Recent trip to Bali.
I recently travelled to Bali for a holiday with Husband. It has to be said that neither of us had very high expectations from our first visit, and maybe this is exactly why we had such a brilliant time. Or maybe it was because we both worked extremely hard all year and this break was just what the doctor ordered. Either way, it was excellent and we will definitely be back. Here’s a list of some of our favourite places.
We first stayed at The Anantara on Seminyak beach. Our flight got us in late at night and as the taxi pulled up at the end of a long, narrow and reasonably dodgy street, I had my doubts about whether on not we had picked the right place to stay. The minute we got out of the cab, I realised that we were right on the beach as I could hear the sound of the ocean. I looked up and there it was – the beautiful Anantara in all it’s glory. It absolutely took my breath away. We were greeted by exceptionally friendly staff who gave us a delicious welcome drink in the lobby bar. I was almost jumping out of my skin with excitement – I could just tell that the 6 days ahead were going to be brilliant. Soon after, we were escorted to our rooms with massive black timber doors at entry. We walked in down the long corridor with high ceilings lined in travertine, past the dressing room and bathroom to the lounge and bedroom. And the room – wow! It was nothing short of spectacular. If I can sum it up in two words, the entire scene was very “James Bond”.
And then… wait for it… I noticed THIS on the bed:
How rad are the towel doves!
And then… on the media unit I spotted this little gem:
Friggin’ HILARIOUS! Ok, so the worst part is that it was not even our wedding anniversary. Well… I kind of slipped that in during the booking process hoping we’d get an upgrade or some free champagne or something [I know, I'm a bad person]. Although I was kind of telling half a truth, because it was actually our engagement anniversary, not that we actually celebrate it.
Alas, the welcome surprise made us laugh for hours. Because it was so lame and gay, but so sweet at the same time. And the hotel itself was so sophisticated and amazing. Such a paradox. I love that $hit!
Overall The Anantara was amazing. And if you choose to stay there, make sure to get a room with pool access facing the ocean – it’s the money!
The hotel also has a fantastic rooftop bar perfect for watching spectacular sunsets over the Seminyak beach. Yummy cocktails too.
On our last day in Semimyak, we took a day trip down south to Karma Kandara and spent an entire day at the Nammos Beach Club. A friend of mine highly recommended the place, and we almost didn’t go, as we were feeling pretty lazy. We also couldn’t imagine how any place could have been better than our hotel beach, with an awesome pool and cocktail service. But boy were we glad we pulled our finger out and actually went there. This place was smoking HOT! I was absolutely freaking out. It reminded me a teeny little bit of Santorini [by the way I've never been to Santorini, so for all of you who have, it probably looks nothing like it, so that was possibly a useless comment on my behalf].
Karma Kandara resort is located on the cliff top of Jimbaran with panoramic views of the ocean. Quick, go stay there!
The Nammos Beach Club is a secluded private beach that it can only be accessed via an inclinator. There is a full service restaurant and bar, and you can also get a massage while you are there.
The beach bar served the best Mojito I’ve ever had [and let me tell you, I've had a few of those in my life]. They mixed in a bit of pineapple juice and it made all the difference. Yum!
After Karma Kandara, we headed over to Jimbaran Bay for more first class sunset watching. I have to say that Bali has some of the best sunsets I’ve ever seen.
Jimbaran Bay has approximately 5389 [as in - heaps of] restaurants right on the beach where you can get the yummiest and freshest seafood. And if you are lucky, you might even get serenaded by a local cover band with songs such as “Down under” or “Wonderwall”. That should give you some indication that, in these restaurants, you will be surrounded by other fellow tourists, many of whom are Australian and often the loudest ones around. But who knows, maybe you are right into that stuff – and who am I to judge?
After our brilliant time spent on the beach, we headed up to Ubud for some change of scenery. Ubud is located in the mountains in the middle of the island of Bali. This is arguably the best place to visit if you’re looking for true Balinese culture. The town is surrounded by scenic rice fields, small villages, art and craft communities, ancient temples, palaces, rivers…
In my research, I discovered some excellent places to stay, and this time our choice lead us to Ibah Villas.
Ibah, as we learned a bit later, was the king of Ubud, which explains the expansive lush grounds of our hotel. Truly fit for a king.
We hired a scooter and took a trip out to the nearby villages and rice fields. It would have been quite easy to spend days exploring the lush scenery. It was absolutely gorgeous.
There is so much more I could write about that simply won’t fit on these pages. It has to be experienced in person. If you are looking for some R&R and want to do it in style – head over to Bali. There are some excellent places to stay. We had such a great time and we shall be back!
p.s. You can see more Bali photos taken with my iPhone and a pocket camera.
I recently travelled to Bali for a holiday with Husband. It has to be said that neither of us had very high expectations from our first visit, and maybe this is exactly why we had such a brilliant time. Or maybe it was because we both worked extremely hard all year and this break was just what the doctor ordered. Either way, it was excellent and we will definitely be back. Here’s a list of some of our favourite places.
We first stayed at The Anantara on Seminyak beach. Our flight got us in late at night and as the taxi pulled up at the end of a long, narrow and reasonably dodgy street, I had my doubts about whether on not we had picked the right place to stay. The minute we got out of the cab, I realised that we were right on the beach as I could hear the sound of the ocean. I looked up and there it was – the beautiful Anantara in all it’s glory. It absolutely took my breath away. We were greeted by exceptionally friendly staff who gave us a delicious welcome drink in the lobby bar. I was almost jumping out of my skin with excitement – I could just tell that the 6 days ahead were going to be brilliant. Soon after, we were escorted to our rooms with massive black timber doors at entry. We walked in down the long corridor with high ceilings lined in travertine, past the dressing room and bathroom to the lounge and bedroom. And the room – wow! It was nothing short of spectacular. If I can sum it up in two words, the entire scene was very “James Bond”.
And then… wait for it… I noticed THIS on the bed:
How rad are the towel doves!
And then… on the media unit I spotted this little gem:
Friggin’ HILARIOUS! Ok, so the worst part is that it was not even our wedding anniversary. Well… I kind of slipped that in during the booking process hoping we’d get an upgrade or some free champagne or something [I know, I'm a bad person]. Although I was kind of telling half a truth, because it was actually our engagement anniversary, not that we actually celebrate it.
Alas, the welcome surprise made us laugh for hours. Because it was so lame and gay, but so sweet at the same time. And the hotel itself was so sophisticated and amazing. Such a paradox. I love that $hit!
Overall The Anantara was amazing. And if you choose to stay there, make sure to get a room with pool access facing the ocean – it’s the money!
The hotel also has a fantastic rooftop bar perfect for watching spectacular sunsets over the Seminyak beach. Yummy cocktails too.
On our last day in Semimyak, we took a day trip down south to Karma Kandara and spent an entire day at the Nammos Beach Club. A friend of mine highly recommended the place, and we almost didn’t go, as we were feeling pretty lazy. We also couldn’t imagine how any place could have been better than our hotel beach, with an awesome pool and cocktail service. But boy were we glad we pulled our finger out and actually went there. This place was smoking HOT! I was absolutely freaking out. It reminded me a teeny little bit of Santorini [by the way I've never been to Santorini, so for all of you who have, it probably looks nothing like it, so that was possibly a useless comment on my behalf].
Karma Kandara resort is located on the cliff top of Jimbaran with panoramic views of the ocean. Quick, go stay there!
The Nammos Beach Club is a secluded private beach that it can only be accessed via an inclinator. There is a full service restaurant and bar, and you can also get a massage while you are there.
The beach bar served the best Mojito I’ve ever had [and let me tell you, I've had a few of those in my life]. They mixed in a bit of pineapple juice and it made all the difference. Yum!
After Karma Kandara, we headed over to Jimbaran Bay for more first class sunset watching. I have to say that Bali has some of the best sunsets I’ve ever seen.
Jimbaran Bay has approximately 5389 [as in - heaps of] restaurants right on the beach where you can get the yummiest and freshest seafood. And if you are lucky, you might even get serenaded by a local cover band with songs such as “Down under” or “Wonderwall”. That should give you some indication that, in these restaurants, you will be surrounded by other fellow tourists, many of whom are Australian and often the loudest ones around. But who knows, maybe you are right into that stuff – and who am I to judge?
After our brilliant time spent on the beach, we headed up to Ubud for some change of scenery. Ubud is located in the mountains in the middle of the island of Bali. This is arguably the best place to visit if you’re looking for true Balinese culture. The town is surrounded by scenic rice fields, small villages, art and craft communities, ancient temples, palaces, rivers…
In my research, I discovered some excellent places to stay, and this time our choice lead us to Ibah Villas.
Ibah, as we learned a bit later, was the king of Ubud, which explains the expansive lush grounds of our hotel. Truly fit for a king.
We hired a scooter and took a trip out to the nearby villages and rice fields. It would have been quite easy to spend days exploring the lush scenery. It was absolutely gorgeous.
There is so much more I could write about that simply won’t fit on these pages. It has to be experienced in person. If you are looking for some R&R and want to do it in style – head over to Bali. There are some excellent places to stay. We had such a great time and we shall be back!
p.s. You can see more Bali photos taken with my iPhone and a pocket camera.
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