So why have I never ventured here before when I have travelled crazy distances to get to lands where they eat things called spotted dick and black pudding- the answer is.... I have no idea!
I have loved every second of being in Bali. The constant beeping on the road from scooters carrying a heavy load of furniture, mirrors and seriously... babies and kids... just going along for the ride. The culture and hinduism is incredible. The people are beautiful and need tourists to help their economy.
Yesterday I went Elephant riding- the man who looked after the Elephant was called Jully- the tip I gave him of $10 Australia dollars paid his rent for a month. Apart from that I held a baby Orangutang and a baby leopard. Unfortunately these animals are not treated well and I in no way condone the use of these animals for money, but it is the way of life here and it is their livelihood.
So here are is what I have done in Bali:
A place to stay-
My two sisters and I have shared a room at the W retreat and Spa- Seminyak. It cost around $250 each between 3 of us per night. 3 people can share a room and it's a way of keeping the cost down. You can also get private vallas with their own plunge pool. The spa is amazing! It's located right on Seminyak Beach and in the heart of the shopping and eateries. In Bali everything is quite spread out so you take 5 cent per minute taxi wherever you want to go! There are loads of villas and cheaper places to stay in Seminyak and it's a great area. Only downfall about the W is that there is rooster that crows non stop... but funnily enough once my sister Liz ordered a chicken club sandwich from room service, it stopped. hmmmm.....
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/whotels/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=3221
A place to eat-
There are so many great places i don't know where to start...
The three that stand out that cannot be missed are Sarong and Ku De Ta- both in Seminyak and Sari Organics in Ubud.
- Sarong has asian fusion foods like Miangs (betal leaves with salmon and spices), lamb rogan josh and scallops that I will dream about from here on in. Between 3 sharing it cost about AUD$50 each and was well worth every penny! The setting is balinese and beautiful. Book days in advance because it's hard to get a booking.
http://sarongbali.com/
- Ku De Ta has a places for full meals and also a place for pickings... I am a picking kind of girl but i tried both. HHHHAAAAmazing. It is located on Seminyak beach where you get the pink and orange sunset at around 6:15pm and the cocktails have a healthy amount of alcohol in them... and I mean healthy. If you want gadgets and gift, Balinese women sell trinkets out the front on the beach, remember to bargain!
http://kudeta.net/
- Sari Organics kind of hits 5 stones at once. You need to hire a taxi for the day of near Seminyak which will cost about $AUD25. You drive to Ubud which is an amazing village, you go past women doing Batik silk making on the way as well as silversmiths, some are dodgy, some are nice and you see the monkey conservation where you feed hundreds of monkeys bananas that you buy for AUD$1 from local women. So the good part is walking through the rice paddies to Sari Organics. It's about a 20 minute walk, many photo opportunities and real balinese culture. The food is delicious and wait for it... Organic. Who would have guessed?
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g297701-d1422324-Reviews-Sari_Organic-Ubud_Bali.html
Apart from that others worth mentioning are Bali cafe in Seminyak and Blue Water Seafood in Jimburan Bay (Here you choose your seafood which is still alive and they cook it for you on the spot- you sit on the beach and little Balinese men serenade you for money)
A place to drink-
I have been excited to even write this down! I went to a place in Jimbaran called 'Rock Bar'. It's part of the Ayana Resort and Spa which is hotel that if you had the money and wanted to be secluded is the place to go! Pools overlooking vast ocean, places to eat beyond belief and shops to look at. You really wouldn't have to leave the hotel. Back to rock bar, you take a travelator down to the this rock cliff where you can watch the sunset over ocean as far as you can see. The cocktails are about AUS$15 each and again, they dont go easy on the alcohol in them so remember there are many stairs to get back up. You must dress up (by Bali standards) for this or they don't let you in, this means no singlets, no thongs and no labels/slogans on clothing. It was one of the most unbelievable experiences of my life. However, the cocktail waitresses are rude and ripped us off so even if you're going somewhere nice make sure you count your money in front of them of they'll change notes and say you haven't paid enough. Still it's a MUST DO! Take your camera.
http://www.ayanaresort.com/rockbarbali/wp/
A place to see-
My sisters and I went to Bali safari and Marine Park yesterday- you take a ride on a jeep bus train thing and on either, no kidding are African animals- like 2 metres from you. Then you can hold a baby Orangutang and pat a baby Leopard. If you have or know kids- you can stay in the park in a resort where you have breakfast with lions and see rhinos from your balcony. I know my niece and nephew would love that.
http://www.balisafarimarinepark.com
From there we went to Bakas Elephant tour about 30 mins from Bali safari. We went on elephants through water, through the mountain side and they did tricks with us on their back. Very safe even though I was terrified for parts- they're HUGE. But as my carer Jully explained to me- "if you fall off no good for me, I get no tip and then you don't tell your aussie friend to come". True Jully...true, gald you're concerned about my life. The carers take heaps of photos for you- and are obsessed at snapping away at the elephants metre long "doodoo", I think they mean doodle. My elephant, Andrew had "biggest doodoo, over metre long"- that made me proud and a little chuffed to be honest. Good work Andrew.
http://balielephantpark.com/elephant.html
A place to boat and swim-
We met a Balinese gentleman called "Mambo" on Nusa Dua beach. He drove us to another side of the beach and we went banana boating, donut riding and waterskiing. The water is warm and the rides are safe. Mambo owns Turtle Island and even though we didn't get there this time, it is a marine conservation and they have 600 baby turtles a year being born. Mambo will take you there and show you around. His cousin 'D' was one of our drivers for the week- We used him for 12 hours one day and he charged us AUD$27.
http://www.balistarisland.com/Bali-Adventure-Sightseeing/Turtleislandtours.html
A place to relax-
Body works, ohhhhh body works.... located in Seminyak and one in Ubud, this place is the business. Every treatment you can think of and for very little money. You also get a small Balinese lady climbing on your back and if you're concerned about nakedness, leave that at the door. Every part of your body is massaged while in your birthday suit.
Mani/ pedi- no words. Just bliss. Make a booking about an hour before and look around the shops just nearby.
http://bodyworksbali.com/
Speaking of drivers I'm going to give you the names of two. Their English and knowledge of Bali was second to none.
D: +6181337820122
Johnny: +6281999945899
You can do cooking classes for round AUD$50. You start with the markets and choose the produce then go into a kitchen and learn how to cook Nasi Goreng and other Balinese foods. One of these was in Ubud but have a look on the internet at menus of what you'd like to cook because there are a fair few.
Note that i havent mentioned Kuta... well just note it.
In Seminyak on the main strip are two shakuhachi stores which sell clothes much cheaper than in Australia.
I hope you come to Bali one day, as I've had the time of my life (cue Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze)... nobody puts baby in the corner.
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