Bali Holiday 2015

by - October 20, 2015


The good thing about workaholism is people love hiring me so I've jumped from contract to job to contract to job to contract. The downside is I haven't had a proper holiday in 5 years. So this year when Chris & Chrissy announced their Bali Wedding in August and I learned my former housemate/family would be there, I booked my flights and forced myself not to look for work after my last role finished. Best idea ever.


Bali has never made it onto my travel wishlist. I've pretty much only heard drunken Aussie bogan (or as one Balinese local joked, "Aaah, wanker") party stories. I don't drink or party these days. But the Indonesian bride built an entire website to help us find some beautiful, less touristy places for our Bali adventures so we ended up having a blast.

We stayed in Seminyak, a trendier tourist spot and nicer experience than Aussie/party-central Kuta for the first part of the trip. We ate, we shopped, we looked at a beach but swam in the private pool in our Bali Ayu Villa. For the second half (and the wedding) we stayed in central Ubud at the Pertiwi Resort & Spa thanks to a room upgrade from the Pertiwi Bisma 1, which was a little further out. Sacrificing a couple of infinity pools for short walks to delicious food and daily ice creams wasn't so bad.
Highlights from this trip:
  • The gorgeous, green scenery
  • The lovely, positive locals
  • Green Village where the wedding is held was a fantasy land
  • Tegallalang rice fields - go to here, have a drink or meal at one of the cafes overlooking the stunning view. Climb down and up and back again if you're fit and ready to work out them thighs.
  • Kecak and Fire Dance at Uluwatu Temple - the traditional sunset dance experience was beautiful. Get there early and nab a seat on the left when facing the stage so you can see the sun set.
  • Bali Pulina coffee plantation makes delicious teas and coffees and you get to try them free. They take you on a tour beforehand to show you the plants and how the Luwak coffee is made. We bought the saffron tea and chocolate spice tea - sooooo yummy. 
  • Waterbom - sending the boys off to the rides while I lazed around in pool.
  • Monkey Forest - being mugged by a monkey who thought my yellow, Carmen's lip balm was a banana. 



The things I learned on this trip:
  • I don't take enough photos on holiday 
  • Buy a SIM at the airport (we took hours to find a phone store in Seminyak, following directions from locals is tricky and Google Maps doesn't do so well in Bali) 
  • Hire a driver to get around and learn local history if they speak English - we highly recommend Kadek - SMS or Whatsapp/Viber him on: +62-857-3922-1503. If he's busy, he will arrange a fellow driver to take care of you. 
  • Balinese people are the most considerate and patient drivers. Any aggression on the road was from foreigners (so embarassment) 


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2 comments

  1. How many 7-11's do you think we went into to find a SIM?

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    Replies
    1. Over a dozen? They started to look the same to me after the first hour.

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