Bali
On arrival in Bali I was collected by Exo travel, it’s a bit of a scrum in the airport and lots of people offering taxi rides so it was lovely to have someone to meet me in an air-conditioned car with a cold bottle of water and a warm, friendly smile.
My first stop was Seminyak on the south coast where I was meeting a friend, we stayed at Grandma’s hotel a simple accommodation with comfortable clean rooms, a 5-minute walk from Seminyak beach and a great spa with massages for £4.50!
Seminyak has a good beach, with sun loungers hireable at around £5 for the whole day and strict lifeguards as the waves can get quite large. There’s also great shopping with hundreds of boutiques lining the streets and my favourite, an excellent flea market where I was picking up dresses for £6. Great for quickly stocking up on your holiday clothes.
After our afternoon swim on the beach we were enticed by the hundreds of multi-coloured beanbags on the beach and ended up staying there long after sun-set, enjoying the live music with feet in sand and beer in hand.
Our next stop was Uluwatu, famous for its surfing. We stayed at the Bali Green Hills, a lovely room based over two floors with a sitting room down stairs and a lovely large bedroom with two bathrooms and good air conditioning. As there’s only 5 units’ we never saw another person and had the pool to ourselves almost the entire time. It is however a little far away from the main areas so a scooter is highly recommended. We spent the days exploring the beaches and visited the Uluwatu Temple, a Balinese sea temple which has a traditional dancers show at sunset, which is a beautiful time to visit although expect crowds and be aware of the monkey’s. I saw one gnawing on someone’s sunglasses.
Uluwatu is quieter and more laid back then other areas of Bali with lots of great health food restaurants and beautiful beaches, however the area around is really renowned for its surf so finding a calm bay to swim can be tricky. For a bit of night life especially on a Sunday night head to Single Fin and for the most amazing breakfast find your way to Buddha Soul.
We carried on our road trip to Ubud for a night, the culture capital of Bali. With the Hindu influence the temples and buildings are just incredible and on the main street there’s even a Starbucks snuck in. We spent the afternoon walking around the markets and admiring the architecture then settled into some cocktails at the Ooh bar on the main street.
From nightly cultural performances to museums showing the works of artists whose creativity flowered here, to the green rice fields that spill down lush hillsides to rushing rivers below, fine dining, shopping and spa’s Ubud is not to be missed on your Bali itinerary.
Our last day in Bali we decided on a last minute final adventure and drove up to the mountains to visit Pura Ulun Danu Bratan, a major Shivaite and water temple. There were some spectacular views and incredible buildings, the trip was worth it just for the drive alone!
Bali was probably busier than expected and I didn’t get out to the far reaches where it quietens down but the people were so friendly, I felt very safe, the culture was fascinating and there was always something to see and do. Pair it with a nice relaxing stay on the island of Nusa Lembongan and you’ll have a fantastic holiday experience.
This is just a snippet of my time in Bali. Please get in touch on 01534 747826 or kim.pierce@travelcounsellors.com to find out more about this diverse destination.