with anna
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A.nna
anna // singaporean. my dream is to some day live in a countryside and have a lot of dogs. reach me on
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Thursday, March 2, 2017
Why I Love Bali? My love for Bali goes to the moon, orbit one round and back. I first set foot in Bali in December 2014 and since then, I've been back and forth Bali at least twice a year. That's when I started #AnnaInBali. I love everything there - the food, the people, the swimwear outlet, the beach, diving, the sun. The list goes on.. I sell Bali and I'm gonna share with you the things you can do (and where it can be done), places I've stayed and food places I'd recommend. FOOD FOR THOUGHT For starters, there are many food & beverage which Bali is popular for. I'm gonna use we because I feel like I belong there already. We are better known for bali guling, nasi campur, bbq pork ribs, kopi luwak and mie goreng.
(#thisislife: $2 local beer & mie goreng, served under the pavilion)
I had to google and yes mie goreng comes from Indonesia. Unlike the local mie goreng we have in Singapore, their mee goreng is superb. I can eat mee goreng at least once a day when I'm there. In the easiest way I can bring this across, it's a less preserved (imo) and tastier indomie mie goreng. You feel me now? Every place has that one signature dish, kopi luwak was one of it for Bali, but personally I'm not a fan of it. It's too bitter for my liking. Also I didn't read much into it but it looks inhumane to me. Here's a civet cat at one of the local farms I visited: Not sure if it's worth the try because honestly it's not like it taste any better than our usual cup of joe, but just wondering what are we really supporting if the demand is still there for every tourist. It was not until my 5th trip I tried babi guling. I don't remember which we went to, it was an on-the-way and recommended by our local driver kinda thing when we were on our way from the airport to Candidasa (guess you can narrow down which outlet I went to from this route I took). I'm not a big fan of carbs so whether is it babi guling or nasi campur, I can only say it's a definite must-try local specialty but still, give me my mie goreng and nobody will be hurt. I think both of these are the kind of food which are easily found around Bali, so don't bother traveling out just to find a "recommended" one because they taste more or less the same. One of the restaurants which I really love is Ultimo in Seminyak. A 3-course dinner for two cost around $70 and you get a dozen of oysters for starters, two main course, dessert and 2 rounds of drinks. Trust me, you don't get that anywhere close to $70 in Singapore. The food is amazing and to top that, there's live band and the ambience is to die for. Forget about Potato Head & Kudeta, Ultimo will do the job if you're looking for good food, reasonable price and great ambience. Ask anyone who frequents Bali and I'm pretty sure they'd agree. Reservation is not required but I've seen people queuing really long to enter so no harm booking in advanced.
Another restaurant which has been deemed by all food bloggers that you have to visit is Merah Putih. I don't deny the food is good, but unless you're willing to spend $150/pax for dinner, I suggest you try Mama San instead. If you look at say TripAdvisor, they've got 4.5 out of 5 stars which is still on par with Merah Putih, so.. Anyway, call it thrifty/stingy, I wouldn't pay $xxx for a meal. I think it's a ridiculous way to spend your money but you do your own math.
Lastly, forget about all the raved hipster cafes, you can have them back home. Seriously just grab some Bintang and chill by the beach, live the Bali style. ACCOMMODATION I am forever spoilt by the number & types of villa Bali offers. From one bedroom to a whopping six bedrooms villa, pool villa, water villa - you name it, they got it; not forgetting hotels as well. For villa, I'd recommend Bracha Villa. Huge age bedroom, private pool, both outdoor & indoor dining, spacious living room for the price starting from $230+ per night for one bedroom. It's definitely not the cheapest I must say, I've stayed in 2-bedroom villas at the price of $170 per night as well but you pay for what you get. My take is still Bracha Villa ftw. They've fantastic location as well. A short 5 to 10 minutes walk takes you to restaurants like Ultimo & malls like Seminyak Square. For hotels, I'd recommend Golden Tulip Devins Seminyak. Again not the cheapest but definitely reasonable. Price starts from $120, but normally I'd pay for deluxe room where I get jacuzzi in my balcony. Wahaha, this is how you should spend your money. Hotel comes with an infinity pool and a really nice blue restaurant which makes breakfast merrier. Relatively centralized as well given that it's right next to W Seminyak. A 5 mins drive takes you to Mama San and a 5 mins walk takes you to Merah Putih.
I've stayed in both Bracha Villa & Golden Tulip Devins more than once and they're still my top choices. I am the kind of person who is not the most willing to pay for better quality so you can trust me 102% when I say the price is reasonable.
THINGS YOU CAN DO
Saved this for last because 4 out of 5 times in Bali, my purpose was to dive. Which if you do dive, then of everything in Bali I've already recommended, please forget about them and only take this - dive with Gangga Divers @ Lotus Bungalows. Not going to elaborate on this because I can go on for days but if you do dive, do try them out. They made Bali home for me and if it's not for them, I'm not even sure if I'd fall in love with diving.
That is also to say I didn't explore Bali like most people did visiting Tanah Lot & Uluwatu Temple. Can't share much about that but here are some other activities which I did that doesn't take me 30m underwater.
Read my previous posts on Bali here, here, here & here. Labels: activities, agoda, annainbali, arrival guides, bali, beach, dive, dive spot, food, indonesia, sea, sports |
xx
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