Sometimes the universe just aligns and you are lead to an unexpected place. That was Bali for me. Never on my radar, until one fateful day I stepped into a travel show and stumbled upon a booth for a villa in Bali. It sounded so fascinating. And so far away. After a full Q&A with the villa owner (an American who lived part time in Bali), I left there intrigued and determined. After a year of planning and gathering the right group of friends (see? That’s realistic!), we were on the plane to Denpasar, Indonesia for the time of our lives.

The 23 hour flight from Jersey truly seemed a breeze, I guess the excitement of 2 weeks in Southeast Asia was too overwhelming to notice a few hours crammed on a plane. The lounge access didn’t hurt either. Pro tip: When taking international flights it definitely pays to have lounge access & global entry. Global entry helps you bypass those long airport custom lines and also gives you TSA Pre-check all for about $100 (good for 5 years). I get both with my favorite travel credit card the Chase Sapphire Reserve. The lounge at our layover stop had private showers plus free food and alcohol. There is nothing better than showering before your next leg!

Bustling through the Denpasar airport I quickly realize I am not in Jersey anymore. Statues and giant stone structures sit inside, then the airport opens up to outside which greets you with a sea of drivers and their signs. We finally find our transportation and off we go. We are staying one night near the airport while we wait for the rest of our crew to arrive the next day. It was reaching midnight as we patiently waited in bumper to bumper traffic, but we were entertained by the liveliness of the streets. Traffic, scooters, people everywhere as if it were rush hour! As we reached our hotel from the darkness of the small streets we rode up a hill where we were greeted by the illuminated hotel. Hanging lanterns lit the open aired lobby which sat quietly tucked in the center of all this bustle. So peaceful and serene, it was truly magnificent. Bali’s temps year round are perfect, so there are a lot of open air spaces. It makes everything seem more luxe and grand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were finally here! We certainly couldn’t go to sleep now! So my friends and I dropped our bags and hit the town of Kuta. Our hotel was just a few blocks from the beach, so we walked. By now things had quieted down a bit. I always felt safe in Bali, the people are so friendly and welcoming and you immediately feel that from them. Just before the beach we stopped at Bali’s version of 7-11 (but better because they serve alcohol). Just yesterday I had been in the wintery Jersey weather and now here I sat in Bali with the most perfect 80 degree evening outside of 7-11 smelling the beach and drinking a cold Bintang. Take it in, enjoy it, I thought. All of a sudden VRRRRRM VRRRRM VRRRM, a bunch of scooters start pulling up. A group of about twenty Balinese boys arrive to what appears to be their local hangout…at 2am. I should explain that the 7-11’s in Bali have tables and chairs outside on a patio, more inviting than our one stop shops in the USA. It only took the boys a few minutes to realize they were sitting next to Americans. The Balinese loooove Americans! We spent the next couple hours drinking, laughing, telling stories and taking lots of pictures with our new friends. We had the best time that night!

As the sky started to get lighter my group and a few of our new friends walked across to the beach to watch the sun rise on our first official day in Bali, and what a way to end our first night! By now we were starving…that $1 chicken and rice cone at 3am didn’t quite hold me over, but damn it was good!. Luckily it was time to go back to our hotel for the breakfast buffet. (Still haven’t slept in our beds yet mind you) I may or may not have decided to get on a scooter with a complete stranger, all alone in a foreign country, because she offered to take me back to the hotel (not the smartest idea). BUT this was Jenny! Jenny was the one girl in the sea of Balinese boys we met. She joined us at the beach. So she was no stranger! She was so sweet. I got back safe and sound! Thank you Jenny!

Now let’s talk about food in Bali. I wouldn’t necessarily say I am a picky eater, but I don’t eat beef or pork blah blah blah I KNOW…so, needless to say, I was a little worried about what I would be eating in Southeast Asia. Well, rest assured my friends! There is no shortage of delicious cuisine in Bali. And to be quite honest, I still to this day dream of that Nasi Goreng (if you’ve had it- you know what I’m sayin’!). Basically it’s fried rice, LOL. But have you seen Bali’s vast countryside sprawling with the picturesque rice terraces? Stunning. So basically every meal includes rice, which I’m totally fine with. I ate a lot of skewered chicken, seafood, vegetables and fresh fruit of course! I loved the red dragon fruit, yum!

And the buffets! Especially the breakfast buffet at the Marriott Kuta. I have NEVER seen a spread like this! This is no U.S. continental breakfast (with their dry, day old danish), that I can promise! This was ROOMS of food! Any food you can imagine! And you can imagine that after 30+ hours of travel and no sleep in even longer than that, we were quite ecstatic to gorge on this feast. We wanted that food coma and our fresh plump beds immediately!

I laid on top of that (luxuriously comfortable) bed for all of five minutes before everyone decided we needed to take advantage the swim up bar. Apparently there is no sleep in Bali! (Still not tired though, ride that wave of excitement!) I guess laying on that float, drink in hand, sun on face, was better than staying in the room…no question.

The rest of our group was arriving today, how exciting! We got some rest (finally!) before picking them up so we can start our week in Bali. Little did we know a very looong trek (three and a half hours)…in a van…with ten people, before we would reach the quiet eastern-most town of Amed. But WOW the scenery is worth every second of that drive. And my friend Art especially loved the little monkeys crossing the road!

And then…we reached paradise. A paradise known as Villa Candi Matahari.

Bali is know for its affordable villas with exceptional staff, Villa Candi Matahari was no exception. Sleeping up to ten people, this villa is made up of a main house with a penthouse suite (270 degree views of the island), two ocean view suites, two private guest houses, outdoor showers for all, complete with an infinity pool with swim up bar. Absolutely amazing.

 

More to come…