Bali Chillin’ 😎
Selamat Datang ke Bali ☀️ Villa in Seminyak that was booked via Airbnb.
I haven’t been to Bali in more than 10 years - my last trip there was back in 2012 for my cousin’s wedding and it didn’t leave that much of an impression for me to want to back additional trips back ever since. However, when my colleague asked if I had wanted to go with her to Bali last year, I declined thinking I was still feeling quite meh about the place.😌. But life happened and somehow I found myself making the decision to crash her trip and making that booking to Bali.
We made the decision to stay in Seminyak this time because it was easy to get around and had a good mix of food and things to do. The proximity to Canggu was also a plus point because friends had advised about the traffic situation - the roads in Canggu have a tendency to be narrower which results in constant traffic jams, especially if you’re in a car - so Seminyak it was ✌🏻!
Food was our utmost priority so our first order of business upon landing in Bali was to settle our hungry tummies at Sisterfields.
Food was decent but not memorable as it serves mostly cafe fare so expect eggs benedict, avocado sourdough toasts and more. I was dying to get a good cup of coffee and thankfully BAKED. was conveniently situated directly opposite Sisterfields to let me get that caffeine hit ☕. My flat white hit the spot nicely - a good balance of flavours and milk - so I was pretty happy with that cuppa 😝
We located a massage/spa place within walking distance and settled for a quick massage session. Ngl but it wasn’t the best place so I’m not even going to share about that location - I opted for a foot massage + classic manicure which wasn’t well done 😅😅.
And then off we went with more exploring at Petitenget Beach 🏖️ which was within walking distance from where we were at.
BAKED. Seminyak
Jl. Kayu Jati No.8, Seminyak, Kec. Kuta,
Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361
The weather was brutally warm 🥵 and so was the sand - highly recommend you not to take off your footwear 🩴🩴. Headed off to an early dinner at Merah Putih after because we were too beat from taking the earliest flight out of Singapore to Bali
📍Merah Putih, Jl. Petitenget No.100x,, Kerobokan, Bali, Indonesia 80361
Serving Indonesian food in a fine dining setting, Merah Putih was one of the highlights of my trip! The ambience was very nice as it was decorated as an indoor garden setting, with tables available on the second floor if you make a reservation early. We saw several tables of large groups gathering there for dinner that day and the place was quickly filled.
Food was relatively delicious - I loved the duck (bebek goreng) and gado gado 😋😋
We also ordered cocktails to go with dinner and they were yums 🍸🍹 The entire bill came up to approximately SGD$150 for 4 pax - quite expensive but for the ambience, service and variety of Indonesian food and drinks, I’d say it’s still worth a visit if you are ever on the lookout for Indonesian fine dining experiences.
Leave the road, take the trails.
〰️
Leave the road, take the trails. 〰️
Another highlight of the trip was a sunrise trek up Mt Batur in Ubud 🌄
We booked a private tour from Mount Batur Sunrisce Trekking which included a direct return trip from our accommodation in Seminyak to the jeep location at Mount Batur along with a. private guide for the group while we hiked up Mount Batur. It was a fuss-free booking (everything was settled via Whatsapp) and the driver came to pick us at 2.30am 😅.
Reached Mount Batur after 2 hours and we got off at a location to board our jeep 🛻. It was my first time in a jeep and it was a very cool experience! We took a short drive to the base of Mount Batur where a ton of jeeps were parked at for those who didn’t feel like climbing to the summit. Got off the jeep and was met by our guide who handed out head torches to each of us .
Focus
We made it up to the summit after a 1 hour odd trek. Terrain was not ideal because of the volcanic ash (which just gets into your shoes most of the time) but the guide was very helpful in making sure we were all on pace and could navigate the trek properly.
The view was amazing 😌 I remember thinking to myself when I finally reached the spot for us to watch the sunrise how wonderful nature truly is 🥰
I felt really blessed to had made the decision to trek up instead of waiting at the jeep for the sunrise because how else would I be able to see this wonderful view in front of me.
We continued on shortly to the real summit (which was laden with tons of trekkers) and to view the geothermal spots since Mount Batur is an active volcano. Our guide was also very kind to keep taking group shots for us so I’ll let the pictures do the talking now 📷. Shortly after taking all the photos, we made our descent down back to where the jeep was parked at before heading to our next location for breakfast!
Located in Kintamani near Mount Batur is a quaint cafe overlooking the volcano
Breakfast was at a cafe called Paperhills located in Kintamani, a 40 minute drive away from Mount Batur. Our driver dropped us there and we grabbed brunch there - by then it was almost 9am and we had been up for close to 7 hours so caffeine was very important to me by then 🤣🤣 Food served at Paperhills was a mix of brunch/cafe fare with Indonesian dishes. It wasn’t entirely memorable to be honest but I was quite blown away by the view that overlooked a volcano so I get why it was so Instagram worthy 😆
Utterly tired, we made a pit stop at a coffee plantation (which is part of the tour) that was quite small to see if we wanted to purchase any Balinese coffee products and then back to the villa to wash up and rest.
Chilling by the pool 😎
I took a short dip in the villa’s pool after returning from Mount Batur because I figured we probably didn’t have much time left to utilise the pool and since the weather was ideal to chill by the pool, I quickly changed into my suit and splashed around abit with my friend.
I ended up soaking for an hour or so in the pool before washing up and it was a chill night for us that day. Dinner was at this Italian restaurant that was quite meh so I’m not even bothered to post any information about it here.
The original plan for the next day was for all of us to go for a private pilates class but my thighs were super pain 😭😩 from the trek so I skipped out on the pilates class while the rest went for it. Caught up with the group at Nook at Umalas which overlooks a small plot of rice fields for brunch. Just in case you’re unaware, Bali is full of interesting cafes and I shortlisted Nook cos it was so unique with the rice field views 🌾 but I wasn’t expecting a super huge plot so thankfully my expectations were low to begin with😆
📍Nook, Jl. Umalas 1 No.3, Kerobokan Kelod, Kec. Kuta Utara, Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361, Indonesia
Nook’s rice fields where you can sit at tables facing this view
Acai bowls were great as were the Indonesian dishes we ordered! Bali is very big on bebek goreng (fried duck) and the one from Nook was very yummy 😋🍴
Canggu
Headed to Canggu which is a 20-25 minute drive from Umalas because we wanted to check out this area and randomly googled for a spa to get a massage. I was still limping from the Mount Batur trek so I was looking forward to getting a massage to ease the muscle aches 😅. Ended up at Ameline Beauty & Spa and I opted for a 1 hour massage which left my body feeling very relaxed and muscles less achy 💆🏻.
Took a short walk at the Berawa area after because I wanted to pop in to the Fields of Yarrow store and pick up some skincare products. My friends also did some shopping around the area before we went to Ulekan for dinner on our last night in Bali.
📍Ulekan Berawa, Jl. Tegal Sari - Jl. Pantai Berawa No.34, Tibubeneng
The restaurant in Berawa is located beside a temple and guests could opt for tables facing the temple while eating their meals which I loved - it would make for a really nice dinner date location imo 😂😄
Food.was.amazing. 🤩🤩🤯🤯 Menu was mainly Indonesian food so we ordered several dishes for sharing. Cocktails were also available and they were decently priced, approximately SGD$14 iirc which is a good deal compared to what we pay here in Singapore 😤 My friends loved all the dishes that we ordered and it was definitely a highlight/top foodie location for us! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A good end to our short 4d3n Bali trip! Ended the night at Gusto Gelato afterwards because it was located near our villa.
Didn’t do much the next day because I wanted to sleep-in before we had to check-out of the villa. Oh and did I mention I was limping still from the trek 😩😭
Headed to Beachwalk Shopper Center located in Kuta as we wanted to find a spot near the airport - was a little concerned with the possible traffic jam since our flight home was in the evening - and grabbed coffee + late lunch there! It’s an open air mall with tons of international brands so unless you are looking to buy/shop at international brands, I would skip out on coming to this mall.
Traffic to airport was smooth and we managed to reach the airport in 20 minutes. Oh btw we mostly got around with Gojek/Grab car rides - it’s very convenient and affordable to get from different spots within Bali so do download these apps prior your trip. Landed in Singapore at around 10pm before heading home to prep for work the next day 😅🥲 All in all it was a very chill trip to Bali, I wished I had more time to explore different parts of the island but I guess there will be next time heh.
Taken at Denpasar airport - goodbye Bali!