Advertisement
Published: November 16th 2010
Local school kids
Collecting sand early morning at Medewi beachDay 15, October 26th, we woke up early to pack for an adventure around the island. We had to do some wedding errands today. The wedding planning has been a little more complex than we originally hoped (guess there is no such thing as a simple turnkey wedding). We had a meeting with our planner in the afternoon so we headed to Semiyak before the meeting. We explored the streets of Semiyak that are filled with fashionable boutiques and trendy looking restaurants and bars. It could be a neighborhood in San Francisco or LA. We stopped at Café Moka, our new favorite Bali bakery. They have a small chain on the island including another location near our recent Uluwatu home. They are making our wedding cake so we had a meeting with the owner. Can’t wait - it should be so tasty! Then we met with our planner at Bali Deli. The deli is actually an international gourmet market that has food from all over the world in case you are craving any of your homeland specialties. We snacked on some sushi, which was delicious. After the meeting, the planner took us to the home of the tailor she recommended to
Pura Ulun Danu Bratan
Sacred Temple of the Danu the water goddess who brings water to the Bali farmers. make John’s suit for the wedding. We were going down all these random streets n what seemed to be a very mediocre neighborhood. Then we drove down a narrow gang (name for an alley) to a large gate. A woman came to open the gate and reveled an amazing courtyard. There were ponds surrounding the walkway to the amazing gallery like home with huge paintings displayed the walls. You could see right in since the whole place was nearly all windows. She wisked us into her workshop and started to get measurements. Once we finished we headed to Canggu to stay the night in hopes to surf early in the morning. We arrived there about 8:30pm and stopped for a late dinner at Dues. It was this really cool new restaurant/surf and motorcycle store. We had one of our best dinners yet and were entertained by the impressive design and enormity of the place. The staff was also super friendly and kept us engaged in conversation until closing time. It was near midnight when we left and we were a bit worried since the hotel we planned to stay at was not answering the phone. When we arrived everyone was
asleep and the gates were closed so we had to try to find another place to stay. This was a major challenge since we did not really know the area. Finally after several attempts we stumbled upon Villa I P or “V.I.P.” as they called it. It was a very cheesy, poorly decorated, overpriced, Aussie owned “hotel”. There was a painting of horses running over the bed, the bedspread displayed a huge V.I.P. monogram and best of all there was a mirror with a waterfall painting overlay that actually lit up and looking like a flowing water fall (I have to find one for our home). We were desperate, so we stayed the night. Once we got in the room we realized a few more perks: the toilet was broken and continually running plus the hot water heater did not work. Let’s just say we felt less than “VIP”.
Day 16, Oct 27th, we woke up early and had a nice breakfast then checked out of “VIP”. We moved into a place right on the water with a simple room but great view of the ocean and surf. The tailor who we had met with just 15 hours ago
was coming to meet us to do a fitting for John’s nearly complete suit. Talk about a quick turn around. Also, she had a connection with a jeweler that can make custom wedding rings and scheduled them to come meet us as well. By the time we were finished, it was nearly 3pm. The surf was very murky from recent run off since it’s at a river mouth. Also, it was overcrowded mushy waves (we were kind of spoiled from Uluwatu).
Day 17, Oct 28th, We decided to venture on up the West Coast so we could spend a night somewhere new. We checked out every little beach along the way (Seseh). The beaches are all black sand in the West and North from volcanic ash, in contrast to the white sand beaches of the South. Seseh Beach was pretty much deserted except for a healthy population of little sand crabs that create little balls as they search for food leaving an amazing geometric design in the sand. We also ventured to many Medewi, a beach known to have surf. The swell was small so we didn’t find surf but we did find a beautiful new boutique resort called
Kalapa (coconut in Balinese). The place blended elements of modern architecture and traditional Balinese décor. There we lily ponds on every room for insulation benefits and to add to the beach view. The best part is there was only one other couple in the entire 10 villa resort. They were a really nice and entertaining couple our age living in Singapore, who are originally from New York and Texas. We talked over drinks lounging in the pool and had dinner with them. We will go visit them when our visa expires if we don’t go to Thailand as planned.
Day 18, Oct 29th, we had a great breakfast at the resort. We also spent time talking with Ismanti, an angelic Javanese woman who was the owner of the resort. She is married to a German architect who designed the place. They are adding a spa and yoga in the next year. We spoke at length about my business concept and John’s capabilities with solar water energy. I think this may be a promising business contact, which is exciting. Around noon we headed out toward the Bali National Park. The first place we came upon was Menijagan Jungle Resort so
we decided to check it out. They had converted the old fire look out tower into a restaurant where we decided to have lunch. We figured the rooms would be out of our price range but decided to check them out anyway. It turned out they had beachside “villas” for only $60. They were very simple little four-wall structures but they were right on the water and they had nice beds and a deck. Plus the resort had lots of activities and excursions. We jumped in a Kayak right after we checked in and started checking out the mangroves in the bay. That night we booked a secluded dinner at the top of the look out tower (so romantic). The next morning we went snorkeling at the renowned Menijegan Island. It is a great place for diving and snorkeling with many coral reefs and a shipwreck. We saw tons of beautiful coral and tropical fish (including lots of puffer fish, barracudas and big tiger fish).
Day 19, Oct 30th, we continued up the North coast toward Lovina. Along the way we stopped at the hot springs, Air Panas Banjar. They had a simple “spa” there so we decided to
Tabanan Central Market
We felt like Anthony Bourdain in No Reservations... crazy food carts everywhere. We wimped out and just had a drink. indulge in an hour massage and dip in the private hot springs since it was only $11. Then we took a quick plunge in the public pool filled with a mix of locals and a few tourists. We stopped at a waterfall, Air Tejun Singsing, before arriving in Lovina at sunset. We enjoyed exploring Lovina then ventured on to Air Sanih. We stayed there for the night. The North is known for having a heavy dolphin population so there are many early morning tours. Most tours start at 6am. We thought about going but had not booked anything that night.
Day 20, Oct 31st, Happy Halloween! I woke up about 6am and decided I wanted to go watch the dolphins so I asked our hotel staff. They spoke with a nearby fisherman who agreed to take us. He told me “no problem, I take you to meet my friend with big boat”. I woke up John and convinced him to come. The fisherman’s boat was basically a tiny outrigger canoe complete with homemade ruder. John was concerned but I told him this boat would take up to the big tour boat. About ½ into rolling seas we started asking
about the other boat. The fisherman pointed to a group of boats in the distance. He stopped along the way to talk to some other fisherman. We think he was saying “ I have these tourist wanting to watch the dolphins will you take them on you boat”. The response from the others was probably “no way” since there boat was only slightly bigger. Then we found another guy with a slightly larger boat who said he would take John while I stay in the other boat. That was when we realized there really was no bigger tour boat we were going to. We made the most of it and headed out to the dolphin area on separate boats. Unfortunately we did not see any dolphins but we did have a fun adventure. After our “excursion” we headed to the central Bali mountains, Ganung Catur Volcano. We went to a beautiful temple, Pura Ulun Danu Bratan. It is located on a clam lake surrounded by tall lush green mountains. (It is also the temple featured on our wedding save the date cards). We took a speedboat ride in the lake and went to explore a hotel we could only access
by water. It turned out to be one of the coolest hotels we had seen but it was closed so we couldn’t stay. We went to inquire with the manager who told they need a minimum of 5 villas rented to turn the electricity on. Darn, maybe next time. We did find some other really cool hotels and decided on one that overlooked the rice fields. Since everything was so quiet during off-season we negotiated a $45 rate for a suite. We walked across the street to an eco resort and had a great dinner the watched Poltergeist II in our hotel room (not as scary as Poltergeist I).
Day 21, Nov 1st, we had a nice breakfast then headed to the Candikuning Market. The market was once the agricultural center of Bali supplying the island with spices, rice, fruits and vegetables. Now it is home to vendors selling some of those items but mostly souvenirs and potted plants and flowers. We enjoyed walking around but found the vendors slightly aggressive. We did go at the best time of day, early morning after the market just opened. That is the time you get the best deals since the Balinese
Dinner at Tugu Hotel
We ate an amazing dinner at a cool resort instead of Tabanan Market. Maybe we will try the food there next time. believe the first sale of the day is very lucky. We left the market and headed for Candidasa, on the South East coast. Along the way we stopped in Jasri. They have a right hand reef break that works on a big swell. We did not find waves but did find a charming fishing village with very friendly people and a nice place to stay, Home stay Irene. We were able to negotiate $20/night since they were empty. We went into Candidasa for a nice dinner and stopped at Toke, the oldest bar in town for a few drinks.
Day 22, November 2nd, I woke up early and went for a walk on the beach. No waves again. (Locals said it only breaks once or twice a month). The people were so friendly in this area. The adorable little ones were swimming and playing on the beach. Such happy people, it is so easy to travel here. It feels very safe. I walked on and discovered a funky tower structure. I decided to explore to see if it was a place to stay. Instead it turned out to be a soap and chocolate factory (so cool). I met the
friendly owner, Charlie, who welcomed me in and gave me a tour. He recommended I check out the villa next door for rent. It was an awesome place with three villas owned by a Hawaiian guy. Might be a cool place to stay down the line. When I returned we headed back to Candidasa for a snorkeling trip to the outer islands. They had beautiful coral reefs and tons of fish (did not rival Menijangan Island). Then we headed to Ubud to see the cremation ceremony for the king. As soon as we arrived at our hotel they told us it had actually been today at noon so we missed it. Oops, we got some bad info from an earlier tour guide (should have confirmed before we came). Oh well we still had a great night out in Ubud and tried Clear for dinner, a restaurant highly recommended by our favorite Kiwis, Craig and KT.
Day 23, November 3rd, we decided to go to the John Hardy Jewelry show room to search for our wedding rings. The show room was very difficult to find but once we arrived it was a cool place to see. We had to have
an appointment with an escort. She took us to the show room where we looked at the jewelry and enjoyed a lemongrass tea. There was a crazy Canadian couple in the show room going crazy picking out many pieces of jewelry. They were annoyingly entertaining since they were so over the top. John found an awesome wedding ring that he really liked but we wanted to think it over. While we were looking they invited us to stay for lunch. Everyday they have a lunch for all 300+ employees. There was a special manager’s table where they sat us. We felt a little out of place but it turned out to be really fun talking with the eclectic group. Before lunch we had met this really great couple, from Panama, who had been collecting the jewelry for years. Stan was originally from Southern California and his partner Darin from Australia. They kept us laughing the whole time. We finished our journey around the island stopping in Sanur for a walk on the beach and sunset cocktail. It was a great adventure. That night we returned to our Uluwatu home, Gobleg Inn.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.141s; Tpl: 0.019s; cc: 7; qc: 43; dbt: 0.0572s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Janet Tosick
non-member comment
To Johnny and Robyn
I think you are having adventures of a life time! Robyn, you write so well. Maybe you should write a book of stories about your travels, wedding and honeymoon. I am enjoying it so much, but wonder how you can keep up. Are you so excited you don't get tired? thank you for sharing the beauty and culture with us. love, Mama Janet