BALI 2024 | FindPenguins

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Trip start
June 23, 2024
BALI 2024
From boarding pass to Bali bliss
June 23, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C
Early start 6.30am for our Uber transport with Georgia and Aaron. Off to Sydney International Airport. Rated the Uber team 10/10. Checked in with bags all being underweight by 10kg each...yay room for shopping. Boarded aircraft, departed a little late but then relaxed, ate, watched some movies, ate a yummy choc raspberry slice then before we knew it we were landing in Denpasar. A minor hiccup with Haydn's e-visa but all good as we had to wait over 45 minutes for our luggage to come out. Anyway our driver Leping was ready for us and we jumped into the car and were off to Ubud. We've forgotten how crazy and busy the streets of Bali are. Our driver asked if we were hungry and after a resounding 'yes' from everybody he took us to a restaurant off the main road - Bebek Tebasari Resto. It didn't look like much as we hopped out of the car. This changed when we walked through to the main dining area. We were taken to a large gazebo which sat above a giant goldfish pond. A few big steps across the water and we were sitting above the Koi. The boys opted for the crispy duck. Haydn had the world's largest Bintang beer bottle while the girls had very alcoholic cocktails.
Next stop was the local supermarket. Some of the prices were a real eye opener. The beer and cigarettes were cheap while the Meadow Lea margarine was $19 and a bag of chips $9! Naturally we chose the beers and cigarettes (not).
Then it was off to our villa. We were dropped off in the carpark where some porters came to meet us. After an interesting trek down some narrow dark laneways we arrived at our villa. Some quick unpacking and a shower and it was off to bed. We had arrived...and days of fun and adventures lie ahead.Read more
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BALI 2024
Rice fields & retail therapy
June 24, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C
A very rainy night and more rain to come. After a simple breakfast we grabbed our umbrellas to meet our driver Leping and headed into the main shopping streets of Ubud. Got out at Ubud Palace and battled the plethora of cars & motorbikes to cross the road where we found the endless stalls of t-shirts, souvenirs, wooden statues, sarongs, handbags, sandals and paintings. We must be getting old as none of them interested us. Michelle and I were on a mission to visit our favourite jewellery stores Filthy Gorgeous and Kapal Laut. Our patient hubbies waited out in the rain for us under their umbrellas. Then it was lunchtime. Found Gedong Sisi and we all had traditional Indonesian food and some amazing fresh juices. More exploring where we stumbled upon a long laneway, again filled with market stalls and kept walking to find a Ricefields walk. It was still raining lightly but it was beautiful. Found a little coffee bar Brick Warung, overlooking some rice paddies, and had our first real coffees. Tony & I indulged in Pisang Goreng (banana fritters) w icecream-a bargain for $2.30 and Michelle had a fruit salad with all the wonderful tropical fruits. Google maps showed that we could do a loop and head back to Ubud along another track. A little further along the path lined with monogrammed stepping stones turned into a much narrower muddy trail. We had seen some lovely coffee cafes and vegetable gardens along the way. The track appeared to be getting worse but we persisted and after asking a local if we were heading in the right direction we made it back to the main road. It was hi-5s all round. The skies opened up again and we decided to head back to the villa.
It was a little too early for dinner so Toni and Haydn decided to get their nails done. Dinner at 2 Sisterz followed by an early night. Hoping the rain might ease off tomorrow...but who cares look where we are!Read more
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BALI 2024
Birthday bliss in Bali
June 25, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C
Michelle's birthday today! We went for a lovely breakfast at Umbi so Michelle could get her smoothie bowl. We then headed off for a 'treacherous' walk into Ubud shopping area. Wasn't as bad as we thought it would be and it was a good chance to check out the different funky restaurants as well. We visited our villa owners' store Wayans Handicrafts and of course couldn't resist getting another piece of jewellery (Michelle & I). After changing some money we grabbed a yummy gelato then headed back to our villa in time for a quick swim and to meet our Spa ladies. Michelle & I were spoilt with massages, body scrub & facials. So relaxing! Then it was time for dinner. We decided on La Luz, a funky Mexican restaurant just up from our villa. Beautiful food followed by some wonderful live music with a keyboard, cello & violin. We had fun trying to guess some of the songs, most were quite modern. We had requested Happy Birthday for Michelle and it was a lovely surprise when one of the owners also brought out a dessert for her. Great evening !Read more
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BALI 2024
A day adorned with natural splendor
June 26, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
We started our day with a quick breakfast at the villa before meeting our driver, Leping. We headed north into the middle of Bali with our first stop at Leke Leke Waterfall. It was a 15 minute walk to the falls across some uneven and slippery steps...and even an Indianna Jones style bamboo bridge. The falls were amazing and everybody queued up to capture their instagram moment.
We continued our trip north heading up winding mountain roads and the weather looked to be closing in on us. We arrived at The Blooms Garden which was almost entirely covered in mist. This mini Botanical Garden featured some amazing sculptures and garden beds. Each area had its own unique theme. The mist began to clear and the sunshine changed the whole look of the gardens. After lots more instagramable photos we headed into town to get some lunch.
We stopped at a buffet restaurant overlooking the volcanic lake - Danau Beratan. After lots of Goreng, corn patties, cooked veggies and black rice pudding we headed to the main attraction - Ulun Danu (water) Temple. What an amazing place! There are a collection of temples with one being on a small island just off the water's edge. Plenty of places to get great photos...even with the big crowds that were around. There was an unusual petting zoo and Haydn was keen to make friends with an iguana called Ocky.
A quick petrol stop and the obligatory slow traffic meant we were getting back in the dark. We decided to stop for an early dinner at the local Balinese version of a Swiss Chalet. We were greeted by a snow flurry as we got to the front door. Nobody told us we needed a beanie! We weren't hungry enough for fondue so we stuck to something a bit more traditional. Michelle was doing a running commentary on the State of Origin, the person who knows the least about Rugby League - NSW won! What an amazing day!!Read more
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BALI 2024
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Batik Escapes
June 27, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
We got up and took a short walk around to Mesari Warung for a yummy breakfast. Lots of artwork and a lovely outlook over some of the many villas in the area. We then met our driver Leping who took myself, Michelle & Haydn off to Five Arts Studio for our Batik painting class. We met 3 lovely young men - the teacher & his assistants. We put on our aprons then picked out a stencil that we wanted to trace onto some white material. Haydn decided to create his own original artwork. The next step was one of the trickiest - applying wax to the design. It was a little stressful actually. Next step was to apply the beautiful coloured dyes to the different sections. I found this step the best and think we were all able to bring out our creative sides. Time for the dyes to dry and set in the sun. The material was dipped into a sodium silicate mix, then into hot water, finally into a cold water bath for the final setting. We were all very impressed with what we had created. Almost 5 hours in total. What an amazing experience. We then went back to meet Tony at the villa-he had been on a grocery shopping trip, mixed with some exploring. We decided to have a late lunch/early dinner so found another small warung that had a top floor with lovely views. The weather seemed to be closing in so we hurried back to the villa, had a quick swim then settled in for a games afternoon. It rained a little but the weather is still so warm here. Tony and I decided to go for a short walk before heading off to bed.Read more
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BALI 2024
Spices & splashes-recipes and rafting
June 28, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
We had an early start - 7:30am pick up. After picking up 2 more couples we headed off to the Food markets. This is where we met our cooking teacher, Ketut. He showed us around all of the stalls, pointing out some of the different fruits, spices, vegetables & sweets and we got to try some of them. We tried Snakefruit which had an outer layer that looks like snake skin but on the inside looked like garlic. It was fibrous and tasted a little like a cross between pineapple and apple and we liked it. I bought a small bag of them to take back for the boys. We hopped back into the car with our driver, and he took us out to the rice fields. Ketut explained how they inherited the fields from their ancestors who were often servants. For their good work they were given four plots of land from the kings. We were then driven to the house for the cooking lesson. We went upstairs, where we found benches and cooking facilities with some of the food already prepared for us. Ketut showed us our menus which included the 9 recipes we would be making, both vegetarian and meat. He would demonstrate what to do, and then we were sent to our benches to do it ourselves. We got to use a very large mortar and pestle to mix ingredients as a base for many of the sauces that they use in Indonesian cooking. We cooked and then were able to taste the food before adding the rest to large containers for eating later. The dessert we made was called Klepon Cake or Sticky Rice Cake. The mix was like Play-Doh, and we all sat down at the table and started to make the pretty green spheres. Best part was we then sat down to eat everything we made.
Base Gede, Tempe Manis, Ayam Bumbu Bali (Balinese Fried Chicken), Lawar Urab (mix salad), Sate chicken with coconut, Pepes ayam (chicken in banana leaf), Sambal Cacang (peanut sauce), Mie Goreng, Sambal tomato, Klepon Cake.
Meanwhile back at the villa the boys were getting ready for their very own adventure - taking on the might of the Ayung River. Our driver Leping picked Tony and Haydn up at 9am and it was straight to the Bali Bintang HQ. After signing the obligatory waivers in case of death, accidental injury, scurvy or a nasty rash on the arm they were kitted up with a buoyancy vest, helmet and paddle. Then it was a quick trip up the road in a truck to the stairs that lead down to the river - 300 in total, or so they were told. After some quick rafting instructions it was time to hit the water. The boys were in the front of the raft and after nearly falling out on the 1st set of rapids settled into a good paddling rhythm. The entire 11km journey was amazing and the scenery spectacular. They got to stop at a waterfall and stand (almost) under it. Then, it was time to walk back out of the valley and to grab a bite to eat. The buffet was minimalist but had a lovely setting - being surrounded by rice fields. We all met up again at Green Rabbit, a funky coffee shop where I had a hot orange coffee-black coffee with orange juice in it. It was quite nice but not something I'd drink all of the time. We went back to the villa to relax in the pool, got the boys to try the Snakefruit and listened to music. Gave the boys some of the leftovers we had brought home from the cooking class and they enjoyed it. Tony especially liked the Klepon Cake. We decided to go out for a late dinner as this was our last night in Ubud. We walked down the street to Sami Warung and Bar to enjoy some 2 for cocktails and yummy food. Michelle had Jackfruit tacos which were delicious and you wouldn't have known it isn't meat. Back to the villa to pack, ready for our move to Nusa Dua tomorrow.Read more
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BALI 2024
Farewell Ubud...you've been wonderful!
June 29, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C
We woke up at 6am to get an early start for our Campuhan Ridge walk. Left the villa at 6.15am and headed towards the main street of Ubud. We were followed by one of the local dogs so it felt just like home. Made a turn and we were at the Pura Gunung Lebah Temple ready to start the walk. The path was paved so quite good to walk on and the temperature was still comfortable as it was early. We passed a few walkers and joggers and even a couple of people with their dogs. Beautiful scenery with the sun peeking through the trees. 2km trail in total, passing the amazing Kastara Resort and a few warungs, most not open. However the recommended Karsa Cafe was and we decided this was the perfect spot for our final breakfast in Ubud. We were directed to a 'small house' for us to eat our breakfast overlooking a gorgeous Lotus pond. What an amazing morning. We started our walk back and met up with a lady who spotted Tony's Metro State tshirt and she told us her daughter was starting there in the Fall. We stood and talked with her for about 15 minutes as she lives in Denver, so we shared some stories. Arrived back at the villa around 9.30am, had a quick final dip in the pool then we all finished packing for our 11.45am pickup. Our lovely young men picked up our luggage and we met Leping our driver. He took us to his home where he showed us his fighting Roosters. They were beautiful but I'm sad to think of them fighting. We started our busy drive to Nusa Dua and remembered how crazy the drivers are. We arrived at Peninsula Bay resort at 1.30pm and hugged Leping goodbye. He has been wonderful. Luckily our rooms were ready so we settled in, unpacked then headed out for a late lunch at our old favourite The Tree. Michelle & I had a Sex Bomb cocktail which was lethal haha. A quick walk around with the boys stopping to get some groceries. I watched Georgia's basketball game on my Ipad whilst the others went for a swim. We finished the day with dinner at Peninsula Bay. Went to bed very tired. Great day!Read more
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BALI 2024
Monument Marvel & Temple Sunsets
June 30, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
Our first full day in Nusa Dua was shaping up to be a big one. Our friend Murdika picked us up around 10am and we were ready to seize the day. Unfortunately it was slow going in the all too familiar heavy traffic around Bali. We finally got to our first stop - the Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park (GWK). The park has been built on the site of an old limestone quarry that overlooks the lower half of the Bali coastline. It's a great place to put Indonesia's tallest statue (and the 4th tallest in the world at the time of typing this journal entry). After grabbing our tickets we boarded the shuttle to the park entrance. We managed to catch the 2nd half of a Balinese cultural dance - with its amazing percussion sounds and colourful dancers and actors. After the show we walked into different sections of the park - each containing their own unique decorations and themes. We slowly made our way up the hill to the huge Garuda and Wisnu statue. We had booked a guided tour and promptly went to the meeting area. Before going up in the elevator with our tour group, we were asked to shrink wrap our shoes. Yes..there was a machine in which when you place your foot in it, your shoes are plastic coated. And ultra slippery too.
Then it was off to the 9th floor to learn all about the history of the statue...as well as the story of Garuda and how he came to serve Wisnu. I just remember there was lots of intrigue and plotting and best of all, lots of dragons. We went back to the elevator to head up to the 23rd floor. It is about 2/3 the way up the statue. From this level, you could see the surrounding countryside for miles. Part of the floor was glass so we were able to stand on it to see deep down inside the structure, although Michelle decided that it was too scary to do that. In the future there will be access to the very top however it is considered a sacred site and so off limits to tourists. There were still more things to see on our way back to the entrance. Lunchtime had come and gone and our next stop was a nice restaurant just outside of Uluwatu. We had a great Indonesian feed and even got to see a lady get scared on a big swing over a cliff top. Back in the van and we were off to Uluwatu Temple to watch the famous sunset and the Kecak fire dance. Murdika had warned us about the monkeys and how they steal things. Well they were definitely in fine form. We witnessed a lot of people losing glasses, water bottles and caps. On a couple of rare occasions, the Monkey police were able to get the goods back - namely by climbing on the roof and wrestling the things off them.
We walked around the temple and the coastline while waiting for the sun to set. The sunset was spoilt by some low cloud but still pretty to see. Then came the long wait for the 1st Kecak show to finish and the inevitable pushing of the crowd to get into the ampitheatre. The show itself is unusual in that it does not have any musicians - it uses only the 50 or so men who pretty much chant the entire time. It was hard to follow the story however there was plenty of colour and movement. Right at the end of the show, 2 people were (seemingly) randomly pulled out of the audience to perform however it turns out that the man was proposing to his partner. What a lovely gesture. It was then time to head back to Nusa Dua. Even though it was after 8:30pm, the traffic was still painfully slow in places along the way. We all slept well that night.Read more
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BALI 2024
Nusa Dua Dreams: A Tropical Paradise
July 1, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
Had a better night's sleep last night. We met Haydn & Michelle and headed off to breakfast. We decided to try Meg's suggestion - Mama Krisnas. Just as we sat down at the cafe it poured down with rain. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast and then Tony & I headed back to Peninsula Bay to meet up with the Rep. We picked our washing up from the laundry ladies along the way. So cheap...6300 IDR (about 5.70 AUD) and nicely bundled and folded. We met Danielle from Peninsula company who showed us a 2BR villa that she was offering an upgrade to. It was beautiful but we are not really at that time in our life right now to make the most of it. I had a bad pain in my heel but I thought walking on it would help it. So we headed back out to the main street to walk up to the end of the peninsula and it was sad to see some of the buildings that had previously been hotels or eateries now closed down and in disrepair, probably due to Covid. The water area was a thriving, busy area full of people doing numerous watersports like jet skiing, paragliding and banana boat riding. It is such a busy waterway. We walked back along the beach and now & then were approached by people asking if we wanted to do watersports. The beach area is quite dirty, which is a shame. We decided to go back to Mama Krisna for a coffee and light lunch before going back to the Bay. Finished our afternoon with a swim in the pool. Dinner out at Baas, another Meg recommendation, which was very nice. Games night for a little while before heading off to bed.Read more
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BALI 2024
Balinese Bliss, sun, pool & massage
July 2, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
We decided it was a Pool day today so after breakfast we headed down with our books & iPads, found some recliners and settled in. Lovely relaxing time. Had a yummy lunch by the pool. Haydn wanted a hair cut & Michelle & I were getting massages so we caught the shuttle to the main street, had a great coffee at Mama Krisnas then went in for our massages at the Spa next door. Wonderful, relaxing massages ! We decided to try Sukun restaurant which is new on the street since we were last here and is part of the Amnaya Hotel. Beautiful decor, great vibe, excellent service and amazing food. We will be back.Read more
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BALI 2024
"Special rain price"- Shopping in Legian
July 3, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
Murdika picked myself, Tony & Michelle & I up at 9.30am and we headed towards Legian to our go to for souvenirs Krisna Oleh. It was very busy with busloads of Javanese tourists searching for their best buys. We spent over 1 hour in there and got a few lovely things. Then Murdika dropped us off at Bambu, a jewellery store that I'd read about. It had beautiful jewellery at pretty good prices - Michelle & I bought something of course. Tony was then our guide directing us to some of the shops I had researched. Legian is a very busy place and I remember now why we like staying in Nusa Dua. A bit more shopping then we thought we had better have lunch. We stopped at Asian Spice and Michelle & I both had yummy pork belly salad bowls. The rain came down quite heavily so we ran into Sama Sama, a homewares store where we purchased quite a few lovely trinkets. More shopping then it was time to head to Sidawartha Hotel for our Satay buffet dinner via the Happy Warung Cafe where we had one of the best coffees we've had in Bali and met the manager of the hotel Nyoman. At 6.30pm we were led to our table to have a beautiful buffet served by wonderful staff whilst we listened to a duo singing songs by Taylor Swift, Cold Chisel, The Eagles and more. We even joined in some birthday celebrations and were given some cake to take home. What a fun night. We were picked up by Made, a local driver and it took us more than an hour to get back to Peninsula Bay with all the traffic coming out of Legian. Good day was had by all.Read more
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BALI 2024
Swim, Shop, Eat...Repeat!
July 4, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌬 28 °C
Another day of shopping but a bit closer to us. We boarded the free Shuttle bus at the Novotel to drive to Bali Collection. It is a shopping district with SOGO, a large Myer type department store, designer stores, other high end market stores and lots of eateries. We spent quite a while at Sogo picking up a few bargains. Greek food was the winner for our lunch with us all getting sharing platters, gyros, keftedes & zucchini salad. It was all yummy. After lunch and a bit more shopping Michelle and Haydn caught the shuttle back whilst Tony & I continued exploring. We walked outside of the shopping precinct to the headland where we had visited before to see the amazing statue and to see the wide expanse of beach on either side of us. Quite warm but a good walk there and then back to catch the shuttle back to the Bay. Decided to cool off in the pool but jumped in & out as it was a little cold-funny to say about Bali. We didnt feel like going out again so just went fown to the Sports Bar to have something to eat. A couple of Bintang Radlers (lemon beer) for Michelle & I ending the night with a game of Uno.Read more
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BALI 2024
Shopping Spree & Sunset Stroll
July 5, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌬 28 °C
Shopping at the mini mart we always end up at for our gifts & trinkets, Area Jaya Mini Mart & Art on the main Street of Nusa Dua. Lots of clothes, homewares and souvenirs. I continued walking up the street so was very hot by the time I got back to the Bay. Tony & I decided some time over at Peninsula Beach to relax, swim & eat was in order. A different vibe to the Bay and it was good looking out to the beach as well. Back over to the Bay later in the afternoon for a quick swim and to catch the glorious sunset, the best of the week. We all dressed up and headed down for the Farewell dinner with an Indonesian buffet, dancing performance by some of the staff and then listening to a band and singing, again some of the staff from the resort. It was a fun evening - sad it is our last night though.Read more
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BALI 2024
Farewell Bali...Hello Australia!
July 6, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌬 29 °C
Last day in Paradise. Tony and I had a last swim in the main pool before a breakfast of leftovers. We then finished packing, ready to move to our 'late checkout' Studio Room over in the other section of the resort. We caught the shuttle again to go to our favourite coffee place at Mama Krisna. Then a last lunch at The Tree. Back to the room to watch Georgia's game then a final swim at the Studio pool for a swim & some relaxation. We all had showers, readied ourselves for leaving Bali. We had some time so we did our final Quiz for our holiday. We checked out at 6pm then visited Sukun for our final meal. Murdika picked us up at 8pm for our 1/2 hour drive to airport. Goodbyes to Murdika then queues for check in and immigration. Lucky us got exit row seats on the plane. We settled in for our 11.25pm departure. It has been a wonderful holiday. Now to head home to the cold!Read more
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Trip end
July 7, 2024