No category,  Travel

Bali; My second home

Hi dear travel lover,

The past few months I have lived and worked in Bali. In this period, of course, I also explored this beautiful island. I would like to take you along the highlights of Bali. .

Canggu

I have lived the whole period in Pererenan, a small village of Canggu. My favorite places in Pererenan are Wasabi, for fantastic sushi, Mandira’s, Beer & Pizza and Santorini. If we wanted to eat quickly, cheaply, but good food, we would go to Mana's cafe. For going out you have to be at La Brisa. This is a hip tent on the beach. It gives me the feeling of a very large luxury tree house. You look out over the beach, there are nice sitting areas everywhere and there are even swimming pools.

The advantage to Pererenan is that it is less touristy than Canggu itself and therefore a lot cheaper. The atmosphere is also very relaxed and it really feels like home to me.

Rice fields in Pererenan

473/5000 The center of Canggu is a few minutes' drive from Pererenan. Here you will find Love Anchor, a small shopping center, and the famous Finns Beach Club. Deus Café and Luigi’s is an absolute must for eating. Old Mans or Luigi’s are favorite for going out. Canggu is really known for its wonderful surfers atmosphere. The beaches are large with a rough sea and nice beach bars everywhere. Lovely to be here for a few days (or months 😉).

Seminyak

Seminyak is one of the busier areas of Bali. Many backpackers and tourists come here to enjoy the beach, the atmosphere and the nightlife. I myself went to Seminyak a couple of times for shopping, eating and going to the tattoo studio. Where you can eat really delicious food is at Nostimo. This is a Greek who sits close to the tattoo studio. They really have the best souvlaki and fries here! The Red Carpet is great to go in the evening. This is a champagne bar in the center of Seminyak where you can also eat very well.

Lovina

Wij hebben een dagtrip Lovina gedaan. Om 6 uur vertrokken we uit de haven van Lovina om vervolgens een prachtige zonsopgang te zien vanaf het water. We hebben twee uur gevaren en onderweg verschillende groepen dolfijnen gezien. Wat een gave ervaring was dit! Toen we terug kwamen in de haven bracht onze driver ons naar de Holy Hot Spring, een warmwaterbron en daarna naar onze volgende bestemming. Dat was de indrukwekkende hoge, smalle Gitgit waterval. Vanaf hier gingen we naar Banyumala. Deze waterval wordt ook wel de drieling waterval genoemd. Als je de foto bekijkt snap je waarom. Het was een hele wandeling om hier te komen. Allereerst een stuk lopen en vervolgens een hele boel steile gladde trappetjes af. En dus ook weer op om terug te komen bij de auto. Great! 😉

The tripple waterfall in Lovina

After this busy morning it was time for lunch. Our driver knew a nice restaurant so he brought us there. After lunch we drove on to the Gates to Heaven. A famous photo spot in the north of Bali. When we arrived here we were surprised that there was really nothing to see except for that gate. Well then ... in line to take a picture too. A while later we were finally done taking pictures and we could continue to our final destination of the day; the Tanah Lot temple. This is a beautiful temple on the water with the mountains in the background. Here the driver brought us back home, to Pererenan, where we were able to crawl into our own bed again, exhausted.

Tanah Lot Temple

Ubud

After my period of living and working in Bali was over, I went on a trip around Bali for another week. We started this journey in Ubud. We stayed at Doni House & Villa, a very beautiful place in the middle of the jungle. Our beautiful room was adjacent to the infinity pool where we could enjoy the delicious breakfast in the morning. The only drawback was that the internet is very slow and several times did not work at all. Not very handy if you work online. A tip for very tasty pizza in Ubud is Mozarella pizza. You can sit very nice here and the pizza is really delicious.

In Ubud we did a day tour to see everything we wanted to see. During this tour we went to the Tegenungan and the Katolampo waterfalls, the Holy Water Temple, Monkeyforest, and the Bali swing. We opted for the Bali swing in the rice fields because I personally like the view there and it is also a lot cheaper than the official Bali swing. I always find it very nice to do such a day with a driver and it is also very cheap if you are looking for a nice driver. We paid a total of 22 euros for the driver for a whole day.

Nusa Lembongan

From Ubud our driver brought us to Sanur where we boarded the boat to Nusa Lembongan. We stayed in Sunday Huts, a very beautiful location on top of a hill. You look out over the water and you can see the Yellow Bridge from your cottage. The included breakfast was also very tasty. The second day we rented a scooter and started exploring the island. The road is very easy to find on Lembongan. We drove along the various well-known beaches and cliffs and via the bridge we also drove to Ceningan to also drive there. At Ceningan we had a nice lunch and sat at The Sand. Here they have a hammock in the water and some swings which makes for very nice pictures. On Lembongan, my favorite place to eat is Sunday Beach. This is on the beach, close to Sunday Huts, and the food here is really good and also cheap. Oishii Grill & Bar is an absolute must for sushi lovers! The tastiest sushi I have ever eaten and a lot of choice, also for the non-fish eater like me.

Nusa Penida

From Nusa Lembongan we went to Nusa Penida for a day. We were picked up early in the morning and then taken to the boat. Once we arrived in Penida we went by small vans to our first destination, Broken Beach. You see large rocks and cliffs with a natural bay in between. The sea crashes roughly against the rocks, creating a beautiful image. From here we drove to Kelingking beach, the most famous insta statue of Nusa Penida. Here we had time to walk around and take some pictures. What a hustle and bustle here! Everywhere people are insisting on a photo. Furthermore, there are still some monkeys that you should keep a close eye on, before you know it one is in your arms (I speak from experience 😉).

In the meantime, it's time for lunch again. We drive to a restaurant where all the tours go. What a disappointment. It is expensive, takes a long time and eventually you get a very small portion that tastes like nothing. After the very long lunch stop we continue to the last destination, Crystal Bay. Here we have time for sunbathing and swimming. I found this beach not to be that special but it was okat. At 4 pm we board the boat again to go back to Lembongan.

Gili Trawangan

From Nusa Lembongan we have booked a boat to Gili Trawangan. This would be a direct boat but unfortunately this was not the case and we had to change boats and companies on Lombok. Then stand in the heat with your heavy luggage wasting our precious day. Anyway, after a few hours we were finally on Gili Trawangan. Next setback .. Our hotel was on the other side of the island, which is impossible to do on foot. The luggage was too heavy and large to take on a bicycle. So then there was one option left ... a horse taxi. As a horse maid I had quite a bit of trouble with this. Swallow 3 times and a 15 minute ride later we arrived at our stay, Coconut Gardens. This is a more luxurious resort with a nice swimming pool and a good restaurant. That evening we stayed in the room and watched a delicious series while enjoying a schnitzel and a smoothie. The next day we rented a bike and started exploring the island. We found a deserted beach with very nice beds. We finally spent 2 days here. What is nice to do in the evening is to go to the Gili night market, eat and go out in the busy area or catch a movie on one of the beaches (or two movies, like we did 😉).

After 4 days at Gili T it was time to go back to Bali. A miserable boat trip followed. We finally arrived in Bali 2 hours later if we were to arrive. Stress! Instead of taking the free shuttle service, we took a taxi to get to the airport on time. Fortunately we made it all and we were able to board the plane to Bangkok with confidence. On to the next adventure!

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