Taking a trip to Bali, Indonesia this winter was an amazing experience. Here are a few of my top highlights of the trip, I managed to narrow it down to 5, although honestly everyday was a highlight, it was so fantastic!
While staying at Bingin Family Bungalow we rented two scooters and headed out to find this beautiful temple we had read so much about. Although we did end up getting lost on the way there…and maybe having a slight accident with a sign when one of the less experienced of us were driving one of the scooters, we made it to the temple at about midday…hot midday.
After paying a small entry fee we were in. We spent a bit of time cooling off in the shade with some water and checking out what the locals had for sale (we wanted matching bracelets) and then we headed into the temple area. You have to wear sarongs to cover your legs, which they provided. Everywhere you looked there were amazing views to be seen…and huge monkeys to steal your belongings if you weren’t paying attention.
We probably spent about an hour walking around, getting there at the time we did made it a very hot afternoon and we were all pretty sweaty by the time we decided to head back to the hotel. After a fairly uneventful trip back to our bungalows, we were all ready to hit the pool again.
2. Gili Islands
Although we only had time to make it to one of the Gili Islands, Gili Trawangen, this place made a huge impression on me. It’s almost hard to explain the vibe on this island, with no cars only bicycles, the friendliest locals, fantastic food, and lots of fun lounges and bars to spend the nights in, it was an amazing place to spend some time. We decided to splurge a little bit while there and rented our own 2 bedroom villa, just a short bike ride away from the main street. There were so many adventures and misadventures on this little island it almost deserves its own post!
3. Meeting new friends
One of the definite highlights for any trip for me is being able to meet people from all over the world, that I certainly wouldn’t have met had I just been at home doing my regular day-to-day stuff. This 3 week trip to Bali was no exception. I actually went on this trip with two people who I had met while on a trip to Thailand on a Contiki Tour last year, who I know are going to be life long friends.
I’ve already had the opportunity to tour one of the Australians that I met in Bali around Vancouver and am planning my trip to New Zealand and Australia for this spring. The perk of meeting all these people is it definitely gives you a different perspective and a local tour guide if you ever make it to their part of the world!
4. New Years Eve in Seminyak
This night will be one I won’t forget! Dinner was an amazing BBQ, cooked and served by the wonderful staff at The Villas Bali and Spa Seminyak, a beautiful place I would highly recommend. After dinner we all enjoyed getting ready for the night and having some drinks while playing drinking games. Some walked and some scootered down to the beach around 10 o’clock and we spent the rest of the night on bean bags at various bars, like La Plancha, down on the beach. Between shooting off fireworks, dancing, sending up a wish lantern and basically spending the night having the best time, it was certainly a night that made me appreciative to be able to spend time in such amazing places!
5. Gorgeous Sunsets
I spent a lot of time stopping wherever I was and whipping out my phone to take pictures of the sunsets while in Bali. I couldn’t get enough of them! It seemed like every night the sunset was trying to outdo the last. That final beautiful hour of the day was always one of my favourites and half of my photos ended up being pictures of the sky!
Have you been to Bali or Indonesia? What would you say is the highlight from your last trip?
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