Bali Must Do☀️🌴💃

Between feasting on cabbage this Njanuary😓 and my only travels being the commute to and from work😵; this has been a tough post to write! It was like reliving a perfect moment in time and then getting tossed back to reality😂. All in all here is the post summarizing my Bali experience💃.

As stated on the previous blog post my budget for the trip was 24k! 😲 (Haha, I know! And yes, it really was 24k😉) To navigate this budget I made sure to: avoid touristy places, stay in hostels and learn the tricks on how to move around and experience more while spending less😉. Extensive research helped greatly with the planning. I left home with a detailed itinerary of the places I would visit having a time allowance of five hours a day. The allowance catered for any interesting activities I would discover while in Bali or for the lazy days when i would just need to slow down and rest.

When doing my research, I paid extra attention to the prices and location of each activity. This largely helped in deciding the number of days for extension as I had a rough idea of how much I would spend in a day. Budget travel requires keen planning on the 💸💸. Once I had this, I created a word document and saved it on my drive. I always referred to it in the evenings as I planned and separated money for the following day. I’ll cover the activities in the order in which I explored them. It’s about to be a long detailed read so grab your cup of cofee and enjoy😉

NUSA DUA: If you are thinking laid back, chill and crazy architecture😍, Nusa Dua should be the first place on your list☀️🏖️. Approximately 15minutes from Denpasar airport, Nusa Dua is lined with one of the most amazing shore line and even more spectacular sunsets🌥️. The conference was held at Nusa Dua Conventional Center; a center whose architecture will leave mouth agape😲! After the conference, I spent one more day in Nusa enjoying the sunsets and exploring the beaches. Here are Nusa Dua highlights;

• Afternoon swim at Jimbaran beach ~ Kes 110 for Gingerale🍸
• Nusa Dua Convention Center for the conference🏢
• House of D16 hostel ~ Kes 394 a night
• Sunsets at Nusa Dua beach🌅 ~ their is no entry fee to the beach but you can buy a soda at kes 70 and get a seat.
• Dinner at Baliku on Jimbaran beach ~ Kes 670 per plate. It was amazing to eat delish food while watching the night ocean tides 🌬️

UBUD TOUR: Our tour guide Ana picked us up from Nusa Dua and took us to Ubud for the tour. The pick up and tour cost Kes 6,000. Ana was super friendly, polite and funny😍. She made the tour worth the while with the most amazing spots that were not too crowded💃. Here are the places we explored during the one day tour;

• Aloha Ubud swing ~ this is a swing and nest heaven💯! My friend paid a total of 3,700 ksh for a package of 12 swings and nests, photography and a long flowy dress. I wasn’t willing to pay the amount so I paid 700 ksh to access the area and take pictures on their boat and some nests⛵.
• Telalang Rice terrace ~ if you would love to enjoy therapeutic views this is the place to be🌾🌴. The field is quite extensive so be ready to walk and climb terraces all through the field🧗. The entrance fee is 110ksh with small donations to farmers around the terrace .
• Swing ~ of all the things I did in Bali this is the one thing everyone keeps asking about😅. Bali is known for it’s scenic high swings and I went knowing that I had to experience it. It was worth the 300ksh I paid🤩. The 300 caters for a 10 minute swing. For safety, you will have a harness tying you to the sit.
• Cantika Zest Health and Beauty ~ if you are a coffee lover this is the place for you. We were taken through the coffee making process and then tasted twelve types of coffee🙌. It is too bad that I don’t like coffee. Entrance is free but you can support the center by buying their products😉.
• Bali Banana Cacao park ~ we stumbled upon this place on our way to the waterfall. It is a simple banana and cocoa plantation🌰. We paid 400ksh for the entrance but had I known I would have skipped it as there was nothing special about the place considering I see 🍌 plants everywhere in Kenya. I however got the amazing nest picture above and a tasty banana and cocoa cake🥧 on the house.
• Tegenungang waterfall ~ first thing first is make sure you take a jump into the waterfall for a cold refreshing swim🤽. I wasn’t able to do the swim during the tour but did on my third day😉. Definitely go in the morning before 11 am to avoid the crowds. Entrance fee to the waterfall is 150ksh.
• Drop off to Arta Garden Hostel ~ after the amazing tour Ana went ahead and dropped me off at Arta Garden where I paid 322 ksh a night 🌃.

UBUD : After the drop off at Arta Garden Hostel I spent 2 days and 2 nights exploring Ubud. Everything in Ubud is breathtaking. From the culture, sites, people and views it will all wow you🙌. I explored using gojek for transport and Google maps for directions between the different sites. It helped that most sites are all close to each other. I also used Translator whenever I needed help and language was a barrier. Always remember to download the reference language for offline use📝. Here are the activities I got into during the two days;

• Flower bath at Sedona spa ~ imagine a bathtub filled with warm water, covered with flower petals and in the middle of greenery😎. That’s what I got for 430ksh. I was also served with biscuit and tea like the 👑 I am😝.
• Floating breakfast at Arta Garden ~ you don’t want to know how excited I was to see the floating tray in the hostels kitchen😅. I really wanted to experience the floating breakfast but had given up since they tend to be expensive😓. Finding that tray was a huge relief! I went ahead and bought bananas and some snacks at the mini mart and had my breakfast at about 130ksh🤓.
• Royal palace ~ this is a small cute historic palace for the people of Bali🌇. It’s right in the middle of the center so you can visit it after exploring the market. Ensure to get to the last point because that’s where the perfect picture point is👒. Entrance is free.
• Saraswati temple ~ across the palace is this beautiful temple that is known for it’s evening Kecak dance✨. I wasn’t able to get into the temple but got an amazing view from the Lotus cafe☘️. Entrance is free!
• Pura Dalem temple ~ as I roamed looking for food I stumbled upon this temple whose entrance is huge and scenic🤩. I paid a donation of 70 ksh and got to take pictures with my sarong on💁.
• Ice cream at a cute Warung ~ for about 150 ksh I got to enjoy the comfort of a cute cute warung as I had three scoops of vanilla ice cream🍧.
• Breakfast at Clear Cafe ~ this one needs an honorable mention🎊. It is difficult to explain how beautiful this cafe is so kindly click on this link to see for yourself. You remove your shoes at the entrance then chose to either sit next to a fish pond or on seats on the floor. I chose to seat upstairs and walked up a staircase lined with flower petals🌼🌻. I had chocolate cake and a banana milkshake for about 450ksh😋.
• Monkey Forest ~ if you have studied at MMU please skip the monkey forest🤣! I was so disappointed to have paid an entrance fee of 500 ksh only to see many 🐒. I somehow expected to find other animals🙊. If you however enjoy monkeys and forests definitely have it on your list!

CANGGU: If you are about the party life Canggu should be your first stop!🎠 From streets lined with bars to skating arenas open till late you will not be disappointed. If you want me to prove this, I will tell you about my hostel experience 😆. I decided to have dinner in town and when I got back to the hostel, at around 9, I was all alone😮. To confirm what was wrong I went and asked the receptionist where the others were and was informed that they had all gone to party😅. She then went ahead to ask if I wanted one of them to come pick me up and I said yes😂. I ended up having the best night comprising three firsts; riding a scooter🛵, being in a skating arena and dancing in a club right on the beach😅. What did I do in Canggu over my one night stay?

• Afternoon swim at the Margarita surf hostel ~ all the people in this hostel were super friendly so l I opted to spend my only afternoon in Canggu 🏊 and interacting with them over a cold fanta strawberry. It cost me 450 ksh for the night🛌.
• Dinner at Dues ex Machina ~ this gothic cafe is for all rock music fans and motorbike lovers🏍️. It is beautiful, has tasty foods and a pretty souvenir shop on site. I had a plate of tacos and ginger ale for 810 ksh.
• Stroll on Canggu streets ~ having walked from my hostel to the city center I got to enjoy the rice paddy views lining every corner of Canggu. I also got to see a huuge climb bouldering gym, some pretty cafes & warungs and the amazingly lit Bazzar market🌌.
• Old mans bar ~ I had never imagined how freeing and fun it is to dance with the feel of sand on your feet🦋. The diverse choice in music and awesome company made the experience even better.
• Skate arena ~ I really don’t know how to put the skate experience to words. One of my favorite things however were the cocktails served in those metal cups used to serve mursik. If you know you know😜.
• Poke poke Canggu ~ I stumbled upon this cute cafe as I took a walk to the beach⛱️. The plan was to only take photos but in the process I saw a couple having a very eye catching smoothie and thought why not🙊. All the healthy flavors dancing in my mouth made me grateful to the couple. The smoothie, served on a coconut shell, cost me 325 ksh🥥.
• Echo beach ~ the hot sands sent me away from this beach too fast but from the few minutes I spent there, I fell in love with the deep blue water🌅.

SEMINYAK: Being a 30 minutes drive from Canggu, Seminyak is pretty similar to Canggu. It is filled with beautiful beaches, exotic beach clubs🌅 and cute warungs and cafes. My main agenda in Seminyak was to dine at Kynd Community and be close to the airport as I had a morning ✈️. What I didn’t consider was the traffic from Stellar Capsules to the airport. While I went to Kynd Community I discovered their creamery🍦 and it was every slice of heaven. This is what I was up to during my afternoon in Seminyak;

• Stay at Stellar Capsules hostel ~ of all the hostels I stayed this was my favorite🙌. It was so chic,stylish, had amazing amenities and was a walking distance from everything I wanted🤸. I paid 729 ksh for the night.
• Kynd Community ~ this is one of the most Instagram worthy cafes in Bali🍯. I specifically went there for the ‘hello sunshine’ swing and wasn’t disappointed. I had a 🍿caramel freak shake for 500 ksh.
• Kynd Creamery ~ adjacent to Kynd Community is an ice cream heaven I was too excited to find🍭. I wanted everything on the display but settled for a pimped cone at 405 ksh. I’ll let the picture do the talking.🍨
• Hotel mexicola ~ if you want to experience Mexico this is the place to be🏤. Perfect vibes, affordable drinks and we were lucky to find an amazing crowd. From the few hours I spent there I honestly can’t wait to experience 🇲🇽!
• Krisna Ole Ole store in Kuta ~ if you are in a rush and want to avoid the hustle of haggling and walking around looking for souvenirs this is the store to check out. I especially loved their clothes👌. It was a bonus that they allowed me to take pictures so my family were able to pick what they loved most🤗!

ULUWATU: This was a bonus to my trip as I had not planned to visit the Uluwatu area💃. After visiting I regreted not adding it to my list because it was divine. To say beautiful would be an understatement🙌! Because we visited as part of the Conference’s city tour we were only able to visit two sites. An advice to you would be to kindly add Uluwatu to your list. It is pretty unpopular but worth every second😍. Where did we go?

• Waterblow beach ~ this is the most beautiful beach I have ever seen! With extremely white sand, clear blue water and small cliffs all over😍. Go during high ocean tide to experience its full glory🌊!
• Uluwatu temple ~ as in any temple in Bali you will need to wear a sarong. Kindly be careful around the cheeky monkeys🐒 and be sure to go and watch the Kecak fire dance🧚.

KUTA: The best possible way to describe Kuta would be that it is a town of comfort and healing🖤. It’s soothing silence, perfect sunset and affordable food stalls healed my disappointed heart following my missed flight🤧. I had to extend for three days as that was when my new flight was scheduled for. Kuta was my first choice as it is quite affordable and minutes from the airport. I spent the first day crying in my hostel room😅 and the other two enjoying Kuta’s beauty. Looking back I wish I hadn’t wasted that one day☺️. Here are the things I did;

• Stay at Pretty Girl hostel ~ I paid 440 ksh a night. This came with access to the swimming pool and unlimited free pancakes whenever I wanted😍. They also had a very heavenly chocolate syrup😋 to go with the pancakes.
• Eat at Munchies ~ this is one of the cutest warung’s ever🍲! I ate chicken Nasi Goreng everyday at 185 ksh a plate.
• Ice cream at Risorante Tempio II ~ I had two scoops of gelato at 330 ksh
• Sunset and swim at Kuta beach ~ one of the most amazing sunsets. I went to swim during high tide and it was a beautiful high🧜.
• Horse ride by night ~I did this with my roommate and paid 90 ksh each for a ride round the city square🏇.

LEGIAN: As mentioned on last week’s post, Legian’s highlight was the club playing African music👯. I wasn’t able to take a photo of it’s building but I’ll share photos of some interesting art and phrases I found on some of their walls😅

Walking around helped me greatly with cutting down costs. It further helped that most attractions are close to each other! What is your favorite activity and town on the list? Tell me in the comment section😉

I hope you found this useful🤗! If you have any questions or need any clarifications feel free to leave a comment📥; I’ll be happy to respond. See you in two weeks for everything Guangzhou😉!