Bali
So it took me 3 months to get my life and post about my trip to Bali with Ms B. I hope it makes planning easier to GO SEE BALI.!!
Time to plan the trip: 3 Months
Airlines used: Delta, Scoot Airlines
Route taken: Raleigh – Minneapolis- Japan- Singapore- Bali
Hotels: Hilton Garden inn, Hilton Resort and Equilbria Hotels (private Villa)
Here are my top 20 recap and must know about Bali.
1. Getting there. The journey to Bali is a long one, (28 to 40 hours depending on route) best enjoyed in first class, premium economy or exit row seats. We looked for the shortest connection within Asia to get to Bali and settled on the route above. The immigration process was a bit tiring, AC was out and we were sweating like sacrificial goats waiting in line to get to our cross city train to Narita airport. The train ride from Haneda to Narita takes about 90 minutes. We will share more details on our experience in Japan, make sure you have cash on you, paying with credit cards for bus or train tickets wasn’t allowed. PS you can also fly into Narita depending on airline and flights.
The flight from Narita to Singapore was ~ 7 hours. We broke up our journey and stayed in Singapore for a day, explored the city and took the flight from Singapore to Bali the following day. We will share our experience about Singapore in a separate post as well.
Flying into Bali from Singapore took 2.5 hours, is breathtakingly beautiful and worth the long trip. The Volcanoes, little Islands ohhh my heart!
2. The people. Balinese population is 90% Hindu, 10% Muslim and Christian. About 4 million folks.
The culture of respect, customer service and collaboration is on point here. All the tour drivers will match you with top notch locally owned spas, restaurants, coffee houses, markets Etc. They look out for one another and it’s just so awesome to see. They treat you well and if you happen to pause, smile, talk and simply be kind they go way over. We met a few very entitled Australians and their condescending behaviour exhibited in an executive lounge but that’s a story for another day. My thought was, my guy they are human and they are responsible for your food and drink. Oponu! aka big dummy! Conversing with some Balinese people, they confirmed this as well. All in all I love their industrious spirits, hustle mentality and how they create with their hands.
3. Transportation. Motorbikes and cars as there really is no public transportation. I saw many folks rent scooters but I refuse to play roulette with my life. We had a driver daily. He picked us up from the airport, drove us all over daily and had an amazing itinerary based on what we asked for and a few extras. Side-note in some remote areas, we saw no traffic lights, roads are narrow like real narrow. We used, “discoverbalidriver8@gmail.com
4.Culture. Balinese celebrate the heck outta their culture! We visited many temples and attended cultural events. The first temple we visited was built 10th century.
5. Accommodation. Day one we got in late and tired so we checked into the Hilton Garden Inn, which is right at the airport (max of a 4 min drive) to relax. If you use points it was only 5000. ****bargain ** Next day we moved to Hilton resort. For 2 days. Then we moved to http://www.equilibriahotels.
6.Attire. Pack light attire, such as linen/cotton, shorts, tank tops and a good pair of walking shoes. It’s super humid in Bali.. Exception, when visiting temples and holy places, people please do as they ask for your shoulders and or knees to be covered.These are sacred spaces, please respect that. They even provide wraps for free if you forget. Our driver brought fresh laundered wraps for us.
7. Tranquility. I enjoyed Ubud more than Seminyak. Ubud is more restful and had better views while Seminyak is slightly commercialized. Now our villa was hidden and you would never know it’s near a street.
8. Temples. A visit to Bali without seeing a few temples will be incomplete. Our first one was “The heaven’s gate(Batuan Village Temple). You pay 10,000 Rupiah to get your wrap and enter. This temple was build in the 10th century. Our driver and guide is simply amazing. If there is one thing I will tell anyone coming to these parts; get a driver. No don’t rent a scooter, no don’t try doing cabs or grab. Plan an itinerary and a driver is a must.
9. Wildlife and animals. If you are scared of monkeys, pray, plan to run back to the car or stay drunk and oblivious. They are very smart animals. See video in post..
10. Nusa Penida. We went to a remote island called Nusa Penida only accessible from Bali by boat. Ms B got on a speed boat for the first time ever like a champ… The views were simply out of this world. The drive around was totally treacherous and if you are easily SCARED, you might lose your breakfast from fright. See photos.
11. Heaven’s gate. Money shot photo at heaven’s gate. Be prepared to walk A LOT and I mean uphill, why did I try this type of walking. The drive up the mountain is in a “molue” aka open flat bed truck sitting on a bench with no seat belts. Trust me you will remember all prayers your grandparents taught you in this joint. Best part? We still had internet signal..
12. Tourists. On this trip I had a few “da hell is wrong with people” moments. Refusing to cover up at temples and being rude to service folks. Smh humans! Anyway next.
13. The coffee. Ohhhh the coffee was amazing. We went to a coffee plantation. Do not feel pressured to buy coffee there. It is organic, and expensive but really good. We bought some but then went to the grocery store and bought store brands. Best bang for your buck.
14. Food. The spices, the fruit, the taste of food was awesome and orgasmic. We ate most of our meals at the villa as they had an amazing selection. After a day of walking 15-20k steps we just wanted food, a pool and a bed.
15. My heart captured♥️♥️. No matter where you go to, Balinese people are some of the most friendly people I’ve encountered along my travels. Very kind, respectful and even when there’s a language barrier, they still try their possible best to either help or educate one about their culture. Really heartwarming how welcoming these people are.
16. Places to visit. We visited Tirta Ganga which was about 3 hours away from Seminyak, a fire and dance celebration, silver and Batik factory, Heaven’s gate, Butterfly park, a few more temples. Check out photos and videos below.
17. Protect your coins. Get cash out of the ATM and bring single USD for tips. Local airlines Read the fine print. Let me be kind and say #ScootAirlines is special. ***eye-rolls*** We shouldn’t complain in America about baggage fees.Our local airline tickets were purchased 45 days ahead, but they have strict hand luggage guidelines, yikes!! . So after check in, we had to pay 36 Singapore dollars each for our 20″rollers. It’s 30% cheaper to pay online, however, they collect that discount right back, by charging a 40 dollar processing fee. *** boxes air ***
18. The crafts, woodwork, metal carvings, flowers, vegetation were fabulous. There is a huge store there where you can purchase all kinds of souvenirs. I can’t remember the name but all the drivers know it.
19. The Kara’s Spa is a must! We had the famous flower bathe, a three hour massage and slept like babies on our way back to the hotel.
20. I would love to go back someday. Yes it’s a long trip but you will forget about that once you see the beauty. I hope you have as much fun and lil kid joy as we did. To summarize, in the words of Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes “dirty dancing soundtrack” I had the time of my life.
Gallery not found.
© Copyright 2021
IT CHIC TRAVELS