Friday 12 June 2015

Bali Guide 1.0


I've decided to a Bali Guide and I'm splitting it into two posts. This post will mainly be on flights, hotels and food whereas the second post will cover what to do and this island I went to. I am not entirely familiar with Bali, in fact there are a lot more I want to explore so for starters, don't blame me if this guide isn't good enough k. Just wanna share my Bali experiences with those who might need some recommendations (:

Here are some beach visuals of this trip before we start!

@ Seminyak Beach

The love of my life.

@Legian Beach

Pardon me if you're cringing at my VS moments, just having them while I can hahah


I wish I had been to Bali earlier because it's pretty big and there are so much to explore! Honestly, I don't think 2 weeks is enough so if given a chance, I would love to stay in Bali for a month and of course live like a local on some days.

So let's start with flights from Singapore to Denpasar Airport!
There are many airlines that fly into Bali from Singapore. If you're looking for cheap flights, you can consider Jetstar Asia, Tiger Airways and AirAsia. I've only flown to Bali with Jetstar so far for the past 2 times and both times, my air tickets including 15kg baggage were around $120 each! Secret? Start camping for their sale 2-3 months beforehand, which happens almost weekly or bi-weekly really.
If you wanna splurge a little (which really isn't necessary imo considering the flight duration is only 2.5hrs)
, you can consider taking Singapore Airlines or KLM. They have sale every few months and you can snag an economy seat for around $230 - $300+. I've taken KLM once to Bali via business class and it was awesome! I'd definitely fly KLM again. You can read about it here (: However, I recall the timing wasn't very good so yeah Jetstar for the win for Bali!

Next up, hotels!

Kitchenette and living room on the 1st level

Loft bedroom upstairs


Breathing in fresh air from our balcony
View from our room



Walkway into the hotel!






Pandawa All Suites Hotel is a fuss-free hotel which provides basic amenities and Balinese activities such as Balinese cooking class, yoga classes, detox spa and rural village cycling. The rooms are very spacious and they also come with a very affordable price tag of approximately SGD$55/night for my room. That being said, you can't expect 4 or 5 star services! If you have a budget but don't want to compromise on space and comfort then this might be a good choice! It's a bit inaccessible but there is shuttle service to Seminyak area so that's not really a problem.

Ratings
Room : 3/5
Service : 3.5/5
Price : Approx $55/night
Location : 3/5
Facilities : 3.5/5
Overall : 3/5




Our one bedroom pool villa at Wolas which I loved!


*2 pictures above taken from Google*




Love big toilet and huge mirrors!






I really love taking afternoon dips in our private pool after coming back from the beach. So refreshing and I just love the privacy! There's just something different about having a private pool and swimming in a communal pool. Love having breakfast in our villa by the pool too!



Can I just say I love the food at The Wolas?!! The garlic lemon butter prawn I had was amazing (and it was only SGD$10 with mashed potato and sautéed veg)! Breakfast was also tasty and they served it to the villa (: I've stayed with Bali Villa Properties the previous time at Ossotel, Nyuh Bali Villa (my fav so far!) and Samaja Villa and their food are just consistently good!!! Big big bonus for me since I'm quite the foodie!

I'm so happy they put me up at Wolas Villa this time cos I've been meaning to try it cos the reviews on Tripadvisor are very good! It's also located in Seminyak, my favourite area! Shuttle service is also provided to the main beaches like Kuta, Legian and Seminyak. Bali Villa Properties has a lot of other villas and hotels under them and most of them are quite reputable so don't worry you can definitely trust them when it comes to accommodation!

Here are some photos I took just outside my villa, along the walkway!


New bikini top from Seafolly!




Ratings
Room : 4/5
Service : 4.5/5
Price : Approx $260/night
Location : 3.75/5
Facilities : 4/5
Overall : 4/5

This trip I didn't really get to eat at lots of nice places but I'll also recommend others which I haven't tried but highly raved online k? Let's start with those I've tried myself first!

1. Roadside stalls



The roadside grilled corn is one thing I look forward to the most when I'm in Bali. I LOVE IT TO DEATH. I don't know what butter and chilli they grill it with but it tastes heavenly! Best $2 spent! It's usually located at random roadside or by the beach so you gotta pray that you get lucky. The one that I always go to is outside Seminyak beach.

2. Sea Circus cafe





This is definitely the most famous cafe in Bali and it certainly lives up to its reputation! They serve really good tacos, quesadilla and smoothies! Not to mention the cafe interior is so Instagram worthy. Even my toilet selfies are nice haha.

Sea Circus

Jalan Kayu Aya No. 22 A, Petitenget, Seminyak, Badung, Bali 80352, Indonesia

+62 361 738667


3. Made's Warung



It's my second time at Made's Warung and I will definitely head back for more Nasi Campur Special. It's essentially a Malay mixed rice so it consists of different kinds of vegetable and meat! Daniel said their Nasi Goreng was so so only though.

Made's Warung

Br. Seminyak, Kuta, Bali, Indonesia

Phone: 62 361 732130



4. The Junction Restaurant



I quite like the Nasi Goreng at The Junction but I'm pretty sure you can easily find good ones around too. Not sure if this is a hit but if you wanna be safe, you can most definitely visit this restaurant!

The Junction Bali
Jl. Kayu Aya, Kuta Utara, Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361, Indonesia
+62 361 735610

5. Gelato Factory


*Picture taken from Google*

Being the ice cream girl that I am, I just had to get my ice cream fix and so glad I got it here. I loved the simple yet sinful chocolate ice cream cone that I had. They have many other funky flavours and their waffles seem like a hit!

Gelato Factory

Jalan Kayu aya no 32 (oberoi) Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361, Indonesia, Indonesia

+62 361 739124



Here's a list of other restaurant/cafes recommendations which I have compiled from past experiences/online research



1. Potato Head Beach Club (tried, good food and ambience but quite pricey)
2. Cafe Bali (tried, good and cheap food)
3. Revolver Espresso
4. The Bistrot
5. Angelita Patisserie
6. Watercress Restaurant
7. Taco Beach Grill
8. Naughty Nuri's
9. Wahaha Bali (tried, good and cheap pork ribs)
10. The Glass House
11. Ultimo (tried, relatively good and cheap)
12. Gabah Restaurant
13. Sheppy's Bar and Restaurant
14. Warung Eny
15. Tekor Bali
16. Mamasan
17. Swept away at The Samaya
18. Fair Warung Bale
19. Bambu Restaurant
20. Sundara Bali


I hope you've enjoyed this post cos I put in lots of effort in it (: 

If you're feeling nice, you can send me your recommendations/itineraries to sophia.chong@hotmail.com so I can use it for future Bali trips. Fanks!
Next post will be Bali Guide 2.0 which will focus on Lembongan Island and things to do in Bali!

XX
Sophia
Instagram and Twitter : @sophiachong

5 comments:

  1. Hi may I know where did you get the yellow dress from?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, I got it super long ago from overseas!

      Delete
  2. Hello Sophia! May I know what camera are you using? Thank you!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hiiiii, I'm using Sony Nex 3 body with 35mm emount lens

    ReplyDelete