Bali

Giving Bali another go…

Posted on October 27, 2024 by Mel

We have both been to Bali a few times now and just don’t seem to enjoy it. We have stayed in Kuta, Ubud, Seminyak and Jimbaran in a very expensive resort. I can’t quite pin point why as we both like Thailand and Vietnam which has a lot of the same cultural aspects – including hawkers and street sellers who drive B mad. AyaNa Resort (photo below) was amazing but almost Australian pricing so the “cheap” aspect got a bit lost.

One of the infinity pools at AyaNa Resort

We are giving Bali another try in a few weeks though because a 3.5hr direct flight for $100 each way was hard to say no to. After a lot of reading and talking to friends who visit Bali frequently, we have opted to stay in Sanur. Apparently it’s a little less intense.

When we visit Thailand and Vietnam, we tend to pay a bit more for accomodation (yay, spinal issues) but we love to eat out at markets and local restaurants or food stands (not carts)). Drinking alcohol is hit and miss for us currently as we aren’t big casual drinkers so it’s definitely not a main focus. Cocktails are always a winner though. Based on all that, Sanur seems a good fit for a “relaxation” trip.

Ajanta Villa advertising image

We are booked in a private villa (Ajanta Villa) which is near the beach and food markets, two of the things we both love about Thailand trips. This will be my first time with a private pool so I’m pretty stoked for that! I’ve also done heaps of research on food places in the area as well as beach clubs….and I’m keen to hire a bike and enjoy the 5km bike/walking path.

We haven’t booked any big day trips as this is definitely a “read books and lounge in pools” type getaway. With that said, we will be in Bali for my birthday so we are going to catch a Grab to Nusa Dua and check out Koral Aquarium Restaurant + reef beach club on that day.

Koral Restaurant

So…I’m excited! I have a slew of new books on my kindle ready to read because PhD life is melting my brain and I haven’t been escaping with my favourite authors as much.

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Tropical climates: mosquito repellent, sunscreen, motion sickness and travel vaccinations / meds

Posted on July 1, 2024 by Mel

We have now been to Indonesia (Bali), Thailand and Vietnam in terms of tropical / summer trips and holidays. In each place we have encountered different issues around mosquitoes, sunscreen and motion sickness. Below are what’s worked and what to be aware of as one-bagging, 100ml max limited, pasty-white Australians 🙂

Sunscreen

  • sunscreen is readily available in both Indonesia and Thailand to Australian standards (UVA/UVB 50+) but is expensive so needs to be budgeted for
  • Vietnam did not have many places selling Aussie appropriate sunscreen. Everywhere was k beauty 50ml bottles that were skin whitening and useless. The Internet lied to us about availability and this was an issue while travelling, especially for me who is very sun sensitive. Next time, we will have to allow 200-300ml each of sunscreen in separate 100ml containers in our carry on allowance. For this try we went to multiple places and finally found some small cancer council tubes….at $25 AUD each. Lesson learned.

Bug repellent

  • Last time we travelled to Indonesia and Thailand we took DEET liquid pump spray. It’s now very difficult to travel with that out of Australia and it’s also a challenge when capped at 100ml for carry on only. It’s also worth mentioning Thailand is less of a hassle with mosquitos and has a lower risk of Dengue Fever on the coast so not quite as bad.
  • In Vietnam, we were very aware of the risk of dengue, malaria and that we were visiting in wet season and spending time on the Mekong delta. After some research we used Natrapel Picardin Wipes I got off eBay. These aren’t sold in Australia but are absolutely fantastic and don’t count as a liquid
  • In addition to the wipes, we treated our “main outfits” with permethrin spray for Vietnam. This stuff is extremely toxic if used incorrectly so make sure to read instructions carefully when applying to clothing before you pack. It definitely worked though, we could see the bugs landing on us, not biting and then falling off! Again, not readily available in Australia but can be purchased off Amazon US

Motion sickness

We both get motion sickness of different types. I mostly only get sick in the car and I feel nauseous but don’t often throw up. Bs takes more effort to start (unless we are on a boat, then he’s screwed) but once it starts he can’t stop the vomiting and it is awful. We have tried all the standard meds with minimal luck but seem to have found a good solution now.

  • For cars and buses B only needs Dramamine. This isn’t available on its own in Australia but again…thank you Amazon. I still need a mix so have been taking Dramamine/kwells/caffeine as a combo and that’s making a big difference. In the process of discovering this combo worked we also learnt that travacalm original changed their ingredients a few years ago and this is actually what they have! It’s still hard to find them in Australia post covid though
  • We are spending 3 days on a boat in Vietnam this time so purchased some scopolamine dermal patches from NZ. These stick to your skin behind the ear and last 2-3 days. We are hoping this addresses the issue with motion sickness while on the boat!

Travel Vaccinations and Medications

  • For Thailand and Bali we have never had any special vaccinations. For Vietnam, it was recommended we have a hepatitis double course as well as the encephalitis one (very expensive) as we were going in wet season when there is lots of standing water…and spending time in freshwater rivers. Rabies vaccination wasn’t recommended unless spending extended time in the mountain regions.
  • In terms of medication, Bali and Thailand have private hospitals so worst case you can often get things there. Vietnam was a bit of a different story and I ended up with a letter from my GP and a pack of meds as I was concerned if my back started spasming I wouldn’t be able to access any heath care. We also brought standard meds with us – Panadol, ibuprofen, multivitamins, sting spray, antihistamines, motion sickness stuff, gastro stop etc.
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Bali: Day 7 (home today)

Posted on December 22, 2022 by Mel

Home today! I booked TICBALI on the way out again. This time I paid:

– $275000 IDR ($27 AUD approx) for the private transfer from Ayana Segara to the airport . The driver was early and very professional

– $800000 IDR each ($75 AUD approx) for priority VIP service and access to the Premier lounge. The lounge on its own was $580000 IDR each

Both costs were well worth it. The transfer cost was comparable to other private companies and the VIP service meant we skipped the queue at checkin and used the diplomat queue at immigration! Our guide then walked us through the airport and to the Premier Lounge.

Premier Lounge is not a business lounge, it’s a pay per use one. If you are used to business lounges it may come as a shock as it’s definitely not the same. Think the equivalent of the air Asia lounges at KL. Despite being a bit more casual, it had comfortable chairs, power points, free food and free soft drink – all of which are very nice when you are travelling home on crappy Jetstar.

Can’t wait to see the fur babies in about 7 hrs time!

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Bali: Day 4 (Uluwatu Temple)

Posted on December 19, 2022 by Mel

This morning we got on the first shuttle to Kubu Beach which is a private beach and bar accessible to the resort. We got to go down a beach lift to avoid the 200 stairs (hooray) and started out on lovely lounges right on the beach.

After about 20 mins a loud family moved in next to us so we moved to the private cabanas in the beach bar that overlook the ocean.

After a lazy morning and lunch time with beach/poolside drinks and snacks, we prepared to head out for our one and only day trip while we are here. This was very much a relaxing holiday and not a touring holiday! I also really struggled with what I wanted to do for day trips here as I try very hard to only promote ethical tourism and unfortunately that can be hard to source here. Things like coffee plantations, all animal experiences and some of the rice plantations were a no go for me personally.

In the end, I booked with Bali Suta tours and arranged for a half day tour to Uluwatu Temple to view the sacred site, watch some traditional fire dancing and then enjoy a local seafood dinner down on the beach. We were collected at 3:30pm on the dot by our driver and drove about 60 mins in busy traffic to the temple. If you get motion sickness take medication as it is VERY windy on the roads and traffic is mental. Also, it goes without saying that you should dress modestly when visiting a religious site.

Etymologically the word “Ulu” means “the end, top, or peak”, while “Watu” means “Stone”. So Uluwatu Temple means a sacred place built on the top of a rock. Uluwatu Temple sits on a 70-meter-high cliff protruding above Indonesian Ocean. Because of its unique location, visitors to the temple have to take a long stone stairway to reach it. Note: stairs are not my friend so allow extra time if you need it.

The temple heads east, unlike other Balinese temples which face west or south. There are hundreds of monkeys roaming along the path outside the temple as they live in a small forest out the front. All the tourist guides and documents state “these monkeys are classified as very smart” and known to hold tourists items hostage for snacks. The monkeys are fed and protected by temple staff as they are believed to guard the temple from bad influences.

After we visited the temple, we had arranged tickets to watch the traditional Kecak dance near the temple, where there is an open theatre. The dance and songs tell the story of the Ramayana as the sun sets behind them. I was prepared before we went that this is a large cultural attraction and gets very busy – since Covid they also don’t do it as often so it does attract a huge crowd. I would say well over 1000 people.

You will also notice from the above image and video the sun is absolutely BAKING hot in the stands. We were using the religious site sarongs as sun shelter and it was still horrendous….and today wasn’t even that hot! Come prepared for the 30-60mins you’ll be in direct sun before sunset starts.

After viewing the dance and enjoying the traditional singing, we located our driver again (that could have been a bit of a nightmare but our guy was so organised…and boy did I tip him well for that!) and then headed to Jimbaran Beach to have a seafood dinner on the beach. I selected the restaurant (Bawang Merah Beachfront Restaurant) based on recommendations for their fresh seafood (for B) as well as their availability of some other options for me who can eat fish but is allergic to shellfish.

Our driver dropped us back to the hotel around 9:30pm and we are exhausted. Too much sun! I wasn’t so exhausted that I didn’t squeal excitedly when I spotted today’s housekeeper towel effort….

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Day 3: Bali (Jimbaran)

Posted on December 18, 2022 by Mel

We spent the day at the resort today. We enjoyed the included breakfast at Sami Sami and then were lucky enough to snag a cabana next to the Ocean Beach Pool again.

After some reading and fresh juice, we walked up to the spa for our “gifted” 90 minute couples massage to make up for the noise on our first night. It was a lovely pressure point massage in a very peaceful garden setting.

After the massage we were lucky enough to score a cabana back at the ocean beach pool again (very lucky, I may have stalked some people) and spent another few hours listening to the ocean crash while lazing near the pool.

We then caught the little shuttle bus which runs around the different parts of the resort over to “Rimba” which is the more family focused area. We checked out the huge pool system (complete with water slide!) before heading up to the rooftop bar.

Up at the bar “Unique” I finally got my beautiful sunset. We ate some delicious Mexican food and I had the infinity pool pretty much to myself as I floated around drinking mojitos and enjoying the view.

We then caught the shuttle bus back to our part of the resort (Ayana Segara) where I discovered A TOWEL ELEPHANT WITH A FRANGIPANI! Amazing.

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Day 1 and 2: Bali (Jimbaran)

Posted on December 17, 2022 by Mel

We arrived at midday yesterday after a 15hr (yes I did say fifteen hour) delay – thanks Jetstar you giant bag of dicks. I used the TICBALI service on arrival who meet you in arrivals, priority pass you through all sections and then transport you to your hotel. That was $50 well spent as we were walking out of the airport 45 minutes after we arrived and saw on social media afterwards that wait times were closer to 2.5hrs for others.

We checked into Ayana Segara which only opened about 4 weeks ago. It’s part of the Ayana resort which is four different locations all near each other and with shared facilities – which means 17 restaurants, 12 pools, many bars and a beautiful day spa. Plus a private beach! They also do towel art. I love towel art.

After check in, we enjoyed the view from the room and the closest pool, before heading to Rock Bar for dinner. Rock Bar is built into the cliff rocks near Jimbaran and is pretty amazing. No beautiful sunset for us *shakes fist at clouds* but the view was still lovely and the food was great.

Our first night was rough with 5 star resort pricing not stopping bogan jerks from carrying on. I spoke with a manager this morning who was apologetic and arranged for us to move rooms and have a free massage. Hopefully tonight is better!

After our included breakfast we headed to see how busy it was at the Ocean Beach Pool which is the much instagrammed infinity edge pool that overlooks the ocean. We got lucky and scored a cabana as well as a very empty pool!

After laze in a cabana and a refreshing fresh juice we went to try out the Thalassotherapy Pool. I had never heard of one before but apparently it is the therapeutic use of sea water and minerals to promote health and wellness. You basically work through over sixty different jets at 32 stations over an hour and oh boy, am I sore afterwards! We will likely do this again though, it was amazing after 8hrs in airports and on a plane.

After the Thalassotherapy spa we lazed around another pool with some cocktails…then a 4th pool with yet more cocktails….it’s kind of the theme for this trip! After an hour in the pool number 4 which was an infinity pool on the roof, I declared it “my pool” and refused to get out so we had dinner at the Luna Rooftop Bar. I ate from my spot in the pool in case you were wondering. We almost got a sunset tonight.

Plans for tomorrow include more pools, more cocktails and a massage!

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