OUR BALI HOLIDAY PART II - SEMINYAK

Hello dear friends, hope you are well.

As I promised in the previous post, I am picking up exactly where I left you, on the road from Ubud to Seminyak .  As I mentioned in the first part of my Bali Odyssey, Ubud and Seminyak have totally different vibes yet both are very interesting places, each in its own right and it's worth visiting both of them.  If you are joining us right now and missed the first part of my story, you can catch it here and if you follow me on Instagram, you already know how much we enjoyed our Bali holiday.

It took us no more then two hours to reach Seminyak and check in My Villas in Bali.  The attraction of this place was it's prime position in the heart of Seminyak while offering a private oasis to each guest. Each villa comes with a swimming pool, a peaceful Balinese garden, in-house masseur and a private butler who will prepare and serve us breakfast.  We were given an iPhone with a single phone number which we can call anytime we require something from the host.   All we needed to do every morning was to send him a message of our breakfast choice (American, Continental, eggs cooked to your taste, traditional Balinese breakfast dish etc) and 20 minutes later he would come over bringing all the necessary ingredients with him and cook and serve us our breakfast.   No matter the choice, every breakfast would  begin with a glass of freshly squeezed juice and a plate of freshly cut local fruit. 

I wasn't very comfortable with this arrangement at first but then my husband pointed out that we will not have this opportunity again any time soon so why don't enjoy it why we can.

We arrived at the villa in late afternoon and since we had no plans for the evening, our driver suggested  that we should take a walk down to the beach to watch sunset and have dinner at the beach club called La Plancha,  bohemian beachfront Spanish restaurant that serves tapas and bar.  We did some unpacking and then went out.  

The minute we were on the street, we got sensory overload from the cacophony of noises and sounds coming from cars and motorbike roaring past, car horns from the passing taxis, calls from the staff sitting outside massage parlours, tattoo shops, bars, souvenir shops etc offering their goods and services.  Luckily, the walk was not too long and soon we reach Seminyak Beach and asked for direction to La Plancha.  As we walked along the shore we saw a sea of colouful bean bags spread right on the sand under the bright traditional Balinese umbrellas and realised that we had reached our destination.  

We both agreed that we are too old to sit on the beanbags and instead walked to the restaurant and asked for seats upstairs.  It offered a panoramic view over the whole scene:  the ocean, the surf, the beach underneath us looking amazing - covered with the beanbags and umbrellas and hundred and hundreds of people eating, drinking, dancing, swimming and generally having a great time.  We loved it all.  

We ordered a couple of sundowners, a few plates of food and settled to watch the sunset.  All the dishes that we ordered were cooked on a round flat  metal pate following the Spanish tradition and tasted absolutely delicious.  When the sun came down, we were mesmerised by the bright colours spread all over the skies and their reflection in the ocean.

As I previously mentioned, we had a list of sites and things that we would like to do and we got to it straight away.  First on our list was a trip to Tanah Lot.  

It is a rock formation overlooking the Indian Ocean on which an ancient Hindu pilgrimage temple was built in the 16th century.  When the tide is high it looks like the temple is floating but when the tide is low people can walk to the temple to receive a blessing.

We took a slow walk around taking in the scenery, the view and the spirituality of the place.   We fought through the traffic on the way back to villa and upon arrival put our swimming pool to a good use.

The following day we wanted to see the famous statue of Garuda.  When we were in Bali 7 years ago, the monument was in its rudimentary stage but even then it looked mighty impressive so we were very keen to see it completed.

Its full name of the statue is Garuda Wisny Kinsana aka GWK, it is 122 meters tall and is located in Garuda Wisny Kinsana Kultural Park.  This challenging project took engineers, stonemasons and other skilled artisans over 20 years to construct.  It sits on top of the hill and is so tall that you can see it in the distance from almost anywhere.

In order to get to close to the statue, you need to buy a ticket and hop on an open bus that will drive you along the winding road through the park where you begin to appreciate the full scale of the project.  The bus takes you only to the base of the statue and if you want to see the inside of it, you have to pay again.  We were quite happy just to walk around admiring the statue int its size and beauty.  

Just thinking of how many labour hours, materials and technical and creative skills were poured into this project to make it a reality makes you appreciate how far can people go in order to fulfill their visions and dreams. It is truly a magnificent structure and its presence could be felt all over Bali.  

After a while, we started a slow descent back to the bus and shortly after were back in a carpark where Kadek (our driver) met us and drove us back to the villa.  

When we woke up the next morning, I felt that I had have enough of sightseeing and a bit of shopping sounds like a good change.  There are three places for shopping that  every tourist should visit:  Seminyak Village, Seminyak Square and Oberoi Flea Market.  They are in walking distance from one another but apart from a few boutiques, all the shops were selling the same staff that we have already seen in Ubud.  However, we dutifully walked up and down the streets, mostly just doing window shopping.  When we thought that we had enough, we stopped at the lovely place called BossMan, the first dedicated burger joint in Seminyak, for lunch.  They were exceptionally delicious and well-priced.

One day went did some snorkeling.  We didn't want to drive too far and our driver took us to a very popular snorkeling destination in Nusa Dua.  The tickets for one hour of snorkeling were quite expensive but when the boat that took us out to the spot, stopped the motor and we jumped int the water, it was so dirty and full of rubbish floating around us that we climbed on board almost immediately and asked the crew to take us back ashore.  We were quite disappointed and slightly angry from this bad experience.  Thankfully, Kadek knew another spot that he promised would be very good but it was about 2 hours away by car.  This time we didn't hesitate and the trip, although rather long due to the unbelievable traffic, was worth every minute.  The water was crystal clear and very warm and we saw the most amazing fish.  It was as good if not better than what we saw in the Great Barrier Reef.

On our last day in Bali, we decided to take things slowly.  Our plane was leaving late in the evening and we agreed that we've done enough and will take things slowly.  After breakfast, we packed our bags and decided to walk  down to the beach and have our farewell drinks and lunch at La Plancha.

After lunch, we slowly walked back to the villa, had a swim in our pool, read and have some rest until it was time to say goodbye to our host and drive to airport to fly back to Sydney.

I hope you enjoyed reading my Bali Odyssey.  If you are planning your trip to Bali, please don't hesitate to ask me any questions in a comment section below.

Until then,

Anna

xoxoxo

OUR BALI HOLIDAY PART ONE - UBUD

Hello again, my dear readers.  Hope you are all ok.

We are back from our holidays in Bali and I can’t wait to tell you all about it.

Our plan was to go there for nine days splitting them between two places that we really like, Ubud and Seminyak.  The town of Ubud is known as centre for traditional crafts and dance.  

It is surrounded by deep forests, terraced rice paddies dotted with Hindu temples and shrines and is home to a top class eco and health retreats, a vast collection of art galleries and other creative outlets.   

Seminyak, on the other hand is a trendy place known for its luxury hotels, hip cafes as well as restaurants and high-end clothing boutiques and homewares shops lining every street to which you turn.  They have a totally different vibe and attract different crowds but we wanted to experience the best of two worlds. We decided to spent the first three days in Ubud, decompressing from the buzz and fuss of the big city and after that we will pack our bags and would arrange a drive to take to Seminyak which is about 1.5 hour away by car, depending on the traffic.

We did quite a bit of research of where to stay as we always do since both of us are quite particular about what we like and most importantly what we don't about a place.  One of our high priorities is the layout of the rooms. Don't laugh, but we take extra caution to make sure that the bathroom and toilet facilities are separated from the main quarters by a solid wall and a door as on our travels we came across quite a few hotels and resorts where the boundaries between the two are rather blurred.  

We once stayed at a golf retreat where the wall between the bathroom and the bedroom was made entirely of glass with no curtain in sight.  It does look great on a picture but in reality totally grosses me out.  In the end we found a lovely looking place call Tejaprana Resort and Spa.  It comprises 28 cosily furnished villas, all facing east allowing you to take full advantage of the warmth and benefits of the morning sun. Each villa is complemented with a gazebo, an infinity plunge pool and an outdoor natural stone bathtub bringing you yet closer to the Balinese landscape embracing the resort. The only time you might see other residents is over breakfast that is served on a big open terrace along a common pool providing the same vista views that you get from your villa. 

The rooms are beautifully furnished, its decor showcasing Balinese culture and a craftsmanship of the local artisans while keeping up with the modern world like the presence of latest model of a Nespresso machine, build-in adaptors and docks that solve your electrical currency differences, also next to each bed was a build- panel with touch-up light switches that allow you to control all the light features inside and outside without leaving the bed.

By the time we landed, cleared customs and arrived at the villa was 4 o’clock Australian time.  The moment the staff brought our luggage insight, we crashed the bed and fell into a blissful sleep.  You can imagine my surprise when I woke up to some strange noises coming from the pool area.  I carefully peeled through the glass doors and saw a monkey sitting on our roof staring back at me.  We were warned not to stare back at them as they might attack you but I couldn't resist taking a photo of the ape.  Surprisingly, it seemed not to mind.

There were a couple of things that we read about on a net that we haven't seen or done before and after a lovely breakfast we contacted our driver to take us to Tegenungan Waterfall, one of Bali's most beautiful spots and the top 10 of highly recommended things to do while in Ubud.   

As I mentioned a few times before, my husband and I have been to Bali many times.  We fell in love with this place from the first visit back in 2004.  We stayed at a private villa that included a butler, a chef and a chauffeur named Kadek.  He is a highly professional and a very kind man.  We liked him a lot, so whenever we are in Bali we use his services.  Sadly due to the development and shift in demographic and recent war in Ukraine a lot of people have come to live there since our first visit and the traffic which was not on its good behavior back then, has become a total nuisance.  When it used to take half hour is now taking almost two and his was not peak season yet.

Anyway, we made it to the waterfall, it looks and sounds mighty powerful.  We hoped that we would be able to swim there but it was not the case.  The waterfall looked and sounded very powerful and attracts a lot of visitors all year round.  Another recently added attraction was Bali Glass bridge.  

It looked stunning from where we were and the view from there must be amazing but if you want to walk on it, it will cost you $25/person.  It would've cost us $50 which seemed rather steep, so I  perish the thought.  

On the way back to the car we stopped at one of local fruit stalls and bought some fruit that I only ever eaten while in Bali:  mangosteens.  They are so delicious and I couldn't wait till I was able to taste them again.  They sometimes make it to our fruit shops and sold for $5 each.     

On the way back to the resort we stopped at the newly built Ubud Art Market, a recently build proper structure sprawled over two huge buildings hosting multitude of vendors selling their wares to the locals and tourists alike.  

It was late afternoon when we made it back to the resort.  We spent the next few blissful hours by the pool enjoying the view over the forest listening to the birds chirping in the trees, swimming, reading and daydreaming.  

The following morning we donned our gym gear because we were going to do the Campuhana Ridge Walk, another one on the list of the top 10 things to do while you are in Ubud.   

The trail is about 2 km long walk that runs through the rice fields and lush green countryside with sweeping view that you don't get to see if you stay in Ubud central.

Although the trail has very little elevation, it took us almost two hours to complete the walk as we took our time stopping and taking photos of anything that caught our attention, from the sprawling villas hidden among the trees to the rise fields, Hindu temples and colourful villages that we came across and so on.

Upon our return to the car, we asked Kadek to take us to another attraction that we had not seen before, Elephant Cave.  

It was built in the 9th century and believed to be a place built for spiritual meditation.  The entrance to the cave depicts a giant menacing face whose wide open mouth forms the doorway while forest motifs and other animals are carved on both sides of it.  

The other features of the site are the large meeting hall and a collection of large stone carvings and a few meters away is a pond where the holy water is taken for ceremony.  

After visiting the cave we felt quite hungry and tired so we asked our driver to take us back to the villa where we repeated the same ritual that we had the day the day before:  swimming, sunbathing, reading and just daydreaming.

The following day we woke up late, had breakfast, took our time packing our bags, paid the bill and drove off to our next destination, Seminyak.  But that is for the next post.

Until then,

Anna

xoxoxo

 

WHERE I LIKE TO STAY AND EAT WHEN IN BALI

Hi everyone,

At long last I am back behind my computer to tell you all about our recent trip to Bali.  I have to apologise for being out of touch but despite the fact that we landed at Sydney airport a week ago, I was so busy sorting things out that I couldn’t spare a moment to get back to my beloved blog let alone check what you are up to.

About to join my husband for a cocktail to enjoy beautiful Bali's sunset

Both my husband and I absolutely love Bali.  We worked out that it was our seventh trip to the so called “Island of Gods”.  We fell in love with it on our first trip in 2005.  Back then the place looked totally different, peaceful and quiet with not much going on after dark, with the exception of the town of Kuta with its loud night clubs and drinking holes which we always avoided.  Over the years the island has undergone a dramatic transformation:  in came the big shopping malls, supermarkets, five-star hotels, private villas, boutique shops and art galleries, cafes and restaurants that not only lifted the profile of the island, but created thousands of jobs for the locals which consequently led to a rapid increase of cars and motor bikes that in turn added more traffic jams and road gridlocks.

Afternoon rush-hour

But don’t be put off by this because it is easy to find an escape from the bedlam behind the walls of luxury hotels and private villas and although the island boasts myriads of five star hotels, we prefer to stay at a villa.  Apart from the fact that you have absolute privacy and sole use of the pool and all the other facilities, the majority of them offer you more personalised services such as having your own butler, a cook and a driver with further services of the masseur, yoga instructor and so on, subject to the your budget.  Luckily for us, due to the very favourable exchange rate, we could afford to live surrounded by such luxuries which back in Australia are totally beyond our reach.

Pool area of  our villa

On the veranda

We were staying in Seminyak, the hip resort area at the end of Bali’s main beach strip where chaos of Kuta gives way to a more sophisticated, laid-back vibe, in one of the myriads of private villas called Villa Hermosa, situated in one of the tiny gangs (laneways) not far from the main strip but hidden behind tall walls and dense fauna providing us with complete privacy and noise isolation.

The house itself was absolutely beautiful.  Painted in white inside and out, it was sparkling under the hot sun and its white walls were reflected in the bright blue pool situated in the middle of the front lawn surrounded by sunbeds on one corner and a cabana on the other. The interiors were kept in the light neutral palette and reminded me of the Hampton’s style, casual and relaxed but done in classic and sophisticated way.  The villa also provided a private chef, a driver and two lovely local young women who were there to cater to our every whim and make sure that our stay was the most enjoyable.  As we did a lot of sightseeing and driving up and down the island in the past, we decided that it was high time for us to do virtually nothing but relax and have some care-free moments.

Chill out corner

A bedroom

Stand alone bathtub is part of the on-suite

We started the days by swimming in the pool and sunbathing followed by a lazy lunch at the local coffee shop and a dinner at the villa prepared by the chef-in-residence or at one of the restaurants that we carefully selected and booked beforehand.  This was another advantage that we didn’t want to miss, having a magnificent dinner in an opulently furnished restaurant, eating the most delicious meals and drinking numerous signature cocktails all for the fraction of the price it would’ve cost us in Sydney.  

Dinner prepared and served for us at the villa

Both of us love to wine and dine at good places and so we invested some of our time to research where is good to eat while in Bali and came up with the list of places that we liked.  I then proceeded to make on-line reservations so that when we arrived in Bali, we didn’t need to worry where or what we are going to have for dinner or lunch.  Of course, some provision was made for spontaneity but believe it or not most places that we went were fully booked and so our prudence paid off more than once.

Art work in the gardens of Metis restaurant

My Steak Tartare at Metis

On one rare occasion that we went shopping, I bought myself a pair of cute sandals which I will model later on a blog.

Interior of Merah Putih

A collection of local dishes at Merah Putih

Desserts, same place

Cocktail hour at Ku De Ta Beach Club

In front of Ke De Ta restaurant

After six blissful days of doing absolutely nothing, it was time for us to pack our bags and go home but not before we made a detour to Melbourne to attend a very traditional family wedding that lasted over three days and included multiple lunches, dinner, religious ceremonies and the like. 

Miraculously, there happened to be one evening free of any parties and we took this opportunity to go to the one and only dessert restaurant in the world, called Om Nam, where we sampled the most delicious cocktails and ate desserts that looked like pieces of art and tasted delicious.

"Secret Garden" cocktail at Om Num, Melbourne

Chocaquarium, 28 dessert, same place

Linking up with Shellbee on Edge