Summer break is finally here! And so is my summer holiday! This time, we ventured to Bali, Indonesia. Well, it would be my second trip to Bali but for YJ it’s his virgin trip there. So the plan was to explore North Bali and Kuta (Popular spot for tourists) over a span of 5 days(:
Day 1 : LOVINA BEACH
We landed in Bali at about 12pm and we decided to call a cab at the airport to well, save airport transfer fares so we reached our resort (The Hamsa Resort) at 3pm. The resort was not easily accessible because it’s ON TOP OF A HILL. No wonder they have to drive manual cars. The route up was packed with steep bends on the roads but hey, the resort offered a magnificent view overlooking Lovina Beach. The staff in the resort was super friendly and the owner(Stefan) was THE BEST HOST EVER. The resort rooms were in the form of individual huts and the furniture was mostly made of Balinese wood offering a cosy refuge for us. Next, we checked out the sunset at Lovina Beach and made our bookings for the dolphin tour the next morning (MUST DO in Lovina). The beach wasn’t all that amazing but the best was yet to come(:
Day 2: DOLPHIN TOUR & SEKUMPUL WATERFALLS
At 5am in the morning, we drove down the hill and waited for the dolphin tour to commence. Dolphin tour costs about SGD $10 Per Pax btw (It’s a steal I know). The tour guide offered us some Balinese coffee and soon we were good to go! As we boarded the kickass boat(open-concept), our journey to the dolphins begun! P.s We had the whole boat to ourselves!(Max capacity is about 4 pax per boat). After cruising for about 30mins to an hour, we awaited for the dolphins to appear and then….it did. There were SO many dolphins and they were EVERYWHERE! We got to “swim along” with the dolphins in our boat and we had an absolutely great time that morning. The captain commented that we were very lucky that day because sometimes not many dolphins would be sighted during these trips. We finally ended the dolphin tour at about 9am and retreated back to our resort to take a rest.
Initially, the plan was to ride scooters to check out the renowned waterfalls in North Bali but well…some technical error occurred and we requested for a driver to Sekumpul waterfalls instead. Stefan (the owner) told us that Sekumpul Waterfalls is the best waterfall in Lovina and we absolutely had to visit it…well it has SEVEN waterfalls in one location. SO we thought…why not. After about an hour ride to the area, we had to hike our way into the woods to reach the waterfall. Being a YOLO master like myself, we decided not to get a tour guide and instead, find our own way to the waterfalls…I mean what’s the worst that can go wrong right. We paid about SGD $1.50 per pax as an entrance fee for the waterfalls and we started the HIKE. Stairs, Stairs, everywhere. The way down was alright but the way back…I think I lost my life HAHA. We hiked to the waterfalls and apparently we had to cross over some major currents to approach the waterfall so we did. The rocks were slippery and mossy so it was a pretty treacherous route to take and inevitably (without a guide) we suffered some minor injuries. But hey no pain, no gain yo! When we finally reached our destination, it was INSANE.
There was 4 waterfalls in the first area. The mist was everywhere and the rapids from the waterfall were so so so strong! Oh yeah did I mention how YJ bags submerged in water TWICE and our phones and DSLR was in it. Yea, he did. Since Samsung phones were known to be waterproof, we used my phone to take pictures instead (Rmb to bring waterproof bags and mobile phone cases!!!). There were small rock everywhere and well, still gonna do a jump shot anyway…cause #shrimpojumpshots. Ouch. We checked another two waterfall just on the other side and finally made our way back. Drenched, we climbed the endless flight of stairs back up to normal ground and strolled back to the shop where our driver was awaiting us.
En route the way back, we tried their local cuisine and well, I loved it. Ikan Bakar, grilled fish was pretty tasty maybe because we were famished from the draining hike to the waterfalls. We enjoyed our lunch with a pleasant seaview by the restaurant and finally it was time to go home.
Sekumpul Waterfall Difficulty Level: 2.5/5 (without guide) MAYBE 2/5 (with guide)
Day 3: R&R
Day 3 was mostly R&R and it passed by pretty quickly well because we had to wake up at 1 am to get ready for Mt Batur hike. We grabbed lunch at Lovina and walked MILES back to our resort located ON A HILL. We saw yards of padi fields and cattles along the way before finally CRAWLING our way up the hill. The HILL was so steep and long…we died along the way…well at least I did. When we finally returned back to our hotel, we decided to finally make good use of the infinity pool and had a swim afterwards. We slept early as we had to wake up at 1am for the driver to send us to Mt Batur (2 hours drive from Lovina).
Day 4: Mt BATUR + Sky Garden
Upon reaching Mt Batur at about 3am, we hike our way to the top and it took about 1.5 hr ish because we reached the peak at 430am?!?! the sunrise is at 630am btw so we were pretty early. There were many other tourists on the Mt Batur hike too and they were all from different countries…and some of them seemed to be Singaporeans too. Oh yeah… it was freezing at the peak and we ordered 2 hot chocolate drinks from the makeshift store which turns out to tastes erm like milk tea but who’s complaining…as long as it keep you warm right? Sadly when the clock struck 630am, the clouds were still not dispersing and we didn’t get to catch any sunrise that day): But our guide consoled us and brought us around to see the volcanic crater on Mt Batur. Now, the return. Well, it was much easier than I thought, mostly sandy grounds so it was all cool. Oh did I mention I fell down on our way back…yeap I did. My sweatpants had a HOLE from falling/sliding down the rough patches of pebbles…AMAZING. But our tour guide was really nice, he immediately took out his first aid kit and applied antiseptic on my wound. Service:Excellent. Soon, we found our driver at the bottom of the volcano and we transferred to our next hotel at Kuta smoothly.
After checking into Grand Hardys Hotel & Spa at Kuta, we took a 3 hours nap (ok I slept more)before going out to explore the streets. So we grabbed dinner and went to check out Sky Garden. Sky Garden is known to be the most established club in Kuta I guess because I went there the last time with my girls when I came to Bali. The entrance fee for Sky Garden is about about SGD$15 per pax! Well…it was pretty crazy there were about 4-6 clubs in one location (3 storeys) and the entrance fee entitles entry to all of them and a free drink(: It was a pretty good club experience for me cause no one is pushing you around and there was plenty of space to dance (not that I’m a good dancer but YOLO), the music is AWESOME and the guys are HAWT(:. Made some friends from other countries on the dance floor and well…it was AWESOME. I mean nobody notices the awkward dancing asian potato on the dancefloor right? Then we had to leave at 1am because someone is a burden but oh wells it was good enough.
Day 5: Waterbom Bali + Kuta Beach
We slept in a little on our last day and woke up about 9am for our breakfast at the hotel. After chilling by the beach, we decide to use what’s left of our money go to WATERBOM BALI! Waterbom Bali is a water theme park that is No.1 in Asia so LET’S GO! Btw the entrance fee for Waterbom is a little pricey at SGD $52 per pax so take note! Well, I wanted to try their crazy insane water slides that drops you down from a capsule from a height of 7 storeys? Initially, YJ was jittery but after a couple of tries on the water slides, he was cool.WAHAHA. I realized the SCARIER the ride, THERE’S NO QUEUE. Hallalujah! SO we took the Climax and I went first HAHA. Well, the experience was INSANE, side note when you slide down, inside the tube, it’s like a sauna. OMG. My face was on fire. But it was pretty fun(; There are about 20 water slides (with floats and w/o) and we tried all of them 😀 I think my favourite would be the Boomerang where you have a 90 degree drop (on a float) and slides up a wall before swooshing into the pool!:D Yj’s favorite would be the Constrictor where there is endless loops and you get to chill on the float while you’re at it(:
As the day comes to an end, we went to finally check out Kuta Beach officially and well it was magnificent AS USUAL:D The waves, the sunset, the sand, everything was beautiful (as YJ puts it). Saw a couple taking wedding photos on the beach IN HER GOWN. OMG POOR GOWN. But well the backdrop of the picturesque sky justifies it I guess. That was out last night and Bali and YJ insist that the next time we go back, he gonna: 1) get a motorbike license and 2) surfing license HAHA. Well, me? I just remember to USE my waterproof bags when I attempt to venture into waterfalls 😀
Our flight home was scheduled at 630am so we managed to catch the sunrise on our plane and that wraps up our trip to Bali. Well, until next time(:
theniecextn. 
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