bali

Overwhelmed by work and everything else in life, I looked at solo traveler options.

​​Bali was an immediate attraction, given its rich character and that one can go from beach to rainforest to mountain all within a couple of hours. In terms of weather, May, June and July were highlighted as the best times to visit, so mid-May I headed out to explore.

REQUIREMENTS
A Visa is not required for visits less than 30 days, otherwise there are facilities to pay for a Visa on Arrival at the airport.
 
WHERE TO STAY
I chose Akana Boutique Hotel in Sanur, a leafy suburb in Bali as my spot. It was quieter than the more popular locations like Kuta, Seminyak and Ubud which are crowded. Also, it having everything on one long street, made it appeal to me more (think Parkhurst.)

​CURRENCY 
R1 = 1027.37 Indonesian Rupiah.
 Mostly used Dollars as my major currency, as it was also accepted in most formal establishments e.g. tourist places, private drivers and money changers.


A little trick that also helped me keep track of my expenditure was treating every purchase as if it were in Rands, because the Idonesion Rupiah denomination allows you to do that e.g. 150 000 IDR = roughly R150.
 
WEATHER

Average temperature of 28°C.
 Pack lightly and have lots of sunscreen.
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TRANSPORT
Organised myself a private driver by the name of Mr Berno, as this allowed me to navigate freely and in comfort. I'm willing to share his contact details with interested parties.
 Off days saw me riding a bike around the neighbourhood as they were free to use at the hotel.

FOOD 
I tend to be fussy about what I eat, the best thing I did was book myself a cooking class at Paon Bali Cooking Class, to learn about the local food culture. 
This was a wonderful experience and I'd recommend it to anyone as the hosts were awesome and food preparation process really informative and great tasting. The class started off with a 20min visit to Ubud market to learn about traditional Balinese ingredients.

​Mostly ate at the hotel restaurant and consulted TripAdvisor on a number of occasions to identify top rated restaurants wherever I was. The ones that stood out for me where Malaika Secret Moksha for it's organic take on Indian food, food presentation and FRESH KEY LIME PIE and Ristorante Massimo for its sorbets, gelato and pastas.

TEGAL WANGI BEACH
A hidden gem, its beauty goes beyond white sand, clear blue water and cliff views of amazing sunsets. Saw a lot of pre-wedding shoots here.
 
The high tide doesn't make it nice for swimming, but  it's a dope location for pictures(took this pic with my phone and it still came out proper.

ELEPHANT CAMP IN UBUD 
Bali elephant riding was scratched off the list. I'd give this experience a whopping 4/5(animals weren't chained and the staff was friendly.) Jimi's back was firm (yes, as in Hendrix) and I felt safe going on an adventurer's short trek. He's currently 35 years old and planning to retire at age 65, as humans do 😂 

​Also, had a chat with his handler, who told me that it takes 1-3 years of 30min daily training sessions for elephants to get ready for trekking. Can you spell PATIENCE? If only I could adopt this discipline to all gym related matters lol

CAMEL RIDING AT METASARI BEACH
 Here's to a first, the ride was a lot smoother than I expected and no, the hump is not squishy lol. Also, check how the Camels are serving serious face game, competition was really tight. Definitely an experience I won't forget.

KEBUNE BALI ARGOTOURIST
A tropical agriculture and coffee roasting facility.Tasted a selection of coffee and tea varieties for FREE and top it up with a Kopi Luwak (Balinese special coffee, process involves Asian palm civets defecating part-digested coffee cherries) for a few Rupiahs, and the deal was sealed. Everything tasted awesome.

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS
- Professional photoshoot with a local photographer ADW Photography Bali
- Parasailing in Tanjung Benoa.
- Visiting Tegenungan Waterfall.

​- Sunrise at Tegalang rice terraces.

- Island Indulgence package at The Nest Beachside Spa.

- Bali Bon Bon chocolate tasting, they have great tasting pralines.

- Shopping: There are lots of markets and boutiques in Bali, I shopped at random lol
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Enjoy planning your trips!