Who’d refuse a 2-night stay in Bali?

I, like most people, consider Bali to be the heaven for tourists in Indonesia. Whether they are local, international, luxury or budget tourists. But the purpose of my trip was to visit my grandaunt from Holland (my father’s side) who is enjoying her days in Bali while avoiding the cold weather in Amsterdam.

But I didn’t expect a whole exploration of Bali. I didn’t have time to do that and that’s not the purpose of my visit, anyway. I’ve been here a few times and visited several of the top tourist places. I, for one, am not the sporty type of person. My previous trips proved that I am more interested in visiting, if not the historical places, the quiet places where I can enjoy the moment away from the city buzz while surrounded by nature.

I stayed at Harris Hotel at Jimbaran Hill, which is a standard hotel that has all typical hotel facilities like restaurants, swimming pool, gym and other services. It sounds like a luxury hotel, but their rates are quite reasonable given that the hotel building and facilities are still new. The hotel is close to the GWK Cultural Park.

I had breakfast with my parents, my uncle, sister and niece at 9 o’clock. The hotel’s breakfast, which was included in the hotel package, was great. I was satisfied, and I love food.

After our charterred car got to our hotel we started our day with a visit to the new Bali Mandara high way which is built along gulf of Benoa in Bali. The structure was huge! It was a rare sight to have a highway built over water in Indonesia. The trip to just experience such toll road was worth it for me.

I visited Sanur Beach where my other grandaunt (from my mother’s side) works. It was simply a lazy afternoon spent there. Sanur was so mich quiter than Kuta. My uncle who lives in Bali said that Sanur is the place for the older aged tourist to relax and enjoy the slow paced living. That is in contrast to the packed and busy Kuta area where all the younger tourists would spend most of their time in bali. I could see it from the beach too. Sanur beach is calm. You could enjoy the soft sound of the waves as they hit the shore while you sun bathe. The waves at Kuta beach are a lot bigger. No wonder all the fit surfers and party people spend more time there! Well, that’s my rough idea why the two areas are so different.

Anyway, there were many restaurants at Sanur. There were travel agents with boats along the beaches that take tourists to the nearby islands like Lembongan, Gili and Lombok. I heard Gili island is an (not very) isolated and polution-free island where you can enjoy the beach without the nearby cafes and restaurants. There was also a Bali Museum which showcases bali cultures in the forms of paintings. It sounds good to me now, but I didn’t have the urge to go in when I passed by it!

First my family and I had some drinks at the Holiday Villa Diwangkara. It’s a hotel resort that has its backyard leading straight to Sanur beach. Then, we had lunch at the famous Sambal Mak Beng that serves delicious fried fish with fish soup. It’s hard to believe that a place that popular among the locals doesn’t have enough seats to accomodate the wave of customers during lunch time. We had our table surrounded by hungry customers waiting to sit at our seats. I didn’t really enjoy my food because I felt like I had to eat fast for those who waited for us to finish! Plus the weather was humid and hot. And the chilli served at the restaurant was seriously spicy. That added to the pace I was at trying to enjoy the food.

We visited my grandaunt’s shop and we got a serious amount of free bali souvenirs! I felt bad but she insisted. Not only that, the nearby temporary tatoo kiosk gave us free tatoo because he’s my uncle’s friend! Check out my tatoo!

The rest of the day in bali was simply a family time. We went to my grandaunt house and she insisted on early dinner before we get back to the hotel and meet my other Grandaunt (the one from Holland). My stomach was sooo full. Her cooking was nice! Then we got to meet my Grandaunt from Holland, who just arrived from a short 2-night trip to Lombok Island. Man, I love how my family sticks together and how close we are. I’m just so grateful for that.