You have probably heard some funny stories about people booking flights to their dream destinations and arriving at a place bearing the same name but located a long way away from the one they THINK they’re going to. Seasoned travellers will never find themselves in such situations as nowadays flight search tools automatically offer a dropout menu, which greatly diminishes the possibility for you to fly to Naples in Florida instead of Naples in Italy. Why am I telling you this?
Two months ago, we left Bali and got sick after a freezing 11 hour long flight. The kids recovered quite quickly but I was fighting a terrible fever for three days. During these days I managed to read all possible forums about being sick after returning from Bali. That’s what you do when you are on the road and don’t have your doctor just around the corner, right? In the end, I had convinced myself that either I’ll be totally fine or I have a whole spectrum of weird Bali bugs – the choice totally depended on my mood and part of the day. On the fourth day, my husband found a doctor… just around the corner from our current base in Crete, Greece. I told this doctor that I have recently returned from Bali, to which he instantly responded by asking – Bali in Bali or Bali here? I looked at him confused but this is exactly how I found out there is Bali on this Greek island.
A month later we rented a car and went to check out this Greek Bali. We managed to confuse our friends by saying that we went to a beach in Bali but we didn’t lie. Here is the road sign to prove it.
Bali in Crete is a resort town that can be easily reached by car or by bus from any of the cities nearby. Back in time, this is where the ancient city of Astali was located. The current name comes from Turkish and according to two most popular beliefs means either “honey” (balli in Turkish) or “fish” (ballik).
There are four beaches located one after another. We parked the car and walked along the shore down to the last beach – Karavostasis. I was told it is the smallest but also the nicest out of the four. This sandy beach was a bit crowded, however the water is calm, there are changing rooms, showers and a taverna nearby. A good choice for families with small children.
We spent some time there and then chose a taverna with a fantastic view to enjoy refreshing drinks. That taverna has been there for decades. The view was nice, the food was ok, the service was neither of the two but none of us complained. Bottled drinks taste the same wherever you go, right? Here’s to always reaching the right destination!
P.S. I got better the next day after I visited the doctor. It wasn’t anything Bali related. I was just totally dehydrated. Drink more, people!