Bali the ‘island of gods

Pura Tanah Lot, Bali

Bali is called the ‘island of gods’ for a reason, one can understand this only by going there. Words can’t describe how magical this place is. It is like my hometown Kerala, you can never get enough. We had an impromptu trip to Bali in the first week of December 2015. We had plans for Bali since July 2015 but had to drop it many times because of the sudden volcanic eruptions causing many flights cancellations. Flights resumed their service in late November with amazing deals. Hence we booked a return with KLM airlines (inclusive of meals and 30kg luggage) for S$149 pp. Can’t get better than this!!

Bali has something for everyone. It has beautiful beaches with wave breaks for surfers and sea lovers, adorable boutiques and shop markets for the shopaholics, yummilicious cuisines for the foodies, temples, art and sculptures for the art buffs, the list goes on. Though short, we had an amazing time in Bali and can’t wait to go back.

Day 1 Departure (SG to Denpasar)

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Our flight was at 5 pm so we had enough time to pack in the morning. Aj was working half day, we left  home as soon as he arrived. We skipped the cab and took bus to airport as we didnt have much luggage. Its a good idea to use public transport while travelling during off peak hours in Singapore. We were pretty much the only ones in the bus 🙂 Since we already did a web check-in it took us no time to drop off our bags and to the immigration. I love walking around the Changi terminal checking out all the duty free shops. Aj doesn’t fancy that much.You know why 😛

Changi recently won the “Best airport in the world” 4th time in a row. We are very grateful we get to travel through this airport every time. Each time we travel to other places we appreciate Changi airport more. So after doing a slight damage to his pocket we were at the gate, ready to board. Heavy rain started all of a sudden we could barely see through the airport window, at the same time we released the gate started to get crowded with no time the whole gate was flooded with people from all over the world we could see all the races, but the flight was bigger than what we imagined.

KLM, the Royal Dutch Airlines operates from Amsterdam. It travels to Bali every afternoon via Singapore making it one of the major airlines flying in this route. The best part about the airlines is their in-flight entertainment. Sad that it was just over a 2 hr journey.

Food was warm and tasted good. I expected something dutch but was surprised when we were served glass noodles and egg fried rice.

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Bali International airport is huge better than the terminal one airport of Dubai, yes you heard that right!! Dubai travelogue will be up soon.

Indian passport holders are eligible for free visa on arrival now (thanks to Indian PM Modi) and can stay up to 30 days. After collecting our luggage we proceeded to the arrival exit. Once you exit the airport main door, taxi counter is located towards the left where you can book a prepaid taxi for fixed rates, it cost us 100k to Kuta which we think was a bit over priced as while coming back from kuta it cost us only 50k in a metered blue bird taxi. Or else hundreds of taxi drivers are present at the arrival hall who will haunt you like zombies! Always bargain!

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Our Hotel was Holiday Inn kuta, we picked this hotel after few comparison of the hotels around this area, it was 45$ a night pretty much average rate around kuta. We reached Holiday Inn, Kuta our abode for next few days in a short while. Each location in Bali caters to different kinds of people. Our main aim for this short getaway was sightseeing, massage, shopping and food. So we decided to stay in Kuta which has all the amenities a stone’s throw away. Kuta is very crowded still beautiful. Its streets has a charm of old world yet modern boutiques and themed restaurants. A great way to spend time in Kuta is to walk along the beach or the shopping street . We booked our hotel via Expedia with a 20% discount +12% cashback from shopback, it cost us about 200 SGD for 5D4N with breakfast buffet.

Holiday inn room kuta square

Pretty new hotel at the corner but away from the main road, calm and quiet. After check-in we went to our room at the 5th level which is again the nearest to the pool and we did a quick unpacking before we head-out for dinner. The nearest restaurant to our hotel was Made’s Warung which we read few good reviews on TripAdvisor.

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