This means that we’ve not just explored the beautiful spots and people but so much more! We have so many experiences in both of these countries that can help you to know about the culture, people, good experiences and the bad experiences that are you are likely to experience!
Although we all left with good memories of each travel even after having bad experiences, hence, we’ll start this topic on a note that visiting every country is worth it! Because travel is not just about visiting spots but also about learning and experiencing situations like a local. That’s what truly makes you knowledgable about the culture!
If you’re planning for a vacation and choosing between both the countries, this post is everything you need! However, if you want to know about the experiences we had while visiting the spots in these countries, check out my other blog posts! This one’s aimed to look at the countries from a macro point of view. Let’s break this in five categories-
1- Culture & People
2– Spots
3- Drawbacks
4- How many days should one stay
and last but not the least-
5- Which island is our favourite!
CULTURE & PEOPLE
Bali has an interesting and rich culture! A culture which is all about simplicity and a believe that there is an energy above our ability to see them but yet, they are with us, which is God! Hence, these people are extremely humble and can be considered as examples of always performing good karmas. It isn’t like most of the countries nowadays that some of the population believes in god and some do not! Each native here carries a belief of how natural and basic is the presence of evil as well as the good energy! Significance here is also given to demons along with the Gods. Which is why, in almost every spot and house, you’ll see the idols, presenting the appearance of both the energies.
Although in Indonesia, the culture of this island is so much about hinduism! Just like our country, India, idols of gods like Hanuman, Vishnu, Shiv and Ganpati are worshipped here! Because the history is very strongly about the presence and stories of these Gods! However, if you think that there are dogmatic beliefs and practises as well, not at all! These people are not into performing worshipping practises directly to the idols, basically religious activities and believes more in the divine energy which does not have an appearance. Hence the kriyas (activities) that they perform to worship god are very simple.
One thing that you’ll see everywhere, even the beaches, gardens and roads are offerings consisting of flower and leaves. This is not to be stepped on.
The fact that despite Bali being an island where so many tourists are attracted for its beauty known by the entire world, the island is not much commercialised and the natives are extremely down to earth! They live a simple life just like people living in countrysides. They provide all the services, whether its food, driving, tourism activities, anything, with great hospitality!
Bali has a hospitality culture!
A lot of firms are dominated by Australians here, hence you’ll see many Australian people here.
Mauritius Now,
This one also being an island is very different than Bali! Located in the the Eastern Africa, Its diverse in culture! You’ll see people here from many nationalities. An interesting fact- The native language here is french! Yes, this is because the history is very strongly about the french people ruling this island which was earlier called the french colony. Moreover, a few spots are famous for the unfortunate and fortunate incidents that happened earlier.
Mauritian too is a dominating language here, which we got to know after a few days during our stay! Along with that, there are a lot of Indians and Mauritian people originated from India and hence, Hindi is, not widely though, but spoken! We were quite surprised while speaking to a receptionist of a spot that we visited during our third week who spoke Hindi. You’ll also see a few popular spots based on Hinduism here, especially temples! And of course, we have African and Mauritian people here but more than half of the population is of people who are originated from different countries! Which is why, I say that Mauritius is a diverse country!
Talking about the natives here, they are welcoming to tourists however, we had a few unfortunate incidents here which I’ll talk in the ‘drawbacks section’ in which a few natives of the island were involved.
2- SPOTS
Alright! The part for which you all might be waiting for and questioning….What kind of spots do we get to visit in these islands? So here it is!
Although both of the islands are popular for the scenic sights andF beaches, Bali is more on the side where you’ll experience just nature and not much city life. Well, how much city life you’ll get to experience varies from city to city here.
Amed, which was the very first city that we moved to, is very pleasant and calm! There are no, absolute no party and night dining spots here. The ambiance of each spot here, I mean each spot is very simple. The calmness that you experience here is so meditative! Travellers who do not enjoy the hustle-bustle areas and want to experience more of nature, this is the perfect city to live! Even if you’re more of a city person, you’ll still love the experiences and exertions here that feel therapeutic! The spots that you’ll visit here aren’t less than a fantasy land! I swear! A city like this can be a city of your imagination!
I celebrated my birthday at Blue Earth Village Sunset Point! The moments couldn’t get more aesthetic that day! I remember cutting two cupcakes of pista flavour instead of cake!
You are very less likely to find desserts here!
Popular spots like Lempuyang temple, Tirtha Ganga water palace, quite beaches and sunset points that we visited are located here!
Talking about Tabanan (city), which is too famous for its scenic spots but what’s different is that there are spots that keeps us engaged in the activities and shows! More facilities our available in the accommodations located here and what you’ll basically see is that efforts are put to satisfy the tourists here with their services of any kind! In terms of the people and ambiance, its quite lively here if compared with Amed.
Visiting, Bali bird park, Tanah Lot temple and Butterfly park, were the spots that we really enjoyed in this city!
Cities like Ubud and Canggu are now even creative in terms of the ambiance and our shift to each city after this felt like moving more towards the city life. In the night, you’ll see the lit up ambiance and our favourite activity was street shopping! Beach clubs which are extremely popular here are located in these cities. Here, you can also find plush villas on Air BNB to stay! The food options too here are many and you finally have restaurants that serve properly cooked and spiced foods such as pizza and noodles! I remember, I really wanted to spend my birthday, which fell in the first week of ours in Bali, in a beach club but couldn’t as Canggu was around 6-7 hours away from Amed!
Popular spots like, Monkey forest, Saraswati temple and Blanco Renaissance museum that we visited are located in Ubud
Whereas, popular spots like, Fins beach club and Canggu beach that we visited are in the city, Canggu!
Here is the list of all the spots that we visited in Bali-
1- Amed beach 11- Tanhalot Temple 21- Canggu Beach
2- Lempuyang temple 12- Butterfly Park 22- Fins Beach Club
3- Maha Kencana Paradise 13- Taman Bung Karno 23- Uluwatu Temple
4- Tirta Gangga (Karangasem) 14- Anom Palace 24- Padang Padang Beach
5- Taman Ujung water palace 15- Jatiluwih Rice Terraces 25- Tegenungan Waterfall
6- Blue Earth Village sunset point 16- Ulandanu Temple 26- Bali Swing
7- Japanese Shipwreck (for snorkeling) 17- Monkey Forest 27- Double Six Beach
8- Luwak Coffee Plantation 18- Mount Batur (trek) 28- Sunday’s Beach Club
9- Silver Factory museum 19- Blanco Rennaisance Museum
10- Bali Bird Park 20- Saraswati Temple
Let’s get into Mauritus now! The culture does not differ from city to city here, like Bali, but the kind of spots do!
Quatre Bornes, being a crowded city has spots with a lot of crowd. Especially on the beaches! In Mauritius, you have many restaurants open during night, till 10ish unlike Bali, however, people here seem to be very leisure oriented and hence you’ll find many shops and restaurants closed during the noon, near the beaches. Here you are likely to find a lot of small cafes and restaurants with themed ambiance that serve you vegetarian, although the options are very few, but cooked and spiced food! Other than that, you’ll find a lot of viewpoints, waterfalls and museums here!
Port Louis, Oh My! Our saviour when it was time to eat! This city is the capital of Mauritius and the city…its a typical commercial city! Here you’ll find many franchisees of food and any kind of food that you prefer are available here! Our comfort and energy food is Indian and that’s what we used to have here! You have so so many luxury shopping malls in this city that you very less likely to find elsewhere! Hence this is the city you would like you find yourself in when you want to do shopping, eat or just relax leisurely! The routes are confusing however and this city can be very far, depending on which city you’re staying currently! From Quatre Bornes, it took us around 1 and a half hour to get into the city and find a spot to eat.
Caudan Waterfront and Bagatelle Mall, that we visited are a few popular spots located here!
The village, Chamarel, is where you’ll find the best quality beaches, breath taking viewpoints and spots! The best part is that you’ll see no crowd on the beaches and viewpoints! The scenes look unreal here! Although, this village being a part of the hill is extremely confusing and it may take time to reach to any spot here! You are very likely to find a lot of beaches and viewpoints here in between!
The Seven Coloured Earth and Chamarel waterfall are a few popular spots that we visited here!
Flacq, here too you will find beautiful and clear beaches. We had our one of the best experiences in this island, Catamaran Cruise! However, you are very unlikely to find other spots here, especially restaurants and spots to visit! I remember, it took us more than a hour to search for a good restaurant and yet we didn’t came across any! We also had the best stay in the villa which was located here!
Trou d’eau douce beach, GRSE Waterfall and Bras D’eau national park are a few popular spots that we visited here!
Cap Malheureux, I remember this one because of its brightly coloured spots! Here you can visit beautiful churches, temples and beaches! Grand Baie is a village located in this city and that’s where you’ll get to see these spots. Port Louis is comparatively near from here than other cities. I remember our introduction to the accommodation with a unique concept by the host. We didn’t visit any spot particularly in this city as we had done that before but it would have saved a lot of time if we had visited those spots in the last week.
Note Dame beach and Taloum Temple are a few popular spots that we visited in this city!
Here is the list of all the spots we visited in Mauritius-
1- Flic en Flac beach 11- Le Morne Beach 21- GRSE Waterfall
2- Machhapuchre View Point 12- Pamplemousse Botanical Garden 22- Ile Au Cerf Beach
3- Alexandra waterfalls 13- Midlands Dam 23- Hibiscus beach
4- Bel Ombre Biosphere Reserve 14- Grand Baie Beach 24- La Croisette Mall
5- Bagatelle Mall 15- Viewpoint in Baie du Cap Chamarel Case Noyale Road
6- Chateau De Labourdonnais 16- Baie Du Tamarin beach 25- Bain Boeuf Beach
7- Casela Nature Park 17- La City Trianon mall 26- Mahogany Mall
8- Grand Bassin 18- Chamarel waterfall 27- Tamarin falls
9- Notre Dame Church 19- The Seven Coloured Earth 28- Point au Pigment beach
10- Taloum Temple 20- Caudan Waterfront
DRAWBACKS–
Although Bali is heaven filled with scenic nature, you might not find here a city vibe, what I mean is there are no malls or any city element here.
Moreover, natives here love their simple food, which means half cooked and almost raw meals. No spice and no extravagant ingredients that we are used to find in our food. Moreover, desserts, there are hardly any! I remember cutting pista cupcakes instead of a cake, although I enjoyed that, it is kinda interesting to share the fact. Although, in cities like Canggu, its less likely to be a case. However, vegetarian options are still quite less
Another, although its a common drawback and not just in Bali, you’re very likely to fall in the trap of amazing photos of accommodations and in reality, its just a small house with lack of facilities and cleanliness. It turned out to be quite disappointing at the same time, funny for all of us. Thanks to that one trap though, in Tabanan, as it was replaced by an amazing villa that turned out to be our favourite accommodation in Bali!
Mauritius, on the contrary, does have a city life but thats where you’re likely to have properly cooked and spiced meals and not in other areas such as Quatre Bornes and Flacq! Moreover, even a salad with a bare minimum quantity is very pricey in these areas! Hence, the problem of food remains here as well as well as the less availability of vegetarian food!
One major drawback here is the likeliness of your possessions to be stolen while you travel! One such case that I’ll share from our experience is when our drone got stolen. We left our bag with drone as well as passport in it by mistake which got disappeared after we realised and came back to the same spot. We spent almost 2-3 days in finding these dearly possessions by contacting the police, this was the biggest turn off! Even the police was not of any help unfortunately!
Our other possessions were stolen after a few days while we were enjoying at the beach and this really disappointed us!
This wasn’t the case in Bali at all!
FOR HOW MANY DAYS SHOULD ONE STAY?
If you love to wander in nature and have absolutely no issues with the points I mentioned previously, you can live here for a month or even two! We stayed in this beautiful island for a month and we absolutely loved each and every experience we had here! This petite island called Bali has so many scenic spots to visit and not just spots, other activities as well such as workshops, Yes! Perfect place to be in if you want to rewind and detach yourself for a while from the materialistic world.
Mauritius, although the scenes are as magnificent here as in Bali, we realised that we do not have as many spots here and felt quite bored in the last week! Although, if you want to take classes for water activities such as surfing, feel free to do so and stay here for a long duration. However, you might feel that living for a month is quite long. Hence, two weeks is a perfect duration to explore this island.
WHICH ISLAND IS OUR FAVOURITE?
If there’s one place that we would like to visit again, that is definitely Bali! Why? Thats because of the culture that stands out, the native people, scenic views and specially the tranquil here! Every single thing about this island is simply magical! I’ll call this place a wonderland because it truly is!
This blog post is everything that you need in order to decide and compare between both of these popular islands for your next vacation!
Do let me know about how did you find this blog and do not forget to read other blog posts like these and on other topics such as writing and teenage personal developement!
Until then, Au Revoir!
