My Bali Trip: 2018 | Sam Tyra

Hi! Last May 29 - June 3, 2018, I went to Bali, Indonesia and it was one of the best trips I have ever had. On the 29th, my flight was late in the evening so when I arrived in Bali, I just went straight to the hotel in Nusa Dua from the airport (Taxi Fare: 200,000 rupiah).

Day 1 | The following day, I woke up at 9 am, had my breakfast and went to Kuta Beach. Kuta Beach is around an hour away from Nusa Dua and is one of the best places to go to if you love to surf or have surfing lessons, unfortunately, it was too hot that day, so I decided not to swim or do any water activities. If you are like me who gets dehydrated really easily, make sure to bring a water jug along with you …and maybe some battery-operated fan. What I have observed while in Bali is that it is not as humid unlike in Manila, Philippines but the weather definitely is still quite hot. And after, I went to Uluwatu to watch a Balinese cultural show and of course, the sunset!

Day 2 | Day tour in Ubud! Ubud is around 2 hours away from Nusa Dua. On the way to Ubud, I stopped by the Bali Batuan Temple which is a local Balinese Hindu temple. It is designed with full of Balinese ornaments and the roof temple building is made from the fiber of chromatic black palm tree.

After the temple, I had lunch at Warung Layana, a restaurant which is built unto the side of the cliff, overlooking a waterfall which had the most amazing view. In my opinion, the service was a bit slow, I arrived there before 12 noon and the food came at around 12:35, but the food was great and the view was just spectacular, as you can see in this photo. 

In the afternoon I went to Uma Pakel and bravely tried the giant swing. It was more of a self-fulfillment rather than a thrill ride. It was not as scary as I have expected, and take it from a girl who freaks out at roller coasters. I must say that it is one of the “must-do” activities while in Bali.

And after, of course, I went to Ubud market where I bought theses hand-made Bali bags.

Day 3 | All day swimming from Balangan beach back to the hotel. Balangan beach is around 30 minutes away (Taxi Fare: 110,000 rupiah) from Nusa Dua and has one of the most amazing waves. They also have a surfing school but the waves in Balangan were much bigger than in Kuta. So, for the second time around, I decided not to surf.

Day 4 | Last day in Bali, I decided to go to discovery mall in Kuta which is around 30-45 minutes (Taxi Fare: 85,000 rupiah) away from Nusa Dua. It has a lot of stores from Sephora to Marks and Spencer. What I tried there was the XOXO Ice Cream which was really sweet but really good as well (very Instagram worthy). On the upper ground floor, right next to payless, there is a shop that sells sports goods which offers really great deals. I got two Skechers-Shirts for 400 pesos each.

Day 5 | The night before, I arranged a hotel taxi that will take me to the airport.  My flight was at 8:35am, I left the hotel at 6 and from Nusa Dua to the airport, it took around 25 minutes (Taxi Fare: 250,000 rupiah).

Highlights of the Trip:

-       Kuta Beach

-       Batuan Temple

-       Uma Pakel Giant Swing

-       Ubud Market

Hotel I stayed in: Marriott Nusa Dua Gardens