Bali Travel Diary - Part 6

This is part six of my Bali Travel Diary. If you've missed any of the adventures so far, you can catch up here /1/2/3/4/5

By this point, you're probably wondering when will this Bali novel end. Well I can tell you we were there for about eight days, so maybe once we hit part eight you can finally breathe a sigh of relief at no longer having to see another Bali travel diary pop up from me. But until then, here's how day six of our trip went down.

Starting off our day with our usual breakfast, we had decided to spend the day hitting up a place called Sundays Beach Club. You may have remembered I mentioned earlier that it's usually not advised to go swimming at most beaches in Bali due to the fact they tend to be infested with sea lice, which is never a fun after effect to be left with after swimming. Sundays Beach Club however, was a place we could go to actually spend some time swimming in the surf.

Our maid staff had been lovely enough to arrange for two mini bus drivers to pick us up at around 10am (or was it 11am) the day before, so they were ready and waiting for us right on time. It was a little ways drive out to the resort, but it was a lovely drive. Zooming through the local towns and eventually out to the coastline, there was a variety of scenery to admire.

Sundays Beach Club is not only a place you can visit during the day but also a place with luxury villas where people can stay. So walking into the resort we passed the reception, a beautiful infinity pool and various other undercover areas that included a massage and nail treatment area. There was also an immaculate grassed area with picturesque palm trees that was saved for wedding functions.

Walking down a few flights of stairs we reached an undercover table where we paid our entry. Entry for the entire day was $30, and this covered being able to use any of the paddleboards and snorkels they had, as well as a $15 food and drink voucher. We then got to make our way down to the beach via a cable car, which gave us an amazing overview of the beach club and surrounding tropical greenery.

After getting to the bottom and walking down to the beach, we set ourselves up on a few chairs covered by large umbrellas and of course the first port of call was to jump into the ocean. The water was beautiful and warm, and the waves weren't crashing furiously but rather providing us with soft, calming rolls that allowed you to peacefully float over them. As we hung around in the water, we grabbed paddleboards and took turns paddling around, as well as using the snorkels to explore the nearby rocks and all the fish and sea life it had to hold.

We eventually got out and decided we'd probably have lunch elsewhere, so we all used our vouchers to grab some drinks and a couple baskets of chips. The beach wasn't too overcrowded even as lunch time drew nearer, and it was nice to spend a couple of hours in luxury, but eventually we decided to jump back in the cable car and head back up. Thanks to the heat, by the time we made it back to the top we were ready for a swim again. It seems the people who had originally taken our entry fee earlier noticed this and said we were more than welcome to use the infinity pool to cool off before we left; we didn't have to be told twice. We probably spent another half an hour hanging around the pool and grabbing photos, as you do.

When our mini bus drivers returned to pick us up, we told them we wanted to go check out Suluban Beach. It was only about a 20-minute drive and when we got there, we looked around for somewhere to eat but nothing really took our fancy. So we decided to check out the beach we'd come to see and head somewhere else for lunch. The walk down to the specific area we were looking for was lined with shops and stalls. While only half an hour ago we'd been walking through the sands of a luxury resort, now we were making our way down the winding, stone path of an area that felt much more Balinese and local. It was a densely tourist populated area, and all the stalls were basically selling the same touristy, generic stuff, but as you walked and caught glimpses of the coast in between the shops, it was a beautiful place. Eventually we made our way down to the entry of the little, cave-hidden beach. It was an interesting last part of the walk, stepping down a less than stable looking concentre walkway with a dodgy railing and then climbing a short way down the rocks to meet the sand.

Making our way back up to our bus drivers, my friends had a place in mind for lunch (the name of which escapes me) that was suppose to be only a short drive away. Both us and our drivers didn't quite know where it was, but once we hit the road it was supposedly meant to be on, we spend a couple of minutes driving painfully slow trying to see a sign for the place. Five minutes or so of that and we figured the place we were looking for didn't exist, at least in the area we were in, so we got our driver to do a U-turn and take us back just down the road to another place that had sparked our interest as we drove along called Bukit Cafe. It turned out to be a great, random find! With vegan and gluten free options to suit all our different diets, I got myself the veggie burger with a side of sweet potato chips and it was so delicious! I topped it with a regular latte which also did not disappoint.

Our last stop for the day was Uluwatu Temple. After our previous interesting encounter with monkeys, we were a bit wary of going into the temple, so we left all our belongings in the buses. After paying entry and putting on shawls, we walked down the cobbled path to the main entry of the temple which was were most of the monkeys were hanging around. Luckily this time they pretty much all stayed away and we didn't have any more crazy run-ins. The temple itself was beautiful. While we were there, many of the locals were actually piling in to the main worshipping sections preparing for what I assumed was a pray session or something similar. Again I found myself annoyed at tourists who felt they could walk up the stairs and take photos when clearly, one, these people were preparing for pray and two, there were signs asking people not to enter those areas. Despite that, walking around the temple was a lovely experience. It was situated on the edge of the cliff, and the walkway around the edge provided a beautiful view. Looking out over the water that disappeared over the horizon was a beautiful way to end day six of our trip.

Keep an eye out for part 7 of my Bali travel diary where me and my friends spend our night at the famous Potatohead, a place with an amzing waterfront view and pool bar.

This is part six of my Bali Travel Diary. If you've missed any of the adventures so far, you can catch up here /1/2/3/4/5

By this point, you're probably wondering when will this Bali novel end. Well I can tell you we were there for about eight days, so maybe once we hit part eight you can finally breathe a sigh of relief at no longer having to see another Bali travel diary pop up from me. But until then, here's how day six of our trip went down.

Starting off our day with our usual breakfast, we had decided to spend the day hitting up a place called Sundays Beach Club. You may have remembered I mentioned earlier that it's usually not advised to go swimming at most beaches in Bali due to the fact they tend to be infested with sea lice, which is never a fun after effect to be left with after swimming. Sundays Beach Club however, was a place we could go to actually spend some time swimming in the surf.

Our maid staff had been lovely enough to arrange for two mini bus drivers to pick us up at around 10am (or was it 11am) the day before, so they were ready and waiting for us right on time. It was a little ways drive out to the resort, but it was a lovely drive. Zooming through the local towns and eventually out to the coastline, there was a variety of scenery to admire.

Sundays Beach Club is not only a place you can visit during the day but also a place with luxury villas where people can stay. So walking into the resort we passed the reception, a beautiful infinity pool and various other undercover areas that included a massage and nail treatment area. There was also an immaculate grassed area with picturesque palm trees that was saved for wedding functions.

Walking down a few flights of stairs we reached an undercover table where we paid our entry. Entry for the entire day was $30, and this covered being able to use any of the paddleboards and snorkels they had, as well as a $15 food and drink voucher. We then got to make our way down to the beach via a cable car, which gave us an amazing overview of the beach club and surrounding tropical greenery.

After getting to the bottom and walking down to the beach, we set ourselves up on a few chairs covered by large umbrellas and of course the first port of call was to jump into the ocean. The water was beautiful and warm, and the waves weren't crashing furiously but rather providing us with soft, calming rolls that allowed you to peacefully float over them. As we hung around in the water, we grabbed paddleboards and took turns paddling around, as well as using the snorkels to explore the nearby rocks and all the fish and sea life it had to hold.

We eventually got out and decided we'd probably have lunch elsewhere, so we all used our vouchers to grab some drinks and a couple baskets of chips. The beach wasn't too overcrowded even as lunch time drew nearer, and it was nice to spend a couple of hours in luxury, but eventually we decided to jump back in the cable car and head back up. Thanks to the heat, by the time we made it back to the top we were ready for a swim again. It seems the people who had originally taken our entry fee earlier noticed this and said we were more than welcome to use the infinity pool to cool off before we left; we didn't have to be told twice. We probably spent another half an hour hanging around the pool and grabbing photos, as you do.

When our mini bus drivers returned to pick us up, we told them we wanted to go check out Suluban Beach. It was only about a 20-minute drive and when we got there, we looked around for somewhere to eat but nothing really took our fancy. So we decided to check out the beach we'd come to see and head somewhere else for lunch. The walk down to the specific area we were looking for was lined with shops and stalls. While only half an hour ago we'd been walking through the sands of a luxury resort, now we were making our way down the winding, stone path of an area that felt much more Balinese and local. It was a densely tourist populated area, and all the stalls were basically selling the same touristy, generic stuff, but as you walked and caught glimpses of the coast in between the shops, it was a beautiful place. Eventually we made our way down to the entry of the little, cave-hidden beach. It was an interesting last part of the walk, stepping down a less than stable looking concentre walkway with a dodgy railing and then climbing a short way down the rocks to meet the sand.

Making our way back up to our bus drivers, my friends had a place in mind for lunch (the name of which escapes me) that was suppose to be only a short drive away. Both us and our drivers didn't quite know where it was, but once we hit the road it was supposedly meant to be on, we spend a couple of minutes driving painfully slow trying to see a sign for the place. Five minutes or so of that and we figured the place we were looking for didn't exist, at least in the area we were in, so we got our driver to do a U-turn and take us back just down the road to another place that had sparked our interest as we drove along called Bukit Cafe. It turned out to be a great, random find! With vegan and gluten free options to suit all our different diets, I got myself the veggie burger with a side of sweet potato chips and it was so delicious! I topped it with a regular latte which also did not disappoint.

Our last stop for the day was Uluwatu Temple. After our previous interesting encounter with monkeys, we were a bit wary of going into the temple, so we left all our belongings in the buses. After paying entry and putting on shawls, we walked down the cobbled path to the main entry of the temple which was were most of the monkeys were hanging around. Luckily this time they pretty much all stayed away and we didn't have any more crazy run-ins. The temple itself was beautiful. While we were there, many of the locals were actually piling in to the main worshipping sections preparing for what I assumed was a pray session or something similar. Again I found myself annoyed at tourists who felt they could walk up the stairs and take photos when clearly, one, these people were preparing for pray and two, there were signs asking people not to enter those areas. Despite that, walking around the temple was a lovely experience. It was situated on the edge of the cliff, and the walkway around the edge provided a beautiful view. Looking out over the water that disappeared over the horizon was a beautiful way to end day six of our trip.

Keep an eye out for part 7 of my Bali travel diary where me and my friends spend our night at the famous Potatohead, a place with an amzing waterfront view and pool bar.

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posted by The Noise in Wonderland . 2/7/17 .