Bali Day One

For the rest of our Bali trip
1. Bali Day Two
2. Bali Day Three

From the 18th until the 20th of April 2015 a group of us went to Bali for a quick weekend getaway. This was only a couple of weeks after I arrived back from Jakarta, so I admit I was not in need of a getaway, but I never turn down the opportunity to travel! Before travelling I made a detailed itinerary and already knew all the places (restaurants) I wanted to go to. Below are the highlights of our first day in Bali.

We stayed at Santika Hotel in Nusa Dua. It is not a fancy schmancy hotel or villa, but was very affordable at Rp.500,000 per person per night with breakfast and afternoon tea included. The breakfast was also very pleasing, with lots of Western and Balinese options as well. During our stay in Bali we also hired a driver to take us around, we had arranged for this before travelling. It cost Rp. 550,000 for 12 hours including the car and petrol but excluding tolls and tips.

The first thing we did in Bali was head down to Tanjung Benoa and joined in some water sports. Actually we were a bit of a party pooper and only did two water sports, parasailing and the donut. Actually, I didn't even parasail, so  really I was just dragged on water on a giant donut. In my defence, I had a lot of fun!

Mr. T parasailing

After our wet and wild time at Tanjung Benoa we quickly headed back to the hotel to clean up and then visited the next stop on our itinerary, babi guling Candra. The restaurant is located in Denpasar and was about 40 minute drive away from Nusa Dua. Babi guling literally translates to rotisserie roast pork and this place sells only that, pork with rice. As we sat down we were expecting menus, but they literally just asked if we want chicken or pork and how many portions we wanted as they only have two items on the menu!

Babi guling spesial (Special roast pork) - Rp. 40.000

The dish comes with meat, rice and a bowl of spicy soup. The meats includes slices of roast pork, pulled pork meat with cut chilli, pork kebabs, pork sausage and pork skin. Almost everything on the dish was hot, so I struggled to eat everything. The spices and sauce was very balinese, with lots of herbs. I love pork, but I didn't love this as it was too spicy for me. Mr. T on the other hand inhaled his and then mine! So don't take my word for it, you might really enjoy it.

After our lunch we needed desserts of course. So we headed down to a very popular gelato place in Seminyak, Gusto Gelato. It is in no way associated with Gusto Gelato in Leederville, if you were wondering.

Double scoop with waffle cone (Rp. 20,000)

Mr. T and I both ordered the two scoops with waffle cone, which only costs Rp. 20,000 each. I chose the avocado and tiramisu flavours. Mr. T ordered the mascarpone and crocannte flavours. All the flavours we tried were creamy, smooth and strong in flavour. My favourite had to be the avocado, it was like eating frozen avocados, it tasted so natural. I don't know what crocannte is and it was my least favourite flavour as it left a hint of a bitter aftertaste, but undetectable when eaten with the mascarpone flavour. For the price I was really impressed. This place is very well known and gets very busy, so expect to queue for a seat!

At this stage Mr. T and I were very full and sleepy, so we decided to explore Seminyak and do a spot of shopping. After burning some calories and money, we decided we deserved another rest. It was too early for dinner so our driver suggested we visit Camplung Tanduk, a beach filled with bars and restaurants. When we arrived and started walking along the beach, we had no idea which bar or restaurant to try, so we chose the quietest one, just so we can relax. The bar was called Juice Park Bar & Grill.

Pigimon Juice (Rp. 38,500)

Carbonara French Fries (Rp. 41,800)

This place was so cool. We chose a seat on the beach, which was perfect, the sun was just setting and the air was getting much cooler. The highlight was the french fries topped with carbonara sauce. The sauce was creamy and delicious, although I could feel my heart cry a little with every bite.

After chilling at Camplung Tanduk beach for a couple of hours, we headed down to a restaurant called Sardine for dinner. I will put up the details of this in another blog post.

We loved our first day in Bali, it was so relaxing and indulgent. It is such a great city to just unwind. Stay tuned to see what else we got up to on our second day in Bali!

Information:

Driver:
Mr. Kadek Rasuman
Ph: +62 813 3866 4222

Pandawa Marine Adventures
Jl. Pratama No. 106
Tanjung Benoa
Bali
Ph: +62 361 778 585
Website: http://pandawamarineadventures.com/

Babi Guling Candra
Jl. Teuku Umar No. 140
Denpasar
Bali
Ph: +62 361 221 278
Opening hours:
Mon - Sun
9am - 10pm

Gusto Gelato & Caffe
Jl. Mertanadi No. 46
Kerobokan
Bali
Ph: +62 361 5522 190
Website: http://www.gusto-gelateria.com/

Juice Park Bar & Grill
Jl. Abimanyu
Camplung Tanduk Beach
Seminyak
Ph: +62 813 3746 9811
Facebook: Bali Juice Park Bar & Grill

Disclaimer: All information and prices were true and correct on 18th - 20th April 2015. Prices included taxes.