A Short Holiday in Bali

I recently visited Bali for the first time.  My family and I tried to holiday in Bali a number of years ago however, due to various circumstances such as an airline going broke and another airline having other flight issues we had to cancel our trip and find another destination.  I am glad to say we made it!  I loved the hot weather it was a welcome change from our cold winter.   I enjoyed the Balinese/Indonesian food and of course the fruit and the wonderful fresh fruit juices.  Wherever we chose to eat, I made sure I always selected the local dishes enjoying meals such as Bakso, Nasi Goreng, Mie Goreng, Vegetable Curries and Satay.   Bali caters for all it’s visitors and their preference when it comes to cuisine.  There are many restaurants to choose from such as Japanese, Italian, Greek, French, Indonesian, Balinese and many more that I didn’t get to see.  I will explore more and share next time I visit Bali.

The Balinese people are warm, friendly and enjoy conversing with the tourists.  I was happy to share a little about myself and what I enjoy doing.

There are many vendors selling goods everywhere and of course, if you like, you can get a massage and various beauty treatments for a reasonable price.  However, these activities are not suited to all travelers and therefore a courteous “No Thank You” with a smile is accepted and you will be left alone until another vendor comes along and offers to sell you something else.  I lost count as to the number of “No Thank You’s” that were said.  I confess, I never got impatient with the vendors as they are trying to make a living. I observed the various people working and have to say they were all doing something at what I would call the ‘Balinese pace’.  A pace which appears much slower to the western eye, however, in their climate you would also slow your pace down.

In Uluwatu we stayed for 5 days and our accommodation was at the Satria Warung & Bungalow.   Here we had a gorgeous Bungalow near the pool.   Before I continue with the story, our trip consisted of 3 adults myself, my husband and our son.   Our son visited Uluwatu about a year and a half ago with his friend.   It was a good opportunity to visit this part of Bali ourselves.  Geographically Uluwatu has beautiful cliffs overlooking wonderful surf.  There are many surfers on scooters and young people in general from all over the globe enjoying the surf, sea and many other delights.

Single Finn is a great venue for a drink, some food and of course the wonderful Uluwatu sunset.  Perched on top of a cliff you have wonderful views.  The busiest night at this venue is Sunday where everyone comes to enjoy themselves.  As my son put it (“it gets packed you can barely move”).

In Seminyak we stayed at The Haven Hotel.  It’s location is great, the staff are wonderful and greet you as you walk by.   The Haven offers it’s guests an up market experience.  It has beautiful gardens and pool areas.

Another great bar, eatery and sunset venue is The Potato Head.  Aesthetically, The Potato Head has a stunning facade, constructed from recycled wooden shutters and concrete.  The concrete curved passageway leads you to the reception area, bar, restaurant and pool area.   It is very open and follows what appears to be a crescent shape internal floor plan.  Wherever you are seated you have a wonderful view of the venue’s lounge/couches, infinity pool and of course the sea.   For the sunset you need to be sitting in the right spot.  In my opinion you need to be on one of the lounges/couches.   The staff are friendly and helpful and will assist as much as possible.  I advise that if you intend going there book a lounge/couch near the pool to enjoy the sunset, drinks & food.  We didn’t book however, we managed to find a seat and after a while a lovely young hostess who I spoke to upon our arrival organized a lounge/couch.  We perched ourselves on the couch and  enjoyed another round of drinks just like the Roman’s did many, many years ago.

On the Sunday we visited  Ubud, a number of Temple’s along the way and a Volcano (Mount Batur).  The drive was quite spectacular along the way lush and green.  The Temples were wonderful with all the stone carvings and relics.  At one particular temple due to it being Sunday many Balinese families came with their offerings and bathed in the holy water pools.  It was amazing to watch all the people chatting, shivering and waiting in the pool until they reached the front where they could bless themselves with the holy water.

The region near the Volcano boasts fertile land and there were many vendors selling beautiful fruit along the way.  Naturally we couldn’t help ourselves and bought some tropical fruit.  One fruit which I have never tasted was snake fruit.  The outside skin was just like snake skin and inside the white flesh was firm resembling a big lychee (with large brown stones) however, tasted like a crisp apple boasting a slight flavour of passion fruit.

Dino, our guide, driver and friend did a marvellous job driving us to all of the wonderful places.  We visited narrow busy streets,  galleries, beaches, bars and restaurants.  Thank you for showing us around your home Bali….

Milanka