On September 10th, 2015 we flew from Dubai to Bali, Indonesia, the flight was about 9 hours. When we got in it was real late (about midnight) with the time change being+4 hours. When we arrived we found it crazy to see lots of people getting around on scooters. We even saw one with a little girl only about 3 years old squished in the middle of two adults, she was wearing flip flops and it looked like she could easily loose one as she was riding along. So different from what we were used to seeing! When we arrived at our hotel, The Magani, the people were so friendly and welcoming. We were excited to be in South East Asia!
The next morning we walked to the beach which was only about 1.5 blocks away from our hotel. Once we got there and paid for a chair to lay on there were ladies surrounding us before we knew it. (They worked at the little beach hut/bar that operated the chairs we were on). They all were so friendly & funny and wanted to know our names. They wanted to know if we were on our honeymoon and kept saying to me, "Holly Holiday" and that the two of us should make a "Bali baby." Too funny! Before I knew it I had agreed to a 3 person massage from Wayan, Ketut and the "beach grandma" as the oldest one called herself. I had never had that many people massaging me before and it was pretty hard to relax with so much going on. Well worth the 30 minutes for only about $15 though! Meanwhile during my massage Jacky who can be seen in the picture on the left wearing a head full of bracelets was trying to get me to buy some. I promised her I would look after the massage and ended up buying a few.
Another guy on the beach kept asking Brian when he wanted to go surfing. Finally he gave in and decided to go. His lesson didn't last too long since he has been multiple times before in Australia and Hawaii. The guy was pretty impressed when Brian got up on the first wave!
He had fun but didn't last too long out there since it was so tiring. The ladies were happy it was time for him to relax and take his massage turn. We spent the rest of the day beach lounging.
The next morning we walked to the same beach but went down a little further in the other direction, we weren't sure we wanted another day full of ladies offering us things. It was so hard to say no to them when they were so nice and friendly.
Bali sure is a colorful place!
We relaxed at the beach for awhile and then went back to our hotel and had lunch in the restaurant. This was the view overlooking the main road which went down to the beach.
After lunch we decided to have a taxi take us to another area of the island called Sanur. It was about a 30 minute ride with the traffic. Bali has about 4.2 million people living on the island which is about 95 miles wide and about 69 miles from north to south. The roads are pretty small and there a tons of scooters which all merge in front of each other and other cars which make the traffic crazy!
It was fun to see another beach. The tide was out so a lot of the area was very low and land was uncovered. We also saw people flying huge kites which was very popular all over the island we learned as we continued to see them throughout the trip.
Later that night we walked back down to Wayan's beach bar to watch the sunset. She was happy to see us! She greeted us by name and pulled up a chair to chat with us as we enjoyed our beers and the view. It was so interesting to learn that she has been working on the beach for 30 years. Wow that is a long time! Jacky was there too and I couldn't escape her without buying a few more bracelets...good thing for 3 nieces!
Wayan also gave us a recommendation of a restaurant to eat at nearby. After we got cleaned up we decided to give it a try. Brian choose a live crab which they brought to our table to show him before they cooked it. He thought it was good but a lot of work for what was actually inside.
The next morning we set out on an island tour that we had booked through our hotel. We got picked up at 9:00 AM and got back to our hotel around 5:00 pm that night. One of the great things about Bali is that the exchange rate is very good to the US dollar. The all day tour which included a driver and a tour guide was only $50 total for the two of us. We were brought to many different villages around the island which all seemed to have their own specialty. At the first stop the women were busy making fabric paintings and weaving. I bought a scarf that was made from one of the fabric paintings.
Above is a picture from another village we passed through which specialized in sculptures. These sculptures are popular around the island in temples and in gardens. We also saw lots of beautiful flowers as we drove around the island.
Our next stop was to a local compound (Bali house). This is where extended families live together and we were able to see what a typical living arrangement looked like. Compounds don't all have electricity and most do their cooking by the fire like in the kitchen below. There normally is an open air bedroom for taking naps during the day.
The women generally are the ones who cook all day and meals consist mainly of rice with vegetables and chicken or pork. We also saw out back where the chickens and pigs were being raised for future food. It was quite stinky!
Compounds also have their own temples within them like the one below. Our guide explained that this compound is very similar to where he lives. We also found it interesting that his name was Wayan and we mentioned to him we had met another Wayan at the beach and also at our hotel. Then he explained that in Bali there are 4 names which are used, Wayan is what the oldest child is always called. If a family has a 5th child it is named Wayan Balik or "Wayan again"... This creates a lot of confusion so in a situation where two people are together with the same name they would then use middle names to make things easier.
Back on the road again...notice the offering box made of palm leaves and flowers on the dash. (explanation on that later)
Cock fighting is very popular in Bali and takes place everyday. Many people place bets and it is their main form of gambling. Below are some of the caged roosters...
We stopped to look at a gorgeous waterfall where people were at the bottom swimming. This looked like so much fun but we didn't actually hike down to it. Great view though!
Along our drive we noticed many people using their bodies to haul various items...
The next village that we came into was a wood carving area. We saw men and women holding wood blocks between their feet and working to chisel them away into intricate designs. There was a large store that we were able to look at all the finished products which were for sale.
Next we made our way to the area of Mount Batur which is a volcano in the center of the island. The last time it erupted was in 1963. Our tour guide brought us to restaurant where other groups were eating as well at a buffet style lunch. While in Bali we were careful not to eat any raw fruits or veggies since sanitation can be poor and cause "Bali Belly". This was hard when everything always look so fresh and delicious but it was worth not getting sick. Technically we were not advised to eat from buffets either where food had been sitting out but we didn't have an option so we made our selections carefully. We had mainly a lot of white rice :)
As we drove along we saw some elaborate decorations at the entry to some of the compounds. Our tour guide told us this is done when there is to be some sort of celebration like a wedding or special party.
Next we visited an area where coffee beans (pic on the left) and cocoa beans (on right) were growing.
The coffee is called Kopi Luwak and is made in the strangest way...There is an animal called a civet cat (similar looking to a large ferret) which lives near these coffee plantations. The civet eats the coffee beans from the plant and then later the poo is searched for the beans. When it is digested the bean is still virtually whole just missing the outer casing it is then cleaned and roasted just as normal coffee is. It is said that during digestion the bean becomes less bitter tasting and creates a smoother coffee. We took their word for it and decided to pass on trying this one!
Cocoa beans...
More decorations and statues outside one of the compounds...
Next we visited the Pura Tirtha Temple. This is a Hindu temple which is the main religion in Bali. Upon entering shoulders must be covered as well as legs, we were given sarongs to cover up with. I was also told I must put my hair up. We saw locals going into pray and first they all gathered in a large bath to wash their sins before entering.
Inside the temple was very pretty...
It was neat to see all the statues and sculptures among all thatched roofs with intricate designs.
In picture on the left are daily offerings. We noticed these all over the island on the ground in the morning on sidewalks and outside buildings. Taxi drivers even had them on their dashboards. They are little boxes made of palm leaves and have flowers in them and sometimes other items such as candy or food. They are meant to rid bad spirits and bring good luck.
Locals praying after they exited the water upon entering...
There was a large koi pond in the center with lots of fish.
Here we are before leaving our first Hindu temple, what a neat experience.
From there we drove to the rice paddy area of the island and here we saw our first rice terrace, so cool! It is set up like this so the water can run down through all the levels of the growing rice.
By this time it was about time for our driver to take us back to our hotel. We had such a great time and were really glad we did the all day tour to see so many different places around the island. On the way back the traffic was pretty bad and here was just one of the families we saw on scooters. The kid standing in the front was probably only 5 years old and at least had a helmet on unlike the 2 year old squished in the back! Later that night we had another happy hour on the beach at Wayan's area.
The next day was Brian's birthday and we started out the morning with a spa package. Again with the exchange rate these were very affordable at our hotel. We had a body scrub, then massage and a pedicure for me and foot massage for Brian.
In the afternoon after lunch we took a cab to the Nusa Dua area where we relaxed at this beautiful beach...A pretty nice Bali birthday for Brian!
I took a walk down the beach as I had to check out the hotel where the previous season of The Bachelor had been filmed!
Later we walked down the beach in the other direction and ended at a place where the water comes crashing in over the rocks, we watched this for awhile.
By late afternoon we decided to find a cab to take us back and of course hit more traffic. We still couldn't get over the amount of scooters on the island and watching any and everything being carried on them. Our favorite was the guy who looked like he had a whole hardware store with him!
The next day we hung out at our pool since mid afternoon we were going to be switching hotels and moving into the center of the island to stay in the rice paddy area for our last 2 nights. Can you see me in both the pictures with the duck statues in the pool?!
That afternoon we had an interesting hour+ ride to our next hotel (Puri Sebali) near Ubud. Our driver rear ended a scooter (luckily she wasn't hurt and we only stopped for a few minutes after he gave her some cash). We were glad to get out once we finally made it! Some friends of our recommended this hotel to us since they had stayed there while traveling, what a great find! They told us to get the romance package because they did and said it was over the top for the price. Here is what we found when we checked in...
We were blown away by the beauty of this calm location in the middle of the rice paddies.
To top it off our room number was 707, ironic since we were married on 7-7-07 :)
Easily one of the coolest places we've stayed!
There even was a infinity pool with an amazing view...
It was like we were in a dream...
That night as it got dark noises like we'd never heard outside started! Turned out there were lots of frogs and geckos making loud sounds. Just as we were going to bed a real loud squawk came from inside our thatched roof above the bed!! Brian admitted he had seen a gecko up there earlier and was hoping I wouldn't see it! There was no way to get it down...I was freaking out of course and had a hard time falling asleep after that!
We woke up early the next morning to head out on our rice walk the hotel does beginning at 7:00 AM. The views in the afternoon when we had gotten there the previous day were amazing but with the morning mist in the air and the sun just coming up over the rice fields the view was no short of breath taking.
As we made our way to the rice paddies the sun was coming up higher and making the fields the brightest neon green we'd ever seen.
Simply gorgeous...
A morning to remember for sure!
The picture on the left is looking back at our hotel.
After our walk we had breakfast (again with a great view)
Then we took our hotel shuttle into Ubud to wander around...
We spent the rest of the day back at the pool relaxing and soaking up the sun and views.
That night we had our private dinner that was also included with our romance package. The amount of flower petals scattered around was crazy and the table was in the center of a heart.
So funny...now I was starting to question if I was on The Bachelor, haha! There even were 2 roses sitting on the table kind like on the show. We felt pretty special and the food was great!
The next morning we had massages which were also included in the romance package. We were feeling pretty relaxed an spoiled at this point being that this was our 3rd one in a week! We thought that we were getting an hour massage but turned out it was actually 90 minutes. We started at 9:00 and the hotel shuttle was supposed to leave at 11:00 to bring us to the airport. This created a time crunch with still having to shower and quickly get ready. We were able to push the shuttle back about 20 minutes since it was just us going. We were sad to leave the beautiful Puri Sebali!
On the way to the airport we saw this chicken truck, I don't think their afternoon was going to end quite like ours :)
The drive to the airport was about 1.5 hours with the traffic and we got there with plenty of time to spare since our flight wasn't until 3:15 pm. As we casually made our way through check in we then got ready to go through security. At this time Brian let out a swear word and got upset as if he forgot something. I knew we had our passports so wasn't sure what it could be...finally he said, "The iPad is still back at the hotel in the safe!"
We always are so good about triple checking everything but since we were in a bit of a rush leaving and the case is dark blue and it happened to be tipped up along the inside of the dark safe he didn't see it. I said we had to call the hotel right away to let them know so that housekeeping or someone else didn't just find it and cover it up. Being we didn't have phones we had to ask the information desk and after a few conversations Brian was able to speak with someone back at the hotel. They asked for his email and we figured they would let us know if it was found and then we would have to go from there but the chances of us getting it back were unlikely. We were bummed but luckily there wasn't any pictures from our trip on there which I would have been devastated to loose.
We always are so good about triple checking everything but since we were in a bit of a rush leaving and the case is dark blue and it happened to be tipped up along the inside of the dark safe he didn't see it. I said we had to call the hotel right away to let them know so that housekeeping or someone else didn't just find it and cover it up. Being we didn't have phones we had to ask the information desk and after a few conversations Brian was able to speak with someone back at the hotel. They asked for his email and we figured they would let us know if it was found and then we would have to go from there but the chances of us getting it back were unlikely. We were bummed but luckily there wasn't any pictures from our trip on there which I would have been devastated to loose.
After going through security we found a place for lunch and we logged into Brian's email. We had a message that the iPad had been found and that the manager was on the way to the airport with it and we were to meet him at the information desk! This was great news but also very complicated since when we calculated the time it was going to take the driver to get all the way to the airport he was set to be arriving just about exactly the time our plane was to start boarding! Plus he was going to the information desk on the other side of security and we had no way to contact him. To make a long story short we ended up finding a friendly guy at the info stand on the side we were on to help us call to the hotel to get an update. Then he also communicated with the info desk on the other side.
We were really sweating it out and even contemplating trying to take the next flight to Singapore since tickets were cheap and it would have been less then the cost of a new iPad. Finally the phone rang at the desk and the helpful info desk employee went to the other side and after a few minutes came back with our iPad! Unbelievable since it had still been laying in the safe upon our arrival and made it all the way back into our hands! We had wanted to give all the left over money we had (which we had originally intended to spend in the airport) to the driver who brought it but since we never got to see him we gave it to the info desk worker. If he had decided to have not been helpful we wouldn't have had a chance at getting it back! We then took off to our gate and boarded almost immediately. Wow...what a story! There really was no room for error, we won't forget about that one!
We were really sweating it out and even contemplating trying to take the next flight to Singapore since tickets were cheap and it would have been less then the cost of a new iPad. Finally the phone rang at the desk and the helpful info desk employee went to the other side and after a few minutes came back with our iPad! Unbelievable since it had still been laying in the safe upon our arrival and made it all the way back into our hands! We had wanted to give all the left over money we had (which we had originally intended to spend in the airport) to the driver who brought it but since we never got to see him we gave it to the info desk worker. If he had decided to have not been helpful we wouldn't have had a chance at getting it back! We then took off to our gate and boarded almost immediately. Wow...what a story! There really was no room for error, we won't forget about that one!
Bali was such a memorable part of our trip, we both agreed it was probably our favorite location we visited on our "Long Way Home." From here we were off to Singapore. We were very excited and had been looking forward to this part of our adventure since we were going to be staying with our friends Jessica and James who we met in London and had since relocated to Singapore!
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