We finally took our first trip from Singapore and it was a doozy. Michelle and I were lucky enough to spend 72 hours on the Indonesian island of BALI.
We arrived late Thursday evening to the Ramayana Resort & Spa located in the southern town of Kuta. Our friend Greg described Kuta best as "The Ft. Lauderdale of Bali" which is quite the apt description, there is wall-to-wall traffic and people everywhere (tourists and locals who are selling to the tourists) but it was great... very different from Singapore. Once we got to the hotel, we noticed that the chaos outside was not noticeable inside, we were in the "eye of the hurricane", it was serene, it was relaxing and it was beautiful. We loved it instantly. After a fantastic dinner of Rendang Pedang (Hot Beef Curry) and Nasi Goreng (Indonesian Fried Rice) we retired for the evening, excited for the coming adventures of the next two days.
We woke up late and took part in Ramayana's awesome breakfasts, then sat poolside for a few hours to get some sun. After that, we indulged in an amazing his & her massage that lasted for 2.5 hours (that included a foot bath, foot massage, full body massage and facial) for a measly $50 each... are you bloody well kidding me? Awesome way to kick off the vacation! After that, it was time to explore some of the island. We recruited the services of Wayan to tour us around the island for the next two days and he started by taking over to Nesa Dua, one of Bali's beaches which was a cool site since you could see Bali's two volcanoes across the water. Next we drove up to Uluwatu, an ancient temple on the southernmost tip of the island which is famous for it's views and it's thieving monkeys! The views are spectacular, the temple is on a 200 foot cliff that overlooks the Indian Ocean and since it was late in the day, we were getting to witness an amazing sunset. The monkeys were hilarious and they truly were thieves, lifting sunglasses, food and whatever else they could get their hands on and I'm not talking about a couple of monkeys here, I'm talking dozens & dozens of monkeys.
We also witnessed a traditional Kecek Fire Dance as the sun set at the temple, what made this unique was that the entire piece was sung by 40 Balinese men rather than having music for the performers, it was a uniquely cool show. We finished the evening with a delicious fresh seafood dinner on the beach and I'm not talking about a restaurant beside the beach, I'm talking about our table and chairs were in the sand next to the big waves of Jimbaran Bay. The beach was lined with tables and chairs, it was a touch touristy but still a cool experience and the food was fantastic (especially the chili butter grilled corn cobs).
Day 2 started even earlier as we took off before 9 for a full day of touring. We started in the town of Batubalan to watch a traditional Barong & Kris Dance. We then drove through Celuk & Mas to see some of the Painting and Wood Sculpture work that are done in those towns, we bought some pieces as well. We then drove up to Kintamani which is across the valley from Batur Mountain one of the island's volcanoes. Very cool scene to see all the lava devastation from past eruptions (yes, it's still active but "sleeping" as the locals say). Next, we drove down the road to a Plantation where we actually tried Kopi Luak, the infamous "Cat Poo Coffee", this plantation grows coffee beans, cocoa beans, vanilla, cinnamon, coconuts, chilis and bananas and they also house a few Palm Civet Cats, the creatures responsible for the poopy coffee. How does it taste? Strong, slightly bitter and there's a lot of sediment. I preferred the local "Ginseng Coffee" since a creature didn't crap it out for me to drink, but that's just me.
After a good cup of Joe, we visited Tampaksiring, home of the amazing Holy Spring Water Temple which is still in use today. Men and Women come from all over Bali to bathe in its blessed waters and pray throughout the day. Our guide told us that only the high priest is privileged enough to step foot in the actual "walled off natural cold spring" and that's only for religious ceremonies. We then drove through the rice terraces of Tegallalang as we made our way to Ubud (the somewhat "art" capital of Bali). There we toured the town, walked through the public market and checked out the palace, we will definitely be going back there for sure. A long drive back to Kuta, a drink at the bar and a dinner at the restaurant capped off our long day.
Day three was more relaxed, after breakfast and some pool time, we checked out of the room, left our bags at the hotel and explored the town of Kuta itself. It is a beach town and the beach itself is amazing, the sand, the surf, it was truly a sight to behold. We hung out there for a bit and came back a few hours later to watch the sun set. After that, a final meal before heading to the airport to catch our late flight home.
Our first weekend in Bali was amazing and I promise you, it won't be our last. We really fell in love with the place and I highly recommend you go and visit it when you get the chance but don't just take my word for it, check out our pictures from the weekend HERE!
