Bali, Indonesia

Good day!

A friend of mine just asked about my most recent trip to Bali,Indonesia because she would be visiting that sunny island soon! So I'll share what I had experienced within the short 3 days I had there. Prior the trip, Jon and I picked up the travel guide 'Bali and Lombok' by Mary Justict Thomasson-Croll, Published by Wiley, to get a rough idea of what we could see and try in Bali. It served us well in recommendations on food and travel, so you could borrow it from the National Library over the many travel books available about this popular destination!

It was about a 2.5 hour flight from Singapore's Changi International Airport before arriving at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar (DPS), the capital of Bali. We had spotted clear blue-green waters just before touching down and were psyched up about this reputable site for all things sun, sand and sea! This trip saw us exploring some parts of the South-East area of Bali and it was a splendid 3 days spent soaking up the sun and feasting on a range of cuisines available, mostly suited to the tourists flocking in.

We had arranged for airport transfer to our hotel located in the Seminyak area of Bali- just slightly North of the popular Kuta area. Seminyak hosts fine eateries and shopping joints hidden between local mini-marts and shophouses that offer many traditional Indonesian-Javenese cuisines. The roads around the areas we visited were not made for walking and our initial oblivion to this, had the taxis (the main transport around) going on a horning frenzy once they saw us. Our choice to take on the bustling narrow roads on foot paid off handsomely as it gave us time to discover hidden gems throughout the first day.

Our first stop-over point was at Bali Catering company, a surprising misfit next to shophouses along Jl Petitenget and it took some getting used towards the jumble of the different sights and sounds within these winding streets! This little cafe offered a range of cakes, tarts, macarons and other sweet delights. We tried their lemon tart and macarons and were not at all disappointed with the standard of this afternoon snack from this prestigious company; see: http://www.balicateringcompany.com/home/

We continued jumping over drains and skipping over the rocky side trail while consciously avoiding incoming traffic and waving off touting taxi drivers for about an hour, passing many high-end shops selling mainly designer wear targeted at the tourists roaming these streets. Although it seems like we had been on a random tour of the streets, we had been in fact trailing towards our first must-see destination on our list, the Potato Head Beach Club!

Just around another random corner, lies this gorgeous must-go site!

We settled in for a drink to admire the sunset in the horizon behind the infinity pool which lay just beyond the lawn! The Club was split into 4 main areas, the pool side deck beds, the standing bar just to the right of the pool, the bar lounge- which was where we were at, and the dining area just behind us, promising a fantastic overview of what surrounded us in this horse-shoe shaped structure. The background music transitted from jazzy-slow to slightly more trance, catering to the different groups of people streaming in as the night went on! Perfect place to relax in, through the evening.

We had dinner amidst the beautiful people and scenery which felt worlds' apart from the bustling streets of Bali that we had earlier emerged from.The French Onion soup and Baramandi Fish shared between us was a fantastic choice and we agreed that this is probably our favourite dish we had the entire trip!

Our night ended with us bidding farewell to this swanky hang out, before taking a taxi ride back to the hotel. Was thankful for the fixed rate charging list that was displated at Potato Head transport service counter, saving us some time and effort from going through the bargaining process to determine the rates ( Taxis in Bali do not go by the meter).
Our second day was dedicated to all things to do with all the outdoor fun! We headed for the beach and did 3 main things- snorkelling in the surprisingly cooling waters, sat on the banana boat along the beautiful coastal line and finally parasailed over the blue-green waters!

Hovering just above the clownfish we spotted

 Examining a starfish

 Take off

Our theme for the day coincided with our choices for lunch and dinner locations, which had a similar comfortable outdoor setting but each serving up entirely different ambience and cuisines.

Ambushed entrance to Cripsy Duck Restaurant

Pretty dining area

View through lunch

We had lunch at a Indonesian food joint recommended by a local guide earlier that morning, which was located very conveniently, a 10 minutes walk from our hotel. The restaurant, named the 'Crispy Duck', lay hidden behind shops selling rock carvings and hand-made furniture. It would've been an easy miss if we did not have a heads up on its' rough whereabouts! The restaurant was furnished with the classic wooden furniture sold in Bali and it overlooked a massive padi field, allowing the income gentle breeze to accompany us over their star dish of crispy duck!

Our choice for dinner was one the must-try list that we had compiled! 'Sardine' is pretty well-known and was only about 100 metres from our hotel lobby. It attracts mainly the tourists looking for an excuisite selection of fish and dessert!

View from our seat

We arrived at the restaurant, and as all the other great places visited, was pleasantly surprised upon entering into this cozy restarant. We had not made a booking ( it was really crowded for a Thursday dinner!) and got an outdoor seat, overseeing a beautiful view of the strategically decorated padi field.

 King Fish with olives dip and chick peas on the side

Snapper with a citrus topping

After wiping our plates clean, we had to look at the dessert menu and I was completely blown away by the exotic range they offered! Just to name some: Black pepper ice cream, Sour cherry-almond praline and goat cheesecake, Chocolate mousse with fresh chilli shortbread!! After staring down at the list for a long while, we set our sights on having the 'raspberry and candied pistachio semifreddo'!

It was a plate up of macarons enveloping the rasberry and pistachio ice cream, surrounded by passion fruit and strawberry caviar with white balsamic syrup. It was heavenly!

Our last and final day was reserved for trying out white water rafting for the first time ! This was highly recommended by the driver who took us to the beach the day before. We headed for Ayung River in Ubud where there were almost 20 companies to choose from, offering competitive prices depending on the amenities provided, duration of the tour and the option for an accompanying meal. Ours was a 2 hour white water rafting adventure with lunch provided at the end point, costing close to SGD$40. 

A waterfall stop-over point for picture taking!

It was a great ride for a first-timer as we enjoyed a fair share of introductory rapids leading up to more turbulent ones! Our guide was a friendly chap who spoke in Bahasa, English, Korean and Chinese, taking extra efforts to make the journey lively. Amazing service we got and it was an extremely memorable highlight of our trip to Bali!

We concluded our trip with a trip down to Metis, a high end restaurant just next to our hotel. We had spent the whole trip peering in and wondering what lay beyond the royal looking gates that was guarded throughout the day. Since it was also recommended by the book we had borrowed, we decided to give this place a try.

Complimentary starter: Tuna

 The best tasting started I have every had! This was a plate up of pan-seared scallops hovering prettily over a creamy,zesty tasting-caviar mix <3

 Main course of chicken stuffed with shitake mushroom with spinach and potatoes on the side.

Main course of roasted pork belly plated alongside spinach and potato balls.

Food was great and almost worth the money we paid! However, despite the great quality as expected of a fine dining restaurant, I would have enjoyed the evening a lot more if the service had been catered to every customer and not those who seemed more wealthy. Although Jon and I agreed that the food was impressive, it was probably ranked the lowest among all the places that we had dined at through the trip.

So, I left Bali with a pleasing tan and a slightly bulging tummy, evident of the glorious food I got to try within the 3 short days! If I have an opportunity to visit again, I'd be sure to spend more time exploring the area of Kuta, take surfing lessons, go diving in search of the sun-fish (fascinating one, go google) and perhaps get to visiting some of the famous temples that crowd Bali. Time wasn't on our side this time round and there is definitely much more to Bali than I got to see!
Until then!