“Bali” derived from Sanskrit which means an “offering or a tribute” and boy oh boy does this place have a lot to offer!
This beauty of a place caught our eyes instantly when we were looking for our honeymoon destination. I think it was just the greenery which attracted our eyes and heart!
With no planned itinerary we just booked our flights and hotels and got to Bali. The only real thing that was putting me off from this trip was the flight duration like no kidding I’ve never been on a plane for straight more than 10 hours and we had 13 hours from Manchester to Singapore and another 2 hours to Bali. I’m sure my husband has a whole lot to say about how I was doing his head in on the flight.
We chose to explore two sides of this beautiful island, the scenic and mesmerising, Ubud and the more touristy and happening, Seminyak. As soon as we landed at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport we picked up a few leaflets of ‘things to do in Bali” and got ourselves a taxi to Ubud. It would have taken us an hour and a half to get there but our really friendly driver decided to take us to try some local coffees (he probably saw our zombie faces and could not resist but offer us some coffee).
Bali’s famous coffee is Luwak coffee and urrr its basically made out of coffee beans pooped out from local civet cats. Believe me I could probably run a marathon after having the different flavoured coffee shots in one go.
Green. Literally the only colour you would see wherever you went in the northern part of Bali. We stayed at The Samaya Ubud and honestly it was beyond our expectations.
The first activity we did was the cooking classes provided by the hotel itself. We visited the local market which had all fresh produce, walked through the hotels own garden in which they grew fresh herbs and their own vegetables. We ended up cooking our own meal that afternoon.
You must have a Balinese massage done at least once during your visit to this amazing island! We love the spa, one thing you’ll pick up along the way. We visited Bali in February and we learnt that it isn’t really the best time because of the monsoon rains, but anyhow we got amazing deals and we tried to make the most of this place.
We were able to book a day tour of Ubud with a local company. Remember that leaflet we picked up from the airport? Yeah that came handy! Booking day excursions are so cheap in Bali and very reliable I must say. We had our own private SUV and we started off by going to the Batik factory, the patterns and the colours the Balinese women were able to create was the prettiest I had ever seen. We went by the rice fields and of course we paid a visit to one of the many temples in Bali, Pura Dalem Agung Padangtegal.
Not a lot of people are a fan of this amazingly delicious fruit but I am! I had to stop the driver to pick some durian up and enjoyed this yumminess whilst watching over the beautiful rice fields. I am so glad that my husband enjoys this fruit too otherwise sneaking this fruit into the house or the hotel would be mission impossible.
Okay so I know the next activity we did is slightly controversial and believe me when I say I’m an animal lover (besides having arachnophobia i.e totally disliking spiders) so please don’t judge me. We visited the Bali Zoo and we went for an elephant ride. The ride lasted for like 20 minutes and the only man made obstacle that the elephants had to pass through was a water pool but other than that it was through the forest.
We love getting at least one souvenir from places we visit and Bali was full of creativity, from paintings to wood carvings we just could not make our minds up. Our driver took us to a wood carving place (a family run business) and we did not go back to the hotel empty handed because we just could not resist!
After spending four nights in Ubud we made our way to Seminyak and I was surprised to see the vast difference in both parts of the island. Seminyak was definitely filled with more shops, restaurants, buildings, and a lot more hotels which means more humans. We stayed at Seminyak Beach Resort and Spa for 2 nights and the hotel was stunning. We thoroughly enjoyed our breakfast in both hotels.
In Seminyak we booked an island hopping excursion from ‘that’ leaflet (Remember?). I have this phobia of the sea for some reason I think there are sharks everywhere and they will eat me up alive! But because my husband insisted, I couldn’t say no. I put my life at stake and we went on this REALLY fast boat taxi across the ocean to an island. That just made me feel sick but the moment I stepped out I think I could say that it was worth it? Lol. There were hardly any cars in sight which was a good thing and all I could smell was the yummy seafood! We took a small boat through the mangrove forest and then came the time to get changed for snorkelling. I was dreading it but I was newly married and I just wanted my husband to think I was a brave chicken and I went into the water with him and it was surreal. Bali is not only green but blue as well! I only lasted in the water for like 5 minutes before I went back on the boat.
Lunch was provided and we got some time to sit by the beach and just relax. The guides then took us to this amazing view point and that’s when I thought that yup definitely worth it.
Bali has stolen our hearts and it’s one of the many places we would like to visit again at some point of our lives! Don’t think twice, I highly recommend this lovely island to people of all age!
Top 5 things that stood out the most:
The friendly nature of the people
The food
Easy to get around everywhere (and cheap)
The spa at The Samaya Ubud
How Balinese people have maintained the ratio of greenery over cement blocks
