Bali Travel Diary - In the land of Gods - Part 1

Tripoto
7th Apr 2017
Day 2
Day 1

Bali is one such travel destination which has shot up in popularity in the last couple of years and was even voted the best travel destination of 2017, by TripAdvisor. Four of us friends were elated when we got to know of this, as we had already booked out tickets and planned our holiday to The Land of Gods. I'm writing this post for all you guys who wanted to know how our trip was. We were in Bali for little over a week, and visited so many places that one post wouldn't do justice to it. So I've split my Bali travelogue into parts and this is part 1 of the series!

Photo of KLIA2 Sepang, Selangor Malaysia by Sushmita Shivaram

We started on the 7th of April, 2017 from Bengaluru International Airport and after a 4-5 hour layover at KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport) we reached Denpasar, Bali on the evening of the 8th of April (Yes, Bali is 2.5 hours ahead of IST and that explains the almost-a full day's travel time). The food court in KLIA Terminal 2 had very limited Vegan options, so all you vegans out there, if you plan on eating something at the Terminal 2 food court of the airport, pack your own food, or be happy with fries, onion rings and some apple pie from Burger king!

We reached Denpasar at around 9.30 pm local time. The Ngurah Rai International Airport was small but eye catching. Kuta was where we were staying that night. We had booked a villa at 'Deluxe Sunset Loft' through Airbnb, and our host had arranged for our pickup from the airport. It is about 9 km from the airport and we reached within no time. Never judge a book by its cover, and never judge Bali by just going around Kuta. I don't intend to say that Kuta isn't beautiful, but it's nothing out of the world, and certainly won't live up to the hype that Bali creates in our minds.

Day 2

The next morning we set off to Seminyak, which was 8 km from Kuta. One place which we had on our list, was a cafe called Sisterfields Cafe in Seminyak, where we had breakfast. It was en route this cafe, that the Bali-ness hit us. The roads are beautiful, with dark colored stone houses and lots of greenery. Sisterfields Cafe had charming interiors and a great ambience that we enjoyed while we filled our food craving tummies with some mouth watering delicacies on the menu.

An interior view of Sisterfields Cafe, Seminyak, Bali.

Photo of Sisterfields Cafe, Kerobokan Kelod, Badung Regency, Bali, Indonesia by Sushmita Shivaram
Photo of Sisterfields Cafe, Kerobokan Kelod, Badung Regency, Bali, Indonesia by Sushmita Shivaram

By this time, the rain Gods decided to welcome us to the land of Gods, and we experienced a lovely brief drizzle, and the weather continued to be really pleasant for the rest of the day. We checked in to The Visala Boutique Suites, which was going to be our home for the next 2 nights.

It was high time that we had started exploring Bali like tourists. Our first stop was Pura Luhur Uluwatu, a magnificent temple perched on top of a sea cliff. It is 27 km from Seminyak and took us about an hour to reach. I didn't regret the travel time, for the journey was magnificent. Ancient sculptures stand huge at the entrance to welcome you to the temple which shouts Balinese architecture and traditionally designed structures. This temple overlooked the Indian ocean, and being there at sunset, was the icing on the cake.

Photo of Uluwatu Temple, Pecatu, Badung Regency, Bali, Indonesia by Sushmita Shivaram

Sunset at Uluwatu, Bali

Photo of Uluwatu Temple, Pecatu, Badung Regency, Bali, Indonesia by Sushmita Shivaram
Photo of Uluwatu Temple, Pecatu, Badung Regency, Bali, Indonesia by Sushmita Shivaram

After a stroll within the temple, along the cliff, we headed back to Seminyak. It was food time by the time we reached, which brings us to one of my favorite cafes from Bali, which was ..

Cafe Seminyak!

Cafe Seminyak

Photo of Seminyak, Badung Regency, Bali, Indonesia by Sushmita Shivaram

Cafe Seminyak

Photo of Seminyak, Badung Regency, Bali, Indonesia by Sushmita Shivaram

It was love at first sight. Cafe Seminyak is located on one of the busiest and the most commercial roads in Seminyak. A cozy place, with lovely ambience, it made me fall in love next with the most famous Indonesian dishes - the Nasi Goreng and Mie Goreng. If you are someone who likes your food slightly on the spicy side, you need to make sure to tell them about your preferences, else you'll have to put up with bland food. After a satisfying meal there, we hopped to Bintang Supermarket for .. Flavored Yogurt! You have to try those when in Bali! We were exhausted by then, and decided to head back to our suites, when we accidentally stumbled upon a place, which I'm sure is nothing short of heaven to all the Nutella lovers - Nutella Bar, a Nutella themed cafe - all Nutella delights under one roof! Everything we discovered in Bali made us fall in love with it more! But this was just the beginning. If 2 days in a place can make you adore it, imagine what staying there for 8 days would do to you!

Photo of Nutella, Seminyak, Badung Regency, Bali, Indonesia by Sushmita Shivaram

It was a long day, but we had more things planned for the next day, which was supposed to start at 4 in the morning. Despite the fact that we had to be up early, we spent a good amount of time chit chatting because hey, it's not everyday that you travel with your buddies to such amazing places right?

Day 3

That night ended with hardly 4-5 hours of sleep, but what we woke up that early for, was worth every bit of sleep that we sacrificed. We woke up at 4 am to catch the sunrise at Sanur, Bali. The calm and serene beach that Sanur is, imbibed a blissful sense of calmness in us as we patiently waited for Ra to rise. The sky was scattered with a variety of hues ranging from shades of orange to shades of blue. I'm not much of an early riser, but if I had to wake up early everyday to catch this scene, I gladly would.

Photo of Sanur, Bali, Indonesia by Sushmita Shivaram
Photo of Sanur, Bali, Indonesia by Sushmita Shivaram

Sanur was just the beginning of the magical day that it was. We then headed to Nusa Penida, a tiny island about 90 minutes off Sanur beach.

More on the magical island and the days that followed in Part II of this post.

What to look out for in Part II - Nusa Penida, more of Seminyak and parts of Ubud! Oh and yes, Mount Batur!

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