Bali & Lombok

Bali-Lombok Indonesia: Great beaches, food, art and culture

Batik-making in Ubud, Bali.

One can never get enough of Bali. There’s just so much to experience in this Hindu-dominated island in the Muslim country of Indonesia –beaches, farms, mountains, temples, food, arts, culture. On our last day of the 11-day trip to Bali and Lombok, I felt like I needed to go back. What my friend and I experienced was merely a fraction of what Bali has to offer. Eleven days was good only for half of the western side (mid to south west) of Bali and a two-night stay in nearby Lombok Island.

First Stop: Nusa Dua (two nights)

Nusa Dua has a long stretch of white beach lined with 4- to 5-star resorts at the “manicured” east side and ends at the west side with a the “raw” yet gorgeously white-sand public beach called Geger beach. Nusa Dua’s mild waves make it a good swimming area but it is not without seaweeds, which makes it a bit uncomfortable for swimming. If you’re alone and on a budget and only after the beach, it is wise to book a cheaper accommodation outside the beachfront area near Geger and then rent a beach lounge chair for a day at Geger beach. We wanted a comfortable beachfront chill out area so we stayed at Melia, a beachfront resort at the east side.

Melia Beach Resort, Nusa Dua, south Bali

Melia grounds and gardens

The public beach Geger at Nusa Dua, Bali, where beach lounge chairs are available for rent.

Melia guest room



View from the guest room balcony

Melia lobby

 

Nusa Dua does not have beachfront bars and restaurants other than those of the resorts/hotels, so the evenings here are really quiet. So if you are a party animal, you’ll have to take a cab to go to either Kuta or Seminyak for the night life.

 Here are the things I loved in Nusa Dua:

1) Chill out and sipping a cold drink by the beach while reading a book, oblivious of the time and day

2) Swim

3) Have a relaxing great meal at Bumbu Bali restaurant, one of the best (if not the best) Balinese restaurants in Nusa Dua. Bumbu Bali serves more food during dinner (compared to lunch), so it’s best to go during dinner time. If you plan to go for dinner on a weekend, it is highly recommended that you make a reservation days before arriving in Nusa Dua. We didn’t make any reservations so we ended up going for late lunch. With the limited lunch food offering, we still came out really satisfied with the great tasting Balinese food!

By the way, Bumbu Bali provides hotel pick up transport service to its customers.

Bumbu Bali restaurant, Nusa Dua, Bali

  

Balinese food at Bumbu Bali

Balinese food at Bumbu Bali up close

4) Take a walk through the whole stretch of Nusa Dua beach either during sunrise or just before sunset. If you’re fond of the sun, go for a walk right after a nice heavy lunch.- the whole stretch takes around 30 minutes. There is a paved walkway throughout the whole stretch. If your walk ends in either the east or west side, you may try a massage by local ladies- a good way to end the walk and to provide income to locals. Stop by some stalls that sell fresh coconut and take a sip of the refreshing and cleansing tropical fruit.

Four Seasons Hotel in Nusa Dua

In front of Four Seasons Hotel, Nusa Dua

One of the sights joggers/walkers will see along the Nusa Dua stretch

5) If you’re into running, pack a pair of running shoes and take an early morning or a late afternoon run and again stop by a fresh coconut stall to have a refreshing drink.

Second Stop: Jimbaran (one night)

Jimbaran is famous for its sunset seafood dinner on the shore! This is one experience you shouldn’t miss in Bali- sipping Bintang beer (or wine if you’re not a beer drinker) while waiting for the sun to set and later dine on the shore (literally, tables and chairs are set up on the sand!). Jimbaran Bay is lined with several seafood restaurants.

We purposely got there as early as around 330PM to make sure we wouldn’t miss the transformation of the empty shore to a dining area filled with tables. And it’s real fine dinner – with table covers, some white, some red, some black. Since we were the first to arrive, we got to choose the table nearest to the sun, which means an unobstructed view of the sunset. We had our drink and dinner at JUKUNG Bali Seafood (Kedonganan Beach, Phone no. 0361 8537400) and we were satisfied with their food. Once food was served, a group of local singers (oldies) serenaded each table, and of course, you cannot NOT give a tip to the singers!

Jimbaran beach being transformed into a dining area.

One nice experience: drink Bintang beer at Jimbaran beach while watching the sunset.

Jimbaran beach has been transformed into a huge dining area.

 After dinner, we headed to Ayana Resort’s Rock Bar for a drink and to check out this much-talked about chill out place. Ayana is beautifully designed. I could imagine its gorgeous views during day time. We got a tip that the best time to go is around 430pm to avoid the queue for sunset view. There’s nothing spectacular with the evening visit, except the cool evening breeze and the sound of splashing waves.

At Jimbaran, we stayed in Abi Bali Luxury Resort and Villa, a charming boutique resort near Jimbaran Bay. We booked our stay through Agoda (an online hotel booking website).

Abi Bali guest room bathroom, Jimbaran, west Bali

Abi Bali guest room bathroom with open air shower!

Abi Bali garden

Abi Bali villa pool

Abi Bali villa

Third stop: Senggigi Beach, Lombok Island (two nights)

Senggigi Beach is a quiet and short white beach stretch with Sheraton on the west end and Senggigi Beach Hotel on the east end. We stayed at the latter and we were happy with our accommodation as we wanted to be in local surroundings. Senggigi is a good respite from the crowded beaches in Bali. All we did was swim, read a book by the beach, tried out beachfront restaurants, checked out the local shops located just behind the line of beachfront resorts, and met up with good friends for a beachfront dinner at Sheraton. It was total lazy relaxation.

While in Senggigi, check out the turtle conservation programme of Sheraton. For a few dollars, I helped save a turtle, which made me feel good :=)

Senggigi Beach Resort, Lombok Island, Indonesia

Lombok food by the beach, at Dequake Restaurant & Bar, Senggigi, Lombok.

Early evening set up at Sheraton Senggigi, Lombok.

Getting to Senggigi, Lombok Island from Bali: Book an express ferry ticket online ahead of time (before heading off to Bali). We booked ours with Bluewaters (email address: info@bwsbali.com; telephone: +62 361 8413421 ). Total cost for two round trip tickets was US$285. They provide two-way aircon car transfer to and from hotel.

Fourth Stop: Seminyak, Bali (5 nights)

I love Seminyak - it’s not as crowded as Kuta area, and not too boringly quiet as  Nusa Dua and the northern part of Petitenget Beach. In Seminyak, I had time and place for myself if I wanted to, as well as time and place to be with people if I wanted to (sans the madding crowd of Kuta), for gourmet culinary experience, for body pampering, for board surfing and for shopping.

We stayed at The Haven at Jl. Raya Seminyak. It’s in the busy street of Jl. Raya Seminyak and the façade doesn’t look very inviting, but the inside of the hotel is like an oasis of peace. It’s not a beachfront hotel, though it has a beachfront space at Seminyak Beach. You may take the hotel shuttle (less than 5 minutes ride) or you may take a walk to the beachfront. You have to advise the hotel staff ahead of time if you plan to use their beach lounge area.

The Haven Hotel, Seminyak, Bali

Here are the things I did and places I visited, while in Seminyak, which I totally enjoyed:

1) Lazed and read a book at the beachfront; then took a refresher surfing lesson.

Surfing at Seminyak beach, with a surf instructor.

2) Took a stroll through the whole stretch of Seminyak-Legian-Kuta beaches. Though Kuta is too crowded, it’s worth checking out, especially Poppies lane.

Sunset at Kuta beach; avoid staying in any Kuta hotel if you are not into huge crowds.

The sunset crowd at Kuta beach.

3) Window shopped (and shopped a bit) through the whole stretch of Jl. Raya Seminyak -Jl. Laksmana - Jl. Raya Kerobokan. If you don’t have much time, avoid international brand outlets and check out only the local small boutiques along this stretch. Mostly owned by foreigners married to locals, quite a number of these small local boutiques have good clothes, accessories and souvenir items.

4) Indulged in a 4.5-hr packaged spa at Private Spa & Wellness Center (telephone: +62 361 731648); a bit pricey but worth it if you are very particular with your privacy and if you would like quiet and peace. It is walking distance from The Haven hotel.



Reception area of Private Spa & Wellness Centre 

Private Spa & Wellness Centre

Private Spa & Wellness Centre

Private Spa & Wellness Centre

5) Embarked on a gastronomic experience; highly recommended restaurants are La Lucciola (great food and great beachfront ambience; great brunch place; telephone: +62 361 261047), Mannekepis (great western food, great jazz music, great owner/ host; telephone: +62 361 8475784), Metis (great food with countryside ambiance; telephone: +62 361 737888), Grocer and Grind (great salads, sandwiches and deli; telephone: +62 361 737321), Biku (great dessert and tea/coffee place; telephone: +62 361 8570888), Warung Made (good Indonesian food with evening/dinner native performances; telephone: +62 361 732130; don’t order western food here if you don’t want to waste your money), and Zanzibar (Mediteranean food, great salads and grilled mains; in the heart of Seminyak’s bar scene; telephone: +62 361 733527). We also dined at SIP (French restaurant) but we were not satisfied with their food.

La Lucciola restaurant is definitely worth going for a brunch.

La Lucciola, view from the sea.

Terrie's choice: seafood pasta

My choice: mushroom risotto; it was the best mushroom risotto I've tasted.

La Lucciola's version of Tiramisu: looks rich but pleasantly light in the stomach.

Mannekepis Jazz Bar and Restaurant.

Food is good at Mannekepis.

At Mannekepis

Mannekepis' rendetion of Tiramisu: a bit heavier than La Lucciola's though equally good!

Metis Restaurant: flower garden view, though some poor residential houses can be seen from the resto,which made my stomach crinch a bit.

Metis Restaurant: superb food!!!

Metis Restaurant: superb food!!!

Metis Restaurant: superb food!!!

Metis: view from the inner garden

Gorcer and Grind: another good brunch place; it has a deli section.

Grocer and Grind: good salads, sandwiches and coffee

 

Biku: a quaint, charming coffee/tea place cum book store cum reading nook.

Biku's rndetion of Pavlova: to die for!

Biku: notice the all-wooden (hard wood!) interior.

Made';s Warung: this where you go if you would like to feel like a tourist while eating Balinese food :=)

Made's Warung: native performances while guests dine.

Made's Warung: the best authentic, all natural ginger tea.

6) Observed the nightlife; Mannekepis Jazz Bar, Hu’u Bar, Ku De Ta (empty during weekday nights, and quite pricey), Rock Bar (we were told sunset is the best time to go and that the queue is very long, during sunset so we went after dinner for one round of drinks; it was empty and like Ku De Ta, is quite pricey).

Mannekepis has a good jazz band.

Hu'u Bar is where you go if you want to dance.

A nice after dinner chillout place along Seminyak beach.

7) Did a one-day tour to Ubud; itinerary included Batik Painting demonstration, Balinese painter Iwayan Mardiana’s gallery, wood carving factory, lunch stop at the famous Ibu Oka where the main attraction is its Babi Guling, Antonio Blanco museum, Teba Sari Coffee Farm where we tried the local Luwak coffee, and Tanah Lot Temple. It is best to hire a car with a driver and a tour guide. We booked our one-day tour at The Haven hotel.

Batik painting at Ubud.

Gallery of Balinese painter Iwayan Mardiana, at Ubud.

Wood carvers at Ubud

Wood carving gallery at Ubud.

 

Ibu Oka: their Babi Guling has been endorsed by the famous chef Anthony Bourdain.

The unpretentious Ibu Oka restaurant: authentic local feel; good experience and good babi guling!

While waiting at our table, we saw the freshly roasted babi guling being brought in!

This is how the babi guling looked when served to us; best eaten with coconut juice.



The Filipino patriotism was awoken in me when we were brought by our guide to Antonio Blanco museum; Antonio Blanco was a Filipino artist who married a Balinese lady.

If you are a coffee lover, don't miss the coffee plantation visit; Luwak coffee apparently is made from the poopoo of the civet cat!  And it's expensive!

A coffee plantation worker with her daughter.

Majestic Tanah Lot temple.

Sunset at Tanah Lot; make sure you leave the area before the sun vanishes, as traffic going out of Tanah Lot can be horrendous!

Air ticket tip: For those coming from Singapore, KLM has return flights Singapore-Bali-Singapore at a very reasonable rate of S$300.
Luggage tip: When you depart from Bali, it is worth spending an extra US$20 to have your luggage wrapped by professional wrappers at the Bali airport. I have read some stories of tourists caught with illegal drugs in their luggage and insisted they had nothing to do with these drugs.