A Bali Birthday

A few weeks after Matt was laid off at work, and a few weeks before his parents came to visit, I was feeling very, very trapped in the house. We both were, really. Living in one another’s pockets everyday, as Matt puts it, has proved to be frustrating at times, especially with another person in the house. Basically, Matt and I spend 80% of our time at the house together in our bedroom since other parts of the house are “occupied” or not well suited to relaxing (such as the laundry room). We agreed that we needed to get away, especially on my birthday. I didn’t want to spend it there. We considered overnight trips to places nearby, bus trips around WA since we would be without a car, and longer trips to other parts of Australia. In the end we chose to go to Bali because with flights and accommodation it was still much cheaper than a trip of similar time in Australia and I had never been before. Also, the flight is only three and a half hours…the same as Darwin, the closest city to Perth.

So we booked discount flights on Air Asia, booked a hotel for the first seven nights and then a different one near the airport for the last night, and we were set. We took off from Perth on September 3^rd at 10 AM and were through Denpasar Airport just after 2 PM. There isn’t even a time difference between Bali and Perth!

We sorted out a taxi to our hotel and roasted the whole way there in the backseat without air conditioning. Welcome to the tropics! Our hotel, Favehotel in Seminyak, was ok. The staff was friendly, there was free wifi in our room, and our booking included a buffet breakfast everyday, with cold and hot Western and Indonesian food. There was a small pool and restaurant and all of the common areas and our room were clean. The room itself was pretty small and basic, but the bed was comfortable and the AC worked. We were happy enough. After unpacking a bit and freshening up, we ate at a restaurant down the street from the hotel. Crossing the street proved exciting as the traffic there reminds me of Mexico City: vaguely organized chaos. Matt started across the street while I wasn’t looking and then I was stuck trying to figure out how to cross with hundreds of motorbikes zooming at me. It was made more confusing by a man with long hair and no shirt on a motorbike pulling up in front of me and trying to engage me in conversation in Balinese. I was less than polite in return. From across the street, Matt thought I hit the man but I was just gesturing to him to get out of the way. Once across the street and seated in the restaurant, I had noodles with vegetables and an egg, spring rolls and a Bintang, the national beer. 

Matt had a combination plate and a Bintang. After eating, we walked past our hotel and to the beach before heading back for showers and an early bedtime.

The next day we breakfasted at the hotel, only disappointment was that there was no milk for coffee. I was ok drinking it black, but Matt found it took some adjusting. After breakfast we walked down Jalan Legian, the main street at the end of the road our hotel was on. It is full of nice shops, cafes, restaurants, a grocery store, etc. We turned on Jalan Padma, stopped at a café for iced coffees (I was not yet used to the heat and wore out very quickly the first few days), before walking to the beach and continuing down the beach to Kuta. 

Kuta is where Matt stayed when he went to Bali last year with our friends Ethan and Louise. It is completely touristy and pretty loud and crazy. I was glad we were staying in calmer, more boutique-y Seminyak. We walked around the shopping area, stopping for drinks to cool down in the midday heat. We walked back up Jalan Legian and stopped for lunch in a random restaurant before returning to our hotel and spending a couple of hours by the pool. We had walked about 8 kilometers in hot, humid weather, which made relaxing in the pool very nice! We showered and had dinner at a restaurant owned by Australians down the street from our hotel called Lucky Day.

On September 5^th, we had breakfast at the hotel, requested a room change since we were right by the elevators and spent all night listening to housekeeping carts going in and out, and took a taxi to Mozaic Beach Club in the northern part of Seminyak. We booked our hotel based on the location and price. Based on those factors, it was great. The pool, while clean and refreshing, lacked in size and atmosphere. We had done a bit of research and found a beach club with no minimum spend or entry fee in order to use the pool and lounge chairs. Mozaic was a bit pricey for Bali, but we arrived at noon and stayed until after sunset, relaxing on lounge chairs, taking dips in the pool, ordering drinks and food, and enjoying the beautiful view of the ocean. 

After a couple of hours there, it was impossible to feel anything but relaxed, which was what we were after. It was a beautiful day. 

We returned to the hotel to shower and then had dinner at Warung Mimpi down the street, a small, inexpensive restaurant with Indonesian food.

On the sixth we had breakfast at the hotel and then prepared for another day of beautiful weather. We walked down to Seminyak Beach, haggled until we made a deal to rent two beach lounges with an umbrella and table for the afternoon for $8. 

The man who rented us the lounges also had a cooler with drinks for us to buy and kept an eye on our belongings while we were in the sea together. This is key as everywhere in Bali is a store and people are constantly trying to sell you things. I don't think the sales people would steal, but because of all the foot traffic, it is hard to watch your things from in the water. We were offered sarongs, watches, jewelry, pirate ship kites, sunglasses, massages, pineapples, hats, and on and on. Over and over. Saying no and continuing to focus on your book is pretty effective in getting most of the sales people to continue on their way down the beach. They go after the Australians like crazy. In fact, upon asking where we were from and hearing England and America, a lot of them just smiled and left. If we had been in a different situation, i.e., employed, we probably would have been happy to buy a few things. It felt ridiculous to explain that Matt had lost his job and we were on vacation anyway, even if we did desperately need to be away from our housemate! So we just got really good at saying no and sticking to our spending limits. 

I still really enjoyed spending the day on the beach and sunset was lovely. A restaurant near where we were sitting for the day, La Plancha, sets out beanbags and has a DJ every night for sunset, so we got to enjoy that atmosphere. 

We had a basic dinner at Café Seminyak on Jalan Legian and some frozen yogurt on the way back to the hotel. In case you are ever in Bali, skip the froyo. It was very strange.

September 7^th I woke up a year older and not much wiser but ready for another good day in Bali! After breakfast we took a stroll around Seminyak, stopping for coffee and to check out Bali Deli, which sold all sorts of Spam among other things. 

A cold I had felt coming on since arriving in Bali really took hold, in time for my birthday of course. We returned to the hotel and kept things low key, sitting by the pool and sipping on a coconut. 

We took a taxi to Métis restaurant in northern Seminyak and arrived the suggested hour before our reservation. We were the only people at the very popular restaurant at 5:30 PM, which allowed us to check the place out and enjoy pre-dinner drinks in relative privacy. Matt was fascinated by the men drilling in a rice paddy as part of the restaurant's renovations. 

The food was divine, really lovely French cuisine and much cheaper than the same quality would be in Perth, so we let ourselves indulge. By the time we ordered a dessert to share, I was already more than satisfied with my birthday meal and pleased with our quiet celebration. As we were waiting for our chocolate pistachio soufflé, I heard singing behind me and said to Matt, “oh, I guess it is someone else’s birthday today as well,” completely ignorant to the fact the serving staff were walking to our table with a chocolate cake and ice cream for me, with a candle and “Happy Birthday Jane” written in chocolate on the plate. 

I was truly surprised and pleased as they finished singing Happy Birthday in Balinese, which isn’t always the case when I am surprised. Matt really managed a memorable birthday surprise without overwhelming me! He enjoyed the soufflé we had ordered, and I devoured the chocolate lava cake. It was a gorgeous, delicious evening. A wonderful way to ring in 29!

On September 8^th  - Happy Birthday to my brother Kenny! – we had an early breakfast and met our driver/tour guide Agung at the hotel tour desk. We wanted to see the active volcano, Mt Batur, in the north of Bali, and to stop in the town of Ubud. As appears to be Balinese tour guide protocol, Agung first took us to a traditional Barong Dance presentation, which we had to pay ten dollars each to see. It happened so quickly, and right at the beginning of the day, that Matt and I didn’t really realize what Agung meant when he asked if we had seen it or knew what it was. I said I had seen it mentioned in a brochure, and next thing we were on our way there. We took a lot of photos to try and get our moneys worth out of the performance. 

After getting back in Agung’s car, we made it clearer that we were really only interested in Ubud and Mt Batur. I looked at the reading materials in the back seat and asked if we could stop at Elephant Cave, a 9^th century Hindu temple near Ubud as it looked interesting and cheap. Agung agreed and we began the 2.5-hour drive to Mt Batur. The actual distance isn’t so far, but traffic and construction, including a sand truck repeatedly reversing and dumping along the 1.5 lane road slowed things down a bit. 

Eventually we made it, and Agung drove us past all of the sales people (more sarongs, bracelets, etc – including wooden Harley Davidson models) to a restaurant with a view of the volcano. It was a flat price buffet restaurant, which for me always seems to end with whoever is paying (usually my dad) saying they will never go to a buffet with me again. I just don’t eat enough unless it is a vegetarian buffet. While this buffet was nice and had vegetarian options and I was very full at the end, Matt still didn’t think I ate enough for what we were paying. Some things never change, even in the shadow of an active volcano in Bali. After lunch we took photos of the volcano, which last erupted substantially in 1968, and the caldera lake below. 

We drove back toward Ubud, looking at rice paddies and traditional Balinese houses and Kintamani dogs as we went.

Soon we arrived at Goa Gajah, or Elephant Cave. We left Agung in the parking lot and after paying the admission price of $1.00 each; we were given sarongs to wear over our shorts and began our tour of the temple cave and the surrounding area. The carvings at the entrance of the cave date to the ninth century and feature several different animals. At one time it was believed that it was an elephant, hence the name Elephant Cave. 

Inside the cave was used as a sanctuary. We also saw the bathing temples built to ward off evil spirits and now home to fish. 

We climbed and trekked to a jungle temple and then made an offering so we could continue and check out a waterfall in the jungle near the cave. 

About an hour later, we returned to Agung, hot, sweaty and ready to hit Ubud, the cultural center of Bali and arts and crafts hub. 

We wandered the cobblestone streets, checked out the markets and the palace, before reuniting with Agung to return to Seminyak, we arrived around 6:30. We tipped Agung well since he was a good driver, and patient with us even after we made it clear we weren’t up for visiting all of the tourist traps that give him a kick back. After our expensive buffet lunch, we grabbed some snacks at the convenience store and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

The next day after breakfast we walked 4 kilometers (in the heat) to a Havianas flip-flop outlet store, with a stop at Starbucks along the way. Matt got some new flip-flops, and we took a cab to Jalan Raya Basangaska to look at some shops. Matt and I managed to lose each other, which was a bit scary for both of us since I had no money, phone, or hotel key. Once we found each other again, we calmed down over lunch at Taco Beach, a restaurant on Jalan Kunti owned by an American guy. It was good Mexican! And so close to Australia! 

On the way back to the hotel Matt haggled for some cheap Bintang tank tops. We spent a while by the pool and ended up having pizza from down the road and Bintangs in the hotel room for dinner. Oh, by the way, our second room at Favehotel was quieter. We didn’t hear housekeeping at all. We did however, from 6:30 AM one morning, hear voices talking very loudly in an Asian language. Matt had earplugs in but it woke me up and kept me up for a while. I thought it was housekeeping, but as they didn’t stop in over half an hour, I woke Matt up. (I’m not great at dealing with things in the early morning). He charged out into the hallway to find five or six men crouched down chatting in the hallway. When he asked them to quiet down they apologized immediately and disappeared into a room. Why they weren’t chatting in there to begin with, I don’t know. Maybe they thought everyone wanted to hear, but not understand, their conversation. Another night at 5 AM, I woke to hear peals of laughter and talking coming from the hallway. I was about to wake Matt up again when the girl in the room next to us went into the hallway and just shouted “SHUT UP” until the loud people left. In Matt’s Tripadvisor review of the hotel, he mentioned these issues and apparently the hotel is working to soundproof the guest rooms. About time, I would say. Except for the noise issues, we were pleased with the hotel, especially at the budget price they charge. And we were only mildly weirded out by the window into the bathroom, after we realized there was a curtain to pull down.

On September 10^th we hit the hotel pool right after breakfast, then went to Taco Beach for lunch again, and got to watch the Chargers v Texans game. What a place! We spent the afternoon walking on the beach and enjoyed another lovely sunset before dinner at Wacko Burger, which served tasty burgers and veggie burgers alongside surprisingly nice milkshakes and iced tea.

September 11^th was our last full day in Bali. We had coffee and ran some errands before checking out of Favehotel and taking a taxi to Ibis Styles hotel. We had sushi for lunch at the shopping mall next door while we waited to check into our room. We then had to wait a couple more hours to use the pool as it was being re-tiled. This was the whole reason we booked this hotel – it was close to the airport, cheap, and had a nice pool. There was nothing to do nearby, except go to the mall, which we had done, so I organized our suitcases and got everything ready for our 6:30 AM flight back to Perth while Matt arranged our taxi and breakfast boxes for 4:30 AM. Finally, the pool tilers were done, so we went and had a nice swim before showering and having dinner at a warung in the mall. We both took some melatonin and went to bed early, ready to get up at 4 AM. Our taxi was early the next morning, our breakfast boxes never arrived, and there was no one at the front desk to leave the key with or ask about our breakfast boxes. It was an inauspicious start to the trip home, but the rest of the morning went without incident, including immigration! It wasn’t until we arrived at the house to find out the letting agency was holding a home open there that afternoon and we wouldn’t be able to crash into bed as planned that we became cranky. To make matters worse, no one showed for the home open, so it was a complete waste anyway.

In the weeks since, Matt and I have felt very glad we had that relaxing, low stress getaway. While I caught a cold, and then gave it to Matt, neither of us suffered “Bali Belly” or anything like that. The rainy weather in Perth and not having a car limits the amount of cheap and free activities available to distract us from worrying about selling our belongings, finding jobs, doing the long distance thing again, etc. Bali was a wonderful reprieve from that.

To see all of the photos from our trip, click here. 

We are doing our best not to get on each other’s nerves and really enjoy the last week that we have before we head to our separate homelands. We’ve had nice times with several of Matt’s former coworkers and friends, and it looks to be nice out this weekend, so we can take advantage of that. While we don’t want to leave each other, we are more than ready to leave this living situation and get on to moving forward with our relationship, careers, and life, wherever it leads!