February 28, 2019

Bali, Indonesia

Our approach: We travelled to Bali at the end 2018 to celebrate New Year. We had just moved in together so we did not get a lot of time to plan this trip. We relied on Instagram and a few good friends for recommendations. We booked our day trips using Bali Sun Tours which made it a lot easier. We also planned in rest days as we wanted to make sure we relaxed rather than travelling every single day.

Where we stayed: Astagina Resort and Spa

Where we ate:

Places we visited

We landed in Bali around 9pm. By the time we checked in to the hotel, it was 10pm. We were told that most outside restaurants would be closed so the only option we had was to dine at our hotel.

Day 1

We were super excited to head out to the streets to explore. We looked up a breakfast place that was about 30 mins away by foot. We loved the vibe at Crumb and Coaster. We visited Ground Zero memorial from here and later drank coconuts at Double Six Beach. We explored the streets near our hotel and ended up walking about 15000 steps. Later that night, we attended a NYE gala at our hotel which was pretty nice. We got a chance to watch Balinese dancing and a band play. We were getting too sleepy to stay as our Aussie time was 3 hours ahead. We came back to our room, got ready for bed and turned off all the lights. Then we watched the fireworks from our bed. The view wasn’t spectacular but it was pretty good.

Day 2

We left the hotel just after 8:30am in a private taxi booked with Bali Sun Tours. The first stop was Bali Swings which was about 1.5 hours away from our hotel. We chose this spot because we had seen too many Instagram pics at this location. We loved the drive to Ubud where we got to see the Balinese countryside and small towns/ villages. The rides were incredible but some were very crowded. We spent a lot of time waiting for our turns at one of these spots and decided to go for the ones that had a shorter queue.

We had a Balinese breakfast and lunch here. It was getting very hot so we cooled down with a coconut. It started to rain just as I was waiting to go on my last swing. Soon enough, everyone had to duck indoors because the rain got too heavy. We were pretty drenched but decided to continue our journey to Blanco Renaissance Museum. We had chosen a museum with the hope that it’ll be an indoor space. On our way there, the rain cleared and we were able to get some decent pictures here which involved parrots sitting on our hands. The last stop for the day was Saraswati Temple which was literally a 3 min drive from here. This was our first time visiting a Balinese temple so we loved the experience here. We went to a sip a drink afterwards while starting at the Lotus pond behind us. At this cafe, we sat on the floor with a lower table which was a unique experience. We had dinner at Blue 9 Beach. I loved trying a dish called Pepes Ikan which was fish cooked in banana leaf. We headed home early as we had an early start the next day.

Day 3
We woke up at 4:45am and managed to get ready by 6am. We got dropped off at Sanur wharf and waited for the jet boat to arrive which was a rather long wait. Then we went to Nusa Penida. We were put in groups of 5 or 6 and had a driver with us to show us around Kelingking Beach, Angel’s Billabong and Crystal Bay. Unfortunately, there was a big crowd and it took us a long time to get photos. We had lunch at a local restaurant where I had the best guava juice. On the way back, I started feeling sick. We got off at a restaurant near our hotel to grab some dinner. I was too sick to eat so I packed up my food. I went to bed early with the hope to sleep it off.

Kelingking

Read more at: http://www.bali-indonesia.com/magazine/kelingking-beach.htm?cid=ch:OTH:001

beach, Angel’s Billabong and Crystal Bay. Unfortunately, there was a big crowd and it took us a long time to get photos. We had lunch at a local restaurant where I had the best guava juice. On the way back, I started feeling sick. We got off at a restaurant near our hotel to grab some dinner. I was too sick to eat so I packed up my food. I went to bed early with the hope to sleep it off.

Angel’s Billabong (Nusa Penida)

Day 4
I spent most of today recovering in bed. The good thing was that we had nothing planned for today. I wasn’t too well by lunch time so we decided we get room service. By evening, I felt well enough to go out so we went to Made’s Warung. This restaurant was recommended to me by an Indonesian friend. The atmosphere here was lovely. I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone wanting to try authentic Balinese or Indonesian cuisine

Day 5
We had booked a day tour with Bali Sun Tours which was a Green Luminious tour in Ubud. We left around 8:30am. We started our day with watching batik and jewellery making at a factory. This was followed by visiting a coffee and tea plantation where we tasted multiple drinks. Next, we visited Batuan Village Temple where we tried on a sarong for the first time (they are compulsory at most Balinese temples). Tegenungan Waterfall had the most spectacular view. It was a very busy time so we didn’t many good photos but we loved being able to go all the way down. It felt like quite a workout in the humidity but it was very much worth it. Other highlights from this tour included Tegalalang Rice Terrace and lunch at Boni Bali restaurant. Here, we had lunch with the best view of Tegalalang. We were the only ones in the restaurant which felt like a very special treatment. After coming back to our hotel, we went for a long walk to a store that was recommended by a Balinese friend.

Tegallalang Rice Terrace
Balinese fish curry and rice
Hello from my nest!

Day 6

We had another day tour booked with Bali Sun Tours which included Parasailing at Tanoa water sports, visiting Uluwatu Temple, Padang-Padang beach and Jimbaran Bay. It was our first time parasailing and both of us really enjoyed it. Next stop was Uluwatu Temple which was absolutely breathtaking. We saw a lot monkeys around here but we were scared to interact after witnessing a tourist lose her shoe to a monkey! We stopped to have lunch at a Balinese place recommended by our driver. The last stop for our day was Jimbaran Bay which is famous for its seafood.  Unfortunately, we had just eaten lunch before coming here so we had no space to try any. So, we took our time to explore the area and cooled down with a drink before leaving. We were very exhausted after coming home and fell asleep without dinner.

Loved the view from Uluwatu Temple

Day 7

We went for a long walk to find breakfast because we wanted to take our time deciding on the last day. We returned to our hotel to check out and went out buy souvenirs. We still had a lot of time to kill so we treated ourselves so a massage and pedicure at our hotel. For lunch, we chose a Balinese restaurant near us where I tried Ikan goreng jahi. Then it was time to head to the airport. My upset stomach had worsened by this time so I was really happy to be coming back home. TIP: exercise caution when eating out. Bali Belly is more common than you think!

From Bali, with love

Final thoughts

While we did have a few negative experiences, we absolutely loved Bali! My highlights were Bali Swings, Tegenungan Waterfall and Tegallalang Rice Terrace. And let’s not forget the food and drinks. We loved the fresh juices. Here are 3 tips for any future travellers:

  1. Be wary when talking to strangers as some locals may try to take advantage of you; having said that, the majority of the Balinese people are lovely! On our first day, we had an encounter with a guy which turned into a rather strange experience. Initially, it looked like he was advertising or handing out flyers; however, he scratched off two cards in front of us and told us that we had apparently won a prize. I had won a t-shirt and my partner had won the first prize which was a stay at their hotel and cash to spend. He asked us to go there with him in the taxi to claim the prize. I told him that we’d go on another day as it was close to where we were going later. However, he said that he offer was only valid on that day. He was rather pushy with his approach. Luckily, for us we knew that if it’s too good to be true, it probably is!
  2. The prices of items can vary a lot depending on where you go and who you buy from. Any shops located around the touristy area will charge you more. Feel free to haggle if you can. We have very little skills to bargain so we only bought things from places that had a price tag.
  3. Don’t worry about withdrawing large amounts of cash before you leave as they have plenty of places to exchange currency. If you’re staying in the touristy area, you’ll find places to multiple places to exchange at every street! We initially found it hard to get the large currency conversion in our head but soon realised that 100 000 Rupiah equates to about $10 AUD.