We just returned from 8 days in Bali with our son (15) and our daughter (18). It was a challenge for me to hold off planning anything, but we did not book anything besides our flights, accommodation, and a driver. Normally I have every day planned out so that we can see everything. We decided we wanted a more relaxing trip this time. It turned out to be very busy and tiring, but in a good way.
Our flight to Bali was not too bad, although we were surprised that the plane was essentially a domestic plane. The configuration was 3-3, and there were no in seat entertainment units. There were USB charging points between the seats. Our flight left at 5:15 pm and arrived at 9 pm. We were given dinner and a drink with no other snacks. Given we did not need to sleep, although we were a little disappointed in the plane, it wasn't a big deal.
While we are talking about the outbound flight, we were unimpressed with the Virgin wing at the end of the Brisbane International Airport. It looked fairly new but there was no provision of charging points. We were only allowed 2 people into the lounge (despite the website indicating 2 children 17 and under were also allowed). The lounge("My Lounge") is nothing to rave about - the food was OK but there was not a big range. The desserts were tasty though and we liked the style and atmosphere. They had offered to allow us to bring the kids in at $45 a piece but we were glad we didn't take them up on that.
The flight home was terrible. It was the same domestic style plane, but the flight left at 9 pm and arrived at 5 am. Essentially it was exactly the same - one dinner, no snacks, but with seats that barely reclined and very little leg room, it was extremely difficult to sleep. I could not get comfortable, no matter what I did. No blankets or pillows were offered either. I disembarked feeling worse than if I had flown a long haul international leg.
The moral of the story is - don't assume that international flights will use international planes. Check which plane is used for the route and look up the seat sizes and plane facilities. I found an article that suggested that Garuda has the best leg room on Australia-Bali flights.
We had arranged a pickup through the Villa where we were staying. We found him fairly quickly and he led us out to the multi storey car park. He took us through throngs of people, around a corner and indicated that we should stay there until he came back with the car. It was hot and humid, and I was amazed at the number of people wearing jumpers and jeans. It took a long time for him to come back, so either the car was some distance away or the traffic was very slow. I'm guessing a bit of both.
It was dark so we couldn't see a lot of detail on the drive to our villa. Towards the end of the trip, the driver turned down a few back streets. If I hadn't arranged it through the villa, I would have started to worry. When he stopped and we got out of the car, we were in a narrow alleyway, and Megan turned to me and remarked that it looked pretty dodgy! There were a couple of men there to meet us, and they helped carry our bags up to a wide doorway, which, when opened, led to an oasis!
As soon as he left the kids staked their claims to their very own self-contained "suites", each with a huge bed, large bathroom and air-conditioner. Each room also had a safe in the cupboard in the bathroom and a hair dryer. Shampoo and shower gel are provided. Shortly afterwards, Reid was in the pool.
The only trouble with the open living area (besides it not being air-conditioned) was the mosquitoes. We did find some mosquito coils in the drawer and I had come prepared with spray, so I didn't get too many bites, despite seeing them flying around.
Some of the reviews mentioned that the villa was "dated" and needed updating. After staying there, I can see that it is aging, but it was clean and comfortable and spacious, the air-conditioning worked well, and overall I thought it was quite amazing. I felt like if it was brand new and modern it would feel a bit less "Bali" if that makes sense.
The reviews were also mixed with regards to breakfast. Some said it was fantastic and others said it was boring. I understand now. Essentially you fill out a sheet each day indicating how you would like your eggs, whether you would like sausages and/or bacon, and whether you would like white or brown toast. Each morning one or two ladies arrive with a basket and cook the requested breakfast right there in your villa, set the table, and call you when it is ready. That's pretty awesome really. They also provide a plate of fresh fruit and a drink of juice each morning, and the eggs come with some spiced potatoes that were quite delicious. What we didn't know until halfway through our stay was that at the bottom of the sheet, we could request banana pancakes. Once we knew that, Reid and I were requesting those each morning, and they were delicious.
There is a water dispenser in the main living area. It ran out while we were there, so I emailed the villa manager, and within a couple of hours, it was re-filled. That's incredible service. I also emailed the manager when we decided to stay up north for a night, and again received an almost immediate response.
The location of the villa was also excellent. It is right next to Peppers Seminyak. It was a short walk back out to the main road where there were no end of shops and restaurants. There is a gelato place on the corner, so we took to stopping there each night after dinner where the kids would get a shake or cup, and we started also getting a shake for the security guard that would sit outside the villa from 6pm until 6am each day. There is a small booth at the end of the laneway but more often he would be sitting on a bench in the middle of the alley.
Garden Villa Bali (Villa 3)
We walked from our villa up to the main road each day for dinner and felt quite safe. The road we had to walk along seemed isolated but behind the walls seemed to be other villas and the Peppers resort, so we were not worried.
Outside Peppers was a small platform where men would sit day and night, surrounded by vans. There was a sign outlining the cost to get to different places.
After walking around Seminyak the first day, we decided that although we had previously arranged for a driver for 4 days, we would ask him to be available every day.
Our driver was Budi. Budi came recommended by a long string of friends and family. I had printed out a bunch of stuff that sounded interesting, and he had a look at it and then recommended where we could go each day. He has a seven seater van with air-conditioning. He was great - he knew exactly where to go and we fit in a fantastic array of activities in our short time there. Sometimes he would suddenly pull over and ask for 20,000 or 10,000 rp ($1 or $2) and then come back with a whole bag of ice creams, or local chips, or some other local delight. At restaurants he could translate for us, recommend dishes, and at attractions he could explain what was expected of us. He answered all of our questions about the island, the people, his culture and religion. Essentially we had our own personal driver, translator and tour guide. He wasn't charging enough so we sort of just added on more each day.
Find Budi on Facebook
I had budgeted about 3 million rupiah a day, and came back with 3.4 million left over. That was up to 1 million for transport, and the rest on food and activities. Our meals ranged from 200k to 700k for the four of us. I think the most expensive entry fee was 125k per person for the last waterfall complex that we went to. Other places were mostly 30-50k per person.
I did find that at many places, if you put more money in the bill folder than the meal cost, they sort of just assumed that the extra was a tip. In most cases that was only a few dollars so I wasn't worried about it. I was able to use 100k and 50k notes at restaurants and hotels, but most small places preferred "correct change", so I would have benefited from having more smaller notes. The only trouble then was trying to find them among all of the other notes.
If I went again, I would take cash again, but I would try to get hold of a lot more 20k and 10k notes, and I would hoard the 1s and 2s as soon as I got them. They are useful for toilets.
Jen Deli, Seminyak - A lovely setting next to the Sense Hotel pool, and here we tried our first fresh juices in Bali. They did not disappoint. I also had my first lesson in the fact that they like spicy food, with the quesadillas. They were tasty but a bit fiery!
Warung Mina, Seminyak - Fantastic food, live music, great atmosphere. Loved the banana fritters for dessert.
Jaansan Bali, Seminyak. We sort of chose this one because it was close, rather than because it looked fabulous from the outside, but we were very pleasantly surprised. The food was excellent as was the service, and they had an entire vegetarian menu to select from.
Tiigo, Seminyak - Megan and I went here for lunch, then took Reid back for dinner another day. Air conditioned, excellent service, food is fresh and delicious. The corn fritters are amazing.
Mya Kitchen, Dash Hotel, Seminyak - Very unusual decor but it is air-conditioned and the food was excellent. Reid decided to try something called chive cakes, which turned out to be savoury mochi and very tasty. Don't miss the bathroom decorations.
Biku, Seminyak - I quite liked this place but the boys didn't like the live Indonesian music. It was very busy there. I had the grilled vegetable salad with the best pesto I've ever tasted.
Clean Canteen - Seminyak - The veggie tacos here cost about $5 and were delicious. They were huge and covered with a fresh salad mix. Enjoyed the atmosphere here too.
Warung Balifornia, outside Ubud - Great decor and food, don't choose the chocolate pizza though.
Kitchenette Beachwalk, Kuta - Huge crepes, delicious fries, super helpful staff.
OK Divers Restaurant, Padang Bai. Smaller meals than we had elsewhere but mine was a work of art and surprisingly filling - the beetroot falafels.
RM Manalagi, Singaraja. This was one of our cheapest meals, at 211k for five of us. You can see on the receipt (right), milkshakes were 10k (about $1.10), and my Mie Goreng was 13k. The catch was the entire menu was in Indonesian, so good thing Budi was there with us to help us figure it out.
Melasti beach and cliffs - the cliffs are amazing and the beach was beautiful. Budi took us further down a dirt road past the main beach to a smaller "Beach Club". A pair of chairs is 100k. The water was like a bath. The changerooms were "rustic".
Suluban Cave and Beach - this is a cave that you walk through to get to the main beach. The tide was up so we could not get to the beach, but I loved the cave. Water flowed into the entrance and it was cool and breezy in there.
Uluwatu Temple - instead of walking directly to the temple, Budi had us first walk around to the right to the point, where we were able to get photos of the temple from afar. He picked up a stick from the ground as we walked down towards the cliffs, and used it to ward off the monkeys. We watched a monkey steal the glasses right off a tourists face. Her guide tried to get them back by swapping them for a bottle of coke, but it wasn't falling for that. A local lady came along and managed to coax it into giving them up. We then walked but along the cliffs up to the temple itself. It was hot and sticky.
Ubud Monkey Forest - I was expecting more "monkey business" but for the most part we just enjoyed walking around watching the monkeys doing their thing. We did see a monkey jump on another man who got a bit close. It then tried to open his backpack, and his wife attempted to knock it off with her selfie stick. It then turned on her, chasing her with bared teeth, at which point she screamed and ran, pulling first Reid then me in front of her as human shields. Entry was 80,000 per person.
Taman Sari Waterfall - Budi said it was a little bit less known to tourists. We swam here - you can swim right up to the waterfall. There are some shelves that you can put your stuff on.
Kanto Lampo Waterfall - This is pretty but it was absolutely packed and hard to access from the front. If you can imagine, you come down the path and arrive just to the left of the falls. There is a cliff face in front of you, and the waterfall falls into a river that continues in front of you. So to get a front on view of the waterfalls, you have to get into a narrow river and walk up to stand in front of the falls. There were lines of people waiting to stand under the waterfall in various places to get the perfect instagram photo. Honestly, I'd do Taman Sari again and skip Kanto Lampo.
Goa Lawah Temple (The bat temple) - There was a ceremony happening so we could not go up through the entrance. We were given a guide who took great pains to tell us that he does not get a salary so he would welcome tips. While he put a sarong on me a lady threw a necklace over my head saying it was a gift. I knew I'd be paying for that later. They have it down to a fine art though and you kind of have to go with the flow. The guide was pretty informative and I learned more about the temples and beliefs. The cave was incredible with the roof completely covered in bats. The ceremony involved many groups of people bringing their offerings while many others sat and prayed. I enjoyed watching the proceedings for a while. As we left the hard sell started. The guide had told us about the Balinese calendar and he brought over a woman who wanted to sell us one. She made sure to mention karma is a thing. Then one step outside the gates, the necklace ladies were swarming around us. They were super aggressive to the point of being nasty and it spoiled the experience for me. It also felt out of place, yelling at the tourists while a sacred ceremony was going on inside. I don't blame them for wanting to make money from the tourists - we are asking them to share their culture and lives with us. And I have no objection to paying entrance fees and guides etc. But this sort of aggressive behaviour pits us against each other - tourists vs locals. It was very calculated too - different ladies put necklaces on each of us so they could claim we were supposed to buy something from each of them. It turned a great experience into a very uncomfortable one. It doesn't have to be like that.
Tirta Gangga Water Temple - This was my favourite place. It was at a higher elevation and a bit cooler, and it was so peaceful. Ponds of water surround temples, and stepping stones allow you to feel like you are walking across the surface of the water. Fish food is sold at the entrance and the fish would swarm around us as we sprinkled it into the water.
Gates of Heaven - I'd skip this one too unless you can guarantee arriving at a time when you won't have to wait ages. You pay 10k for a sarong and then make a "donation". You are given a ticket with a number on it, and then you walk up a very steep hill to the temple at the top. The gates are beautiful, no doubt, and the view is probably lovely, but you can't tell because the sole purpose of the gates now is to take illusory photos with a mirror, all day every day. A man with a megaphone calls out a number, the group in question runs up to the gates, works through their prepared poses (no yoga poses allowed), then the next number is called before they've even left the frame. There are actually some amazing buildings BEHIND the gate which I would like to have known more about, but all focus is on the gates. There were about 70 tickets ahead of us, so we had a look around and then left.
Tanah Lot Temple - I loved this spot. Have a stroll around the gardens and rocks, then walk up the hill to the restaurants, order a drink and a snack, and watch the sunset behind the temple. A vendor out the front is selling small green balls rolled in coconut and served in banana leaves. Try them, they are delicious.
Jatiluwih Red Rice Terraces - far bigger than the Ubud rice terraces, you can either take a short walk or a very long one. There is a board showing the possible paths. There are vendors selling cold drinks and snacks along the path. You can buy a packet of small brown and white spiral cone shaped snacks that are quite tasty.
Temple on the Lake (Ulun Danu). This is another peaceful spot for a stroll. Again I felt it could benefit from some more detailed signs about the history / purpose of the complex.
Jembong Waterfall (near Singaraja) - Incredible spot, and only 20k entry fee. It is hard to describe how beautiful this spot is. There are no other tourists here. At the top a large waterfall cascades over the rocks into a small pool where you can swim. The water then splits into multiple streams that follow the path down into two swimming pools on different levels. It is cooler up here in the mountains and not as humid as well. There is a flying fox for 40k that the kids enjoyed.
Aling Aling Waterfall complex - This one cost 125k per person but was well worth it. We were given two guides, who walked us down to the first waterfall. Here you can don a lifejacket and slide down a natural waterslide, and jump off a 5m platform into the water. Then they take you to the 10m platform, then lastly there is a 15m platform that sits over a pool of water where you can swim. Megan sat on the edge for a bit and had fish nibbling at her feet, kind of like those fish spa tanks that they have in town. The guides were very helpful and friendly, taking photos and videos. At the end, you walk all the way back up to where you started, then keep going to the top waterfall, which is again spectacular. We were there for about 1.5 hours. You are supposed to tip the guides - I gave them 50k each.
We did not use the tap water for drinking or brushing our teeth. We took refillable water bottles with us which we filled from the dispenser at the Villa, and also purchased some large water bottles as needed from the local mini mart.
I took a mosquito repellent spray with us and used it obsessively. Many of the restaurants were outdoors so it became good practice to spray before heading out for the evening. One of the restaurants even had their own bottle on the table. Megan got a number of bites on the first day, but I was also prepared with Stingose, which she said helped straight away.
Overall we made it through the trip without any major illnesses, a new feat for us.
Both Dallas and I felt a little off a couple of times. I took some preventative Gastrostop on a couple of mornings. I don't know whether it works that way, but I felt better.
Megan's stomach played up a bit for the last couple of days. Unfortunately, although we didn't know it at the time, she arrived home with the beginnings of a nasty throat infection. She was aching all over on the day that we flew home, but we thought she was just sore from all of the waterfall jumping the day before. She went to bed at home and spent 2 days in bed with a raging fever and aching all over. I spent far more time than I should have googling diseases that she could have picked up in Bali like Dengue Fever, or the new outbreak of Coronavirus. She was not in a good way and I was concerned. Luckily the fever broke and she seems fine now. Dallas came down with it right as she got better. Reid and I appear to have escaped unscathed.
Their airport is somewhat unusual. You have to go through a security checkpoint to get to the check-in desks, where all of your luggage is scanned. The check in desks are inside an area where there is not much in the way of chairs or facilities. The intention is that you only go in there when you are ready to check in and go to your gate. We arrived early so we stayed outside of this area until check-in opened, 3 hours before the flight. It was hot and sticky and we were very ready to head into the more heavily air-conditioned parts of the airport.
After check-in you go through the normal security, then immigration. Immigration was the slowest part of the process, which was frustrating since it is little more than a wave goodbye.
A short and winding stroll through the duty free shop, and then we were in the main departure area. We found our most expensive dinner here (900k), but it was tasty. This took up most of the time before departure.
The flight left from gate 6a, which was a Harry Potter-esque gate between the others - obviously tacked on at some point. The strangest part here was that there was ANOTHER security check on entry to the departure gate. They were taking liquids from people here, which I didn't quite understand. From here we boarded a shuttle bus that took us out to the plane, then we were on our way home.
The only thing that I felt I missed out on was a better sense of the history of the island. There is a state museum but the reviews didn't make me want to spend the time it would take to get across town to it. Apparently it is full of people trying to sell souvenirs, sometimes very aggressively. I did a bit of googling to try to figure it all out, but I find it is far better to hear the story of a people from the people themselves. Our visit to Vietnam was a great example of this - I learned a great deal from the museums there about how the Vietnamese people tell their own history. I would like to have heard more of that from the Balinese people.
Getting there
We flew Virgin Airlines. We chose Virgin because we have Gold status, and have spent the last few years using family pooling to maintain status and accumulate points. I also had a 10% discount voucher and we booking during a triple point promotion.Our flight to Bali was not too bad, although we were surprised that the plane was essentially a domestic plane. The configuration was 3-3, and there were no in seat entertainment units. There were USB charging points between the seats. Our flight left at 5:15 pm and arrived at 9 pm. We were given dinner and a drink with no other snacks. Given we did not need to sleep, although we were a little disappointed in the plane, it wasn't a big deal.
While we are talking about the outbound flight, we were unimpressed with the Virgin wing at the end of the Brisbane International Airport. It looked fairly new but there was no provision of charging points. We were only allowed 2 people into the lounge (despite the website indicating 2 children 17 and under were also allowed). The lounge("My Lounge") is nothing to rave about - the food was OK but there was not a big range. The desserts were tasty though and we liked the style and atmosphere. They had offered to allow us to bring the kids in at $45 a piece but we were glad we didn't take them up on that.
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| The "My Lounge" menu |
The flight home was terrible. It was the same domestic style plane, but the flight left at 9 pm and arrived at 5 am. Essentially it was exactly the same - one dinner, no snacks, but with seats that barely reclined and very little leg room, it was extremely difficult to sleep. I could not get comfortable, no matter what I did. No blankets or pillows were offered either. I disembarked feeling worse than if I had flown a long haul international leg.
The moral of the story is - don't assume that international flights will use international planes. Check which plane is used for the route and look up the seat sizes and plane facilities. I found an article that suggested that Garuda has the best leg room on Australia-Bali flights.
Arrival
I was nervous about arrival. I had read that they were very strict about medications and had been sure to remove any stray codeine pills from my handbag. I had packed emergency Weetbix and muesli bars so we declared food on the customs form but they waved us straight through. It was relatively painless. On the way out there were people inside customs and immigration selling SIM cards and taxis, which I thought was unusual - usually that all happens after customs.We had arranged a pickup through the Villa where we were staying. We found him fairly quickly and he led us out to the multi storey car park. He took us through throngs of people, around a corner and indicated that we should stay there until he came back with the car. It was hot and humid, and I was amazed at the number of people wearing jumpers and jeans. It took a long time for him to come back, so either the car was some distance away or the traffic was very slow. I'm guessing a bit of both.
It was dark so we couldn't see a lot of detail on the drive to our villa. Towards the end of the trip, the driver turned down a few back streets. If I hadn't arranged it through the villa, I would have started to worry. When he stopped and we got out of the car, we were in a narrow alleyway, and Megan turned to me and remarked that it looked pretty dodgy! There were a couple of men there to meet us, and they helped carry our bags up to a wide doorway, which, when opened, led to an oasis!
Accommodation - Garden Villa Bali
A large villa was at the far end of the block, with an open lounge and kitchen area in the middle, and lockable bedroom suites on either side. In front was a grassy area with a pool on the right, and a self contained suite/pool house on the left. We were invited to sit on the couch and given an ice cold "welcome drink", while the man gave us the keys, filled out the breakfast menu, and recommended a nearby restaurant to us. We might have understood about half of it, between the tiredness and the language barrier, but we got the important stuff.As soon as he left the kids staked their claims to their very own self-contained "suites", each with a huge bed, large bathroom and air-conditioner. Each room also had a safe in the cupboard in the bathroom and a hair dryer. Shampoo and shower gel are provided. Shortly afterwards, Reid was in the pool.
The only trouble with the open living area (besides it not being air-conditioned) was the mosquitoes. We did find some mosquito coils in the drawer and I had come prepared with spray, so I didn't get too many bites, despite seeing them flying around.
Some of the reviews mentioned that the villa was "dated" and needed updating. After staying there, I can see that it is aging, but it was clean and comfortable and spacious, the air-conditioning worked well, and overall I thought it was quite amazing. I felt like if it was brand new and modern it would feel a bit less "Bali" if that makes sense.
The reviews were also mixed with regards to breakfast. Some said it was fantastic and others said it was boring. I understand now. Essentially you fill out a sheet each day indicating how you would like your eggs, whether you would like sausages and/or bacon, and whether you would like white or brown toast. Each morning one or two ladies arrive with a basket and cook the requested breakfast right there in your villa, set the table, and call you when it is ready. That's pretty awesome really. They also provide a plate of fresh fruit and a drink of juice each morning, and the eggs come with some spiced potatoes that were quite delicious. What we didn't know until halfway through our stay was that at the bottom of the sheet, we could request banana pancakes. Once we knew that, Reid and I were requesting those each morning, and they were delicious.
There is a water dispenser in the main living area. It ran out while we were there, so I emailed the villa manager, and within a couple of hours, it was re-filled. That's incredible service. I also emailed the manager when we decided to stay up north for a night, and again received an almost immediate response.
The location of the villa was also excellent. It is right next to Peppers Seminyak. It was a short walk back out to the main road where there were no end of shops and restaurants. There is a gelato place on the corner, so we took to stopping there each night after dinner where the kids would get a shake or cup, and we started also getting a shake for the security guard that would sit outside the villa from 6pm until 6am each day. There is a small booth at the end of the laneway but more often he would be sitting on a bench in the middle of the alley.
Garden Villa Bali (Villa 3)
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| Banana pancakes and one of the fruit platters |
Accommodation - Mandari Hotel
When Budi took us north, it was a long drive, so we opted to stay in Singaraja overnight. It cost us 600k for two rooms, so about AUD$66. The hotel was clean and comfortable and the staff very helpful. This included breakfast, which we chose from a menu. Reid and I opted for the banana pancakes and Dallas and Megan went for the eggs.
There was a television in the breakfast room, so we watched an Indonesian soap opera over breakfast. It is amazing how much of the story you can follow just by watching their facial expressions and actions, and listening to the music. Moral of the story is, if you are the villain, don't speak your plans out loud to yourself because your brother will overhear and find out you poisoned his girlfriend and her daughter.
Transport
It would not have been difficult to get a cab if we wanted one. As we walked along the street, we constantly had cabs and scooters pulling up along side us asking if we wanted a ride. We never needed one and I'm not sure I would have been brave enough to get on one of the scooters. I had read that Blue Bird taxis were the most reliable and there were heaps of them around.We walked from our villa up to the main road each day for dinner and felt quite safe. The road we had to walk along seemed isolated but behind the walls seemed to be other villas and the Peppers resort, so we were not worried.
Outside Peppers was a small platform where men would sit day and night, surrounded by vans. There was a sign outlining the cost to get to different places.
After walking around Seminyak the first day, we decided that although we had previously arranged for a driver for 4 days, we would ask him to be available every day.
Our driver was Budi. Budi came recommended by a long string of friends and family. I had printed out a bunch of stuff that sounded interesting, and he had a look at it and then recommended where we could go each day. He has a seven seater van with air-conditioning. He was great - he knew exactly where to go and we fit in a fantastic array of activities in our short time there. Sometimes he would suddenly pull over and ask for 20,000 or 10,000 rp ($1 or $2) and then come back with a whole bag of ice creams, or local chips, or some other local delight. At restaurants he could translate for us, recommend dishes, and at attractions he could explain what was expected of us. He answered all of our questions about the island, the people, his culture and religion. Essentially we had our own personal driver, translator and tour guide. He wasn't charging enough so we sort of just added on more each day.
Find Budi on Facebook
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| An unusual icecream |
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| Strawberry mochi icecream |
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| Pineapple icecream |
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| Local chips |
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| Snakeskin fruit (Salak). A very interesting texture and taste. |
Money
We worked roughly on 100,000 rupiah being about $11 AUD. Usually I mostly use credit cards when travelling but in this case after doing some research I took mostly cash. I think we only used the credit card once.I had budgeted about 3 million rupiah a day, and came back with 3.4 million left over. That was up to 1 million for transport, and the rest on food and activities. Our meals ranged from 200k to 700k for the four of us. I think the most expensive entry fee was 125k per person for the last waterfall complex that we went to. Other places were mostly 30-50k per person.
I did find that at many places, if you put more money in the bill folder than the meal cost, they sort of just assumed that the extra was a tip. In most cases that was only a few dollars so I wasn't worried about it. I was able to use 100k and 50k notes at restaurants and hotels, but most small places preferred "correct change", so I would have benefited from having more smaller notes. The only trouble then was trying to find them among all of the other notes.
If I went again, I would take cash again, but I would try to get hold of a lot more 20k and 10k notes, and I would hoard the 1s and 2s as soon as I got them. They are useful for toilets.
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| This toilet made us laugh - 3000 to pee and 5000 to poop. Most places were between 1000-3000. |
SIM Card
We stopped at a mini mart that was advertising sim cards and asked about them. They directed us to a guy in a tiny stall outside, who said a 6gb was 350k and a 12gb was 450k. This just didn't seem right, so we declined. A few minutes later we made it to the Mega Mart at Seminyak Square, where a 6gb card was 120k. We bought those ones. They worked as soon as they were inserted. Megan's stopped working 2 days before we left and we couldn't figure out why. We had wifi in the Villa though so it wasn't a big deal. Many restaurants have wifi too.
Dining
I had packed emergency Weetbix and muesli bars, but we didn't even touch them. I was full almost all of the time, and rarely had trouble finding something I could eat at a restaurant, despite being limited to vegetarian options. A couple of restaurants had a vegetarian only menu, or section of the menu. Here are some of the places we visited:Jen Deli, Seminyak - A lovely setting next to the Sense Hotel pool, and here we tried our first fresh juices in Bali. They did not disappoint. I also had my first lesson in the fact that they like spicy food, with the quesadillas. They were tasty but a bit fiery!
Warung Mina, Seminyak - Fantastic food, live music, great atmosphere. Loved the banana fritters for dessert.
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| Dragonfruit Crepes at Warung Mina |
Jaansan Bali, Seminyak. We sort of chose this one because it was close, rather than because it looked fabulous from the outside, but we were very pleasantly surprised. The food was excellent as was the service, and they had an entire vegetarian menu to select from.
Tiigo, Seminyak - Megan and I went here for lunch, then took Reid back for dinner another day. Air conditioned, excellent service, food is fresh and delicious. The corn fritters are amazing.
Mya Kitchen, Dash Hotel, Seminyak - Very unusual decor but it is air-conditioned and the food was excellent. Reid decided to try something called chive cakes, which turned out to be savoury mochi and very tasty. Don't miss the bathroom decorations.
Biku, Seminyak - I quite liked this place but the boys didn't like the live Indonesian music. It was very busy there. I had the grilled vegetable salad with the best pesto I've ever tasted.
Clean Canteen - Seminyak - The veggie tacos here cost about $5 and were delicious. They were huge and covered with a fresh salad mix. Enjoyed the atmosphere here too.
Warung Balifornia, outside Ubud - Great decor and food, don't choose the chocolate pizza though.
Kitchenette Beachwalk, Kuta - Huge crepes, delicious fries, super helpful staff.OK Divers Restaurant, Padang Bai. Smaller meals than we had elsewhere but mine was a work of art and surprisingly filling - the beetroot falafels.
RM Manalagi, Singaraja. This was one of our cheapest meals, at 211k for five of us. You can see on the receipt (right), milkshakes were 10k (about $1.10), and my Mie Goreng was 13k. The catch was the entire menu was in Indonesian, so good thing Budi was there with us to help us figure it out.
Activities
Nusa Dua Blowhole - sadly the seas were flat and we didn't see much, but it is a gorgeous spot to visit. It is inside the resort there, and we had to go through security guards who opened the door of the car to check for something before letting us in. I had considered staying at Nusa Dua but in retrospect I am glad we stayed further up in town given that most of the places we visited were north of Denpasar.Melasti beach and cliffs - the cliffs are amazing and the beach was beautiful. Budi took us further down a dirt road past the main beach to a smaller "Beach Club". A pair of chairs is 100k. The water was like a bath. The changerooms were "rustic".
Suluban Cave and Beach - this is a cave that you walk through to get to the main beach. The tide was up so we could not get to the beach, but I loved the cave. Water flowed into the entrance and it was cool and breezy in there.
Uluwatu Temple - instead of walking directly to the temple, Budi had us first walk around to the right to the point, where we were able to get photos of the temple from afar. He picked up a stick from the ground as we walked down towards the cliffs, and used it to ward off the monkeys. We watched a monkey steal the glasses right off a tourists face. Her guide tried to get them back by swapping them for a bottle of coke, but it wasn't falling for that. A local lady came along and managed to coax it into giving them up. We then walked but along the cliffs up to the temple itself. It was hot and sticky.
Ubud Monkey Forest - I was expecting more "monkey business" but for the most part we just enjoyed walking around watching the monkeys doing their thing. We did see a monkey jump on another man who got a bit close. It then tried to open his backpack, and his wife attempted to knock it off with her selfie stick. It then turned on her, chasing her with bared teeth, at which point she screamed and ran, pulling first Reid then me in front of her as human shields. Entry was 80,000 per person.
Taman Sari Waterfall - Budi said it was a little bit less known to tourists. We swam here - you can swim right up to the waterfall. There are some shelves that you can put your stuff on.
Kanto Lampo Waterfall - This is pretty but it was absolutely packed and hard to access from the front. If you can imagine, you come down the path and arrive just to the left of the falls. There is a cliff face in front of you, and the waterfall falls into a river that continues in front of you. So to get a front on view of the waterfalls, you have to get into a narrow river and walk up to stand in front of the falls. There were lines of people waiting to stand under the waterfall in various places to get the perfect instagram photo. Honestly, I'd do Taman Sari again and skip Kanto Lampo.
Goa Lawah Temple (The bat temple) - There was a ceremony happening so we could not go up through the entrance. We were given a guide who took great pains to tell us that he does not get a salary so he would welcome tips. While he put a sarong on me a lady threw a necklace over my head saying it was a gift. I knew I'd be paying for that later. They have it down to a fine art though and you kind of have to go with the flow. The guide was pretty informative and I learned more about the temples and beliefs. The cave was incredible with the roof completely covered in bats. The ceremony involved many groups of people bringing their offerings while many others sat and prayed. I enjoyed watching the proceedings for a while. As we left the hard sell started. The guide had told us about the Balinese calendar and he brought over a woman who wanted to sell us one. She made sure to mention karma is a thing. Then one step outside the gates, the necklace ladies were swarming around us. They were super aggressive to the point of being nasty and it spoiled the experience for me. It also felt out of place, yelling at the tourists while a sacred ceremony was going on inside. I don't blame them for wanting to make money from the tourists - we are asking them to share their culture and lives with us. And I have no objection to paying entrance fees and guides etc. But this sort of aggressive behaviour pits us against each other - tourists vs locals. It was very calculated too - different ladies put necklaces on each of us so they could claim we were supposed to buy something from each of them. It turned a great experience into a very uncomfortable one. It doesn't have to be like that.
Tirta Gangga Water Temple - This was my favourite place. It was at a higher elevation and a bit cooler, and it was so peaceful. Ponds of water surround temples, and stepping stones allow you to feel like you are walking across the surface of the water. Fish food is sold at the entrance and the fish would swarm around us as we sprinkled it into the water.
Gates of Heaven - I'd skip this one too unless you can guarantee arriving at a time when you won't have to wait ages. You pay 10k for a sarong and then make a "donation". You are given a ticket with a number on it, and then you walk up a very steep hill to the temple at the top. The gates are beautiful, no doubt, and the view is probably lovely, but you can't tell because the sole purpose of the gates now is to take illusory photos with a mirror, all day every day. A man with a megaphone calls out a number, the group in question runs up to the gates, works through their prepared poses (no yoga poses allowed), then the next number is called before they've even left the frame. There are actually some amazing buildings BEHIND the gate which I would like to have known more about, but all focus is on the gates. There were about 70 tickets ahead of us, so we had a look around and then left.
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| This is a photo of a random stranger, who had probably waited 2 hours to be able to do this |
Tanah Lot Temple - I loved this spot. Have a stroll around the gardens and rocks, then walk up the hill to the restaurants, order a drink and a snack, and watch the sunset behind the temple. A vendor out the front is selling small green balls rolled in coconut and served in banana leaves. Try them, they are delicious.
Jatiluwih Red Rice Terraces - far bigger than the Ubud rice terraces, you can either take a short walk or a very long one. There is a board showing the possible paths. There are vendors selling cold drinks and snacks along the path. You can buy a packet of small brown and white spiral cone shaped snacks that are quite tasty.
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| Try these - they are made from rice flour |
Temple on the Lake (Ulun Danu). This is another peaceful spot for a stroll. Again I felt it could benefit from some more detailed signs about the history / purpose of the complex.
Jembong Waterfall (near Singaraja) - Incredible spot, and only 20k entry fee. It is hard to describe how beautiful this spot is. There are no other tourists here. At the top a large waterfall cascades over the rocks into a small pool where you can swim. The water then splits into multiple streams that follow the path down into two swimming pools on different levels. It is cooler up here in the mountains and not as humid as well. There is a flying fox for 40k that the kids enjoyed.
Aling Aling Waterfall complex - This one cost 125k per person but was well worth it. We were given two guides, who walked us down to the first waterfall. Here you can don a lifejacket and slide down a natural waterslide, and jump off a 5m platform into the water. Then they take you to the 10m platform, then lastly there is a 15m platform that sits over a pool of water where you can swim. Megan sat on the edge for a bit and had fish nibbling at her feet, kind of like those fish spa tanks that they have in town. The guides were very helpful and friendly, taking photos and videos. At the end, you walk all the way back up to where you started, then keep going to the top waterfall, which is again spectacular. We were there for about 1.5 hours. You are supposed to tip the guides - I gave them 50k each.
Health
We were very wary of the tap water, after reading many warnings before we arrived.We did not use the tap water for drinking or brushing our teeth. We took refillable water bottles with us which we filled from the dispenser at the Villa, and also purchased some large water bottles as needed from the local mini mart.
I took a mosquito repellent spray with us and used it obsessively. Many of the restaurants were outdoors so it became good practice to spray before heading out for the evening. One of the restaurants even had their own bottle on the table. Megan got a number of bites on the first day, but I was also prepared with Stingose, which she said helped straight away.
Overall we made it through the trip without any major illnesses, a new feat for us.
Both Dallas and I felt a little off a couple of times. I took some preventative Gastrostop on a couple of mornings. I don't know whether it works that way, but I felt better.
Megan's stomach played up a bit for the last couple of days. Unfortunately, although we didn't know it at the time, she arrived home with the beginnings of a nasty throat infection. She was aching all over on the day that we flew home, but we thought she was just sore from all of the waterfall jumping the day before. She went to bed at home and spent 2 days in bed with a raging fever and aching all over. I spent far more time than I should have googling diseases that she could have picked up in Bali like Dengue Fever, or the new outbreak of Coronavirus. She was not in a good way and I was concerned. Luckily the fever broke and she seems fine now. Dallas came down with it right as she got better. Reid and I appear to have escaped unscathed.
Departure
After check-in you go through the normal security, then immigration. Immigration was the slowest part of the process, which was frustrating since it is little more than a wave goodbye.
A short and winding stroll through the duty free shop, and then we were in the main departure area. We found our most expensive dinner here (900k), but it was tasty. This took up most of the time before departure.
The flight left from gate 6a, which was a Harry Potter-esque gate between the others - obviously tacked on at some point. The strangest part here was that there was ANOTHER security check on entry to the departure gate. They were taking liquids from people here, which I didn't quite understand. From here we boarded a shuttle bus that took us out to the plane, then we were on our way home.
Final thoughts
I enjoyed Bali more than I thought I would. I am ashamed to say that I had avoided it because it is kind of the cliche holiday from Australia. Budi said that there are a lot of people that arrive in Kuta and never leave the city. I was glad that we were able to get out and see the island, even though it was a LOT of driving. Nothing is close, the traffic is terrible, and distances that might take 30 mins at home could take 2 hours there, so choose your location carefully.
The only thing that I felt I missed out on was a better sense of the history of the island. There is a state museum but the reviews didn't make me want to spend the time it would take to get across town to it. Apparently it is full of people trying to sell souvenirs, sometimes very aggressively. I did a bit of googling to try to figure it all out, but I find it is far better to hear the story of a people from the people themselves. Our visit to Vietnam was a great example of this - I learned a great deal from the museums there about how the Vietnamese people tell their own history. I would like to have heard more of that from the Balinese people.
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