Hey there loyal readers. I know it has been some time since I last posted, and I have had many questions about why I haven´t yet shared any information about my trip to Bogota, Colombia in June. As I have done in the past, I will just have to beg for patience. Yes, the trip to Bogota was great, but rather than backtracking to June while Bali is still fresh in my mind, I have decided to make a big effort to get out the information about this amazing island as soon as possible.
For those of you who are just now starting to follow along, it might help you to know that I live in Bengaluru, India; as such, some of the information I mention is more specific to Bengaluru residents. With that in mind, I would like to share my new recommended airport taxi service. I was previously a huge fan of BluSmart, but they have unfortunately shut down. Then based on some suggestions from others, I used Shoffr a few times. While I still highly recommend Shoffr for a more luxury experience, the last couple of times I have gone to the airport I have used Quickride, which is my new default recommendation for transport to and from the Bengaluru airport.
On October 18th, my pre-booked electric sedan arrived ten minutes early at 9:05 PM, and by 9:07 PM I was already in the comfortable Tata Tigor and headed to the airport. There was some sort of traffic diversion at one point, and there was also unsurprisingly a bit of traffic closer to the city. Furthermore, at one point the driver sort of got lost, and I had to get him back on track using gestures etc . . . as like many Quickride drivers, he didn´t understand any English. Nevertheless, he was very polite, and a good driver. Despite the diversions and getting off track, the entire 34.9 km ride still had a cost of only 700 INR ($7.89 USD), which I paid in cash, and I arrived at terminal 2 of the airport at 10:02 PM.
At this time of night, it was much easier to get into the airport than at some other times I have travelled, and by 10:08 PM I was already inside the building. Interestingly enough, as I have observed in the past, those who didn´t have DigiYatra (like myself) actually appeared to get into the airport faster than those who did, despite this supposedly being a time saving mechanism. The line at the Indigo counter where I arrived at 10:11 PM looked a bit long, no doubt due to the fact that flights to Bali from Bengaluru currently don´t permit online check-in. However, I was not worried, given that I had intentionally come earlier with this in mind.
While waiting in the line, I completed the online electronic arrival card for Indonesia. As I was travelling with my USA passport, this was the third document which I had to do online before visiting Bali. First had been the e-Visa which had been granted in less than 24 hours for a cost of approximately $44 USD on October 12th. On the same date, I had also prepaid the special Bali tourist tax for a cost of approximately $9.30 USD. Note, at least for USA citizens, the Indonesian visa can also be done on arrival, but it is generally recommended to do it ahead of time in order to avoid delays at the arrival airport. In case you are wondering, throughout my entire one-week trip, nobody ever asked to see the proof of payment for my Bali tax, but I still think you should make sure to do it.
Despite the rather long line I was able to get fully checked in by 10:45 PM and then head straight to security and immigration. It was incredibly fast this time around, with me clearing the entire process by 10:57 PM! As you can guess, I was quite excited, given that just the immigration process frequently takes me more than 30 minutes. I briefly wandered around a bit, but decided to just go up to the lounge in terminal 2, which as I have mentioned on several other occasions is definitely one of the best airport lounges in India. You can pay for a separate visit, with a cost similar to standard airport lounges around the world, but I have it included with my credit card, so it´s a no brainer choice for me.
My lounge visit also had a couple of drink vouchers included, but I didn´t use those. Regardless, I stayed in the lounge until 12:10 AM on October 19th and then headed to C9. Wanting to ensure that I would sleep well on the roughly seven hour flight in order to be able to immediately go out and enjoy Bali, right before leaving the lounge, I took both a muscle relaxant (Tizanadine 2 mg) and an Ambien (10 mg). Yeah I know, probably a lot of you reading will be horrified by this, but sleeping on a plane is never extremely comfortable, and I was flying with Indigo (a large no-frills airline from India). I knew when booking that it would not be particularly comfortable, but it was only 49301 INR ($556 USD) round trip, with non-stop flights each way.
Given that I had stayed in the lounge until almost the official last moment, as soon as I arrived to the gate I was immediatey waved through and got onto the bus to the plane. When we arrived and started boarding at 12:27 AM, it drew my attention that it was lightly raining and there was no cover for the passengers; what would have happened had it been a major downpour? Anyway, at 12:35 AM I sat down in my aisle seat 2C, for which I had paid an additional 990 INR ($11.17 USD) and was immediately happy that I had not paid for the far more expensive ($34 USD more) seat which was right in front of me, as it looked to be exactly the same, with perhaps even less leg room due to the divider wall. I suppose the more expensive seat theoretically had more knee room, but as there was no way to stretch one’s feet further, it definitely would not have been worth the additional money.
In case you are wondering, these were the same barely cushioned seats which are common on most Indigo flights . Similarly, Indigo flights, including this one, generally lack the adjustable headrests which have become very common on planes around the world. In summary, if you are looking for comfort, look elsewhere. But hey, I had known what I was getting into, hence the aforementioned Ambien and Tizanadine. In typical hurry up and wait fashion, the flight did not actually take off until 1:19 AM, which admittedly was only 19 minutes past the scheduled departure time. Fortunately, right after that my sleeping buddies kicked in, and I had a relatively comfortable sleep until 7:15 AM IST (Indian Standard Time) when they were starting to make announcements about landing and concerns about an increase in Mpox in the region.
As I was still slightly groggy, this whole Mpox discussion made me slightly alarmed for a moment. No, I have not been vaccinated, because no vaccine is generally currently available for people living in India. But then as I thought about it more, I wondered if this might just be hysteria, as it had been so long since I had heard anything about it, I had simply assumed that this was no longer an important concern. Still, it seems to be very unpleasant for those people who have been affected, and I don’t want to be one of them. I vaguely resolved to find out more about this once I had an internet connection, but unsurprisingly never did. Certainly, I can confirm that during the entire time I was in Bali, I didn’t hear anyone talk about this, and I definitely didn’t see anyone who seemed to be affected.
So, despite the scare tactic awakening and the very thinly cushioned seats, the combination of my tablet coctail, noise cancelling earbuds and special ergonomically designed eye covers meant that I had experienced a rather restful sleep. Thus, at 7:39 AM IST when we touched down, I felt ready to happily engage with my Bali adventure. I went ahead and moved my phone out of airplane mode at 7:42 AM and was pleased to see that the Roamic Esim which I had pre-loaded on my phone immediately connected. Based on my research, this is the Esim which I recommend for Bali; it operates on Telkomsel (the best provider within Bali), and includes 20GB of data for up to 30 days at a cost of around $10.5 USD. Cheaper plans are also available if you want. I can also confirm that at the end of the trip, even though I had travelled around a good deal of the island, I had never experienced a lost connection and data speeds were great throughout.
Being reconnected to the internet also meant that my phone immediately updated to the Bali, timezone, so I skipped ahead 2.5 hours and it was suddently 10:12 AM. I also saw that about 15 minute before touchdown, my Agoda Mozio driver which I had pre-booked for 1084 INR ($12.23 USD) had sent me a text message indicating where he would be waiting for me, along with a picture of the welcome sign he would be holding. Given that this was my first trip to Bali, I thought this was a nice touch. I have now learned that it isn’t really that complicated to arrange transport on arrival, paying significantly less, but can you really complain about that amount? Perhaps that sounds a bit flippant, but if you are travelling that far for vacation, I feel like these little additional charges are well-worth the peace of mind which they buy. Furthermore, as I had unusually decided to travel with a standard suitcase in addition to my maximum size carry-on backpack, I didn’t want to be stressed about finding transport on arrival. Soon after, at 10:18 AM I was off the plane and headed directly towards immigration.
The airport itself was a bit larger than I had imagined, and quite pretty. Walking along towards the immigration and baggage reclaim area, at 10:21 AM I saw a sign reminding us of the importance of paying the Bali visitor tax. Given that I had done my eVisa ahead of time, I was able to use the automated passport check which was meant no waiting in line and an almost instantaneous green light to continue on towards luggage reclaim at 10:33 AM. It wasn’t too far to my luggage belt, and at 10:43 I collected my needlessly large suitcase, and continued walking towards the exit, appreciating the various pleasant looking shops and stores along the way.
True to his word, when I walked outside at 10:57 AM, despite the throng of various drivers with name placards, it was quite easy to see my sign and we got into the car almost right away. As we started our trip I was immediately impressed by the good state of the road and the relative calm of the drivers. I understand that those of you who are coming in from other parts of the world might be shocked by this statement, but compared to your average road experience in Bengaluru, Bali is a welcome breath of fresh air. Perhaps because it was late Sunday morning, there really wasn’t much traffic, so the 12.7 km (7.89 miles) ride only took 30 minutes, which I know seems like a long time for such a short distance, but by Bali standards this is considered very quick.
At 11:32 AM we pulled into the very narrow lane which leads down to Dikubu Bali Villa and Suites. I had booked seven nights in a standard suite for a total cost of 14987 INR ($169 USD). Yes, I could have stayed in a place paying much less, and I could also have stayed in a place paying much more. However, I had wanted to ensure that I would have a very comfortable, attractive place to sleep, and I have to say that I was not at all dissapointed. Furthermore, at least for my purposes for this particular trip, the spot was very conveniently located right next to the uber touristic area of Seminyak, but far enough away to not be annoyed by dance clubs and loud drunk people on the street. I ended up not using it, but my ground floor room also led directly to a pleasant medium sized pool with a couple different types of comfortable lounge chairs.
I sort of cheated with inserting the pictures at this point, because check-in was not actually available until 2 PM, so in reality I left my things at the Hotel at 11:49 AM and headed out to see a bit of the surrounding areas, get some cash out of an ATM, and find a place to have lunch.
Without too much effort, I found a nearby ATM, but unsurprisingly my ICICI International Debit card did not work to withdraw money. However, my HDFC credit card worked just fine; although, I found it odd that the maximum amount I could withdraw was 1000000 IDR, which is about $60.15 USD. I had read that Bali was still primarily cash driven, so I was a bit concerned about this, as it’s never a good idea to depend on cash advances on a credit card. Regardless, there was nothing I could do about it, and I figured at least in this tourist area, it was more likely for places to take credit cards, even if it did mean that they were likely to be more expensive spots.
A quick internet search suggested that for local fare, I should go to Warung Nads Bali. When I arrived at 12:33 PM I could tell that it was probably a rather expensive way to experience “local food” but the setting was certainly very pleasant, and reviews were extremely positive. I don’t remember the names of what I ate or drank, but it was what was recommended by the server, and I had no complaints. Furthermore, despite serving a rather simple dish, they did a very good job of presentation.
I just hung out there until 2:03 PM and then asked for the bill which was 110400 IDR (586 INR or $6.64 USD) which I was able to pay for by card, thus saving my limited cash for other uses. Looking back at the pictures now, I suppose one could say it was too expensive for what was essentially ramen noodles and pineapple juice, but it was a pleasant place to sit and wait and despite being simple food, it tasted good.
It was a short walk (certainly not more than 10 minutes) back to the hotel where I finished checking in and putting my things away in the room. Then at 3:34 PM I headed out again to Cafe SOI 19, where I had a simple coffe and hung out until 5:26 PM, taking another customer’s offer of a scooter ride down to Petitenget beach so I could watch the sunset. I don’t actually remember the cost at the cafe, but it had seemed reasonable for a trendy tourist spot. The ride was quick, with me arriving to the beach at 5:38 PM, and wow, was I happy I had come.
The pictures don’t really do it justice, but it was so wonderful to just sit there and take in the sound of the water, feel the breeze, and see the beautiful sunset.
By chance, I stayed there for exactly one hour, heading out just as it was almost fully dark. Walking back towards the room, the temperature was great and there were tons of restaurants and shops available where I could have entered. However, I wasn’t feeling any pressure to eat, so I kept walking until 7:06 PM when I saw Dimsum Chika Restaurant, which was just a few minutes from my lodging.
The place wasn’t particularly fancy, but it wasn’t especially crowded, and had a very relaxed feeling. I ordered the Hainan chicken full set and a Singaraja beer. The cost was 92000 IDR ($5.55) cash and I stayed there until 8:04 PM.
The food had been alright, but both lunch and dinner had been rather light, and knowing that I didn’t have any food in my room, I decided to walk a bit past the lane leading to my hotel in order to see if there was some additional, simple local food I could get in order to ensure that I wouldn’t wake up hungry later on. And I definitely found it! just about a 3 minute walk from where I was staying I got this simple chicken snack for only 13000 IDR in cash (69 INR or $0.78 USD). It was very tasty, so I figured I would be coming back here at some point during my stay.
I was then back in my room at 9:00 PM, watched a bit of Netflix and quickly went to sleep. I know it wasn’t a particularly exciting day, but I was happy to be in Bali and looking forward to a full day of exploration, starting early the next morning. So, what do you think so far, does this seem like a place you would like to visit? If you aren’t sure yet, keep following along over the next few days in order to find out more about all of the things you might do during a week in Bali.
Travels with Jay 