When we planned our six months in Asia, Indonesia was not on our itinerary. We started to change our minds when we were invited to join Mark and Hanse and their Korean mates for a long weekend (which we unfortunately couldn’t join) and saw their countless insty pics filled with beach clubs, sunsets and great food. When we were again invited for a group trip a few weeks later with our mates Jen, Luke and Rochy we decided fate must be telling us to check it out. Well fate, you were right – Bali was pretty cool!
We spent eight days with the crew in Bali – four nights in Canggu on the beach and four nights in Ubud surrounded by rice paddies. We then headed over to Gili Air for four nights on our own (but more on Gili Air later).
Overall, Bali felt a lot like being in Australia (probably Melbourne) and I mean that in both a positive and negative way. On the pros we were spoiled for choice with great brunch spots and awesome coffee. For dinner we had some delicious meals washed down with tasty cocktails and fine wines. This made Bali a perfect destination to catch up with our friends, relax and enjoy life. On the cons though, it didn’t really feel like we were exploring Asia anymore – we probably didn’t learn anything about Indonesian culture or discover anything about ourselves (other than a good reminder of what we already knew – we enjoy good food, drinks and coffee) and budget wise we burned cash at a rate of about two to three times that of Sri Lanka (prices fluctuated just below or even just above Melbourne prices depending on the bar/restaurant).
Those cons can be happily disregarded though as we expected them going in and we were in Bali to enjoy ourselves and spend time with a great group of mates – on that criteria Bali nailed it.
Eating, Drinking and Sleeping in Bali
Our accommodation in Canggu was at a small, recently developed private villa complex called Tamarind Villas – about a five minute walk from Berawa beach. Our three bedroom villa was perfect for a group of five of us with each room being a great size and having its own outdoor bathroom. The highlight though was the very good sized private pool where we spent countless hours swimming, drinking Bintang beers, teaching Rochy to dive (for the first time), and trying to do handstands (also Rochy’s first time). When we dragged ourselves out of the pool we spent time using our private pool table – building up a sweat then jumping back in the pool.
Our accommodation in Ubud was also a villa. For our first night we each had our own private villa with a private pool #terriblebackpackers! This was unprecedented luxury and burned a massive hole in the budget. For nights two to four we stayed at the same complex in a family villa which was essentially the same set up as the private villa with two tiny rooms bolted on meant for four adults. We made it work but I certainly wouldn’t recommend this set up for groups of friends – probably better for a young family. The villa was luxurious though and the breakfasts were awesome.
Bali is absolutely packed with great cafes and restaurants and we did plenty of eating and drinking. The frustrating part is the exceptionally slow traffic (especially in a taxi but hard enough even walking on the footpath) which means you really need to choose options that are ultra local. The following were a few of our favourites definitely worth a visit.
Lazy Cats Cafe in Ubud is perfect for chilling out and drinking very good coffee (check out the cold brew also) with tasty toasties and healthy salads.
Ruko cafe in Canggu. This was very close to where we stayed and our go to coffee (and sometimes lunch) option. Highly recommended.
Seniman Coffee Studio in Ubud for serious coffee drinking! Perhaps not quite as cool a vibe as Ruko but coffee as good as you’ll find anywhere.
Naughty Nuri’s in Ubud for simple, cooked on the roadside ribs and satays that are perfect to fill you up after a long walk in the countryside.
Ulekan Restaurant in Canggu for very good quality local food. Much cheaper options elsewhere but Ulekan has a good ambience and top notch food.
Things to See & Do in Bali
We could have easily spent our entire time eating, drinking and relaxing in the villas but Bali does have enough to keep you busy. We checked out Sundays Beach Club (one of many beach clubs around). You pay (a lot!) to get in and spend the day lounging by a pretty nice beach. On the day we went it was a bit too choppy to swim and I found the overall experience a bit underwhelming for the price. Others in the group had a great time so maybe I’m just not a beach club kind of guy.
The sunrise hike up to Mount Batur is not to be missed! Yes, it involves getting picked up at 2:30am in a shared mini bus and winding your way up the mountain in (at best) moderate comfort. Sure, the “included breakfast” the tours offer is actually a warm instant coffee and some kind of fried banana at a roadside cafe where it took a while to move on sleeping wild dogs from under the table. And, OK it is not usually my dream start to spend a couple of hours following a line of literally several thousand tourists up a hill. Put these things aside (or include them because they make it) and you are rewarded with absolutely spectacular views of the clouds lifting and the sun rising above this dormant, but ready to wake at any time, volcano. The hike is moderate to difficult, made more challenging by the fact it is done using a headtorch only and there are quite a lot of loose rocks to navigate.
We absolutely loved this tour – the pictures can explain why!
The Tegallalang Rice Terraces about 30 minutes out of Ubud’s main centre are well worth a visit for some great photo opportunities. The terraces are a collective of several different rice farms and you can walk (often in mud, wear shoes you are happy to destroy) between the farms. Be warned though that the ticket you buy to enter is disregarded by the individual gatekeepers for each farm who will insist on a donation to continue to their section. My (somewhat frustrated) attempts to refuse to pay more than the ticket price were met with indifference – save yourself the anger and just bring a few extra small notes to fish out whenever asked.
Finally, we did a great walk just near Ubud town called the Campuhan Ridge Walk. This is a great, nicely paved, walk that takes you through a mini forrest and past some beautiful scenery. The walk took us a couple of hours and walked us right past Naughty Nuri’s Ribs (see above) for a post walk snack! The walk can be a little hard to find – follow the useful guide at The Almost Landing Bali blog and you will be fine.
We enjoyed our time in Bali with friends – next up it’s back to the two of us for 4 four nights in the Gili Islands.
