Bali – Day 1 (12 November 2013)

The Plane Ticket

So I dilly-dallied before I bought my ticket, I only bought it like 2 or 3 weeks before I left. The idea of Bali actually just came up, I was set on going to Siargao because I haven’t gone to Mindanao just yet. I wanted to see the island famous for surfing, do a side trip to the island province of Dumagat Island then make my way back to Manila via Surigao. Going to Bali proved to be the better decision as Visayas including Northern Mindanao got pummelled by super storm Yolanda (aka Haiyan). The first time I checked Cebu Pacific’s site, the tickets were listed to be at Php 999, which came up to about Php 7,000 both ways after all the other charges but I didn’t buy the tickets just yet, I wanted to secure a hotel and a tour guide first. So I got busy at work and forgot all about my vacation, the next time I checked the ticket prices were blown up to Php 1,999 which totalled to Php 9,000 both ways after taxes and other charges, I bought it right then and there whipped out my card and entered my details. Ticket done!

The plane actually left on time! Cebu Pacific has been getting good at keeping their promises, we were supposed to fly for a little less than 4 hours but got there earlier, I think the airlines are padding the actual flight time so as to have a buffer and keep their performance indicators in check.

Changing Money at the Airport/The Taxi Ride from the Ngurah Rai Internation Airport

The main airport in the island of Bali is located in Denpasar, it’s one of the cities of the island. The airport is actually named Ngurah Rai International airport. FYI there’s no time difference between Manila and Denpasar. The airport is nice, it’s so much better than NAIA. Immediately you’ll get a preview of the architecture you’ll see on the whole island. The airport is new and well maintained. Process of getting out is a breeze, it’s not one of those airports that you’ll have to tail fellow passengers to find your way out. I immediately see a lot of tourists, most of the other airlines parked in the airport were Air Asia, mostly from Australia, there was one airline that I was not familiar with NordAir I think it came from Europe.

After the exit doors are 2 banks that changed money, one to the left and one to the right, I decided to go with the one on the right. My research told me to hold off changing all my money until I find a suitable money changing service i.e. not at the airport. Airport money changing service were supposedly known for having low exchange rates, so I changed USD 100 of the USD 400 I brought with me, I needed just enough to pay the taxi to the hotel. My USD 100 got me IDR 1,100,000 , yep I was an instant millionaire in the island! I’ve never held so much monetary value in my hands before. I found out later that this exchange rate was competitive at best with the other money changing services in the island.

So off I went to the taxi bay, first thing I noted were the color of the taxis, they were all blue. This didn’t come as a surprise since I did my sleuthing prior to the trip but I still got a kick out of actually seeing them. Next thing I noted were the taxi drivers knew simple Japanese phrases, apparently a lot of Japanese tourists come to the island, one driver even greeted me in Japanese which was weird because I was mistaken to be a local the whole time I was there. Taxi rates were fixed, you’d see a board where they publish just how much they charge per locality. I think I got charged IDR 150,000 to the hotel, which was along Jalan Abimanyu. The taxi ride just took about 30 minutes.

The Hotel

The hotel I chose was the Fave Hotel – Seminyak (pronounce Fa-pei), I chose the Seminyak regency specifically because I wanted to be near the Yoga place where I’ll be attending classes. They said Kuta is a party place where the beach was hawked with sellers and Seminyak is the younger more hipster cousin, haha you got me at hipster! I booked my room directly through the hotel’s website; I found it cheaper than booking via booking.com or agoda. They do not actually charge you the whole amount upon booking (or was it just a reservation?) although you’ll need to enter your card details including card expiry and CVC. They need this to check whether your card is really a valid one, you’ll get charged once you check in or once you check out, I swiped my card upon check in I just thought it was much less hassle that way.

Fave Hotel Seminyak

For a total of 5 days I paid for about IDR 1,500,000~ which was approximately about USD 150, it’s honestly a steal because it also included free buffet breakfast. Before I left Manila I asked the hotel if it would be possible to check in earlier because the flight got to Bali at 8 AM, or if not possible if I can leave my bag with them and explore the island in the meantime. They said it was possible and if they had a room available they’ll let me check in early. A lot of tourists apparently leave their stuff with the concierge upon getting to Bali, I saw a room specifically for this purpose so you don’t have to worry about your bag getting lost. They had a room ready for me so I was able to check in early which was good because I had a headache then, check in process was a breeze, the staff were really nice and friendly (something that I observed the whole time I was there).

The room was not big, also not small sapat lang. The room was clean and did not have funky odors, although the comforter had some stains. The room came complete with a programmable safe where you can stow your valuables. The whole toilet area was clean except for the shower stall which showed some stains in between the tiling, in short medyo luma na you can also see it in the shower head. The only thing I would ask is for a fridge in the room.

My room was near a water dispenser which was heaven sent because I saved a lot of money by not buying bottled water in the island!

Check the hotel's website here.

Check the hotel's reviews on tripadvisor .

Exploring Seminyak

After I got settled in, changed clothes, unpacked and rested for a bit I went out because the sun was out and I was fearing rain because the weather forecasts told me of cloudy to rainy days so kailangan samantalahin ang araw.

Seminyak is a shopper’s paradise, the whole stretch of Jalan Seminyak is lined up with shops. Clothes, clothes and more clothes, a smattering of art galleries and more restaurants. The streets are also filled with small Hindu temples and little offerings to the Hindu gods, the whole island smelled of incense! You couldn’t go 10 steps without passing by a Hindu temple.

I was hungry and planned on going to Made’s Warung which was one of the most recommended restaurants in the area according to my research. The restaurant is easy to find, it’s right along the major Seminyak road. Turns out the whole place is not just a restaurant but it also had shops (even a bookstore!)  and a stage for traditional Balinese performances. I only had one thing in mind to eat, Nasi Goreng, I also bought bottled water which I refilled at the hotel the whole time I was there until the airport people asked me to throw it out at inspection upon my departure. Service was fast, and the servers all speak English.

Nasi Goreng (Nasi = Rice, Goreng = Fried)

After having lunch I went to see the Bintang Supermarket, it’s a grocery store where all, expats and locals alike converge to buy supplies. Renting villas apparently was all the rage in the island so the expats had a lot of grocery shopping to do. I also went there to change money because one of the more trusted money changers was just outside Bintang. I changed USD 200 more to last me through the next days. The lady manning the counter was very friendly and told me of the modus of the other money changers that promised higher exchange rates. Do your research before going to Bali, some of these dodgy places promise higher returns, make you count the money and ask it back for them to recount it, when they return you the stash it’s already less than what you counted it to be.

Next I did was try to find Olop Arpipi’s yoga studio, he’s an Iyengar teacher who’s quite famous in the island. His studio was supposed to be along Jl Drupardi, which was a side street and lead to residential areas. It was hard to find the studio, all I knew was it was #7 Jl Drupardi, I saw a steel gate with number 7’s written all over it but it was closed so I didn’t have anyone to ask if it was the place. It was near an elementary school and a football field, I went in and saw kids playing haha.

It was time to check out the beach which turned out to be a disappointment. First off, the hotel was quite far from the beach, google maps told me it was just a 10 minute walk from my hotel to the beach but it was not! The sand was quite dark, pasensya na I got spoiled with white beaches dito sa Pinas. The waves were strong so a lot of surfers were surfing and also a lot of students trying to learn. One thing though, the beach stretched as far as my eye could see, ang haba nya promise. I tried walking the whole stretch but I gave up. I think Seminyak shares the same stretch with Kuta and Legian.

I had dinner at the hotel because I was just tired and didn’t want to think of anywhere to eat pa. I think the hotel has Pinoy chefs because for one, the menu had Adobo in it, second I tried their seafood pasta which was tomato based – Pinoy style yung sauce haha matamis kind of like what you’ll have at a kid’s birthday party. Third reason, they were playing acoustic songs by Princess haha pinoy na pinoy!