Trip to Bali-Indonesia

 Traveling to India during summer holidays is our annual tradition. This year we wanted to do a vacation within a vacation juz to take our parents out on a nice trip, so they get a break from their usual rut. When I started exploring vaca locations closer to India- Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia were the initial options in the shuffle, I dropped the pin on Indonesia looking at the stunning beach pictures online.😊 And trust me, the pictures online don't do justice to the astonishing view you experience in person.

Vacation planning is my forte and that is something I thoroughly enjoy doing, however this time I wanted to outsource this task, so we went to Great Argus Boutique Travels and they did an amazing job planning and booking this entire trip for us. The best part is we will have a travel guide and car with driver accompanying us for the entire duration of our trip. So it’s hassle-free and the most relaxing trip, we just got to get ready and hop in the car and enjoy visiting all these touristy places, they take care of logistics completely for us. Below is their Instagram page for reference.

https://www.instagram.com/greatargus?igsh=MXM2a2J6NnltZmZsbg==

In terms of price, it worked out great, it was roughly USD 1100 per person for a 6-day trip which includes Flight ticket, accommodation, and food partially included (everyday breakfast included, lunch covered for 2/3 days). In addition, we will have a van 🚐 with a driver and tour guide accompanying us every day. If you do the math, it is reasonable. Price is subject to change depending on the time of the year and changes in flight and hotel fares, but just wanted to give a rough ballpark here.

Indonesia is the world's largest archipelagic state. Indonesia comprises of several islands and Bali is one of the most famous tourist destinations within Indonesia. Bali is the only Hindu-majority province in Indonesia, with 86.9% of the population adhering to Balinese Hinduism, so there are some really beautiful Hindu temples that are built closer to the shoreline and on cliffs which are a visual treat to watch, and the serenity of the place pumps up your dopamine and serotonin levels. You will experience a state of bliss within when you are in these places, absolutely amazing and magical experience!!!

Here is the link to Indonesia map, just so you can have an idea on the itinerary that I will be sharing below.

https://neptunescubadiving.com/nusa-penida

Once you land at the Denpasar Bali Airport, there is a line for Visa on Arrival, jump in and get in the line instead of scanning the QR code and doing it online as it is faster to get it directly from the immigration officers. Once you pick up your luggage, the next big step is clearing customs, they have a weird process of filling a doc online, and a QR code gets generated once you complete the doc and you need to show that to clear customs. They have computers for you to fill the doc or Connect to airport Wi-Fi they specify and then do it online, LTE connection won't work properly.

MONEY EXCHANGE:- There are several money exchange centers within the airport to exchange cash  from USD or INR to Indonesian Rupiah. Money is required in some places where credit cards aren't accepted, otherwise tipping is not a thing in Bali, sometimes people in certain places look perplexed when you tip them as they aren't used to getting a tip. We just tipped our travel guide and van driver at the end of the trip.

Here is our trip itinerary that was compiled by Great Argus Travels for us. I requested a 6-day package, however, in hindsight, I would have requested an 8-day trip instead as there are so many beautiful locations to cover and it was hard to hustle. 

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Trip to West Side -Nusa Penida has 4 major spots to visit in a day and each location is absolutely beautiful. We got mesmerized looking at these lovely beaches and wanted to spend more time in each location. We missed going to Crystal bay as we didn't have the time to cover all 4 places on the same day, wish we had allotted 2 days for Nusa Penida island. Also, if you would like to hike down to the beach shoreline then add another day just for hiking these stunning beach trails.

STAY:- We stayed at NUSA DUA SPA Resort and it was spectacular. If you are planning to go to Bali, look no further for a stay this hotel is hands down the best one to stay. I missed adding an extra day in my itinerary just to enjoy the resort in itself. So carve out a day to explore the resort beach, restaurant and spa. We were told that the G20 convention was hosted at this resort.

For the second part of our trip we were relocated to a Village farmland resort called ALUM PULSI UBUD, it was good. Rooms come with a private pool for each room facing the farmland. I wouldn't say it was an extraordinary place but was a nice place given the location.

FOOD:- Balinese food is very appetizing for food lovers. Fried rice and noodles are their staple food along with some signature appetizers and desserts to enjoy.

WATER SPORTS:- Bali offers plenty of water sports activities if you are into it. I wanted to try some new activities and Sea Walking was the one we went with. I can't explain in words the beauty of spectacular fishes in rainbow colors that you get to see in this activity, you are inside the water touching and playing with these fishes, incredible!

WATERFALLS:- Bali is known for its beautiful waterfalls and I asked my travel agent to sneak in a small waterfall hike within the itinerary. If you are not able to hike the entire distance there is motorbike taxi to hop on, that takes you to the stair entrance. We went to Banyumala Twin Waterfalls, you get to jump inside the natural pool, it was so refreshing and rejuvenating.

 

I would definitely go back to Indonesia to explore the Java side of the country known for its wilderness and hiking trails. Bali being a very popular tourist destination in South Asia a lot of tourists tend to litter such a beautiful place with plastic wastes all around. I hope the Indonesian government takes some serious measures to contain and control the pollution caused by littering.

Bali has its indigenous culture and heritage still intact and it's a pleasure to watch men and women in the traditional Balinese costumes. Kecak dance show was nice to watch. 

Overall it's an amazing place to visit. If you are into Photography don't forget to take your SLR Camera, I missed taking mine, and I now have to revisit Bali just to click some doozy pictures in my SLR camera. 😊

Matur Suksma!