What comes to your mind when you think of Bali? Many people associate Bali with things like — cheap booze, nasty cocktails, Bali belly, crowded streets and drunkard schoolies! But when I think of Bali, I think of the movie “Eat Pray Love”, soothing bamboo and flute music, warm weather, beautiful Balinese villas, luscious green rice fields, pagoda style temples, rejuvenating massages and warm hospitality.
There are some places that your heart desires to go again and again. There is something about the place that brings you back there. Bali is certainly that place for me. Kashmir in India and South Island in New Zealand are two other places that I can’t wait to go back!
I visited Bali about a year ago and needed another holiday. I was weighing up lot of options but my heart kept coming back to Bali. Thinking rationally, it did not make any sense to go and fork out money on the same place within a year! My mind was distracting me with all sorts of arguments why I should NOT go to Bali and spend the money exploring a different place. But I am glad I listened to my heart over head. Recently I made my second trip to Bali and had an absolute blast!
It makes no difference what kind of person you are when you go to Bali.
Whether you fancy a romantic getaway
OR
You are into yoga, meditation and have spiritual calling.
OR
You want to drink, party hard and get thrashed.
OR
You are an adventurous kind who is into activities like snorkeling, scuba diving, jet boating, para sailing, hiking up the volcano or simply taking a stroll through the serene villages or riding a bike along the rice fields.
OR
You want to experience completely different culture, tradition and food.
OR
You are like me who doesn’t want to do anything and just chill.
Bali got everything covered!
Ubud
I love this small town in the hills, away from the coast and away from the hustle bustle of Seminiyak and Kuta. I just love the vibe of this place. If you have more days, I highly recommend splitting your stay between Ubud and somewhere near the coast (Seminiyak, Kuta, Sanur, Nusa Dua etc). If you are into things like wood carvings, paintings, handicrafts, yoga retreats -Ubud is the place. Ubud market is a great place to do some souvenir shopping. Accommodation is one of the very important aspects of Bali trip and you will be amazed to see the number of options available. You can spend from 100$ to 1000$ a night depending on the size of your pocket. I personally prefer private villa with traditional Balinese ambiance. We stayed at The Ubud Village Resort & Spa (http://resort.theubudvillage.com/) and it was well worth the money.
It is situated in a beautiful setting surrounded by terraced rice paddies and tall coconut trees. It has a beautiful infinity pool where you can enjoy the swim or simply relax with a drink. The resort has in-house restaurant and 24 hrs in room service which I find it very useful. I always feel more hungry while on holidays! The resort also offers free shuttle to Ubud town which is quite handy. You can book all your sight seeing activities at the reception and I found the staff extremely friendly.
Rock Bar
(http://ayanaresort.com/rockbarbali/)
Love this place. I can’t recommend this enough. It’s a great place to see the Sun going down while enjoying a chilled Bintang. The sky goes through some breathtaking color changes while the sun slowly dives into the ocean!
If you are not staying at Ayana resort then you’ll have to line up to get the entry. I would suggest you reach there around 4.30–5 pm, spend time at Rock Bar until sunset and then have dinner at Ayana. The food at Ayana was delicious. We loved the food so much that we went there twice all the way from Seminiyak, just to satisfy the taste buds.
Seminiyak
Unlike Ubud, Seminiyak is much more happening. It is closer to the beach and has millions of options for accommodation. We stayed at Chandra Bali Villas (http://chandrabalivillas.com/) and the location of the villa was perfect. It doesn’t have onsite restaurant however, you can order food from nearby restaurants to be delivered in the Villa. The villa is also easy 5 minutes drive to popular eateries like Ku De Ta, La Lucciola and Potato Head. Overall a good villa however I would rate Ubud resort much higher than this. Ku De Ta has very young feel to it. Its a great place to sit with a beer and admire the beautiful vast ocean. La Lucciola, again great location but the food was quite ordinary. Potato Head is bit over rated! If you crave for Indian food, there is only one place to go in Kuta/Seminiyak region –Queen’s Tandoor. However, nothing beats the Indian food that we had at Ayana.
Best way to see Seminiyak/Kuta is on 2 wheels. You can hire one for as little as 5$ a day. If you hire a taxi, you will spend most of the time in traffic. The streets are very narrow and always full of traffic. We had a great time driving around Seminiyak. It reminds me of India a lot and that may be another reason I love to go to Bali. Plenty of shopping options are available in Seminiyak. You can begin where JL Raya Seminiyak starts and keep going all the way to Kuta. If you get tired, you stop and get a foot massage! It just costs under 10$ for an hour! I would also recommend having a traditional Balinese massage. Your body will thank you for this!
In short, Seminiyak is this — drink, eat, sleep, shop, have massage and repeat!
Temples
Majority of Bali’s population is Hindu and you will come across some spectacular temples in Bali! The unique architecture instantly catches your eyes and calms your mind. We visited quite a few but two of them really caught my attention. Ulun Danu Beratan temple is one of them. It sits on beautiful serene lake of Beratan surrounded by picturesque mountains. The sight is majestic! The drive to the temple is quite enjoyable too. I still often go back and look at the photos I have taken here.
The other temple is Tanah Lot which is supposed to be – THE place for witnessing a sunset. The location of the temple makes it quite special as its planted in the middle of the sea.
We missed out on sunset but I have no doubt that it must be amazing to see the Sun going down at this holy temple.
Finally, some tips that come to my mind.
- Bargain hard (Not applicable if you are Indian though, it is in the DNA!).
- Exchange the currency in Bali. Pick an air conditioned booth which exclusively deals with currency exchange. You will get better rates and pay no commission.
- Plan for at least 10 days. Week is not enough, at least for me!
- Take friends along and the fun doubles!
I am charmed by this place and would not mind going again…and again!
