It had been 1 year, 3 months and 1 week now that I have survived settling in Bali. It took a lot of guts and a whole heart to move out to a new place without any family or friends. Lucky for me, Bali is still in Indonesia and the people speak both Indonesian and English, the two languages I expertise on. And I have friends here; both old friends, like Ana whom were my schoolmate in Binus, and new friends, like Dewi whom I met from work, so my days are not lonely.

Still, it's not easy to settle down in a new place, especially in the place where the tradition is thick and the culture is different. Here I'm helping you to adapt better, and quicker, in Bali:

1.  Ride the Bike
Everybody in Bali, both old and young, men and women, locals and tourists, ride the bike. I mean a motorcycle (which they call as 'sepeda' or bike), not a bicycle (here they call it as 'sepeda gayung'). It's like the number one transportation here because public buses' (angkot and Trans Bali) tracks are limited and do not go to small roads. Make sure you have the license (SIM C) and have learn to ride it in safe place with no traffic (try parking lots). It's much easier to ride the automatic kind than the ones with gears. Hundreds of bike rentals available along Kuta and Seminyak roads, but you can also buy yourself a bike if you certain to stay in long period in Bali. It'll help you big time, especially if you are an active and mobile person.
Price for daily rental is IDR 40,000-70,000 and monthly rental is IDR 500,000-600,000 for automatic bikes.

2.  Navigate Yourself
If you have lived all your life indoor, it's time to read the sun position now. Balinese people use compass direction to show ways to get somewhere (in case you are asking) and it's important to know which direction you are facing. Simplest way is to have the map on hand and know where the beach is. If you are in Kuta/Seminyak area, just remember that the beach is the West (kauh); if you are in Sanur or Tulamben area, the beach is the East (kangin); if you are in South Uluwatu area, the cliff is facing South (kelod) and if you are in Singaraja, the beach is the North (also kelod for it's seaward; kaja is used  toward the mountain). Better learn to read the map and stick to it, trust me. Also, Balinese people are good in calculating distance. Use the meter on your dashboard to figure out your first distances, then remember it for next calculations. It'll get better with practice.

3.  Speak Balinese
It's important to know local language when you are living there. I know Sundanese and it's a little help because the language is not so different. Buy a language book or, even better, learn from the locals. Make sure you know the most important words, such as hello/greeting (om swastyastu) and thank you (matur suksma). You can go further from there, plenty of time for this but make sure to get as much information as you can.

4.  Respect
There are people all around the world living or staying in Bali, especially in the South Bali, and they come from different places, culture, and religion. Respect is a must to survive; being open minded is another help. We can always learn something new from other people here, thus our network expands. But not only for people, we need to respect the nature also. Balinese Hindu people believe that God is in the nature, so we must treat the environment with lots of respect. Do not litter, do not damage the coral and sea life, do not damage the earth with heavy and massive structure, do adapt wild dogs, do care for the greens and reduce the use of plastic bags. Respect and be in peace with yourselves, then the universe will respect you also. Remember that karma works fast in Bali!

5.  Dress Properly
Balinese people have so many ceremonies they can ask for leave for up to 13 days in a month when they work. Big chance you will be invited to attend or to invite yourself to one of their sacred rituals. For women, the simplest and most common dress is kebaya just like in Java (a tube top/long torso/girdle with a brocade/chiffon blouse on top of it and a wastra cloth wrapping and covering the legs), but with a prada belt (a shawl wrapped around the hips) and for men, they wear udeng or headband, a shirt, and for the bottom part there are a wastra cloth, a kampuh cloth on top of it, and an umpal (a shawl) to tie up the cloths. You can add a flower on your hair/on the back of your ear. If you want to respect the host of the ceremony, dress up!
image taken via sphotos


You really don't have to wear the traditional dress everyday or speak Balinese all the time for sure. 99% of people in South Bali speaks English and other international languages. But it's nice to have all the points above so you can blend more easily with the locals, especially the ones that are not in the South Bali. Good luck for that!