Hello Hello,
Like everyone else, we spent a long time under lockdown during the Covid outbreak. When we were able to start planning a long trip again in 2022, we realized that we hadn’t gone on our honeymoon. We started looking into honeymoon destinations. Bali, Indonesia, was one of the usual suspects. Compared to similar destinations, Bali offers more than just beach time. There is nothing wrong with lying on the beach. I love that. However, we wanted something more active. And we definitely got it.
Our 12-day trip required careful planning as Bali and the nearby islands cover a relatively large area. There is plenty to see. You have to make some decisions. Ubud and the Gili Islands were already on my list, but I had to do some research for the rest of the trip.
It was the end of August, and the weather was perfect.
People who visited Bali before had different experiences in Ubud. Some found it interesting, others didn’t find it worth spending time there. Ubud’s proximity to Denpasar Airport, Bali’s main international airport, makes it a good spot to start the trip. We enjoyed our stay in Ubud. Our hotel, Chapung Sebali, was excellent and we spent most of our time at the hotel. Our room was large with a high ceiling, overlooking tropical trees surrounding the hotel and the pool area. The spa area and gym were like nothing I had seen before. The overall feel was boutique and exquisite. The food was top-notch. The chef won our hearts with every order. My husband likes making rigid decisions at the beginning of trips. This time, he decided to avoid drinking alcohol during the trip. I overcompensated for him by drinking every cocktail on the menu at least twice.
There is no public transport in Bali. At least not for the foreigners. So we booked a taxi driver whom we found through a friend. He couldn’t make it due to illness, and sent his cousin instead. The cousin was very nice too. I prepared a nice daily itinerary including the must-see places in Ubud. We went to see the Tegallalang rice fields and the monkey forest. This was the trip when I finally decided that I don’t like visiting touristy waterfalls – they are often not spectacular, and the visitors are not fun to be around for some reason.
We woke up before dawn one day to hike the Campuhan Ridge Walk, and it was worth it. It was dark (a little bit scary) and rainy in the beginning. As we continued walking, the daylight started to break. The walk was easy with great views, and we watched the sunrise from the top of the field before we reached the city center. My husband hadn’t slept before the walk because he stayed up late to watch a Besiktas game. He was in a good mood because we won!
Our next stop was the Gili Islands. We chose Gili Air, which is claimed to be the best of both worlds – fun and calm. We saw a boat full of eager boys and girls heading to Gili Trawangan (also known as Gili T). They looked ready for some wild partying, which proved the point. The Gili Islands give a true feeling of being cut off from the world. There are restaurants and hotels, but everything is limited, and there is a feeling of scarcity due to being in the middle of the ocean, being hard to reach. Transportation is mainly by horse-drawn carts, which my husband refused to take on the way to our hotel due to concerns about the mistreatment of horses. I respect his point of view, but I refused to walk the way back with our luggage as it was a very hot day.
Enjoying a yoga class at the Flowers & Fire terrace was one of the highlights for me. I was in the mood for adventure and wanted to get a tattoo and go diving. My husband kindly changed my mind. No regrets so far. Instead of diving, we booked a snorkeling tour. The tour is a bit of an overstatement. Two gentlemen took us to the sea in their boat. We swam with large turtles (looking like carettas – they’re probably cousins) and watched the sunset. It was one of the best days of my life. One of the young gentlemen said he lost his hearing in one ear due to constantly diving with the tourists when he went a bit too deep. They both came from Lombok, which is a larger Muslim island close to the Gilis.
Sunsets on the island were special. We watched different shades of orange, yellow, and red each day. I feel privileged to have seen them.
Reaching the Gili Islands is an adventure by itself. There are two types of boats, one option is public slow boats, while the other boats are run by private “companies”, which are illegal and faster. We chose the latter. The trip is very tiring. Our original plan was to go to Nusa Penida after Gili Air; however, our mood changed, and we needed something a little more comforting. I remembered a hotel we saw from a football player’s wife’s Instagram in Jimbaran. Exactly what we needed. The highlight of Jimbaran was the Rock Bar at the hotel. Probably the best bar in Bali.
Our last stop was Uluwatu. We stayed at bungalows in Villa Amantes Bingin. The hotel already gave us the beach and surfer vibes. Single Fin was our favourite day spot to grab a bite. We watched a monkey steal sunglasses from a visitor at Uluwatu Temple. We took surf lessons in Jimbaran Bay on our last day before enjoying a legendary dinner at Cuca, owned by a Canadian chef. This was the first of our “luxury last dinner” habit during our travels.
Bali has a predominantly Hindu culture within a Muslim-majority country. I was fascinated by how firmly people have held on to their religion and traditions. I saw it in daily life, in temples, and in the small offerings left for their gods on nearly every corner. Balinese people are kind, humble, and proud, and their strength lies in their hospitality.
Beyond the beauty of Bali, something else stayed with me. I didn’t see a single Balinese person enjoying a cup of tea in the cafés and restaurants we visited; they were almost always the ones working. That contrast stayed with us. It made me wonder what it means to be a conscious traveler, and whether it’s possible to experience places like this without reinforcing that imbalance. Something I’m still thinking about.
Travel read: “Beautiful World, Where Are You” by Sally Rooney.
