October 2015 - Bali

Go straight to the pictures

I decided to do a trip to Bali.  (Just because I could.)  This was my second time here.  This time I stayed at Anantara in Uluwatu.  It's a cliff-side resort on what I think is the surfing side of Bali.  (All the dive sites are on the other side.)  It's about an hour south of the airport.  I had the resort pick me up.  (I would not even consider driving in Bali.)  I arrived at the resort, received my welcoming drink, then crashed in my room for a bit.  I stayed in a very nice pool suite.

The next day was supposed to be "relax at/take pictures of the resort" day, and plan excursions for the week.  I got up and had a great breakfast.  (Anyone who has stayed at Anantara knows they have an awesome breakfast buffet.)  I took some pictures of the resort, kicked back a little bit, and researched and reserved several excursions for the week.  One of which was the Marine/Sea walk.  I found a couple of places that do it:  Bali Apollo Dive and Watersports and Bali Marine Walk.  Both will pick you up and take you back to your resort.  I went with Bali Apollo. 

You don’t have to know how to dive to do the sea walk.  You don’t even have to know how to swim.  You just put on a helmet and walk around an underwater path, while occasionally feeding a few fish.  It was fun, albeit a bit short (approximately 20 minutes).  Attached to the helmet is an air hose.  So you can only walk as far as the length of the hose.

Bali Apollo got mixed reviews on Tripadvisor.  People either loved it or hated it.  I enjoyed Bali Apollo.  They did appear to have the largest variety of watersports, including the water jet pack and jet bike.  But if I had to make a recommendation, I would choose Bali Marine Walk.  They got much better reviews on Tripadvisor and the visibility is probably better.  They're also a bit cheaper.

After the sea walk, I returned to Anantara.  I had lunch at Sea Fire Salt.  Then crashed for a bit before my next activities: Pura Luhur temple and a Kecak Ramayana & Fire Dance.  Both were much better than expected.  There are also monkeys at the temple.  You are warned to be very mindful of your stuff as the monkeys like to take things.  You are also told if a monkey does take something, don't chase after it.  Notify a custodian instead. 

Side story:  A woman thought she had a sly way to feed the monkeys.  When she thought they weren't looking, she would toss them a banana.  (If the monkeys know you have food, they will chase you.)  She did this a few times before the monkeys figured out where the bananas were coming from.  When they started coming toward her, she threw the bag of bananas at them and ran off.  I think she was a little scared.

The third day, I did the Kintamani Volcano Tour.  It started at 8:00 AM and didn’t end until after 5.  I went to several galleries.  I saw a Barong & Kris Dance.  I saw the Batur volcano.  (Inactive and unimpressive.)  I ate lunch at a restaurant with full view of the volcano.  (Watch out for the women selling stuff outside the entrance.)  I, surprisingly, really enjoyed the spice garden tour.  I'm not sure if it was because of all the free samples of coffee and tea they gave me.  I'm not a coffee drinker, but I really liked the Durian and Ginger coffees.  I also liked all the teas.  They offered me another coffee that wasn't free.  Not that it mattered because I was less than enthusiastic about trying it.  It was Kopi Luwak coffee.  I finished the tour with the Bali Zoo and elephant trekking.

Day 4, do nothing day.  Sleep in late.  Stay at the resort.  Take resort pictures.  The occasional alcoholic beverage here and there.  Get a massage.  (90 minute Balinese massage which got upgraded to 2 hours because of some special they were having.)  Sleep, eat, drink.  Not necessarily in that order.

The next day, Diving and “Flying Fish”.  I went to Bali Apollo again.  Diving was also OK.  The area was Nusa Dua.  There are several other places for diving.  I just went here because it was the closest to my resort.  Visibility was about 30-40 ft, some sea life, and depth about 36 ft.  If I visit again, I think I would try Nusa Lembongan instead of Nusa Dua. 

Flying Fish was fun.  You lie on a kite-like raft.  The raft is dragged behind a speedboat.  When the speedboat reaches a good speed, the raft takes off like a kite.  After a little while airborne, the raft comes back down.  This repeats 3 times followed by a really fun ride back to the beach.  I returned to my resort after Flying Fish.

Day 6, do nothing day before travel day.  Well, do not much of anything.  Eat, sleep, write a few reviews on tripadvisor, get another massage.  (The spa still had their special going.)  The resort also had a Halloween barbecue at Sea Fire Salt.

Travel day.  I had an afternoon flight, so I had plenty of time to enjoy breakfast and partake more of the amenities of the resort.  The airport also had Halloween entertainment still going on.

A few things to note about Bali:

  • As of June 2015, US citizens can enter Bali without a visa. You can bypass the Visa On Arrival station at the airport
  • Departure tax is now part of airport tax.  So you don't have to pay it at a separate station at the airport
  • Balinese children attend school 5 hours a day, 6 days a week, starting at 7 AM.  Parents, the next time your kid(s) complains about school, share that fun fact
  • Don't feed the monkeys
  • They drive on the other side of the road in Bali.  I saw only 1 stop sign my entire time there.  Traffic laws are more like traffic suggestions

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