2018 May. Bali. Seminyak. Ubud. Hanging Gardens. Indonesia.
The Bali trip planned for Dec 2017 but disrupted by Mt Agung eruption happened in the following May instead. I managed to postpone my accommodation reservations, after many back and forth emails with the hotels. My maiden trip to Bali was 15 years ago in 2003. Bali is such a beautiful destination with so much to offer, I really should visit more often. Visitors are always spoilt for choices when it comes to accommodation in Bali, and a tough decision to narrow down where to stay. There are so many beautiful resorts and villas to choose from, each with its own style and attraction, either architecture, scenery or location wise. I decided to stay in 3 places for this trip, 2 nights per location, to savour the best of Bali – seaside in Seminyak, padi fields in Ubud, and rainforests at Hanging Garden .
Seminyak
Seminyak has grown so busy since my last visit. I chose a modern designed Huu Villas for my first stay, which was spacious and luxurious. Location was relatively convenient, at the northern fringe near Alila Resort and Potato Head Beach Club, away from the noise but walkable to town centre, and a short walk to Petitenget Beach.
Huu Villas compound is very small with only one row of 10 inward-looking villas. Breakfast is served at the neighbouring restaurant Sea Vu Play around the corner.
I also explored the adjacent Alila Resorts, designed by WOHA, and walked to the beach in the early morning. Trespassing, basically. 🙂
The waves in Bali is so beautiful, and no wonder why Bali beaches are so popular with surfers and tourists alike. I can spend hours just watching the rolling waves and the cloud formation above it transform by the minute. The glow at dawn is absolutely picturesque and the soothing sea breeze made it such a treat for a relaxed morning stroll, before the sun gets hot and the beach gets crowded.
Chanced upon a tiny baby turtle swimming back into the sea. Such a precious and magical moment! Also saw a mudskipper on the beach.
These following 2 shots are my favourite, the first is titled ‘Two Moons at Dawn” when I spotted a humungous one right smack in my face; and the second captured a hot babe and surfer dude in action just at the right moment. Pure luck and snapped with an iPhone, so no photography skills involved.
More action by the beach, as the sky brightened up.
Near to where I stayed in Seminyak, I tried a few Balinese restaurants. There are more places that I have bookmarked but yet to try, maybe next time. Biku is a popular restaurant that serves a wide variety of local and western food and drinks options, great ambience too. I ordered the nasi campur for sampling of local dishes.
Merah Putih nearby was fancier in terms of dining setting, but pricier. Food quality and presentation was more refined as well.
Visited Tanah Lot with its famed sunset views. I remembered it to be a very scenic attraction from my previous visit. But now the crowd has grown so much that it feels like going to a market or carnival, so I don’t think I would bother again in future.
Had dinner at Naughty Nuri’s. BBQ ribs is generally a good choice in Southeast Asia, grilled with fragrant marinate spices. Trust me on ribs, I am a fanatic who used to wait tables at Tony Romas, and lived in Houston for years to sample enough famed Texan BBQs. This outlet in Seminyak had a bar setting catered to western tourists. Compared to the local original restaurant in Ubud which I also patronised subsequently, the Ubud original tasted better for sure. Btw the margarita at the Seminyak branch was lousy, skip it.
Walked past this ice cream parlour with a long snaking queue, and was drawn in to get one for myself. Wide selection of flavours available, and who doesn’t like ice cream?
Saw this interesting restaurant with stepped seating, and another one covered with such green creepers.
Ubud
Ubud town centre has gotten so developed and congested, so very different from my memory. I stayed 2 nights at Goya Boutique Resort which is along a parallel street up on a sloping terrain accessed from the town centre, but away from the noise and bustle.
Walked a long way to Ubud’s original Naughty Nuri’s and ordered a rack of BBQ ribs as pre dinner appetiser, the ribs were awesome! Followed by more Balinese food at Warung Palau Kelapa.
The next day, we rode bicycles from the hotel to Tengenungan Waterfall, and along the way saw Kemenuh Butterfly Park and stopped for a quick visit.
The waterfall was just alright, nothing special in terms of size or scenery.
Lunch was at the famous Warung Babi Guling Ibu Oka near Ubud Palace. The roasted suckling pig had crispy skin, tender meat, flavourful spices and is very delicious. Cheap and good, highly recommended.
Took an evening hike at dusk along the Campuhan Ridge Walk. Good exercise but views were only so-so, nothing wow to highlight.
Trying to do a re-creation of Fragonard’s The Swing, but clearly with a very wrong model. 🙂
Dinner was at Bebek Bengil Crispy Duck, a traditional dish which I read highly praised in a book for its quality ingredients following an age old recipe using unique herbs and spices, with multiple steps in preparation. My verdict? Worth trying once, flavourful but a tad dry due to deep frying, and I probably would not specially plan around it for my next visit.
Ubud is known as the centre for traditional Balinese crafts and dance, and its surrounding rainforest and terraced padi fields. There are several attractions like Ubud Palace and Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary within walking distance around town centre, which I wasn’t too keen to revisit again. Walked around town and went into Sarawati Temple, which had a nice lotus pond.
Hanging Gardens
The highlight of this trip was definitely our stay at Hanging Gardens. The resort is a luxurious retreat destination built on a downward hill slope hidden in the jungle .
The whole resort was covered with thick forest vegetation and the approach to reach the dining restaurant, swimming pool and individual villas was by an inclined lift down the slope.
The villa had an amazing view of the surrounding rainforests and a small temple perched at the top on the opposite hill side.
The main pool by the restaurant had a 2-tier design, with a panoramic view of the surroundings.
The hotel had a complimentary shuttle to take guests to the local market which passes by the small Dalem Segara Temple visible from the resort. We were curious about the temple and took the shuttle to visit.
The quaint little temple is also a location for the hotel to arrange a private spiritual and romantic gourmet dinner, that comes with a hefty price tag of USD570++. Yah right, no thanks. Next to the temple are some padi fields, which we explored and enjoyed some nice views.
Turndown service by the hotel was nicely done, the main pool and dining area were transformed beautifully. I was particularly tickled by the lavish flower bath prepared in the villa. Not my kind of indulgence. 🙂
We were treated to this beautiful sight by the pool, cos a guest couple decided to splurge and have a private romantic dinner in the pool. I later found out that this romantic setup comes at price tag of USD400++, jaw dropped.
Dinner dishes for the following night, the food quality was decent. As the resort is in a secluded area, there is no other dining option nearby.
The Hanging Gardens is located in a small tiny village. Woke up very early in the morning to take in the local village life and the serene scenery of the nearby padi fields.
Spotted children going to school, armed with sapulili (broom made from coconut leaves) for area cleaning duties maybe, quite an interesting sight.
Chanced upon the villagers preparing food at a nearby temple, we tried to make conversation and found out through broken phrases that they were preparing to receive a religious procession later in the morning. So we headed back to hotel to have our breakfast and came back to observe the festivities.
Our stay at Hanging Gardens was good, and I have to say the service was top notch, friendly smiles and attentive care from every staff all round. The resort’s hilly compound and views were breathtaking. It was an enjoyable stay and an exclusive retreat experience. The expensive villa rates booked directly from the hotel website came only with breakfast and warm hospitality, anything else super nice, romantic, or indulgent, is chargeable of cos.
The flight taking off from Bali had some nice views too. Bali is a really attractive tourist-friendly destination for a short getaway from Singapore, and I don’t mind coming back, again and again.
