Hello everyone!

First of all, I want to thank you for continuously supporting and reading my blog! Today’s post is going to be about my trip to Bali, Indonesia. It is my forty-second country that I visited.

Our last day in Penang, Malaysia wasn’t very well spent. I was not feeling one hundred percent okay, and neither was my dad so we both stayed at the hotel for the most part. I had a big thing of lemon tea right before bed, and I think the concentrated lemon didn’t agree with me once I drank it really fast and then went straight to sleep. My dad wasn’t feeling well either after eating a burger from McDonalds. It says, it’s Australian beef, but my dad said it tasted weird. That could also have been from the taste of the Australian beef though, because it does taste different from American beef. Thankfully, the sickness went away after a day or so, and we took Ducorol and we got Hepa A&B shots before we started our travel in November 2022. We felt okay to take the flight from Penang to Kuala Lumpur then to Bali. My dad always booked the car service offered by the hotel to pick us up at the airport. It is safer that way so we can avoid the taxi scams.

In Bali, the hotel we stayed at is Villa Lumbung. It’s a simple resort with a nice pool for sunbathing and breakfast included with your stay. We were well feed every morning. There’s even a little library where you can take a book while you sunbathe at the pool. Which is exactly what I did. There’s a lot of accommodations to choose from in Bali. It’s really up to you what’s your vibe and how much money you want to spend. You can even stay on the tree house in the middle of the jungle. Just be careful of the mosquitoes so you don’t catch dengue.

We didn’t plan to do much in Bali, just kind of chill and swim. I would stay in the room and do some school, and my dad would go swim and I would join him after school. Then we would take a taxi and go to a market or shops, and get dinner at the closest mall. Speaking of malls there aren’t many malls. There’s local markets. We stayed in the Seminyak area, and maybe we weren’t in the best place for malls.

Travel Tip: There’s a lot of taxi scam in Bali. The only taxi company that you can trust is Blue Bird Taxi. You’ll find a lot of other people who’s been to Bali saying the same thing. Make sure you have the Bluebird App downloaded on your phone because that way you can call a taxi to come pick you up. Many tourists rent motorbikes, but they get into accidents and there’s a motorbike scam going on so be careful.

We decided to visit Seminyak Beach because it’s one of the popular beach in Bali. We ate dinner at the beach, and Seminyak is a popular spot for watching the sunset. One restaurant have colorful beanbags to sit on. My dad had a nice stick of grilled corn by the beach, and it looked really yummy, I would’ve had one but I was full. Now, let me tell you about how disgusting this beach is. You walk up the steps and you see the water from afar, and it looks nice so you walk over. But then you see all the garbage littering the sands where the waves end. It’s great, because oh, I JUST LOVE seeing used *cough* *cough* prophylactics *cough* on the beach along with various other pieces of trash. (please read the sarcasm in that, I don’t actually like seeing it) I’m not saying a few pieces, I’m talking about a beach that might as well double as a garbage dump. We were really disappointed because Bali is supposed to be super famous for its beaches, and this is one of their beaches? It’s not like this is a forgotten-about beach, like no, this is the “THE” place to be. When people talk about Bali, they tell you how nice the beaches are. When I think about beaches, I think about swimming, but no one is swimming because the water is so polluted.

Seminyak Beach. It’s sad to see the garbage.

March is my dad’s birthday month so for his birthday we decided to do something adventurous. He wanted to go off-roading through the rice fields and then the waterfalls. The tour company took us to Ubud. About an hour drive from our hotel. The ATVs were definitely an experience. 😵‍💫. In Bali, the trails we went on were super steep. My dad says that our breaks were only as good as the person behind us. It didn’t really help that the ATVs were not in the *best* condition, or that certain parts of the trails were quite nearly vertical. It was tons of fun though, if you’re riding on the back like what I did, you need to have upper body strength and core strength to stay sitting upright. Also lots of mud, so I would advise bringing an extra pair of clothes and a plastic bag to put the dirty ones.

The tour was through the jungles and the rice fields, and tunnels carved out under the waterfalls. You can hear the water rushing overhead as you drive under. It’s so soothing to hear the rushing water above you.

Then, we went river rafting. It was both included in the tour, and we really loved it. We went through the jungle and it was very peaceful. I thought it was going to be a wild ride through the rapids of Bali, but it was actually really tame. In the Ottawa River in Canada we have levels that vary from 3-5 out of 5 levels, with 5 being the highest. In Bali, the river was a level 1, barely making to level two. This is why it’s called “river rafting” not “white water rafting”, which wasn’t too clear when we booked the tour. Regardless, we still had a fun time, I got a nice upper body workout, and a peaceful ride down the rivers of Bali and a tour of the jungle. It was really cool, and I have lots of footage from both experiences that I can’t wait to show you on my YouTube channel. 😀

Also, here’s a bit of a warning for you if you want to go river rafting. You’re probably going to have to climb down a mountain. It’s not that bad, at least for me and my 14 year old self. My dad (who’s a little bit older than 14) had more of a hard time climbing down than I did. Let me paint a picture for you: a steep downhill climb through the jungle, holding your canoe paddle and wearing a helmet and life jacket as you climb down. And, if you just came from the ATV ride without a pair of flip flops or water shoes to change into (like me) you get to make the hike barefoot. The steps that have been placed down the mountainside to make it easier for you to go down aren’t exactly smooth, they’re pretty prickly, like walking on gravel barefoot. Because that’s essentially what we were doing. So yeah, steep climb, both a workout for your upper body and your lower body in both trips. I had so much fun. (not sarcasm)

I was not ready for this photo to be taken. Clearly.

We had an awesome time, and we still have time to explore so our driver took us to a coffee and tea tasting where we learned about different coffee grown in Indonesia. After we got all dried off, (but still slightly muddy) our driver took us to a coffee plantation where you could taste test all kinds of different coffees and teas for free. Having a nice warm drink after a swim was actually really nice despite the hot weather. And that’s coming from someone who exclusively drinks cold drinks. I tried rice tea, their own hot chocolate, coconut coffee, ginseng tea, rose tea, and many more! We got a tour of the plantation and it’s also where they make civet cat coffee. This coffee is some of the most expensive coffee in the world, and what happens is the civet cat eats the coffee beans, and then the locals collect the poop and take out the beans from the poop of the civet cats. Interesting right? My dad affirms that it is one of the best coffee he ever tasted. He bought some coffee to take home with him. He is a coffee connoisseur!

Lastly, we went to jewelry store where they specialized in making silver jewelry. It’s very pretty to look at their designs, and they will even take you on a tour of the workshop! Since it was my dad’s birthday, he got a nice compass necklace, with black onyx stones on the four points, and a map of the world on the back. It’s really neat. I was so exhausted at the end of the day.

We actually went to Bali twice on this trip, with a gap in between from the time that we spent in Australia, but that’s a story for another time. 😉 Pictured below is the resort that we stayed at in Bali the second time. It is located in Kuta, and most of the five-star resorts are located here. Kuta is in the southern part of the island. The beaches are better on this side of the island too. Notice how I didn’t say that this beach was dirty and filled with garbage? Because it’s not. The water is surprisingly clearer than I expected it would be. It beats Seminyak by a landslide.

It’s called the Hilton Conrad, and there are many pools to swim in, as well as beach access. But again, Bali’s beaches are *not* all that great, the one that we had access at the Conrad had tiny little rocks instead of sand, no waves, and lots of seaweed. There were a lot of vendors stationed at the beach (not hired by Conrad) advertising the watersports, like paragliding while being towed by a boat, flyboarding and waterskiiing.

Service at the Conrad was truly *top tier*. When you go to the pool, the staff will unravel your pool towel for you to lie down on the cot, then they will serve you a tray with water, the menu for the poolside bar, cold towels, and a refreshing spray. We ordered French fries and they were really crispy just like French fries should be. They also have good room service, with cleaners coming twice a day to replace used towels, make beds, and tidy up. Once in the morning and once in the evening. The buffet breakfast was also so, so good. It has western and local Indonesian cuisine.

One day we had afternoon tea with iced lemon tea (this one didn’t make me sick, thankfully) and a beautiful view. It was too hot in Bali that’s why we had an iced tea instead to hot tea. The treats were delicious!

Later that night, there was a cultural dance performance and dinner. Kecac Dance is also known as the Ramaya monkey chant. It is a form of Balinese Hindu dance. The dance is based on the story of the Ramayana.

And that is all from our trip to Bali, Indonesia! Overall, we liked Bali, but honestly? The real reason we liked Bali was because of our stay at Conrad Hotel. The service was amazing and the place is like a paradise where you can relax. There are always different ways to experience Bali. You can either stay at a nice beachside resort or you stay closer to the partying wild side. What’s your pick?

Stay tuned for my next adventures in Australia <3