If you spend any amount of time on Instagram, you’re familiar with the photos of girls in flowy dresses, flower crowns, sunsets, fresh fruit and incredible temples. The thing all these photos have in common is they are all in Bali, Indonesia (and leave me judging myself, but I digress).

Bali seems to have become the mecca for digital nomads and yogis taking a break from life and they sure make it look pretty relaxing and luxurious.

I was excited to go to Bali but soon realized this was not the place for me. That’s just my experience – everyone has a different one! However, you may want to know these 15 things before you go because certainly, no one told me any of this.

1. Bali is a whole island, not one individual place. Look, I’m being honest here and you can judge me all you want. Until I actually started researching Bali, I had never thought of it much. As a result, I kind of thought it was just one tiny island with one place – sort of like Singapore. Wrong! Bali is a pretty big island and you’re going to have vastly different experiences depending on where you go.

2. Denpasar is probably not worth your time. If I’m being honest, I hated everything about Denpasar. I know other people who love it, but my experience wasn’t positive. The beaches were all really dirty and filled with trash (a persistent problem for many Asian countries and it makes me sad), there are tons of tourist scams you need to be aware of, it was filled with Australian bogans (kind of like an American hick), and the people.

The people were the worst. I had very positive experiences with Indonesians… outside of Denpasar. I couldn’t even walk down the street for one block without some man grabbing me, shouting at me, honking at me. Not my favorite place. Bringing me to my next point.

3. Bali is a place for you to experience nature and beaches – not a city. The reason I say skip Denpasar is because the real beauty of Bali is in the northern beaches and the rural areas. No one goes to Bali for a city, so skip Denpasar and head into the mountains or to some of the less touristy beaches.

4. You need to go to Ubud. I loved everything about Ubud. It’s in the mountains sort of in the center of the island. The people were lovely, the scenery was stunning and it was everything I’d hoped Bali would be.

5. The monkeys are pure evil. You probably already knew this if you have spent any amount of time in Asia, but just be prepared. They’re thieving little jerks. You look at them and think they’re all cute and sweet, but to them, you’re just another mark.

In fact, monkeys are sacred in Indonesia, so basically they just get free run of the place. I mean, just think about what happens if you never tell a kid no… There you go.

Make sure you keep anything loose locked up in a bag where they can’t get to it. Some of them even know how to open bags. I almost lost the sunglasses on my head to one little pilfering gremlin.

6. Only take Blue Bird taxis and be wary of companies that impersonate them. The only official taxi service in Bali is Blue Bird and they’re the only ones you should trust. Sadly, there are many companies that rip off the Blue Bird branding and look incredibly similar. They will rip you off. If something doesn’t quite look right, run away.

7. You have to try watermelon juice because it’s the best thing man ever created. This applies to many places in Asia, but watermelon juice is abundant and delicious. Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity.

8. You’ll think everything is a temple. Even the grocery store. Ok, ok, that last one was a little dramatic, but everything looks like a temple because that’s just the way the architecture is. Houses look like temples, shrines look like temples, everything is a temple. You’ll love it.

9. Motorbikes are the primary way of getting around – be careful or you’ll be run over. This is true for many Asian countries, but Bali is no exception. The vast majority of people get around by motorbike and there seem to be very few road rules, and if there are any, no one is following them.

10. The food will spoil you rotten and you’ll start every meal with, ‘When I was in Bali…’ The food is so amazing and was, honestly, probably my favorite part. Mie Goreng is now one of my favorite dishes and I would seriously consider buying a flight to Bali just to eat it for dinner.

11. On that note, be very careful about what you’re eating because it may be dog meat. In 2017, there was widespread outcry when Australian news media revealed that many places were making satay with dog meat.

Selling dog meat isn’t actually illegal in Bali, but it turned out many places would indicate it was dog meat using a sign “RW” and many tourists didn’t know what that meant. If you’re unsure, I would say skip the meat all together that time.

12. On the subject of slightly disgusting things you consume, the most expensive coffee is made from actual excrement. Kopi Luwak is a famous kind of coffee in Indonesia and other parts of Asia, but what you may not know is that the coffee beans are harvested from the excrement of the civet cat. The civet cat consumes coffee cherries and passes the seeds undigested, then locals use those to brew the coffee.

13. Monsoon season is between October and April and when it rains, it pours. I have never seen rain quite like what I saw in Bali and haven’t seen anything since. If you’re going during the wet season, make sure you’re prepared for the completely out of the blue downpour.

14. If you’re not comfortable riding a motorbike, hiring a car is the best way to get around Bali. Hiring cars are much cheaper in Bali than they are in many other places, making it an excellent way to get around the island. We hired a local driver to take us back to Denpasar from Ubud (about an hour drive) for about US$20. You can hire a car for the day for usually around US$40.

15. Sunrises in Bali are truly magnificent and you should definitely wake up early for them. I’m not really a late rise, but I also don’t like to get up at the crack of dawn. However, in Bali, you should at least once because these sunrises will rock your world.

I still have mixed feelings about Bali and I’m not sure I’d return, especially because there are so many other places I want to see in the world. It has some good parts and bad parts, as with many destinations, but I can say it gave me some pretty memorable experiences.

Have you been to Bali? What do you wish someone had told you before you went?