Bali The Island of The Gods

My darling husband treated me to a week long holiday in Bali as my birthday gift for this year....and what can I say...it was blissful...spending time with my soulmate/lover/travel buddy and best friend...on an island filled with beautiful people and awesome sandy beaches....and hundreds of Hindu Temples.....and cultures that entice your very being.

This is my third trip to Bali...the first being in 2005 with the family and the second in 2009 with David and I must say every time I visited this island it was a different experience all together. The island has so much to offer and it all depends on you how you want to experience it.

Well I thought I will start with my recent trip and share some photos from our earlier ones I made to this mystical island that keeps drawing me back although I say to myself that I want to visit other islands in Indonesia.

We arrived in Denpasar..the capital of Bali on the 22nd of June 2011 at the Ngurah Rai International Airport by Malaysia Airlines Flight MH851 which touched down at about 4.00pm...we share the same time zone with Bali. We cleared our bag and when we stepped out of the airport into the arrival hall...we saw an AVIS agent with a board and David's name on it. Yes we rented a car and this time they gave us a Daihatsu Xenia which looks like the Toyota Avanza. We got in and headed towards our hotel and after about 30 minutes we arrived at the Best Western Resort in Kuta...away from the actual beach area which was perfect. We checked in and after having a cool welcome drink we made our way to the room...and it was a very nice room...cost us about RM168.00 per night. So we relaxed for the evening and then we went to meet up with Keren, a friend's daughter who is studying to become a doctor at the Udayana University in Denpasar. It was good to meet up with this young lady and we took her to have dinner at the Sitara Indian Restaurant in Denpasar. Lovely dinner...good fellowship and the we sent her off very sadly though back to her place.

The  next morning we went to visit some of David's Balinese friends who are British Bikers in Tabanan...first to visit Pak Kadek who is an avid biker and now a Land Rover enthusiast...and then later to Pak Ngurah's workshop where he works on old British bikes. Later we had dinner at the hotel and were treated to a performance by some Balinese Dancers..and we retired to bed tired.

Keren and me at The Sitara Indian Restaurant

Best Western Kuta Poolside

The Best Western Resort Kuta

With the Balinese Dancers

Having a chat with Pak Kadek

On the 24th of June 2011 after a good breakfast we set off for Amed...Bali's best kept secret...a beautiful serene place where tourists go diving and snorkelling or just relax like us. After driving through the towns of Candidasa and Amalapura..we arrived at Amed. It is a must to remember that you cannot gauge a set time to arrive at a destination in Bali as the roads are narrow and the traffic is quite heavy. Amed welcomed us with her beautiful blue sea and awesome beaches. We checked into the Puri Wirata Resort and Spa and they gave us a seaview room which was very nice. We just relaxed and enjoyed the view and later had dinner at the hotel restaurant and later retired to our room. The next day after witnessing the most awesome sunrise from our room...saw us going to visit yet another biker friend of David's...George who is American and married to local Balinese lady , Eluh who have a lovely daughter Iona who is now 8 . They own Eka Purnama a resort that has beautiful diving spots where you can actually view a Japanese ship wreck when you go diving. We spent some time with them and had lunch there. Later we  set off to Sails a restaurant perched upon the hills in Amed overlooking the sea...for dinner. It was awesome..the food was good and we met a young lady..Vivian a Singaporean who was on her own. Lots of good stories were exchanged...and there was this beautiful wind constantly blowing into our faces. It was a night to remember....

This is heavenly Amed

The beautiful sunrise from our room

The seaview from our room

Puri Wirata Resort in Amed



Eluh , Iona and me at Eka Purnama

George and David talking about bikes



David and me at the Sails Restaurant

We left beautiful Amed on the 26th of June 2011 for Ubud...another beautiful part of Bali...no beaches but filled with numerous shops making and selling all sorts of  Balinese handicrafts. On the way there we stopped at Candidasa another beach area in the district of Karangasem. It is one of our favourite places because we frequent a little shop there where we get our handicrafts made by a Balinese artist. We bought a few pieces and went into Vincent's a lovely lounge to have a coffee. After a short break we drove onto Ubud through the narrowest and bumpiest of roads...and we finally arrived at the Bhanuswari Resort and Spa. which is about 15 minutes from the town centre. You know when you book these resorts online you never know what you are getting and when we looking out for this resort we thought it never existed but it did in the midst of vast padi fields...and it was beautiful. They gave us  a lovely room with a view of the green padi fields. We had lunch at the hotel and while David took a snooze..I went off to the spa for a 'mandi lulur'...every woman must experience this at least once in her lifetime. The spa lady first gives you an oil body massage..then a body scrub with green peas powder...then she pours fresh yougurt on the body and the you have  a bath in a tub filled with scented water and flowers..all for a mere RM90.00!! Wow that was awesome. Later we went into town for dinner and came back to the hotel for a rainy night's sleep.

Vincent's Lounge in Candidasa

Nusantara Crafts in Candidasa

Bhanuswari Resort Ubud

The bed in Bhanuswari Resort

The next day...the 27th of June 2011 saw us taking a slow drive back to Legian near Kuta...amd we checked into the Harmony Hotel...for the last 2 days of our trip. Here we just really relaxed and went shopping for small gifts and just enjoyed this touristy part of Bali. On one of our shopping sprees in Legian we were invited to a typical Balinese home which was behind the clothings shop and we met the most beautiful puppy there....but sadly we could not take him back when we left on the 29th of June 2011.

A Balinese home in Legian

We had to say bye to Bali and this little fella on the 29th of June 2011

                                                                 BALI 2009

St Francis Xavier's Church in Kuta

Goa Lawah Pura on the way to Candidasa

The beach in Candidasa

Iona and me when she was six

Sunset at Lovina Beach

Munduk with a view of one of the 3 lakes in Bedegul

Botanical Gardens in Bedegul

Botanical Gardens Bedegul

Pura Ulu Danu in Bedegul

David at Himpunan Motor Tua in Sanur

The Holy Spirit Cathedral in Denpasar