Photo of the Week: Being a Mermaid

This photo was taken in November at Blue Lagoon, Padang Bai in East Bali. We, my girlfriends and I, had stopped here for a swim and bit of relaxation during our transfer from Sanur to Ubud. It was a bit of an overcasty day but still humid enough for swimming. The water at Blue Lagoon was just perfect; a small swell and beautiful temperature. The ocean floor at this little hidden beach is mostly coral, except for a path of sand on the left side of the beach. This is where you're instructed to enter the water for snorkelling. As we swam further out, we saw so many beautiful fish. The would obliviously swim under you and all around as you dove into the water. It was just beautiful.

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Photo of the Week: Tiger-iffic

During my most recent trip to Bali, my friends and I spent a morning at the Bali Safari And Marine Park. I had already been once, but it was something everyone was keen to do. Our driver, Yuda, picked us up from Ubud and took us enroute to Legian. He had advised us to get there early so we could avoid queues. Our first stop was the tiger enclosure, where we would have a photo taken with a real life tiger. Oh my god, what an amazing experience. Yes, it was quick, but I got to pat a real tiger on its beautiful, coarse, striped fur. How absolutely amazing is that?! There are also options to get the photo done with an orangutan, an elephant or a baby lion. My advise for going to the Safari Park is the same as Yuda's; get there early and make your animal photo the first thing you do to avoid long lines later in the day.

 

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Photo of the Week: Another Trip Booked

That's right, the countdown to my next trip has begun. Just today, I booked flights and 3 nights accommodation in January. Yes, just 3 nights. I'm spoiling myself with a long weekend in Bali. How I love living in Perth and being able to get a return airfare for under $300. This trip will be purely about catching up with friends, eating and relaxing. For 3 days, I'm going to take the time to enjoy the hotel, eat and some of my favourite restaurants in the area and celebrate a fellow Bali lovers birthday. No adventures, no shopping (I've only for 10 kilos of carry on luggage) and no hitting the clubs. I can't wait

 

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Photo of the Week: 5 Sleeps To Go!

That's right, this Saturday is the day. My friends and I are so excited. My suit case is out and my packing is underway. Every trip to Bali is special, but this one feels more so. Maybe because it's the first trip I have planned and booked completely independtly, or because I'm going to be sharing the holiday with 3 special girls in my life and I just can't wait to see them enjoying the holiday I have planned for all of us. Nevertheless, I have no doubt that this trip will be one to remember. Go here to see where we are staying for our first 3 nights.

 

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Photo of the Week: A Cocktail for the Rich

One of my favourite restaurants in Bali is Potato Head Beach Club and at Potato Head they have a delicious cocktail (or should I say cocktails) called the Millionaire Martini. As you can see, the cocktail has 3 components; an orange flavoured cocktail, champage with pineapple foam and half of a passion fruit. You'd think something like this would be quite pricey but you can get it for about $15 Australian. Not bad!! I can't wait to return in a couple of weeks and order my friends and I a round of these delicious cocktails!

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Photo of the Week: Balinese Rijstafel

As you should all know, one of my favourite things about going to Bali is eating the delicious food. A lot of the time I stick to my favourite dishes like Mie Goreng and Beef Rendang but I love to try new things too. A great way to get a taste of a few different Balinese dishes is by ordering a Balinese Rijstafle. This is basically a tasting plate of things like satay's and curries. It's something that served and nearly every restaurant. This one was at La Playa in Sanur and even though the dishes were explained, I barely knew I what I was eating but it was all delicious!

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Photo of the Week: Mie Goreng for Breakfast

One of my favourite things about being in Bali is the food. I try to eat Indonesian food as much as I can when I'm away; I feel like I'm wasting my taste buds if I don't. Mie Goreng for breakfast is the perfect way to start a day in Bali and even after going to Bali so many times, it still feels like a bit of a novelty. If I didn't feel like I was missing out on trying other delicious dishes, I would quite happily eat Mie Goreng for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Except for when I'm eating Mona Lisa's beef rendang:)

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Photo of the Week: A Walk With a View

In July this year, Mum and I participated in a bike tour through East Bali that included a walk through rice fields. This was at Tenganan, known as a Bali Aga Village. It's a traditional village not far from Candi Dasa. The walk we went on was through the village's land. This land is owned by the people of the village meaning it has not and been been built on. Walking through the land was beautiful. The view was incredible, with only rice fields in view as far as you could see. I couldn't stop taking photo for the whole trek, the view was that breathtaking. Tenganan is not very advertised so it's is quiet and somewhat untouched. Definitely worth a trip to.

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Photo of the Week: Grand Balisani Suites

I stayed at this hotel in June 2012 with my best friend. Grand Balisani Suites is a beautiful hotel located at the North end of Seminyak. It's a beachfront hotel with a great pool and very comfortable rooms. It had a gorgeous on-site spa and the whole place just had a very relaxed feel to it. It was fantastic laying on the pool lounges, overlooking the pool and listening to the waves crashing on the beach. Because the hotel is quite far North, it didn't have a lot of foot traffic going by so it was for the most part very quiet. It's just a 10 minute walk along the beach to get to places like Potato Head and 5 minutes along the street to Naughty Nuri's. It's a hotel I would love to return to one day.

 

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Photo of the Week: Mona Lisa's Beef Rendang

In Sanur there is a restaurant called Mona Lisa. After trying their beef rendang in February 2012, it is now my only must-visit restaurant and must-have dish whenever I'm in Bali. I've tried a few other beef rendangs around Bali and this one remains my favourite. The beef is always tender, the flavours are beautiful, the portion size is perfect and if I ask for medium spiciness, medium spiciness is what I get. I have to admit that I'm not great at trying rendang's at other restaurants. If it's on the menu, I'm always tempted but then I think "What if it's not as good as Mona Lisa's?" and the ones I've tried haven't been. So if you're in Sanur, I would definitely recommend going to Mona Lisa and trying their beautiful beef rendang.

 

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Photo of the Week: Potato Head Beach Club

Potato Head is a beach club located in Seminyak. Although I have to admit that I am yet to try other beach clubs like Ku-De-TA and Cocoon, I love Potato Head. It's a great atmosphere looking over the infinity pool to the ocean from your table or daybed, listening to cool music, drinking delicious cocktails and nibbling on yummy food. Many people say it's expensive, which by Bali standards it is. The way I always look at it is "How much would I pay for this kind of thing in Australia?" By Australian standards, it's CHEAP! I've been to Potato Head three times, and loved it each time. With its impressive architecture, good cocktails, cool vibe and just being a beautiful place to spend the afternoon or watch the sunset, it's a place I always make an effort to return to whenever I'm in Bali.

 

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Photo of the Week: Segara Village

Segara Village Hotel in Sanur is one of the best hotel's I've stayed at. Sure, some of the rooms could do with an upgrade, but the gardens are immaculate, the pools are perfection and the staff are friendly. After three stays here, I look forward to returning one day. It's a beautiful beachfront hotel in North Sanur that has a huge option of good restaurants just a walk away. The photo is of one of their three pools; the main one right by the beach. It's a fantastic size and was always a great temperature to cool down in on a warm Bali day. What I loved most about this pool is that the pool lounges around the outside are all sitting in about 10 centimetres of water which flows out from the raised pool. It's a nice feeling being able to just swings your legs off the pool lounge and dip your toes in the water. It's an even better feeling when you're doing it in Bali, at a beautiful hotel, next to a beautiful pool.

 

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Photo of the Week: The Art Cafe's Chocolate Melted Cake

The Art Cafe, previously located in South Sanur across the road from the Mercure, has recently opened up their new premises in North Sanur, across the road from the Besakih. I had never been to the Art Cafe before, having never stayed in South Sanur before. When they opened up the new restaurant, Mum and I were both keen to give it a go. I had heard wonderful things about their chocolate cake and being a bit of a chocolate addict myself, there was no way I wasn't going to try it. The chocolate cake takes 15 minutes to prepare which was the perfect amount of time for my stomach to settle from dinner. The cake is definitely worth the little wait. Steaming hot, with a scoop of ice cream, caramelised banana and a strawberry; the presentation was beautiful. When I cut into the cake with my spoon, the chocolate sauce oozed out deliciously. It was an absolutely delectable dessert in a great restaurant with fantastic food and service. Oh my goodness, I can't wait to go back and get another chocolate cake.

 

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Photo of the Week: White Sand Beach

White Sand Beach was somewhere that Mum and I had wanted to go for a while, but something we never got around to. During our recent trip, we participated in a bike tour that finished here which was a perfect way to get a feel for the place. After our bike tour, we were tired, hot, hungry and as we got closer to the beach we could see the beautiful blue water peeking out from behind the trees. It was quite a sight. Absolutely picturesque on such a perfect day. The water was incredibly blue, as was the sky. The water was rough when we were there and we were told that it is usually quite calm. We were not put off and enjoyed a walk along the sand, with our feet in the water. It was an amazing temperature and we were disappointed that it was too rough to go swimming. Now that I've been there, I know that I want to go back. I'm planning on taking my girlfriends there in November to enjoy lunch and laze by the ocean. It's a beautiful place to just relax for a few hours and I can't wait to return.

 

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Photo of the Week: Sand

Sand is a beachfront restaurant in Sanur. It has been refurbished and renamed from the Bonsai Cafe, which was loved by many people. When I took this photo, my Mum and I had decided to just sit for a drink before dinner. It was a quiet evening, with not many people around, but the atmosphere at Sand was great. There were young kids running around, playing with a puppy that was playing with its mother. Everyone was just watching them all play and enjoying the vibe. It was one of those holiday moments when you find joy in other people's happiness and we were all enjoying the moment, separately but together.

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Photo of the Week: Fresh off the grill

One of my favourite things to do in Sanur is to go down to the beach in the evening and order myself a grilled corn cob. The beach in Sanur tends to come alive with locals after 5:00pm. They can be found enjoying the water with the friends and family, enjoying some food and setting up little grills on the sand to cook corn cobs and satay sticks. I'm yet to try the satay sticks, but the corn cobs are delicious. They cost 5,000 Rupiah (about 50-60 cents) each and are cooked to order. You have a choice of 3 pastes to go on top; salty butter, sweet butter and spicy. I always get all 3 and together they create such an amazing flavour. Beware though, the spicy is spicy!! I always ask only for a little bit even though I love spicy food. If you're in Sanur, make sure you get yourself one of these corn cobs.

 

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Photo of the Week: Taro Elephant Park

In January 2010, Mum and Dad took my sister and I back to Bali after 14 years. We had 8 nights at Segara Village in Sanur and Mum decided to take us to the Taro Elephant Park after visiting with Dad the previous year. Mum organised this so there's not much I can tell you about the package but it included hotel pick up and drop off, an elephant ride, a viewing of the elephant show and lunch. It was a great day. Owned by an Australian guy, the elephant park is very well maintained and the elephants are well cared for. There is lots of space for them to roam around and a lake/bath for them to enjoy. Being able to get so up close and personal with the elephants, both babies and fully grown ones, was incredible. Feeding them, patting them, sitting on their massive knees for a photo, having them place a ring of flowers over your head and give you a huge, elephant grin was truly an unreal experience.

Anna's Note: Just after this photo was taken, one of the baby elephants proceeded to hit me with its trunk when it realised I didn't have any more food for it.

 

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Photo of the Week: Banana Boating at Nusa Lembongan

In February 2013, my sister and I, along with a couple of new friends we had met a few days before, spent a day at Nusa Lembongan doing a Bali Hai day trip. The day included pick up and drop off at our hotel, boat transfers to and from Bali Hai's pontoon at Nusa Lembongan, unlimited snorkelling, banana boat rides and use of the pontoon, lunch and a short island tour. We made the booking via our driver a few days prior and were able to get a cheaper price. The day was long and exhausting but for all the right reasons. We made the most of the day and enjoyed every minute of it. It was a great way to get a feel for the island and I know it's definitely a place I want to return to, but for much longer than just a day.

 

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Photo of the Week: View From Above

 

I took this photo while parasailing in July, 2012. I had parasailed once before in Penang, about 5 years previous and it was one of those things that was always on my to-do list but I just never got around to doing it. I decided that this was the trip I was going to do it again. I had checked with the water-sports guys that the tide would be high enough and organised to do it on the last day of my trip. Parasailing doesn't give much of an adrenalin rush (not for me anyway) but it was an amazing way to see Sanur from above.

 

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Photo of the Week: Tegallalang Rice Fields

This photo was taken in my June/July trip in 2012 with my best friend; Amy (pictured on the left). We had organised with our driver, Made, to have a day trip to Ubud, as neither of us had been up there. We started our morning at the Tegallalang Rice Fields. We were expecting to have only a view of them from the roadside, but were pleased to discover that we were actually allowed to walk through them. It was hard work, with the uneven and steep steps going both up and down, but from where ever you happened to be in the fields, the view was simply amazing.

 

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