Bali, Indonesia
Hindu temple in Ubud, Bali
Our impressions of Bali
Overall: When we were initially planning out Indonesia, we weren’t planning on going to Bali. Jessie had been there before (only to Ubud and Seminyak) and didn’t have a strong desire to go back. But, we learned that there was going to be a three-day music festival there that looked like it would overlap with our time and decided we had to go. As we did more planning and talked to more people, more time in Bali crept into our itinerary. We ended up spending three days in Ubud, two days in Canggu, three days in Nusa Dua, and a day in Kuta and we couldn’t be happier with our decision. It was a great break from travel and the music festival was a total highlight of our trip. In general, we found Bali to be a very easy place to travel around and a welcome break from being on the road. The island has a lot of culture (particularly in Ubud), but is undeniably touristy. We took it at face value and had ourselves a lovely time
Ubud: Ubud has long been known as the spiritual capital of Bali and it’s no surprise why – it’s full of temples and tradition. This was our favorite stop in Bali due to the relaxed (but not bro-y) atmosphere, temple and offering laden streets, rice terraces, and fantastic food. We spent most of our time walking around the narrow streets and gorgeous rice terraces
Canggu: We got a little nervous about spending time in Canggu after hearing from multiple people in Labuan Bajo that it was “the place to party.” We weren’t looking for a place to party, especially ahead of a three-day festival. It ended up being a relaxed stop for us with one of our favorite accommodations of the trip. We spent most of our time exploring the myriad of cafes and restaurants, watching surfers on the beach, shopping for clothes for our trip to Oman in a few months, and relaxing at our awesome spot
Nusa Dua: We didn’t do much exploring in Nusa Dua outside of Peninsula Island, where Joyland was located, and the Courtyard Marriott. We had an awesome three days listening and dancing to live music against an insanely idyllic backdrop. One interesting part of Nusa Dua is how it is set up – there’s an area that is known as the “tourist center” that only has hotels, very well-manicured grass, and walking paths. Tourists are the only people that are really “allowed” in this area (you need a reason/name of a destination to enter the gates) which struck us as odd, especially given it was so unlike the rest of Bali
Kuta: We spent less than a day in Kuta (intentionally staying close to the airport), but we were not fans of what we saw. It was pretty grimy with abandoned buildings and an overrepresentation of cheap souvenir places and tattoo shops
What we saw in Bali
Campuhan Ridge Walk: There are plenty of touristy things to do in Ubud (e.g., Tegalalang rice terraces, monkey forest), but we resolved not to do any of them. Instead, we decided to spend the better half of our day going for a walk through the jungle to a quieter part of town. It was a peaceful walk where we happened upon few other people and eventually landed in an area with a ton of rice paddies. We passed many beautiful temples, cute boutiques, and endless cafes and restaurants on the walk back. It was a great way to chill and spend a day in Ubud
Pyramids of Chi Sound Healing: As the spiritual capital of Bali, Ubud has many offerings from yoga to meditation. Thanks to our friend Sinead’s recommendation, we opted to do a sound bath at a place on the edge of town, Pyramids of Chi. We had done sound bowl meditation in Rishikesh, so we were excited to spend 2 hours in a sound bath. It ended up being a very relaxing and meditative experience for both of us – we were in and out of sleep and felt different effects from the Tibetan and Crystal sound bowls that our teacher played. We walked around the grounds after the sound bath and chilled at the cafe in our very zen states
Ubud Wellness Spa: In 2018 when Jessie was in Ubud with Katie and Shalini, she had a truly life changing massage (Katie can attest). Determined to repeat the experience, she dug up the name of the spa from Shalini’s journaling. Doug kindly agreed to go to the spa even though he wasn’t going to get a massage. We spent over an hour walking to the Ubud Wellness Spa (luckily it was a nice walk) in pursuit of another life changing massage, only to realize that it was the wrong place (the surroundings didn’t feel familiar at all). When we arrived, we learned it was cash only and we decided to turn back to find the OG Ubud Wellness Spa. It turned out to be a 10-minute walk from our hotel, but unfortunately it had closed. And moved its location to where we had walked earlier (lol). It was still a great day of walking even though Jessie didn’t get another life changing massage
Black Sand Brewery Canggu: We were super excited to check out this brewery in Canggu – it was the first craft brewery we had been to since Vietnam. It was a new and hip brewery and outdoor space that was a great place to spend a few hours writing, sampling various craft beers, and relearning how to play Exploding Kittens. We tried a flight to test out what we wanted for full pints and settled on two hazy beers. Two turned into four into six thanks to a great happy hour deal and we had ourselves quite a fun afternoon
Canggu beach: We spent both of our evenings in Canggu watching the surfers and the sunset at the beach. Though it was crowded, it was very calm compared to the likes of Seminyak and a beautiful spot to watch the sun go down. We never made it out onto the water, but had lots of fun watching amateur and novice surfers ride waves until it turned to dusk
Joyland Music Festival: Joyland was our main reason for being in Bali and ended up being a fantastic three days (and the biggest steal in the music industry at $25 for a three day pass). We spent the weeks leading up to Joyland listening to music from artists we knew and learning songs from artists performing at Joyland that we didn’t know. We loved our reintroduction back into the live music/festival world. We’re hard pressed to think of a more beautiful setting for a music festival than Peninsula Island in Nusa Dua – two of the stages were on the ocean and one was on the beach. Joyland had all of the signature traits of a typical music festival – fun/funky characters and signage, food stalls, and lots of music – with an Indonesian flair. The highlights for us were:
- The music: MIA, Sigrid, and Phoenix headlined the weekend. Phoenix was the draw for most people, including us! On Friday, we saw Reality Club (an Indonesian band that was one of our favorite new artists we saw + Jessie made it onto their Instagram which is fun), Summer Salt (a band we knew from the US that was awesome), Crumb (another band we knew that didn’t sound as great), and MIA (so much more hype/better than expected). We ran into the guys from Summer Salt in the drinking area the next day and toasted to an awesome show. On Saturday, we went to Dialog Dini Hari (Indonesian band that sounded great) and Sigrid (a Norwegian popstar that has become one of our favorite new artists). The last day brought CHAI (a Japanese girlband that spoke no English but was epic) and Phoenix. Phoenix was awesome – we would love to see them again if they come to the states
- The drinks: The predominant culture at Joyland was cigarette smoking (one of its main sponsors is a cigarette company) rather than drinking which was interesting to us coming from American music festival culture. All of the drinking was contained to an area that had a Suntory whisky booth, a Guinness booth (interesting choice of beer sponsor especially in the 90 degree heat), and a local wine (Sababay) booth. You had to stay in this area to drink, so we ended up spending a lot of time here. Our daily routine was to start with a glass of sangria (we made friends with the Sababay ladies), have a bottle of white wine, and follow the wine up with a few Guinnesses over the course of the day/evening. We spent a surprising amount of time chilling in this area playing cards and Heads Up which we rediscovered on Jessie’s phone
- The food: Food at music festivals is always fun. Our first day at Joyland, we didn’t realize that most vendors would only take cash and we had to be creative (including trading a single dollar for 14k IDR with a random vendor so we could get a slice of pizza at the end of the night). We quickly developed the routine of getting a burger and truffle fries at one stand for linner (Jessie got a “grilled cheese” which was pretty unappetizing, but filled her up) and getting pizza by the slice for a late night snack
Walk to Seminyak: We weren’t planning on going to Seminyak during our time in Bali, but ended up walking there from Kuta. We walked to a DHL halfway between our hotel and Seminyak to send a package home so decided to walk the rest of the way and grab dinner in Seminyak. It was a bit of a lackluster walk, but we did enjoy walking along the beach (despite the trash) and checking out the different areas along the way
Where we ate and drank
Twist Ubud: Twist was a great, little spot that had hilarious descriptions on the menu of each dish – most of which were funny epitaphs from the chef about how a given dish would change your life. We were wiped from the long travel day, but awake enough to have a fun dinner and appreciate the delicious food. We split a tempeh burger and tempeh/tofu curry, kicking off a great vegan kick in Bali (thanks Doug)
Monsieur Spoon: We walked into Monsieur Spoon, smelled very delicious French pastries, and resolved to go back when we were hungry enough to have one. Funnily enough, we didn’t end up ordering any pastries but we did have a fun lunch at this cute cafe. Salad for Jessie and the first bagel of the trip for Doug
Mingle: After putting our name in at Nusantara, we walked to a nearby bar to grab a drink. We had a local, arak drink and a big Bintang beer while biding our time until our dinner reservation. It turns out Mingle was having a 2-for-1 happy hour which led to us downing our drinks very quickly after Nusantara told us our table was ready earlier than expected and resulted in a very fun(ny) dinner
Nusantara: Definitely our favorite meal in Indonesia and one of the best meals we’ve had on the trip. Our friend Alli recommended Locavore (a vegetable-forward fine dining restaurant) from her time in Bali, but timing didn’t work out so we opted to go to their sister restaurant – Nusantara. Nusantara had a variety of Indonesian classics with a fine dining twist. The meal started with an amazing Indonesian thali-esque plate with different sambals, delicious veggies, and prawn crackers with curry. Then, our actual meal began. We ordered a handful of dishes to share – the highlights were a squid and clam dish in a spicy red curry, a delicious coconut soup served out of a coconut, a sambal flight with one that was so diabolical it made Doug cry, and oseng jantung pisang – an unbelievable veggie dish that we will try to replicate at home. We ended up closing down the restaurant
Wulan Vegetarian Warung: We passed this cute warung when we went to drop off our laundry and made a point to come here for lunch one day. It was a quaint and delicious local vegetarian joint with just a few seats. Jessie had the special seven veggie set (basically her dream dish), Doug had red rice nasi goreng, and we split vegetable pancakes in a really nice sauce
The Sandwich Shop: This spot was right across the street from our hotel, so we walked over one night when we were in the mood for something easy. Doug had a very delicious sandwich (appropriately the namesake) and Jessie had a salad with an odd combination of flavors. The highlight was an order of fries with a cajun dusting and spicy aioli
Doughnut Darling: We wanted something sweet after dinner and this place was right next door to the Sandwich Shop. The highlight was not the doughnuts (though they were delicious), but rather an Australian woman who offered to give us a few dollars when their credit card machine wasn’t working. Luckily the machine ending up working, but her random act of kindness and generosity has really stuck with us
Bagel It!: This place was no Gotham, but it did have build-your-own bagel sandwiches that were calling our name one day in Canggu. They were the first bagel sandwiches we had seen in our ~6 months of travel and we welcomed the American comfort food. They also had free coffee which was a lovely surprise
Shady Shack: Another vegan spot, but when in Bali! We had dinner here after our day at Black Sand Brewery and a lovely sunset on the beach. The spot was very cute and we split a burrito and a tempeh burger that hit the spot after a long day of hazy beers. We liked Twist in Ubud better, but it was still a solid meal
Bottega Italiana: Continuing on the trend of non-local food, we decided to go for Italian for dinner which is not a cuisine we often have. Like many of the other restaurants in Canggu, Bottega Italiana was an adorable, tiny restaurant with just a few tables. We dined on two different pasta dishes (one octopus, one pesto gnocchi) with very spicy red pepper flakes (we were warned), a mini cheese board that was dece, and a bottle of rose. It was a fun meal and a definite change of pace compared to our normal Asian diet (or a continuation of pace in Bali)
Sisterfields: When we didn’t find a restaurant in Seminyak that caught our eye for dinner, we settled on Sisterfields – an Australian-style cafe that Jessie dined at five years earlier. Doug had a burger and Jessie had a delicious cauliflower salad while splitting an order of truffle polenta fries that stole the show. It was a fun and typical last meal in Bali to cap off our week plus of western eating. We were definitely ready to get back to local cuisine by the end of our time in Bali
Where we stayed
Alaya Ubud: Kicking off our stretch of awesome accommodations, the Alaya was an amazing place to spend three nights in Ubud. It was in an unbelievable location – right in the town center – but had a peaceful and quiet air about it with rice paddies onsite. We spent our mornings sitting on our porch and enjoying coffee and the sounds of the jungle that our room backed into. It was a total honeymoon spot (without the crazy price tag) and we loved it!
Kharista by Ekosistem Canggu: Somehow this place was even better than the Alaya. We got upgraded to a one-bedroom villa that was easily in the top places we’ve stayed on the trip. It was super comfortable with a massive bathroom and room to put our stuff that wasn’t the bedroom. It was also right across from a small pool that felt like a private pool (and essentially was as none of the other people in the nearby rooms used it). Our room also came with breakfast that was either served in the room or a very hip cafe area in the front of the hotel. It was one of the best breakfasts of the trip – avocado toast with a side salad for Jessie and mie goreng for Doug. A total treat to stay here!
Courtyard Marriott Nusa Dua: Thanks to our BonVoy points, we spent three nights at the Courtyard in Nusa Dua that couldn’t have been more convenient for Joyland (the reason we were in Nusa Dua). The hotel felt like a maze that we got lost in a few times… The breakfast buffet was unbelievable (spread across three rooms) and there was a gym that we took advantage of every morning before Joyland
Fairfield Kuta Sunset Road: Again thanks to BonVoy points, we stayed here as an option close to the airport for our last night in Bali. It ended up being a nice room with a water dispenser which was a huge bonus
