the tourist Mecca of Bali, especially for young backpackers and people who want to party to extremes.<\/p>\n In my opinion, Kuta Beach is not worth visiting. <\/p>\n It\u2019s a good place to start and end your trip as it is close to the airport but, unless you really want to do some hardcore drinking, there is no reason to visit Kuta beach. <\/p>\n In Kuta, the water is brown and filled with things like McDonald’s cups, plastic bags, trash, and god knows what else. That blue tropical water you are looking for won\u2019t be found on Kuta. For that, head to Nusa Lembogan, Eastern Bali, or the Gili Islands<\/a>. I wouldn\u2019t recommend swimming on Kuta\u2019s beach. I felt dirty and like I needed a shower.<\/p>\n Moreover, the restaurants aren\u2019t great. You\u2019ll find overpriced Indonesian food and mediocre western food in this tour. There aren\u2019t really any good places to eat here. I found a good Mexican place and there is the famous Madam’s Indonesian restaurant but the best food in Bali is not found in Kuta. If you want excellent food, visit Ubud or Seminyak beach. These are where the real award-winning delicious restaurants are.<\/p>\n The shopping in Kuta is decent and slightly cheaper than elsewhere on the island. Southern Bali is the most developed and western part of the island making sense that this would be the best place to shop. I found all the places on Bali offered a lot of the same touristy clothes and knockoffs. I did manage to find some name brand shops but they weren\u2019t as cheap as I thought they would be. The best deals were in the giant department stores. Overall though, I was unimpressed with the shopping in Kuta and would rather shop in Bangkok or Singapore.<\/p>\n So with no good beach, no good food, and mediocre shopping, what does Kuta have? <\/p>\n Resorts, surfing, and bars. <\/p>\n There are a plethora of resorts starting at $50 USD going all the way up to $1000 USD a night. (Bali has the most $1000 USD resorts in the world!) <\/p>\n
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