World Tour Stop 17 - Bali, Indonesia

Bali. What a quick few days of amazing beauty. I wish we had stayed longer as this island was amazing. Bali was not on the original plan but as we were driving through a cold and wet New Zealand we rearranged some things to include it and it was seriously the best decision we made. The only regret is that we didn't just cancel Kuala Lumpur altogether and extend our stay in Bali as there were so many more things we wished we could have done.

We flew from Singapore to Denpasar, Indonesia on the island of Bali on Air Asia. When we landed we were immediately thrown into the bargaining culture of Indonesia. People left and right were offering to drive us in a taxi but we downloaded the app GoJek as recommended by a friend and found that we could get cheap and reliable rides through them and not deal with bargaining or possibly getting ripped off. For example, someone said 200.000 Rupiah to get to our hotel while the app was for a flat rate of 65.000 - and yes, I realize I'm splitting hairs because the exchange rate is so favorable and I only paid $5 USD for a 45 min cab ride, but using GoJek just felt safer and more reputable.

We splurged on our hotel and stayed at the Bandha Hotel and Suites in Legian. Fortunately I still had points through Chase so we got a great deal, but this resort was the second nicest place we'd stayed in our travels. There were multiple pools, multiple restaurants, beach access, gated entry and the friendliest staff.

Our first night in town we walked down the road and had dinner at Romeo's where Bri had the the largest strawberry daiquiri in a martini glass.

The next morning we tried our hand at shopping. It was really hard to haggle as that isn't really my nature and knowing that I'm asking for something to be $5 v $6 (for a DRESS or ROMPER that would be $30 in the US) just seems silly. With that said, we did score a few pieces of fun clothing for our full day tour the next day. The biggest this is not being able to try anything on before buying, but again, the cost is low so it was not too big of a deal.

After some exhausting shopping we headed back to the hotel for drinks and some pool fun. The hotel was awesome and has two separate pools, one that is in the center courtyard and has a swim up bar, and the other that was beach-side (also with a swim up bar, because, of course).

We had some lunch and drinks at the hotel restaurant Mozzarella with views of the ocean in the background, and it was perfect. In case you can't tell, this resort was amazing and Chase Sapphire Rewards has made me a very happy and not any poorer woman.

We spent the rest of the day hanging out poolside for "happy hour" drinks and fun in the sun.

That night we wandered out for some fun and stumbled upon a drag show at The Bali Beach Shack. It was super fun and they played so much throwback music like Shania Twain's "Feel like a woman" and "La Macarena". This is an Aussie style bar so expect some more American/Western style food, for example, I had a margherita pizza.

The next day was a very long day. We were told that we needed to do the Bali swing, the gates of heaven and Nusa Penida. Unfortunately we did not enough time to do all three so we booked a tour through get your guide so we would have a driver for the day and headed off to the Gates of Heaven along with several other inner country beautiful locations. I wish we had one more day in Bali and were able to go to Nusa Penida as well because again, this part of the country is so incredibly beautiful and unique.

With that said, our day started with a hotel pickup at 6 AM and we didn't return to the hotel until 8 PM that night, so we definitely packed in as much as we could into the time we did have. Our first stop was to the Gates of Heaven at the Hindu Lempuyang Temple. This place is amazingly gorgeous and of course so touristy. People start arriving to take the iconic photos as early as 5 AM so they are able to capture sunrises. The pictures did turn out incredible. I wish that my hair reacted to heat and humidity differently, but doesn't Bri look amazing?

After this stop we headed to the Chinese Tirta Gangga water palace. Again, we fortunately had a driver for all of this because there is no way I could have driven in these conditions or found any of the cool locations. The water palace/water garden felt like it was literally made for an Instagram photo shoot. They provide food to feed the fish, and the fish were so fat! I think they get fed way too much on a daily basis. The palace is set with Mount Agung in the background, same as the gates of heaven, and is filled with temples for worship and stone pillars to "walk on water" through the fish ponds.

This place was gorgeous and my new Bali dress made me feel like I was truly a princess walking through the gardens. Also, in case you can't tell, it was really freaking hot and humid all day.

From here we went to a fun little lunch overlooking rice paddy's and it was like a scene from a piece of art. We also met a bat that was snoozing just outside the pavilion and was completely unphased by all of the attention he was getting (so much so that a woman tried to get a close up photo of him and he peed at her).

After lunch we headed off to the Tukad Cupeng Waterfall. This felt like a magical place that someone stumbled upon and realized that it made for the perfect photo with wonderful lighting. The waterfall is located at the bottom of 200 very large, made for giants stairs. It was a bit difficult to get down to, but then we passed some local women carrying cement blocks on their head and I could no longer complain. After winding down the stairs and trooping through some knee deep water, we fond the beautiful waterfall and took some amazing photos. Yes, we felt a little like models (if you know, short and curvy is a model type...)

As a fun side note, I definitely broke my sandal on this and had to troop the rest of the way around and back up without shoes. Missed my callous hardened feet from when I was a kid!

After the water fall we visited Kumulilir in Ubud. This was a completely self sustained farm which made all kinds of herbal teas and coffees on site, but also had swings and "nests"' for tourists to enjoy. Definitely a bit of a tourist trap location, but we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. We were walked through the area and shown the kiwis, lemongrass, coconut, chocolate, ginger, and coffee beans that they were growing along with the animals that they feed coffee beans and then used the pooped out ones to roast and make some "high end coffee". After the tour we got to go on the Bali rope swing and then take some pictures in the hanging forest nests before getting a sample tray of all of the different teas and coffees.

We ended the day with a stop at the rice paddy's and again, Bali didn't disappoint. The fields were full and lush and actively growing tons of rice for local residents. I truly do LOVE BALI.

That evening we had a quick dinner, massaman curry for me and spaghetti bolognese for Bri, before we promptly passed out after a super long day of exploring.

Unfortunately we had to fly out the next morning after a quick visit to the gym. I wish we had stayed two more days in Bali so we could have visited Nusa Penida, but unfortunately we had already booked flights so we kept to the schedule and I will definitely be back to Bali one day.

Next stop, Malaysia.