Farewell Australia, Hello Bali

Jon and I arrived to Bali on Monday evening. After claiming our bags and getting Indonesian Rupiah we exited the airport as Millionaires. One US Dollar is equivalent to 10,000 Rupiah. 

While Bali has numerous taxi companies, Blue Bird was recommended as the best company to take since they use a meter and offer the most above board service. Unfortunately Blue Bird does not pick up at the airport taxi queue, you have to exit the airport and flag one down on the street a few hundred meters away. Making your way through the airport exit and past the hundreds of taxi solicitations you encounter along the way is an excellent exercise to increase your diversion tactics and negotiation skills. 

Once outside the airport exit and safely into our Blue Bird taxi, we made our way to our home for the next week...Bali Island Villas and Spa in Seminyak. We arrived to the property and were quickly greeted by the staff who escorted us to our private villa where we would undertake the check in process. Bali Island Villas is an intimate property featuring ten villas that come equipped with personal butler service.  We booked this property specifically to provide some extra pampering after spending our last week in Australia camping in the outback. 

Upon entering our villa and taking in the sprawling kitchen, living room, bedroom and backyard with pool we were speechless, you could hear a pin drop. The website did not do the property justice, it was even more spectacular in person.

The Seminyak area is filled with a number of eclectic lounges and restaurants. We stumbled across a charming little place called Biku, right down the street from our property, where we had a traditional Indonesian dinner followed up with tea service. Bali, like the rest of Indonesia and dare I say Asian countries in general, has impeccable attention to detail and service. The staff at Biku upheld this tradition and attended to our every need throughout dinner. 

We found it hard to leave the comfort of our villa the next day and spent the sunshine hours relaxing at our pool. It is presently the rainy season here and Tuesday was the only forecasted day of sunshine for the week. 

By nightfall it was time to venture out and see what Kuta had to offer. We navigated the street of the Kuta Udayana Food Centre where cars are not allowed but apparently motorbikes have free reign. We decided to have dinner in a little place called the Bamboo Garden Cafe, recommended to Jon by his friends. The menu offered a variety of seafood options and the whole red snapper fish for 4 US dollars caught our attention. While Jon and I both enjoy eating fish, I might just love it a tad more then him. You should have seen the look on his face when I asked if it was ok for me to have the head. He thought I meant the tasty cheek meat, which he gladly offered up. But when I proceeded to devour the entire head, minus the teeth, he realized I wasn't joking about my love of fish.

After dinner we walked the Jalan Legian, the main street in Kuta, that is lined with bars and clubs. Before calling it a night, we made one more stop at Mantra, another wonderful local lounge where tourists and locals mix for the evening in the Seminyak area.

With one proper day of relaxation under our belts, we decided it was time to head out and explore the island on Wednesday. The cost of living is relatively inexpensive here in Bali and hiring a car service with driver to make a personalized tour of the island will cost you between 50-75 US dollars. Jon and I were sold, with limited time here in Bali this seemed like the best option with the biggest reward.

Our private retreat at Bali Island Villas and Spa in Seminyak.

Something tells me Jon might want not to leave come Friday...hope he realizes he can't take his Steven Seagal robe with him to Jakarta.