“Where are you from?” asked the taxi driver who was taking us to our hotel in Bali from Ngurah Rai Airport. Happy to arrive in Bali after an uncomfortable flight, we replied enthusiastically that we were from Thailand. Little did we know that in the days to come, whoever we encountered and had a conversation with (from waitresses to boatmen) would be asking us the exact same question. This just goes to show how friendly (or curious, or both) Balinese people are. Or maybe we just looked Indonesian but didn’t speak the language, hence the inquiry. Either way, I have never repeated the word “Thailand” so often in the spam of a few days.

Back tracking a bit, you’ll notice that I’ve been gone for quite a while again since my last post. That was because I had been swamped with work and barely had time to breathe, let alone blog. After those hellish months, all I could look forward to was a 5-day holiday in Bali.

Anyway, back to our trip. We were staying at Villa Seminyak Estate and Spa and although the interior was a bit run-down and not as impressive as the pictures we saw in the website, it was comfortable enough. What I really loved were the doors that opened out into the main pool. From the lobby, the eggy-yellow villas contrasted nicely with the aqua pool.

We planned to spend some days relaxing at the villa but since it was our first time in Bali, we also wanted to make sure we covered all the tourist spots. After browsing through endless brochures that we picked up at the airport, we finally decided on a full-day tour to sight-see the famous landmarks of Bali and a seafood dinner at Jimbaran.

The next morning, the van picked us up at the hotel and we headed to Tohpati, where we saw the process of Balinese hand weaving and handmade Batik. About a 5-minute ride away, we went to see the famous Barong and Kris dance at Batubulan, where they performed Mahabharata. From there, we went straight to Ubud district, where there were many villages, each with a different expertise in some sort of crafts. At Celukvillage, we visited the gold and silver smith and they explained the process of their work. Wood carving is famous at Mas village, and we saw crocodile wood, which is native to Indonesia. These wood pieces are covered with big spiky thorns like those on a crocodile, hence the name.  The next village, Batuan, is known for their paintings and house compounds. The whole family lives in one compound, with a large area for family temples. Finally, we stopped at Tegenungan waterfall, said to be the prettiest waterfall in Bali (according to our tour guide).

The highlight of the trip (for me) must have been at  Sribatu village, where we went to visit the coffee plantation. It wasn’t exactly a plantation as you would imagine, with endless rows of coffee plants. Instead, it was more like a garden, with lots of other fruits and plants. We got to see a cinnamon tree, mangosteen tree and cacaos, which I initially thought were papayas. We got a sampler of rich cocoa, ginger tea, ginseng coffee (not as bad as I thought) and Balinese coffee. The specialty however, was Kopi Luwak, or civet coffee. Want to know how the coffee got its name? Read on:

While coffee connoisseurs might rave about this expensive coffee, I wasn’t particularly fond of it. I thought it had a slight sourness and wasn’t as aromatic as the Balinese coffee but hey, what did I know about coffee. We probably spent the most time at this village, and we certainly bought the most from here (and no, none of our purchases included Kopi Luwak).  I’m already dreaming up ways to use the vanilla beans.

Our next stop was at Kintamani village, home of Mount Batur and its crater lake. Mount Batur is an active volcano with frequent eruptions. We wanted to climb the volcano but unfortunately, I didn’t bring any climbing shoes so that will have to be reserved for the next trip, if we ever come back. We had lunch at the restaurant overlooking the volcano and I bet everyone who comes on the tour to see Mount Batur stops here to have lunch.

With renewed energy, we were ready to take on Gunung Kawi Temple, or holy spring water temple, in Sebatu village. It was very peaceful there and I would have liked to wander around and take more pictures of animals but we were pressed for time so we had to get a move on. I thought we wouldn’t be able to see the rice terraces, since the Fire dance started at 6 PM sharp and it was quite a drive from Sebatu. Luckily, we did manage to stop at Tegallalang village for about 5 minutes for some pictures. The terraces were spectacular, zigzagging up and down the hill side like mazes.

After a two hour drive, we arrived in Uluwatu temple, which was built in the 16th century and hangs on a cliff 825 ft. high, overlooking the Indian Ocean.  The temple is infested with monkeys and our tour guide warned us that we had to be careful of our belongings, since the monkeys are skilled thieves. At exactly 6 PM, the famous Kecak and Fire dance started with the setting sun as the scene behind them. We ended the day with dinner at Jimbaran, where the seafood was fresh but the sauce definitely couldn’t beat Thailand.

To be honest, I didn’t take that much of a liking to Indonesian food. I don’t know if it’s because I haven’t been to the right place (although we did go to a local restaurant recommended by the concierge on the first night) or if I just have a case of Thai tongue.

Having said that, we did have a spectacular dinner one night at an Italian restaurant called Ultimo. This place filled up really quickly (and by that, I mean people were sent away because there was literally no space to wait for seating) and we were fortunate enough to get a table without a reservation. It was easy to see why this restaurant is so popular – the service is attentive without being too intrusive and it serves good food at affordable prices. There are outdoor as well as indoor seating, the latter having access to the view of the open kitchen.

We started the course with 4 pieces of fresh oysters (22,000 IDR/pc) served with red wine vinaigrette sauce, which enhanced the sweetness of the oysters. Next, we had the lobster and avocado salad (30,000 IDR), with plump morsels of lobster meat mixed in creamy dressing and chunks of avocado – another satisfying dish. The highlight of the meal was the grilled Australian tenderloin with rosemary and red wine gravy (75,000 IDR). The 250 grams of beef was cooked to perfection with a caramelized sweet crust. The mashed potatoes that came with the dish had cheese mixed in it, and the sautéed vegetables were just as divine. Impressed with the food so far, I couldn’t wait to dig into the seafood spaghetti (45,500 IDR). It was a bit of a disappointment when the plate came heaping with the pasta and tiny shrimps and squid scattered around, but only one mussel and clam. We had tiramisu (32,000 IDR) for dessert, which was heavy on the rum but creamy and delicious nonetheless.

There were more things we wanted to do and more places we wanted to eat at, but a 5-day holiday was just too short. Looks like we’ll have to come back again someday.

Categories: Travels
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