Need to escape? Need to relax? Need to disconnect from the world and recharge?
Well, let me tell you, Bali is absolutely the place to do JUST that.
We couldn't decide where to stay in Bali for the 10 days that we were there (I know, problems, right?), so we opted to stay in 3 different parts of the island.
Our first stop was the region of Ketewel. We opted for super nice and comfy, to catch up on sleep and relax, but have NOTHING of interest to do remotely close, so we trapped ourselves into relaxing. Yeah, apparently we are the type of people that have to strong-arm ourselves into such things. And I am proud to say that we accomplished just that.
This is what our daily schedule here looked like:
- Sleep in
- Meander down to a freshly prepared breakfast and enjoy watching the birds and savor idle conversation that has nothing to do with work, classes, things to accomplish, etc.
- Go for a long walk on the black sand beach
- Read from Kindle Unlimited subscription
- Nap in a comfortable bed and air conditioned room
- Meander back down to the pool for the afternoon
- Swim
- Commence reading pool side
- Repeat nap in the cozy pool recliner
- Shower
- Go for a long walk around the neighboorhood
- Dinner
- Read
- Bed: Sleep for 10-12 hours
- Repeat
Our first accommodations were at Villa Beachside, on Ketewel Beach in North Sanur.
I cannot recommend this place anymore highly.
Kadek, the manager, took very excellent care of us. He even picked us up from the airport (thank God, because I cannot even imagine trying to drive in the traffic. It was chaos. No traffic signals, no lane markers, no traffic indication, but the locals seemed to have no issue...we would have died or killed someone for sure).
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| Our accommodations |
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| The view from our balcony |
The only reason we ventured outside of the compound was because our traveling souls felt compelled, and well, FOOD! Is there something out THERE being offered that isn't in HERE!!?!?!? We just had to know.
The answer was yes.
Restaurant: The recently old name is
Sama Suka Restaurant (which is what all of the TripAdvisor reviews have it listed as, there are two, one of which says it is closed, which of this name it is), but the new sign in from of the place is Black Sands (which you can find on Google Map.
So good we went there TWICE
Do NOT eat at: Ikan Kintamani (
I don't care what the reviews say). It was hot, the place was full of mosquitos eating you while you are trying to eat, and the food was just mediocre. I am sad that we gave up Black Sands to eat here.
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| Black Sands: Chicken noodle soup with egg and tomato |
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| Black Sands: Wok fried noodles with al dente vegetable |
It was a nice walk home with the black sky illuminated with stars and the air filled with the scent of plumeria. We even did a night time walk on the beach, where the black sand sparkled in the night light, and you were lulled by the crashing waves.
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| Our outdoor shower, the first of a trend. A trend that I loved! |
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| My morning view upon awakening |
Not only is this my view, but I wake up to the sounds of the waves crashing and the birds chirping. Heaven? Perhaps.
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| Our daily breakfast routine |
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| Our morning walk routine |
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| Bat friend: Our shower ceiling was high daytime accomodations |
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| Our daily afternoon view |
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| An evening beach stroll: Fisherman net-throwing for dinner |
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| The entry to the driveway of a standard house |
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| Offerings to the gods, replaced several times a day |
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| Standard driveway and entrance into a Balinese house |
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| Ornate entry |
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| Fierce entry protector |
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| Drying the harvested rice for consumption |
By the 3rd day, we were ready for a "real" activity, and committed to scheduling something.
What did we final work ourselves up to committing to? A couples massage.
Please don't hate us.
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| View from our couples massage |
Restaurant MUST-TRY: Warung Tresna
I cannot find any reference to it online other than
THIS PIN on Google Maps
(Warning- They speak almost NO english, just a lot of pointing and smiling). It is amazing!
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| Warung Tresna; Mystery mix on banana leaf. It was delicious! |
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| Local tamarind soda is popular here, they reuse/repurpose Heineken bottles. |
