Unfortunately, the start of our oasis escape wasn't so relaxing. We messed up the time of our tickets AND almost got in a very scary car accident that we missed our flight, which was definitely a bummer. It was the last flight going to Jakarta, so we would miss our early AM connection in Bali. We were so crazed in racing to the airport, getting new tickets and then collapsing in my apartment for what turned out to only be a short "nap" before our new flight (we had to leave for the airport at 3 am), that the whole episode quickly became incredibly amusing--we were two disheveled, hot messes.
Christina, disheveled, appropriately consoling herself with an ice cream
Our luck only got better once we landed in Bali. We hadn't arranged for a driver to pick us up from the airport to take us to our hotel and we were very nervous about getting ripped off or scammed, but thankfully, the rates to each hotel were pre-fixed, so we could rest easy. We had decided to stay at the Ritz Carlton in Jimbaran because, compared to any other Ritz in the world, this place was a bargain! Only $200 a night for a regular room! We checked in, were "laid" with gorgeous, fragrant frangipani flowers and were served a tasty tropical welcome beverage. The receptionist soon informed us that because of overbooking, we had been upgraded to a PRIVATE VILLA with a private pool, and hopefully that would be okay. We were ecstatic! We could not have gotten any luckier and thought that perhaps if we hadn't missed our flight, we would just gotten a regular hotel room.
Lay and welcome beverage--still not looking so great after the long and arduous journey
A buggy (gold cart) then took us to our villa which was absolutely stunning--not as over the top as the Four Seasons in Samui, but certainly top notch. We had a private pool, with a little pavilion and lounge chairs; we had a great bedroom with the most comfortable down pillows and comforters (the turn down service was also great and we were left the best dark chocolate in little gold Ritz Carlton wrappers); our bathroom was incredible and the bathtub was filled with rose petals and also had a great view of our surrounding garden; the living room was also lovely and stocked with fresh, local fruits that we feasted on for breakfast.
Our pool and little pavilion
Christina lounging in the pavilion
Our bedroom
View from the Bathroom
Rose petal bath
Our living roomThe rest of the Ritz compound, as Christina liked to call it, was also mind-blowingly impressive. Everything was perfectly decorated with ornate Balinese statues; the flowers were in full bloom in all colors; the three pools were all exquisite--the ocean beach pool was my favorite, an infinity pool looking out over the beach; the lower pool with the water flowing from the upper pool, and with a view of the aquarium was also pretty spectacular. The restaurants were absolutely delicious--we had dinner there our first night as a treat to begin the vacation. The spa and gym was also lovely. The Ritz spa is famous for its aquatonic pool that's used for water-based massaged and relaxation. I really wanted to try the pool, but it was closed for renovation, alas. The hotel was also perfectly suited for couples and newlyweds--there was a marriage pavilion to hold weddings and also two different areas where you could have a private, candlelight dinner.
On the Ritz grounds
Flowers along one of the staircases
The lower pool
The ocean beach infinity pool
Me overlooking the beach in the infinity pool
View on the way down to the ocean beach pool
One of the fountain-statues
Me and Christina at dinner on our first night
After relaxing and hanging around the pools on our first day, we decided to take a short snorkeling trip on our second day, and in the evening, try to see the Uluwatu temple. So, after sleeping in and lounging by our villa pool, we went to make arrangements for snorkeling. I'd read that Blue Lagoon was a great place to snorkel, but the hotel suggested Nusa Dua since we only wanted a short snorkel trip; the other offering was a full-day and we didn't have time. So, we went to Nusa Dua, about 30 minutes away to snorkel. Unfortunately, it wasn't the best experience and it was our first glimpse into the environmental degradation and exploitation of natural resources that is occurring now in Bali.
Our little boat took us in very shallow waters, right over reefs--something you're not supposed to do--and we could see the boat was leaking fuel into the waters. A lot of the waters were dirty and the first spot was so bad that we insisted he take us somewhere else. We did get to a nicer spot where we saw some interesting fish and some pretty coral; I also saw a number of beautiful starfish. Even at this spot though, there was some trash in the water and there were so many boats in such a small area. It made me very sad that the people were so poor that they exploited their only means of income--snorkeling, a tourism activity. A friend of mine did go to the Blue Lagoon on a full day trip and said it was absolutely marvelous--the waters were clear and the visibility was great and the biodiversity was extraordinary. Perhaps if I go back, I'll try it out.
We returned to the hotel to relax a bit before the driver we'd arranged would pick us up to take us to see Uluwatu temple, a 1000-year old Hind temple. When our driver arrived, he actually had a guide with him too, which was great. Our driver's name was Coman and our guide's name was Made, pronounced "mah-deh." He was a very nice man and his English was very good. He told us how in Bali, the first child is always called "Wayan," the second is "Made," and the third is "Coman," so Coman, our driver was his younger brother!
Made also told us a little bit about Balinese culture, and how different is was from the rest of Indonesia. First off, the Balinese are Hindu, not Muslim like the rest of Indonesia. Also, they speak Balinese, their own language, which is very different from Bahasa Indonesian. As Made spoke, we could tell that the Balinese really identify more as "Balinese" than Indonesian, but that this was also true of the Javanese, the people of Java, and the Sulawesi, the people who live in the Indonesian part of Borneo, and people from Sumatra, etc. It was interesting because we saw many Indonesian flags, but no one said anything about being Indonesia, but more about being Javanese or Balinese etc, identifying more with their own local culture, which they believe is very different from others.
Coman and Made took us to Uluwatu just before the sunset. He warned us that we had to put all our things--sunglasses, jewelry, etc--in our bags or else the monkeys roaming the ruins would take them! He told us that the Balinese love monkeys, but that these were mischievous monkeys so we should be very careful, also with our cameras since they'd been known to steal cameras too. He also told us that if either of us were in our "female cycle," we couldn't come in the temple.
Overlooking the cliffs at Uluwatu
Uluwatu in the sun
1000 year old stone art at Uluwatu
As we watched the sunset, Made told us that we could watch a Cecak (pronounced ke-chak) dance, a traditional Balinese dance performed by about 80 men who act as a vocal orchestra of sorts, with a flame in the center which has a symbolic meaning, and actors who perform an old Balinese folk tale; the performance lasts for about an hour. It was interesting and certainly like nothing I'd ever seen before. The sounds the men make are very different, it sounds like a mix of a chu-chu kind of sound and heavy breathing.
Sunset at Uluwatu
More sunset
Cecak performance with the flame in the center
After the Cecak dance, Made took us to Jimbaran Bay to a fresh seafood restaurant right on the beach. It was a very nice, atmospheric place; it was actually one of many little restaurants along the beach. The restaurant was cool too because all of the fish were live and you got to pick which fish you wanted; since it was my first time eating fish, Christina kindly picked our fish and it was delicious! We also got serenaded by a cute little Balinese four-man band. They played Oasis, U2--exactly the kind of music popular over here.
Me and Christina serenaded by the Balinese beach band
The next day, Christina and I just lounged around the Ritz, soaking up our last bit of time there. In the late afternoon, we went to Kuta Beach, where we'd stay for only one night, since we heard the only reason people went to Kuta was to party and surf. When we got there, we were shocked with what we saw--it was totally overrun with people and way too overdeveloped. The traffic made Bangkok's traffic look mild and the amount of motorcycles everywhere was ridiculous. It was really sad actually, because a lot of the people in Kuta, we later learned from Made, were from Java and came to make money. As a result, a lot of the people were very aggressive, trying to sell us stuff and even touch us as we walked by to get us to go into their stores. We walked around for a bit, but thought we'd rather just go to a nice dinner and go out after.
Gasoline sold in Absolute Vodka bottles
So, we went to the Sentosa Hotel in Seminyak, which was recommended to me by a friend. Seminyak had a totally different vibe than Kuta, which just seemed like a trashier version of Cancun where 18-year olds Spring break; Seminyak was classier, still developed but not as overwhelming, and it still had an air of sophistication and class. The hotel we went to was amazing--it was designed so interestingly and the food was also very good.
The lobby of the Sentosa Hotel in Seminyak
On the Ritz grounds
Flowers along one of the staircases
The lower pool
The ocean beach infinity pool
Me overlooking the beach in the infinity pool
View on the way down to the ocean beach pool
One of the fountain-statues
Me and Christina at dinner on our first nightOur little boat took us in very shallow waters, right over reefs--something you're not supposed to do--and we could see the boat was leaking fuel into the waters. A lot of the waters were dirty and the first spot was so bad that we insisted he take us somewhere else. We did get to a nicer spot where we saw some interesting fish and some pretty coral; I also saw a number of beautiful starfish. Even at this spot though, there was some trash in the water and there were so many boats in such a small area. It made me very sad that the people were so poor that they exploited their only means of income--snorkeling, a tourism activity. A friend of mine did go to the Blue Lagoon on a full day trip and said it was absolutely marvelous--the waters were clear and the visibility was great and the biodiversity was extraordinary. Perhaps if I go back, I'll try it out.
We returned to the hotel to relax a bit before the driver we'd arranged would pick us up to take us to see Uluwatu temple, a 1000-year old Hind temple. When our driver arrived, he actually had a guide with him too, which was great. Our driver's name was Coman and our guide's name was Made, pronounced "mah-deh." He was a very nice man and his English was very good. He told us how in Bali, the first child is always called "Wayan," the second is "Made," and the third is "Coman," so Coman, our driver was his younger brother!
Made also told us a little bit about Balinese culture, and how different is was from the rest of Indonesia. First off, the Balinese are Hindu, not Muslim like the rest of Indonesia. Also, they speak Balinese, their own language, which is very different from Bahasa Indonesian. As Made spoke, we could tell that the Balinese really identify more as "Balinese" than Indonesian, but that this was also true of the Javanese, the people of Java, and the Sulawesi, the people who live in the Indonesian part of Borneo, and people from Sumatra, etc. It was interesting because we saw many Indonesian flags, but no one said anything about being Indonesia, but more about being Javanese or Balinese etc, identifying more with their own local culture, which they believe is very different from others.
Coman and Made took us to Uluwatu just before the sunset. He warned us that we had to put all our things--sunglasses, jewelry, etc--in our bags or else the monkeys roaming the ruins would take them! He told us that the Balinese love monkeys, but that these were mischievous monkeys so we should be very careful, also with our cameras since they'd been known to steal cameras too. He also told us that if either of us were in our "female cycle," we couldn't come in the temple.
Monkey at Uluwatu
When we got to the temple, Made wrapped us in sarongs and sashes, the traditional Balinese way to go into a temple. The temple was perched on top of a huge cliff, with gorgeous views of the limestone rocks and cliffs below, and the crystal blue water. The monkeys were indeed very naughty, I saw a few playing with women's' hair clips they'd stolen or other little things. They would come out of no where and jump right next to you, startling you an throwing you off guard, but it was all part of the experience.
Overlooking the cliffs at Uluwatu
Uluwatu in the sun
1000 year old stone art at Uluwatu
Sunset at Uluwatu
More sunset
Cecak performance with the flame in the center
Me and Christina serenaded by the Balinese beach band
The next day, Christina and I just lounged around the Ritz, soaking up our last bit of time there. In the late afternoon, we went to Kuta Beach, where we'd stay for only one night, since we heard the only reason people went to Kuta was to party and surf. When we got there, we were shocked with what we saw--it was totally overrun with people and way too overdeveloped. The traffic made Bangkok's traffic look mild and the amount of motorcycles everywhere was ridiculous. It was really sad actually, because a lot of the people in Kuta, we later learned from Made, were from Java and came to make money. As a result, a lot of the people were very aggressive, trying to sell us stuff and even touch us as we walked by to get us to go into their stores. We walked around for a bit, but thought we'd rather just go to a nice dinner and go out after.
Gasoline sold in Absolute Vodka bottles
So, we went to the Sentosa Hotel in Seminyak, which was recommended to me by a friend. Seminyak had a totally different vibe than Kuta, which just seemed like a trashier version of Cancun where 18-year olds Spring break; Seminyak was classier, still developed but not as overwhelming, and it still had an air of sophistication and class. The hotel we went to was amazing--it was designed so interestingly and the food was also very good.
The lobby of the Sentosa Hotel in SeminyakAfter dinner, we decided to give Kuta a chance and head to some of the bars my friend recommended. At night, Kuta was even worse. We went to this one roof bar which was okay--it had a view of the Kuta "strip" and was filled mainly with Australians. We decided to walk around a bit to at least enjoy or make fun of some of the ridiculousness. We walked by a reggae bar which had some good live music, but was empty. Then, we walked into this absolutely ridiculous club called "The Bounty," it was out of a movie. The bottom floor had pool tables, crazy lighting, an area that would later turn into a foam party, animal prints everywhere and old wood and the waitors were dressed up as sailors. Then, we moved onto the next part of the club, upstairs and into a huge wooden ship that opened up to a dance floor, complete with a disco ball and small Indonesian men "battle break-dancing;" it was quite the scene.
We decided to leave Kuta to head back to Seminyak after being chatted up by a group of 20-year olds and we realized we were clearly the oldest people there (granted, I'm only 22 and Christina is 24, but there's a wave of difference between a 20-year old, college partying traveler and a working young adult). The clubs in Seminyak were nicer and right on the beach, which made for a night atmosphere. One club was so old though, which was odd.
To get a cab back, we were majorly ripped off by cab drivers that band together and keep the rates high after midnight. It wasn't even that late, only about 12:30, and the drivers refused to take us for anything lower than 100,000 rupiahs (about $10) when the meter far was only 12-18,000 rupiahs. We gave our driver 50,000 and he yelled at us but we thought it was generous since the meter was only at 15,000; Christina got so sad she made us go into a German restaurant to eat a pretzel until he was gone. So, needless to say, our fore into Kuta wasn't too successful if you go to Bali, avoid it!
The next morning we had a delicious traditional breakfast provided by our hotel--a banana pancake sprinkled with lime and honey, and fresh fruit--and waited for Made and Coman to pick us up to take us to Gunang Kawi, ancient ruins up in the rice paddies of central Bali; Telalangang, the area with rolling, famous rice terraces; and to Ubud where we would end our trip.
The whole day trip was amazing. It was the first day I felt like we were in the mythic island paradise that I'd always thought Bali was. Driving up to Ubud, through the island, we passed a number of villages, including one Batik and wood carving village and another village, Celuk, where the people were metal workers, making beautiful gold jewelry (much of it was very expensive). On the drive up though, before we got into the heart of the island, we did pass many villages where again we saw signs of environmental exploitation--huge piles of wood, piled 5 feet high along hundreds of meter of road. Made told us that most of the wood came from Java, not Bali, but it was still deforested from somewhere...
Our first stop on the day trip were the ruins of Gunung Kawi, also over 1000 years old, which were awesome, with these enormous stone carvings set into huge rock slabs. Our guidebook said that it was rumored that these carvings were done in a day, but it just didn't seem possible. Gunung Kawi was also a temple. We had to climb a good number of steps to get down to it--it was situated in this valley with a river running through it, surrounded by rice terraces, where the local people farmed, but did not live because it is a protected area. The temple was so quiet and peaceful, it was a very enjoyable experience.
Our guide, Made and Christina on the way down to Gunung Kawi
Me and Christina by the stone carvings at Gunung Kawi--you can tell how big they are!
After leaving the temple, we went into Telalangang, not too far away to go to a few stopping points. Made let us out at two lovely points where he told us to go and sit and "meditate." It was very relaxing looking at the terraces, but looking at them, your eyes would get lost, unable to look at just one. The sad part about this part of our day was that the viewpoints we were taken to were in tiny, extremely poor villages and many children and women would crowd around us trying to sell us postcards or little crafts; it was often hard to walk around them, to move them out of the way, which was definitely overwhelming, the amount of poverty that caused them to be so aggresive.
Rice terraces in Telalangang
One of the men working in the rice terraces in Telalangang selling palm hats
After the rice terraces, we headed into Ubud towards our hotel. Ubud was honestly the most adorbale town I've seen in all of Asia. It had tons of art shops, artsy boutiques, adorable cafes, spas and hippy-venues like palm or chakra reading. Before dropping us at our hotel, Made took us to the Monkey Forest, which is a forest filled with more monkeys! Made told us these monkeys were nicer, though they were certainly fiesty! The jumped on some people, posed for pictures, ate bananas with their hands, and put on shows for the tourists.
Art in Ubud
Entertaining monkeys in Monkey Forest
As the day was coming to a close in the late afternoon, Made and Coman dropped us off at our hotel and we bid them farewell. They were both so nice and definitely made our trip to Bali very special. We gave them a generous trip because Made was trying to start a family and Coman's wife was about to give birth to their second child!
Our hotel in Ubud was adorable--it was very authentic, situated IN a rice paddy and it had two nice pools overlooking the paddies, one freshwater and one saltwater, which was also built in the infinity pool style. Our bungalow was also very cute with an ornately decorated Balinese Batik door and a nice fountain in front.
Our bungalow in Ubud
We settled in, got some dinner, and wandered around the town and later had dessert before heading in at about 8pm for a swim in the saltwater pool. Ubud is incredibly quiet and relaxing, and everything shuts down between 10 and 11pm, so it's a great place for a getaway or a yoga retreat. In fact, there are many yoga and spa retreats in Ubud (this is where the author of "Eat Pray Love" went in Bali). And, before going to bed, we made spa appointments for the morning before leaving, definitely something to look forward to.
Cute cafe in Ubud
The next morning, we headed to the spa at our hotel for two-hour treatments. First I had a 15-minute foot reflexology which was interesting, then I had a 45 minute Balinese massage, which was amazing, not nearly as hard as a Thai massage. After that I had a body scrub, following by a milk bath treatment. Then, I got to soak in a flower bath for about 20 minutes and then sit in a jacuzzi for another 20 while I sipped sweet ginger tea. The entire package was $40...damn good deal!
So, thoroughly relaxed, we headed back to the airport to begin our journey back to Bangkok! It was a great vacation, the longest one I've taken while here (5 days) and it was the first trip that really felt like a vacation, not just trekking around to see interesting things. I think part of that was because we stayed at nicer places than I usually stay in. All in all, it was a great trip and I would go back (just not to Kuta!); I still didn't get to see the volcano at Mount Batur, the floating temple, or some of the other things, so perhaps one day!
Part of the dizzying Kuta strip at night
We decided to leave Kuta to head back to Seminyak after being chatted up by a group of 20-year olds and we realized we were clearly the oldest people there (granted, I'm only 22 and Christina is 24, but there's a wave of difference between a 20-year old, college partying traveler and a working young adult). The clubs in Seminyak were nicer and right on the beach, which made for a night atmosphere. One club was so old though, which was odd.
To get a cab back, we were majorly ripped off by cab drivers that band together and keep the rates high after midnight. It wasn't even that late, only about 12:30, and the drivers refused to take us for anything lower than 100,000 rupiahs (about $10) when the meter far was only 12-18,000 rupiahs. We gave our driver 50,000 and he yelled at us but we thought it was generous since the meter was only at 15,000; Christina got so sad she made us go into a German restaurant to eat a pretzel until he was gone. So, needless to say, our fore into Kuta wasn't too successful if you go to Bali, avoid it!
The next morning we had a delicious traditional breakfast provided by our hotel--a banana pancake sprinkled with lime and honey, and fresh fruit--and waited for Made and Coman to pick us up to take us to Gunang Kawi, ancient ruins up in the rice paddies of central Bali; Telalangang, the area with rolling, famous rice terraces; and to Ubud where we would end our trip.
The whole day trip was amazing. It was the first day I felt like we were in the mythic island paradise that I'd always thought Bali was. Driving up to Ubud, through the island, we passed a number of villages, including one Batik and wood carving village and another village, Celuk, where the people were metal workers, making beautiful gold jewelry (much of it was very expensive). On the drive up though, before we got into the heart of the island, we did pass many villages where again we saw signs of environmental exploitation--huge piles of wood, piled 5 feet high along hundreds of meter of road. Made told us that most of the wood came from Java, not Bali, but it was still deforested from somewhere...
Our first stop on the day trip were the ruins of Gunung Kawi, also over 1000 years old, which were awesome, with these enormous stone carvings set into huge rock slabs. Our guidebook said that it was rumored that these carvings were done in a day, but it just didn't seem possible. Gunung Kawi was also a temple. We had to climb a good number of steps to get down to it--it was situated in this valley with a river running through it, surrounded by rice terraces, where the local people farmed, but did not live because it is a protected area. The temple was so quiet and peaceful, it was a very enjoyable experience.
Our guide, Made and Christina on the way down to Gunung Kawi
Me and Christina by the stone carvings at Gunung Kawi--you can tell how big they are!
Rice terraces in Telalangang
One of the men working in the rice terraces in Telalangang selling palm hatsAfter the rice terraces, we headed into Ubud towards our hotel. Ubud was honestly the most adorbale town I've seen in all of Asia. It had tons of art shops, artsy boutiques, adorable cafes, spas and hippy-venues like palm or chakra reading. Before dropping us at our hotel, Made took us to the Monkey Forest, which is a forest filled with more monkeys! Made told us these monkeys were nicer, though they were certainly fiesty! The jumped on some people, posed for pictures, ate bananas with their hands, and put on shows for the tourists.
Art in Ubud
Entertaining monkeys in Monkey ForestOur hotel in Ubud was adorable--it was very authentic, situated IN a rice paddy and it had two nice pools overlooking the paddies, one freshwater and one saltwater, which was also built in the infinity pool style. Our bungalow was also very cute with an ornately decorated Balinese Batik door and a nice fountain in front.
Our bungalow in Ubud
Cute cafe in UbudSo, thoroughly relaxed, we headed back to the airport to begin our journey back to Bangkok! It was a great vacation, the longest one I've taken while here (5 days) and it was the first trip that really felt like a vacation, not just trekking around to see interesting things. I think part of that was because we stayed at nicer places than I usually stay in. All in all, it was a great trip and I would go back (just not to Kuta!); I still didn't get to see the volcano at Mount Batur, the floating temple, or some of the other things, so perhaps one day!
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