Bali’s curiosities : 5 Things you probably didn’t know

Bali is a mixture of sensations and culture.
During my trip around the island, the thing that impressed me the most have been the people , their infinite kindness , customs and faith.
Bali’s curiosities are super interesting; I absolutely recommend you to come here at least once in a lifetime to have the possibility of knowing them and see them with your eyes.
Bali will surprise you with its forests, narrow roads, beautiful beaches and breathtaking landscapes.
With the habits of every inhabitants and with their smile.
In this article I wrote about 5 Bali’s curiosities that totally kept my attention while visiting the island :

1 . The meaning of the horn

The traffic in Bali is maybe its only negative aspect because we’re talking about a population of more than 4Milion inhabitants that lives in a surface of 5,6milion square kilometres.
From the first moment the thing that will catch your attention will be the constant sound of the horn. In Bali people drive like crazy! They use the horn repeatedly just to say “pay attention, there’s me too” and not with the meaning of “move!” or “wake up” or something bad.
For what concern local taxis instead, they use the horn to get noticed, simply because they want you to get in.

So during your stay in Bali don’t be afraid about the horn it’s just pretty normal.

2 . Everyone’s name is Nyoman!

During your stay in the island, you will definitely meet and talk with balinese inhabitants and when you will ask for their name you will figure it out that they are called almost the same!

In Bali, kids are named according to their birth order: so the first-born is named Wayan, Putu or Gede, the second Made or Kadek, the third Nyoman or Komang and the fourth Ketut. It doesn’t matter if they are female or male, sometimes they just add to the name “Ni” as prefix to the name if the child is a girl while “I” as a prefix to a boy’s name.

If a family has more than 4 children they start over with the names above adding the prefix Balik.
But that’s not all.
In addiction to the names I’ve listed above coexist others related to religion.
Bali is the Gods and Spirits’ island due to a form of hinduism associated to the ancestors cult. For this reason you could meet people named like Dewa, Desak that belong to the aristocratic class or Ngurah, Tjokorda which belong to the warrior class.
In any case, if you meet someone called Nyoman you will surely know that he/she is the third in the birth order of the family.

3 .The flowered basket placed everywhere

While strolling or driving trhough the streets, it often occurs to see little flowered baskets placed in every corner of the houses, above the religious statues, inside the cars and even on the motorcycles. They are called Canang Sari and they are daily offerings made by Balinese Hindus to thanks both good and bad Gods.

4 . Online taxi are forbidden

I dint’t know that online taxis were forbidden until I saw several signs which exactly prohibit it. I used to call Uber in the other states so I thought it was normal to call a taxi through an App.
I asked balinese people why this occurs in their island and they explain me that technically, ride sharing apps are LEGAL in Bali but the government try to defend the local transports because online taxis seem to take money out of the local villages because they are very much cheaper.

However there are areas in which you can take an online taxi and here I give you some TIPS on using the Go-Jek app, which has been voted in the Top 10 Most Powerful Brands in Indonesia, plus GOOGLE just invested in it!

Tips to use Taxi apps:

Do it discretely. Try to not being so obvious while you wait is a great idea and be prepared to get questioned: you of course are not taking an online taxi, right?
Don’t try to order a Go-jek to a hotel that doesn’t allow it. Just walk down the street PAST the ‘No Go-Jek’ signs and pick it up there.
You can pay ONLY by cash so make sure you have correct amount, usually they don’t have the right change.
A fair taxi price is: 7,000 IDR to start and 6,500 IDR per KM while a fair waiting price is: around 50,000 per hour. These are honest prices so pay attention to anyone is trying to trick you.
Getting a taxi from the Bali airport will be more expensive than a normal fare. Here are examples of the latest fares in 2019:
Canggu 225,000 IDR
Denpasar 130,000 IDR
Jimbaran 100,000 IDR
Nusa Dua 150,000 IDR
Seminyak 110,000 IDR
Ubud 300,000 IDR

Chosing to use apps like Grab or Go-jek allows you to save a lot of money in transports. The fact that they are prohibited in several areas is an actual and vivid debate among the island’s population. For this reason, although they are legal, i suggest you to use them discretely.

5 . There is a funny way to get on a boat

Among these Bali’s curiosities, this is the most fun!
One day we booked an excursion from Bali to Nusa Penida, an amazing and wild island very close to Bali which deserve to be visited. (LINK HERE)
The excursion included the boat trip, the lunch and the private driver which also was our private guide.
The tour started from Sanur Harbour and here I found the curiosity I’m writing about.

Sanur is a very important harbour in Bali, attended by a lot of tourists but it has no quays or platforms that allow people to get on boats. I had a lot of fun trying to save my dress from the waves to reach the boat but I saw other people definetly would not agree with my point of view !