BALI, INDONESIA
- Deson
- Jun 24
- 10 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
Bali is a well-known city in Indonesia, and we learned that it is not the capital city; the capital is Jakarta. All this time, I thought Jakarta was a separate country. Bali’s weather/temperature is really just like the Philippines; it feels like I’m still in the Philippines. The obvious difference, though, is the road setup; the driver’s seat is on the right side.
Indonesia is just like the Philippines; there are multiple islands, and Indonesians look exactly like Filipinos. You can’t really differentiate; the only difference is the language. Although the Philippines and Indonesia have different languages, we also share some similar words. To name a few:
Mura - Murah (means cheap)
Mahal - Mahal (means expensive or love)
Duha - Dua (means two)
Apat - Ampat (means four)
Lima - Lima (means five)
Selamat Datang is a common phrase we usually see on signages, and I thought Selamat meant thank you because in the Philippines, our thank you is Salamat.
Selamat Datang means hello/welcome, and it is the counterpart of Swasdee in Thailand.
Pot Money
Barry and I usually have pot money, a merged fund that we can use to spend on food, fare, and any expenses divided between the two of us. We decided to have pot money for this trip as well, where all four of us will put in USD 100, approximately Rp2,000,000 per person, and we all agreed that Barry will hold the pot money.
CONTENTS
ITINERARY
ACCOMMODATION
Capsule Suite
We booked a capsule which is good for short stay, we just need few hours to rest and prepare since we were landed at 2am. It is near the airport and our Day 1 will be at Bukit Sari which is a 2 hour drive distance. The capsule is fine, it has shower and comfortable beds. Our room consist of 4 capsule beds, we only booked 2 beds since it can fit 2 people in 1 capsule. The price is only Rp 120,000
which is only ~₱550.
Villa Ferrosa
We booked Villa Ferrosa ahead through AirBnB, it has nordic vibe and great reviews. It is not far nor near to everything, the place is very quite, only few Villas, big Villas in the place. It has 2 floors and a rooftop. 3 rooms, living, kitchen, dining, and of course, a large swimming pool.
The host is very accommodating, it has everything we need, microwave, ref, rice cooker, cooking materials, and whatnot. Basically a house, perfect place to feel relaxed.
The only thing we forgot is to bring universal plug because their outlets are different than what we have in the Philippines. Also, the internet is unfortunately slow but it was due to their internet service provider because the whole area doesnt have internet according to our driver who happen to live nearby.
Overall the Villa Ferrosa is worth it, the price we paid is equivalent to just ₱1,100 per head per night.
Hear is the AirBnb Link
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1217856524072333585?source_impression_id=p3_1750679036_P3xwcQFFg4ORx9EU
PLACES VISITED
DAY 1
ATV Quad Bike Experience in Bukit Sari Uluwatu
Our first stop is an ATV adventure in Bukit Sari, just a few hours' drive from the capsule suite. We booked a private car through Klook, with all our things packed and ready. Bukit Sari ATV Adventure is fun, and we have to go through a muddy route. It is a self-paced ride, easy to ride by the way, and we definitely enjoyed it. I have my Insta360 set up, and I wished their ATVs had holding ports for action cameras. Though they have a photographer that captures your adventure and you have the option to get a copy, we opted for the Rp350,000 package, for which they send a Google Drive link for the soft copies.
Lunch at Bebek Bukit Sari
After the ATV Adventure, we also have a discount for our lunch included in the ATV package. We were supposed to have a free lunch, but only for the rice meals, and we decided to order more and opt for the 20% discount instead.
Surfing at Padang-Padang Beach
We went to Suluban Beach, and it was like a quick hike, but unfortunately, the surfing lesson is at Padang-Padang Beach, not at Suluban, so we went to Padang-Padang Beach, which is just 10 minutes away from Suluban Beach.
The beach is a little far from the entrance; we have to take a few steps down before we finally step on the beach sand. The air is so timid, yet the sand is cold. There are so many foreigners, including us since we are foreigners this time, but I noticed most of the people there are from the West, Americans, and whatnot. The vibe is somehow just like the Siargao of the Philippines; I mean, Bali feels just like Siargao, especially since they also have a surfing spot.
We set up our things, and there are so many monkeys, so we have to really pay attention to our things. We then negotiated the price for the surfing lesson, and from Rp500,000, we agreed to Rp400,000. We only have 1 hour and 30 minutes to surf, but I think we didn't even finish the first hour. We were all exhausted, and after just a few surfing tries, we all went back to the shore. It was a nice experience, especially since all of my standing tries were successful.
Dinner at Ganesha Seafood
We initially planned to have our dinner at Malini, a famous spot to watch the sunset, but since we had already spent our time surfing, we decided to just have our dinner on our way to Villa Ferrosa, our home. We stopped by Ganesha Seafood, which is also a famous spot to watch the sunset. We arrived there at 8:00 pm, obviously no sunset, but we witnessed pretty fireworks. The food there is good too. We ordered tuna and chicken.
After dinner, we headed to our villa, late check-in, but the place really is good.
DAY 2
Heaven’s Gate in Lempuyang Temple
We departed from our villa at 6:30 in the morning and headed to our first destination for day 2, which is the Lempuyang Temple. We woke up late and didn't have breakfast yet, so we decided to find a nearby McDonald's with a drive-thru. Our main goal at Lempuyang Temple was to experience the famous Heaven’s Gate photo. We waited for almost 3 hours in the queue. We arrived there at 9:40, and our priority number was 178. At 12:30, our number was finally called. They took photos of us. Since the time for the pictorial is very limited, we had to move and pose faster. Worth the wait! The photos are great! They have this trick to place a mirror in the camera lens to make it look like a reflection.
Lunch at Warung Devassa
We had our lunch at Warung Devassa, just 2 minutes from our next destination, which is the Tirta Ganges. I personally love their food, not too far from Filipino food. Our bill is Rp710,000! I’m not sure if I can continue my diet here, but I will just give it to myself since I’m on vacation.
Tirta Ganges
If you love fish, especially Koi and Magic Carp, you will definitely love it here. We have a piece of bread to feed the fish, and their sizes are really big. We had fun taking photos. We also got to know Kadek, which is, by the way, the name of all their second children. He is our photographer/driver. By the way, this Klook tour is a Photographer Tour, which means we also paid for him to be our photographer.
Ristorante Lereng Agung
It is almost sundown. We arrived at Lereng Agung at 16:30; luckily, they are still open. We are their last customers for the day. The ladies, Madel and Carol, rented a gown for Rp400,000 each. Barry and I only paid Rp200,000 each. I also bought their coffee, which is only Rp42,000. The pictures are great too! I am so thankful for the good weather.
Goa Rajo
This is the place I want to go back to next time because we were late and we weren’t able to enter the waterfalls, though we did have some photos at the signage at the entrance.
Krisna Oleh Oleh Souvenir Shop
We spent some time in the Krishna souvenir shop. The shop is big, and it is overwhelming. It was just our second day, and I almost exhausted my personal money. Thankfully, I have a Gcash Card. I withdrew Rp3,000,000. I actually don’t have a plan to limit my budget. I will just go with the flow. What needs to be spent, I will spend on it as long as it makes my day complete.
We then went back to the villa and ordered Grab food for our dinner and negotiated with Kadek if he is available to drive for us for Day 3 since our Klook tour doesn’t include the fare to the port going to Nusa Penida Island for Day 3.
DAY 3
Pelabuhan Sanur
We arrived at the port at 7:40, our minds and bodies ready for the day. One thing happened, though: there was a misunderstanding with the Klook booking. As per checking, the booking includes a speed boat, but Axe Stone, the company with the list of names for the boat transfer, told us that our names were not included in the list. We contacted Klook, Tripguru, and they said that the booking should not have the boat transfer. We had to pay for the boat transfer on top of the Klook tour we booked; we paid Rp300,000 each, and it caused us a delay.
Nusa Penida Island
It is a separate island in Indonesia, only an hour away from Bali. Most of the famous spots on the internet are on Nusa Penida Island. Our driver welcomed us, and although we were a bit late for the day, we could still visit the spots. Our driver was like a cast member from Fast and Furious; he drove us at 80-100 kph on a curvy small road, and it is amazing that even though the road feels like a one-way road, they manage to fit their cars with confidence.
Manthies Resto
We first had our brunch since it was almost lunchtime at Manthies Resto. We just needed to have a quick refill for our stomachs to start the day.
Angel's Billabong and the Broken Beach
These two spots are just sitting beside each other. Angel's Billabong is somehow controversial due to some news about deaths when the splash of the ocean spikes. I am thankful that the ocean was at peace, so I didn't need to overthink about the deaths. It was a crowded place; we managed to take a photo and then proceeded to the Broken Beach, which is just a few steps ahead. I was able to fly my drone and was very happy that it didn't crash. Our pictures are fine, and we just enjoyed our time there.
Kelingking Beach
The famous Instagram spot on Nusa Penida Island. The crowd, the heat, the busyness—it is all overwhelming. We had to walk a few minutes from the parking area. We took some photos, not bad but not great. I had to use the remove tool in Lightroom to remove people because it was really crowded. I was able to fly my drone too but almost freaked out because it almost hit the crane nearby. We just spent less than an hour there, and we were running out of time.
Virgin Beach
We originally planned to spend the afternoon at Crystal Beach as per our itinerary, but since we had to be at the port at 16:30, we had to change plans and decided to have a quick dip at Virgin Beach, which is just 3 minutes away from the port. 16:30 is the last boat transfer, which is why our time was really limited.
Bali Orchid Massage
After a day of exhaustion, we were very tired, and we finally got to have a massage. The massage was really top tier—the services, the massage itself, the place, the serenity. It was a bit pricey, which was Rp480,000.
Night Market at Pasar Badung
Luckily, we got to experience their night market and their street foods, thanks to our driver/Indo friend Kadek. We also bought adobong manok recipe, and Carol cooked us adobo for our dinner. But actually, we decided to rest and eat the adobo in the morning.
DAY 4
Our checkout at Villa Ferrosa is at 12 noon. We spent the morning just enjoying the villa and preparing our things. This is our last day in Bali, and it seems so fast. I wished to stay much longer. After checkout, we went to Tanamera coffee shop, a famous coffee shop in Bali. I also bought their beans, which smell like Mt. Apo beans.
Malini Agro Park
Malini is a low-key, very nice spot for sunset. It was supposed to be our first-day plan, but since we were not able to visit it on our first day, we decided to visit it on our last day. What a surprise, the place is really romantic. Although there was no visible sunset because of the clouds, the feeling is still very memorable. Great place to dine! And there was a man who proposed, what a romantic moment.
We had lobster for our dinner. Just a quick moment, and we are all thankful for our Bali trip, a very memorable place. We then headed to the airport and arrived at 20:00. Our flight is at 1:00 am, so we spent our time at the airport.
Statement of Cashflow
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