Bali trip: Days 7-8 (25-26 October 2025)

Hey everyone. I decided to combine Days 7 and 8 into a single entry because, to be honest, the pace slowed down a bit, which is exactly what I needed. Day 7 was about enjoying the last bits of Seminyak, and Day 8 was the inevitable travel trek back home.

Day 7: A Slow Start and a Pork Feast

Day 7 started slowly. At 7:21 AM I had sort of woken up, or rather, I had opened my eyes at 6:30 AM and made the executive decision to ignore the world for another hour. By the time I actually dragged myself out of bed, the “morning rush” was long gone.

At 10:23 AM I finally headed out walking. One thing you notice when you slow down and just walk the streets here is the small details. At 10:30 AM I stopped to look at the canang sari (offerings). It seems that they put these little offering plates at the entrance to the narrow lanes and also sometimes right in front of gates. You have to be careful not to step on them, but they really add a unique character to the morning walk.

I arrived at Mr. Egg at 10:32 AM. It seemed like the right spot for a late breakfast. I ordered a chili egg thing, a soy milk, and an egg muffin. It wasn’t the most traditional Balinese meal, but it hit the spot.

At 12:14 PM I left, paying 158,000 IDR ($10.05 USD). As I was walking away, at 12:18 PM, I spotted a restaurant simply called “Pork.” I mean, you have to appreciate the direct marketing. I made a mental note that I might want to eat there later.

The walk also took me through an area at 12:26 PM that seemed to be the “home and garden” district; all these decor spots were just right there, more or less fighting for space together.

At 12:34 PM I arrived at De Gym again and paid my 200,000 IDR ($12.72 USD) via credit card. Honestly, more than the workout, it was just nice to get into the air conditioning. As I was working out, at 12:56 PM I was looking around and realized the clientele here is intense. There was a guy here with a huge back. To be fair, two days ago there was a different guy who was incredibly stacked. Actually, many of the people who go to this gym look incredibly fit. Then at 1:31 PM, that massively fit guy showed up again. It’s enough to make you feel very tiny, but I just kept to my routine. Another couple of things that I really like about this gym are that everyone is very respectful about putting the weights back after using them, and they don’t play any loud obnoxious music over the speakers.

I finished up at 3:10 PM and was back out on the street at 3:14 PM. By 3:30 PM I was back in the room charging my phone, only to discover a small domestic disaster. There was lots of water on the floor from where the AC had leaked. I spent some time trying to get it cleaned up…glamorous travel life, right? I then started to get ready to go out as I wanted to be at the beach for the sunset at 5:30 PM.

At 4:54 PM I took a bike taxi down to the beach. Despite the clouds, I was still able to get a bit of a sunset view.

I left the beach at 6:20 PM and headed to Naughty Nuri’s. This is a famous pork place (maybe this was the destiny I sensed earlier when I saw the “Pork” sign?). I was able to get in right away which was good, because I know it is often hard to get a spot here. At 7:50 PM I paid and left, somehow completely forgetting to note down the cost. I remember that it definitely wasn’t cheap by Bali standards, but as a farewell meal, it was more than worth it.

Then I decided to go walking to the supermarket. It was in the main tourist area, so the walk was interesting enough. I forgot to write down when I entered Bintang Supermarket, but I was there probably a minimum of an hour. I just enjoy wandering aisles in foreign supermarkets. It was 9:16 PM when I finally finished there. The damage? 806,800 IDR ($51.30 USD). I know, I know. I got lots of chocolates and some interesting snacks. To be honest, I didn’t really know what most of it was, haha.

Since it was 3 km to the hotel, I decided to walk it off.

I arrived back at the room at 10:10 PM, and by 11:44 PM I finally had everything ready and was prepared to sleep.

Day 8: The Long Way Home

Day 8 began early at 6:45 AM. I was up and getting ready for the inevitable slog of international travel.

At 7:48 AM I booked a Gojek, which is notable since this was actually the very first time that I used one of these driver apps on this trip; when going nearby I preferred to walk, and when going further, I was always on a tour. The car arrived at 7:52 AM and it was a large, comfortable SUV. I quickly discovered that I had evidently accidentally chosen the domestic terminal, but it wasn’t too hard to change with the driver. We arrived at the airport at 8:17 AM. The fare was a bit less than 150,000 IDR, something like 140,000, but I just gave him 150,000 IDR ($9.54 USD).

From what I can tell, the system here is to wait in the receiving area before going through the gate section. There are several restaurants, and I think inside there’s not really much. It’s a nice-looking airport, but at 8:30 AM I decided to just go through. Even if it’s only sitting, I can do that on the other side.

I checked in at 8:49 AM, discovering that my checked bag was only 15 KG. I honestly had thought it would be more given my chocolate haul from the night before. By 8:51 AM I was at security, which seemed very calm, and by 9:01 AM I was through immigration. It was all electronic, very low stress and even peaceful.

At 9:15 AM, I knew it would be a horrible exchange rate, but I changed my last 501,200 IDR for $28 USD. It hurt a little, but what are you going to do with leftover Rupiah? I guess I could have bought something to eat, but I had something else in mind.

At 9:18 AM I used my Priority Pass to access the Concordia Lounge. I really had not been especially impressed with what was downstairs even though it all looked fine, so I figured I may as well go here. I liked that the lounge wasn’t crowded. At 9:28 AM I tried the butterfly pea flower drink which is called Telang. It was pleasant and very refreshing.

Later, at 10:15 AM, I decided to get an iced mochaccino and a couple of pastries.

I left the lounge at 10:29 AM to go to the boarding area, Gate 9A. On the way, I saw people taking the elevator down one floor. I really don’t understand why perfectly healthy people take elevators to go one floor. At 10:37 AM I noticed there were actually quite a few shops and restaurants on the way to the gate, so my earlier assumption had been wrong.

At 10:48 AM I was seated in 7C. I bought a few things on Amazon while waiting. By 11:22 AM we moved into the starting position. I noted that I had only used 7.43 GB of data during the week despite having almost constantly used my data connection, certainly during the three long day trips. We were in the air by 11:31 AM.

The flight was uneventful. At 5:07 PM the pilot announced arrival, and at 5:35 PM Indonesian time (3:06 PM Indian Standard Time), we touched down. By 3:18 PM IST, while we were still taxiing, I noticed an older teenager near me reading The Song of Achilles; maybe I should read it? At 3:22 PM I was off the plane and onto the jetway, thinking that the cloth passport pouch I’ve had for many years is probably the best travel accessory I have.

At 3:26 PM I was at immigration. There were very few people working and also few waiting. I briefly considered checking out the fast-track immigration travelers’ program since I come here often but then realized it’s only for Indians or those with OCI cards. I sort of feel like it would make sense to open it up to those of us who have long term visas, but there’s no point in even thinking about it …

As always, at 3:34 PM, I was amazed at how long they take to process a single person. The system is clearly broken. However, they started with me at 3:36 PM, and by 3:40 PM I was through. So, sometimes it works alright.

I got my bag at 3:44 PM and headed out.

At 3:52 PM, I saw there was a significant waiting line for Uber Go, but with plenty of time, I decided to go with that option as it was more than 400 INR ($4.75 USD) less than other options and I really wasn’t in any sort of a hurry.

Well, at 4:25 PM I was still waiting. Time is money and all that. Was it really worth it? Still waiting at 4:58 PM, I fully remembered why I don’t generally do this. Finally, at 5:11 PM I got in a car. It ended up being a non-AC car, which was perfectly good with this lovely weather and the cost was even less. Still, it was an eighty-minute wait, so despite the more than 400 INR savings, probably something I won’t be repeating.

I arrived home at 5:46 PM. The ride was 688 INR ($8.16 USD), but I gave him 700. And just like that, the trip was over.

So that’s it for the Bali adventure. I know that these last two days weren’t particularly exciting to read about, but I wanted to finish up the entire trip. If all goes as planned, in just a day or two, you will be reading about my current new, and at times exciting destination!

Bali trip: Day 6 (24 October 2025)

Hey there everyone. The first thing you need to know about Day 6 in Bali was that it was a very long day, but I promise you that it is worth reading through to the end.

It all started with the alarm going off at 3:30 AM. There was a whirlwind rush to eat one of the sweet buns I had bought a couple of days ago, quickly shower and then a comical 15 minute interlude of me going through which t-shirt to wear for the day. You have no doubt noticed that I seem to wear almost the exact same clothes in every picture you see of me while travelling, and if you haven’t before noticed, it will now be impossible to not see. The main conflict was that I had originally pulled out a dark colored t-shirt for today, but then I couldn’t decide which one, and then started to debate about whether or not it would actually be better for me to wear something more vibrant while visiting ancient temples. It will soon become evident which internal argument won out.

At 4:00 AM I was waiting to be picked up. The day before, on GetYourGuide, I had booked the Bali: Besakih Temple & Lempuyang Temple Gates of Heaven Tour for 6045 INR ($67.64 USD), including all transport, entry fees and a buffet lunch.

We had barely started out, when the other person in the car and I were told that the entry fees for the tour were actually not included. I knew that it wasn’t the guide’s fault, but this was not a good way to start the day. I really wanted to enjoy the day, but the negatives were quickly adding up. To begin with, when I had originally clicked on the trip within GetYourGuide, the price shown in the trip grid immediately increased by more than 1500 INR, and then there had been a list of several obviously needed inclusions, each one having additional cost. I had selected everything it was possible to select, and was now being told that it would be an additional $18 USD? On top of that, the trip had been advertised as departing at 7:00 AM (which had seemed reasonable) and then the evening before had been changed to a 4:00 AM departure.

Both myself and my fellow traveler were very disgruntled about this, but at 4:40 AM, talking things out together, we resolved to just deal with it since we really wanted to enjoy the day. We reasoned that especially since there were only two of us on the tour, we would have initially been willing to pay a bit more in order to still have today’s experience despite there being only two travelers. However, I will admit that I wrote a very strong worded, yet still polite message to the tour operator, TripGotik.

Unsurprisingly at this time of the morning, there didn’t seem to be any traffic. Furthermore, the vehicle was comfortable, and the roads were in good condition. At 5:00 AM, we stopped briefly at a convenience store, where I bought two chicken dumplings and a soy drink for 123 INR ($1.38 USD). Moving on from there, at 5:30 AM, the sun was starting to come up, and even in the quickly moving vehicle, the sky over the distant mountains was beautiful.

The picture didn’t really do it justice, but this got me thinking about how Heetum had said that the reason for us to leave so early was in order to get a good Instagram post in some particular place. That whole “perfect photo narrative” seemed to be a recurring theme here. It guess “it is what it is,” but I thought it was a bit sad if the entire reason for visiting Bali had been reduced to social media pictures. What about actually learning something about the temples or other sites which were visited?

At 5:50 AM we stopped for ten minutes to take a picture and to let the driver take a quick nap.

We decided to let Heetum sleep a few more minutes, and then as we were going along once more at 6:11 AM, I received a WhatsApp message from the tour operator apologizing for the mix-up, and assuring me that all entry fees had been included for the day. I know it was a small financial difference, but that immediately made both of us feel much better, effectively lifting the shadow which had been there since we had been picked up. Riding along, at 6:30 AM, I realized how much I was simply enjoying the scenery.

At 6:40 AM we arrived to the Lempuyang area and almost immediately got in a bus which took up up a rather twisty road to another stopping point. Here, as frequently happens in Bali, we had “required sarongs” tied on us. This had happened to me a few days ago as well. Not to be disrespectful, but the whole thing seemed a bit silly. Still, when in Bali . . .

At 6:57 AM, Heetum parked us at a restaurant and said that he was going to take care of getting our numbers (whatever that meant), but that it would be about an hour before we could go further up. It hadn’t been clear to either of us that we were going to stop at a restaurant for breakfast, but it seemed like a comfortable place to hang out, and the view really was wonderful.

At 7:49 AM I paid 60500 IDR ($3.63 USD) for my cold coffee, and we headed up the short hill, arriving to the actual temple at 7:55 AM. They toss a bit of water on you when you enter “to purify” you, and this is not optional. It all seemed absurdly performative, as there was nobody actually telling us anything about the temple itself, and nobody in attendance seemed to care. This was clearly only about getting the pictures.

We did actually learn a detail at 8:14 AM. Evidently there were a total of seven temples here, but visitors are only allowed to visit the first one unless they have come to worship. Yes, it was all very pretty, but I felt a bit bad that everyone (including myself) was treating this religious and archeologic site as an elaborate photo prop. Of course, I could read more about the temple online or something, but I felt that it would have been much more meaningful to take advantage of the wait time to actually learn something about where we were visiting. At least we had a covered area to sit while waiting for our turn to get pictures.

Karla, from Mexico, was the other person on my tour

At 8:39 AM, I encouraged my travel partner for the day, Karla, to go get some “flowing dress swing pictures” done while I just continued to wait. Again, it was all very silly, but several places I had gone in Bali, women were having these special photo shoots done, and I had to admit that they seemed to be very elegant. After some debate, Karla decided to go ahead with the plan, as this was something which she definitely would not do anywhere else. I don’t remember exactly how much she paid, but I remember thinking that it was a perfectly reasonable price, especially if the photos turned out as beautiful as the samples which had been shown.

Finally at 9:29 AM my number was called and I rushed forward to get my 15 seconds of meticulously orchestrated photos at the “Gates of Heaven”.

At 9:46 AM Karla returned, and I had to admit that her photos and videos really were beautiful; here you can see a small sample. As soon as she arrived, they rushed her to the gates and we headed back to the car, departing from the site at 10:15 AM.

Our next stop at 10:28 AM was Tunas Bali Luwak Coffee where we had a coffee tasting tour with the on-site guide Nyoman. Obviously, the hope here was that we would buy things, but I didn´t. However, I did enjoy the “free” selection of teas and coffees, and felt that Nyoman did a good job. So, when the tour ended at 11:23 AM I left a tip of 15000 IDR ($0.90 USD), and I think that Karla also bought a couple of bags of coffee.

This civet was not caged, but presumably stayed around here because of the free food.

When we departed at 11:28 AM, I had to admit that I had actually rather enjoyed this thinly veiled sales pitch. It is not something I would have done on my own, but I would actually recommend it if you have the time to fit it into your visit to Bali.

We weren’t in the car very long before arriving to Tirta Gangga at 11:32 AM. There’s no way around it; this place is amazingly beautiful. The gardens were meticulously maintained, the giant koi stunning, and the opportunities for pictures endless. On top of that, there was also a small, but reasonably well-done museum which added a bit of historical context to the whole place. It was all so perfect that it seemed a bit like being dropped into a Disney movie or something. I feel like I should have been jaded, and end up saying that it is too artificial. But you know what, that’s not what I thought at all. It was an incredibly special surprise to have come here.

This former king had a bunch of these short swords. I didn’t understand why, but it was evidently a big deal.

At 12:51 PM we were back in the car, and Heetum said it would be about 90 minutes until our next stop. The scenery along the way was impressive, and we even did a quick stop for more random pictures.

We arrived to Lereng Agung Restaurant at 2:31 PM. There, I was initially delighted to see this large bat on a perch near the entrance. My buffet lunch here was included in the tour, and I took full advantage of the same. The food wasn’t particularly amazing, but I had no particular complaints. Furthermore, the view was outstanding.

Unfortunately as we were departing at 4:20 PM, I made the mistake of asking our guard why the bat didn’t fly away. He said that the owner of the restaurant had intentionally broken the bat’s wing so that it would become dependent on him, in the process becoming a tourist attraction . . . I have since then searched for more information on this and can’t find anything to confirm this. However, this appears to be a known practice in Bali. Is that what happened here? I don’t know, but if so, that would be a reason to skip this otherwise pleasant lunch destination.

Just ten minutes later, we arrived at Pura Agung Besakih, also commonly referred to as The Mother Temple. According to Heetum, this is the most important temple in Bali, sort of like a National Cathedral. Surprise, surprise (or not), we were once more required to put on sarongs. Unless specifically coming to worship, all visits here are managed by local guides. Heetum took care of getting our tickets, and we were rushed into a golf cart to take us up to where the actual tour would begin.

According to our local temple guide, the temple is from the eighth century, dedicated to Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu. Furthermore, this is a fully functioning temple rather than just an archeologic site. So, a lot of the construction is evidently quite modern, whereas other parts of the buildings and walls go back more than a thousand years.

These moss covered walls date all the way back to the eighth century.

Despite being such a massive temple complex, which is evidently also central to traditional religious life on the island, at 4:54 PM there was almost nobody there. The entire experience was delightfully peaceful, with impressive sites at every juncture. Furthermore, while the local guide was not incredibly insightful, he definitely made the visit much more enjoyable by adding some context to the visit.

I am only relaying what we were told, so the information is doubtless incomplete. I was interested to learn that the first temple area where we visited is evidently for the farmer caste, with the second one being for the soldier caste. Our local guide was from farmer caste, and he indicated that he could only worship in that area; this did not however seem to bother him. I wasn’t really sure of how many castes were recognized here, but the guide was quick to clarify that the system is different from Hinduism in India. I had just sort of assumed that the various sorts of roofs were decorative, but we found out that the number of roofs indicates to which the caste the area corresponds, with the highest caste having towers with eleven roofs.

At 5:23 PM we arrived to an extremely impressive structure, which as far as I could tell, was the highest point to the temple complex. I was very curious to look around inside, but you are evidently only supposed to enter if you are going to worship. They apparently just take your word for it, but I certainly didn’t want to pretend that I believed something which I didn’t, and neither did my travel partner Karla. So, we both indicated that we would stay outside and appreciate the the impressive view, made even more impactful by the lack of other visitors and the almost complete silence.

It seemed though that we had partially misunderstood about not being allowed to go up the stairs. Much of this apex structure is open to general visitors, but there is a clear invisible line which is only to be crossed by worshippers. It would have been impossible for us to identify that point on our own, but I guess that is one of the reasons that all non-religious visitors are required to be accompanied by a temple guide.

The pictures really don’t do it justice. The towers in the far distance made me feel like I was I was in some sort of a magical land from the distant past.

So wow, we made it to the top! Actually, no we didn’t. At 5:32 PM we had gone up as far as we were going to, but this whole temple area actually continues for another two kilometers! Regardless, even regular worshippers usually only come up as far as we were, and while it was all very beautiful, it was also quickly getting dark, and we were going to have to walk all the way back down. The local guide continued on down with us until the entrance to where the golf cart had dropped us off, and we continued walking down on our own from there.

As we arrived back to the car at 6:28 PM, I was overwhelmingly thankful for having been able to experience this visit. Regardless of your belief system, if in Bali, you should definitely visit this temple complex. I do however, understand that it is much busier at other times of the day and at other times of the year. Still, even if not visiting in October, I think it is worth a shot to make some time for this religious site.

The ride back to the hotel was uneventful, if a bit long. We dropped Karla off at 8:30 PM, but it wasn’t until 9:49 PM that we finally arrived back to my lodging . . . an almost eighteen hour tour! I will admit that I had been a bit cynical near the beginning of the day, but things turned out wonderfully. It is always difficult to identify “the best day” of a trip, but I think this was it. Yes, there was the inconvenience of the early departure, and the somewhat questionable emphasis at times on getting “the perfect picture”. However, all together, I had a fantastic time. Heetum and Karla, if you are reading this, thank you for contributing to this incredible memory of Bali!

So, what do you think? If you have read the other days, do you agree that this was really the best one? What about the huge wait for the fifteen seconds of pictures at the first site . . . was it worth it, or just silly? I look forward to seeing your comments and questions in the section below.

Bali trip: Day 5 (23 October 2025)

Hey there everyone, thanks for continuing to read along. I am afraid that I didn´t take very good notes for Day 5, and it was also a “rest day”. I considered skipping writing about it; however, there were still a couple of details which might be important for other visitors, so I decided to get them down for you as well. Still, if you find that this one is too slow, I will understand if you decide to just skip ahead to Day 6.

As mentioned earlier, I had decided to keep Day 5 mostly as just a rest day. With that in mind, it wasn’t until 10:11 AM that walked out from Dikubu Bali Villa and Suite, arriving to Nook at 10:27 AM. I ordered the breakfast board and Bali coffee.

If you have ever read about someone eating breakfast in Bali, there is a good chance you already know something about this place. It has a wonderful atmosphere, and like most places in Bali, they do an amazing job of presenting the food. However, fame and a pleasant atmosphere come with a cost, which in this case was 200,000 IDR ($12 USD) which I paid with credit card. Now I know that my readers from North America, Western Europe and even East Asia will think this is cheap, but it is quite a bit more than I had been paying at other spots. Nevertheless, I made the most of the ambiance, doing some reading and then leaving at 12:04 PM.

I forgot to note down the cost of the bike taxi, but it wasn’t much, arriving at 12:12 PM. At De Gym, I once more bought a day pass for 200,000 IDR ($12 USD). It was about the same experience as when I was there on Day 3, so if you want more details, you can look back at that entry. While I was there, I booked Bali’s Secret Comedy night through GetYourGuide for a cost of 1346 INR ($15.02 USD). I had tried to book directly, but I couldn’t make the local website work with my international card. I stayed there until 3:09 PM and then walked over to the same place I had eaten on Monday, getting a Pasu Kremes Komplit for only 23000 IDR ($1.38 USD).

You can´t ell in the picture, but there was both fried chicken and fried tempeh, both of which were very tasty.

I can only assume that they took pity on me this time, having seen how clumsy I had been when eating with only my hand during my previous visit, but whatever the reason, I admit that I liked having the spoon and the fork.

From there, my notes fell off a bit. I am not really sure when I got back, but while at the hotel at around 4:10 PM, I reflected on how I should probably take advantage of the beautiful pool area which was just outside my room.

I never did actually hang out there nor much less get in the water, but it was certainly pretty to see each day when I came in and out of the room. I stayed there until 6:19 PM and then headed out walking towards the venue for the comedy show, Huge Restaurant, where I arrived at 6:37 PM.

Supposedly, “registration” began at 6:30 PM, but I had clearly arrived way too early. I don´t remember how much I paid, but I got a beer while waiting and observed that the bar/restaurant looked very nice, and similarly quite expensive. I was a bit surprised when we were finally issued into the room at around 7:20 PM . . . there were only 18 people in attendance! However, they had done a good job of setting things up so that it didn´t seem horribly empty. It was like going to a show in someone´s living room. Despite the relatively small audience, both of the comedians did an amazing job, and I was very happy that I had come.

On a separate note, right after the show started I got a text message regarding my tour for the next day asking if I would be willing to leave at 3:30 AM. During the intermission, I negotiated to move the departure time to 4:00 AM . . . Supposedly this was to have a 7:00 AM departure, but I reasoned that if the guide wanted to go so much earlier, there had to be a good justification. You will have to keep reading along for Day 6 to find out I was right.

Anyway, as mentioned earlier, the show had been fantastic, and I strongly recommend for other visitors to take the time to attend. Upon leaving at 9:10 PM, I decided to grab a quick bite at another local eatery near my hotel, but I forgot to write down the name. It was a place with all sorts of food which one could see in the window. I had thought it was fake food, but when I arrived at 9:30 PM, I discovered that it was real food which had been made earlier. You just point to what you want, and they serve you.

It wasn´t all that attractive, but at least initially it tasted alright. I don´t remember how much I paid, but I know it wasn´t much, certainly less than 50000 IDR. After I had eaten about half of it, I realized that it was perhaps not wise to eat food which had been sitting in a window for an indeterminate amount of time, but I also figured that it was too late to do anything about it after already having eaten half of it. Furthermore, I was hungry and knew that I needed to get back to my room quickly so I could get a tiny amount of sleep. As I finished at 9:58 PM, I began to imagine that something had tasted off with the food, but I thought it also might have just been unfamiliar spices. Regardless, it had already been eaten, so what would happen was going to happen.

At 10:05 PM I was back in the room, immediately headed to bed. Just in case, I set three alarms: one on my watch, one on my phone, and one on my Surface Laptop Go. Between all three of them, it seemed that there would be a good chance that I would get up in time for tomorrow´s 4:00 AM pick up from the hotel. As I quickly drifted off to sleep, I was still vaguely uneasy about what I had eaten for dinner . . .

Bali trip: Day 4 (22 October 2025)

Hey there loyal readers! A few of you told me that yesterday was a bit too laid back for your tastes, so don’t worry, Day 4 was once again a jam-packed marathon of different activities. For those of you who recently read about Day 3, you probably remember that I had booked the Bali/Nusa Penida: East & West Highlights Full-Day Tour for today through GetYourGuide for a cost of 5277 INR ($59.77 USD) including hotel pickup and drop off from Kerobokan.

At 5:36 AM I was picked up by my driver Kadek right outside Dikubu Bali Villa and Suites and we were on our way. It was an easy and comfortable ride, with us pulling up outside Sanur Harbor at 6:37 AM. Kadek showed me where to sit and told me that he would take care of getting my ferry tickets etc . . . It looked like there were quite a few people waiting, so I wondered about just how many people would be on this “small group tour”.

We had a fifteen-minute wait before departure, so I just wandered around a bit until 7:00 AM, when Kadek walked me over to the boarding area and told me that he would be waiting when I got back.

The ferry departed at 7:19 AM, with the uneventful ride ending at 8:06 AM. This however was when things started to get confusing. I hadn’t realized it, but there were actually people from several different groups on the ferry, as well as daily independent travelers. Upon disembarking at 8:11 AM, I just followed a group of people who sort of looked like they were also tourists (and they were) but it turned out that they were not actually part of my group. This was an important detail which nobody has shared with me. Fortunately, my guide and driver on the island, Yogi, realized that something was wrong and called me via WhatsApp; I was really happy that I had an active internet connection on my phone! By 8:20 AM I was with the other three member of the tour, and we were off on our adventure.

Similar to what I had encountered in the morning, the car was very comfortable, and there seemed to be very little traffic. I passed the time watching the beautiful scenery and speaking to the charming Romanian couple who were on their honeymoon and a very interesting gentleman from Poland. I am not really sure where it was, but our first stop was at 9:07 AM.

Yes, the water really looks like that.
Yogi was clearly aiming to be a professional photographer for the trip.

The pictures really don’t do it justice, and at 9:55 AM we were back in the car heading to our next stop, arriving to Kelingking Beach at 10:31 AM.

If any of these photos look familiar, it’s because this is probably one of the most photographed spots in Bali. Supposedly the one rock formation there in the distance looks like the open mouth of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, but I didn’t really see it. Regardless, once again, the views really were absolutely spectacular. Unfortunately, here we had a bit of a conflict because despite Yogi having clearly said that it was a bad idea, the other solo traveler on the trip decided to walk all the way down to the beach. We were supposed to have left at 11:00 AM, but due to this problematic snafu, we ended up not leaving until 11:53 AM. This caused a great deal of tension in the group, with the guide being at a bit of a loss about how to proceed, and the honeymooning couple being particularly annoyed at the delay. Again, if you go on a small group tour, please be considerate of the announced timings!

Despite me also being rather annoyed, I tried to take the role of peacemaker as we arrived at our nearby lunch spot at 12:02 PM. We had originally been scheduled to spend a full hour there, but I suggested that we could make up some of the time by eating quickly and then just focusing on enjoying the rest of the day. We all agreed to the plan, but lunch was still rather tense. Food was not included in this particular trip, and my simple, but adequate meal of rice, fish and an ice sorbetto popsicle had a cost of 149000 IDR ($8.89 USD) which I paid for with my credit card.

As the food took some time to come out, we weren’t able to make up as much time as we had hoped, but at 12:46 PM we were back in the car once again. I really enjoyed the views as we were driving to our next destination.

I had really enjoyed the drive; however, I was also happy when we came to our next stop at 1:43 PM. Here we would see Atuh and Diamond Beach. Yogi said that we had until 3:00 PM to explore here. Atuh beach looked very welcoming, but the path also looked very slippery. Despite having very good walking shoes, I had almost fallen down once at this general site (Yes, I know . . . slipping and falling seemed to be a recurring risk during this trip.), so I decided to stick to the view from afar, especially as I had not brought swimming gear.

The way down to Diamond beach, while still a bit of a challenge, appeared to be much less risky than the other spot, so I decided to take a chance, going down at 2:01 PM. No doubt if I had come with someone else, I would have at least got my feet wet. But as it was, I just didn’t want to deal with the sand etc . . . I did however definitely enjoy seeing it, even though I didn’t feel any need to actually walk on the sand or get in the water.

The path down to Diamond beach seemed far more secure than the way down to Atuh beach, but it definitely wasn’t “easy”. The stone stairs were steep, uneven and at times a bit slippery due to the sand on them. It was clear that this would be a very rather difficult trek for anyone who had even minor issues with mobility. I noted that even several average looking visitors in their twenties seemed to be having some problems with the route. In summary, before walking down to Diamond Beach, consider the possible downsides.

So yes, it was very beautiful, but at 2:22 PM I decided to slowly make my way back up the stone steps, arriving back to the car at 2:58 PM with two minutes to spare! Thankfully, the others arrived soon after and we headed off towards the ferry. As we were driving, I reflected on how that despite still not being a completely simple walk down to Diamond Beach, it really was an impressive feat how they had carved the stairs into the side of the rocky cliff. The drive was uneventful, with us arriving at the dock at 4:17 PM.

I forgot to mention this earlier, but when we had first taken the ferry, we were each given a paper that we had to keep until the end of the day. I hadn’t been sure of the purpose of this paper until Yogi said that he needed it so he could pick up our return tickets while we hung out in the waiting area . . . so, don’t lose that paper! The waiting area was not fancy, but well-apportioned with restrooms, changing rooms and I think maybe even showers; however, I am not certain of the last one. Yogi said his goodbyes, and we were ushered onto the final ferry of the evening at 5:00 PM.

Just as we were starting off, I got a text message from Kadek with a picture of where he would be waiting for me. True to his word, upon arriving back to Sanur at 5:35 PM, it was a short walk from the pier to bright yellow storefront which he had indicated and at 5:44 PM we headed back to Kerobokan.

At least along this particular route, the traffic was moving better during evening rush hour than would be typical in Bengaluru, but it was still very busy. In contrast, the car was very comfortable, and Kadek was an excellent driver. So even though we didn’t pull up in front of my hotel until 7:00 PM, I had not felt that it was an especially tedious drive. After resting a bit, at 7:49 PM I decided to go get some food at that food court I had seen the previous day. However, I quickly realized that I wasn’t actually sure of where to go, so I opted to just try a tiny local stall close to my hotel. Looking at the portion sizes, at 8:00 PM I decided to get two bowls of Bakso Sapi for a total cost of just 30,000 IDR ($1.80 USD).

I liked it, but I think it is meant to be more of a snack than a meal. Still, with the two bowls, it was fine for my needs, and I was glad to have tried something new. Despite dragging things out for as long as was reasonable, I was completely finished at 8:41 PM and decided to try to stop by a bakery I had also seen the day before, but once again realized I didn’t actually know where it was. Thus at 9:18 PM I was back in the room for the night with no sweets but having eaten two very satisfying bowls of Bakso Sapi.

And with that, the day had ended. Looking back, I think I should have brought along some swim gear and a large towel for this day tour. Certainly, I think most people would have been better off with those, but given my aversion to sand, it was probably fine that I had not realized just how long we would be spending at possible swimming sites. I would however definitely advise the tour operators to make this clear for future groups, as it would have been very disappointing to not have had them if I had wanted to get in the water either at Atuh or Diamond Beach.

So, what do you think of the Bali trip so far? If you hadn’t thought of visiting earlier, do you think it is now a destination to put on your list? For those of you who have already been there, is there something important that you think I have left out? If so, maybe I will mention those things later on. If you are curious about how it all finishes up, I encourage you to subscribe in order to make sure you don’t miss a single day. Finally, thanks for reading along, and please leave your comments and questions below.

Bali trip: Day 3 (21 October 2025)

Hello readers, and as always, thank you for continuing to read along. If Day 2 seemed a bit too hectic for the laid-back view you have of Bali, then Day 3 might be more in line with your fantasy of a peaceful, island vacation.

While the previous day had been great, I was happy that I had set Day 3 as a time of relative rest. As such, it is probably not that much of a surprise that I didn’t even leave the room until 11:25 AM. I wanted to check out a local gym rather unimaginatively named DeGym, but I also realized that I should get something to eat beforehand. So, with my gym bag packed, I slowly walked in that direction, arriving about 11:45 AM. I could easily have arrived much quicker, but I was taking my time, peeking down alleys etc . . . as I walked.

I found the building at 11:45 AM without too much trouble but decided to go across the street to Tentang Kopi to get some food before going in. Given that the cafe was right there on the main rood, it was a bit noisier than some might like, but I didn’t find it particularly distracting. The ambiance inside was quite pleasant, and I ordered the Gado Gado, Chicken fried rice with satay, and pineapple juice. The Gado Gado and juice came out first at 12:01 AM, closely followed by the Chicken fried rice with Satay at 12:06 PM.

Once more, I was particularly impressed by how well the food had been presented. I will still need to check more over the next few days, but this seems to be an area of expertise in Bali. While waiting and then eating my food, I decided to once more book a tour for the following day on GetYourGuide, this time opting for the East and West highlight tour trip Penida for a cost of 5277 INR including hotel pickup and drop off from Kerobokan. Having finished my food at 12:38 PM, I paid 133,000 IDR ($7.96 USD) using my Indian international credit card and walked across to the gym.

As I had my bag with shoes and everything with me, the process of getting a day pass for 200,000 IDR ($11.97 USD) was extremely simple. The place was extremely clean, comfortably air-conditioned, and clearly appropriate for both serious and casual gym goers. While this is perhaps a minor point, I was particularly impressed by the lockers in the changing rooms; they had these simple combination locks which one sets and uses on a daily basis.

At 2:55 PM I finished up at the gym and walked back towards Dikubu Bali Villas and Suites. Along the way, I stopped in at a convenience store to get some simple groceries for 110000 IDR ($6.58) and then bought five pieces of original Cupup Tahu for just 10000 IDR ($0.60 USD).

Back in the room at 3:34 PM, I decided to forego the green chilis which had been included with the Cupup Tahu, and instead put some yogurt on them. I am not sure, but I think they were some sort of deep-fried tofu. Without the yogurt, they were plain, but not unpleasant. With the yogurt, they were a very filling and tasty after-gym snack. I stayed there resting in the room until 5:19 PM, and then once more headed out to walk down to Petitenget beach for the sunset.

Upon arriving at 6:00 PM, I once more saw that despite being in a very touristic area, the beach was uncrowded with a relaxing view.

I had missed the actual sunset but still enjoyed being there in such a relaxing setting. I stayed there until 6:40 PM, and then resolved to walk back to the room. Changing things up, I walked a different route, soon finding myself outside Grill’d Healthy Burgers (whatever that means) at 6:56 PM where I was looked over the menu which was posted just outside. I give credit to the greeter; she did a very good job of talking the place up without seeming overbearing, and then when she saw that it looked like I would probably continue walking, swooped in with a “Free french fries card” and additional information about a “buy two get one free” offer on alcoholic drinks”.

I had no interest in drinking three beers on my own, but there was also a prominent sign out front indicating that Conde Nast traveler endorsed them. Eating a hamburger and fries in Bali may seem silly to you, but having flown in from India, for me it seemed like an exotic treat. The Bintang Radler beer I blindly ordered tasted like lemonade; I had not expected that but found it to be very refreshing. Furthermore, both the burger and fries were exceptionally good.

At 7:44 PM I finished my meal, using my credit card to pay the 174,900 IDR ($10.53 USD) bill. The walk back to my room in Kerobokan was uneventful, but the peaceful streets were beautiful at this time of the evening.

This food court looked interesting, and I resolved to come back later on.

I arrived back to the room at 8:22 PM, took a quick shower and watched a bit of streaming video before heading to bed for the night. Today had definitely been far less eventful than yesterday, but I wouldn’t say that I had liked in any less. Sometimes it is nice to jump around to all sorts of iconic sites, but other times it is equally enjoyable to just peacefully enjoy simple moments.

What about you? Which day did you prefer the most? Would you generally opt for more jam-packed days of fantastic sites, or do you prefer to explore the undelighted spots of joy that might otherwise go unnoticed? Let me know in the comment section below, and please keep reading along with Day 4.

Bali trip: Day 2 (20 October 2025)

Hey there readers, before getting into the details of Day 2 of my recent trip to Bali, I would like to extend a very warm thank you to everyone who sent me direct messages of encouragement after my last post. It was very rewarding to read all of your positive notes!

So unlike Day 1, for today I had decided to book a full day tour to the Ubud area. As is generally my recommendation for day trips, particularly as a solo traveler, I booked the through Get you Guide, for a cost of 5581 INR ($62.93 USD) including lunch and all entry fees. The tour name was Ubud: All-Inclusive Tour with Optional Lunch. The actual tour operator was Tripgotik and our driver/guide for the day was Nick (Cinek). The evening before, I had been contacted by Nick to confirm the pick-up time.

The trip began with me being picked up from my hotel (see details from Day 1) in Kerobokan at 8:40 AM. The SUV style vehicle was comfortable, with a total of 5 tourists having joined the group by 9:30 AM. The drive itself was relatively uneventful, but the scenery was pleasant.

We arrived to Sangeh Monkey Forest at 10:25 AM and started looking around.

I think I would have liked to explore just a bit more, but it was clear that the main idea on this trip was to get the picture and get out quickly. That having been said, it appears that one could easily spend several hours here, but I am not sure how interesting that would be, as I really only saw the entrance. Still, everyone was happy because yes, you guessed it . . .

That’s right, close encounters with monkeys. Unlike several other areas I have visited with monkeys, at least these ones near the entrance were very docile. I suspect they were more interested in getting the processed food and occasional fruits from clever guides setting up the perfect picture for tourists than in grabbing jewelry or snatching bags. They were of course adorable, but I have to admit that I was a bit uncomfortable with the picture setup. Despite a recent news report to the contrary, the actual local people and guides on site had no issues coaxing monkeys onto people’s shoulders etc . . . through the enticement of food. I want to be clear, this was ALL the guides, not just ours. It was obvious that this is the norm.

There was no “cultural element” to the stop, and when I asked Nick about the age of the temple, he said it was 100 years old. This seemed off to me, and upon checking later, I saw that the temple was built in the 17th century. Again though, we clearly weren’t there for the temple itself nor even most of the grounds, so it is unsurprising that there was not more complete information. Still, overall, I have to admit that it was a very pleasant spot, and certainly everyone in my group seemed very happy with the experience.

We were back in the vehicle at 11:40 AM. Once more, the views were very nice, even in the moving vehicle. I found myself thinking that with more time, it seemed that it would be pleasant to wander around and check out some more of the spots we were passing. However, we were on the clock, and at 12:50 PM arrived to Ubud palace. Right off I could understand why this area is so popular for tourists to stay, and I could see myself returning later on.

I know I look ridiculous. but I was more interested in protecting my skin than in looking amazing.

Again, we didn’t really learn anything much about the palace itself. To be fair, it seems that only a very small amount of the attraction is even open to the public, so perhaps that’s just what it is. At any rate, at 1:07 PM Nick pointed us towards the Ubud art market and told us that we had exactly 30 minutes to explore before being picked up right in front of the temple. Everyone else dutifully headed into the market, but I decided instead to use my limited time to walk around a bit in the area near the palace.

It’s worth noting that just five minutes away from the palace, it was much calmer and at least from my viewpoint, much nicer to walk around. Like a well-trained tourist, I was back in the SUV at 1:32 PM, but there was a bit of an issue. Of the five of us, only the woman from France and myself had arrived. This sort of thing frequently happens on small group tours, but that doesn’t make it less annoying for the guide and for those who are on time. The final lagging member of our group didn’t arrive until 1:51 PM. In case the implied message is not clear, if going on a small group tour, please be respectful of the time expectations. Everyone on the trip wants to see things, and if you want to do things at your own pace, pay for a completely private trip or simply go on your own.

Once more, as we continued along our way, the scenery was quite picturesque. Furthermore, given that I had arrived first back to the vehicle, this time I was in the front seat where it was much easier to take pictures while in motion.

We pulled into Kawi restaurant for lunch at 2:22 PM where we were quickly seated in an area with a very favorable view. The whole lunch experience was enjoyable if not particularly amazing in terms of the food itself, and I was glad that I had simply opted to have my full lunch included in the price rather than deal with deciding what to eat and then pay right there at the restaurant.

The crispy duck was nice enough, if less amazing than I had hoped for.
What can I say about my dessert of black rice with coconut milk? It tasted very “healthy”.

Certainly, it was a good place for a small group to have a leisurely lunch, and at 3:51 PM we were once more back in the vehicle. Arriving to a stunningly beautiful rice terrace area just fifteen minutes later, we were given 50 minutes to just look around and explore.

Despite the beauty of the place, it seemed a bit silly to be wandering around some neighborhood rice crop. I found myself wondering if this would work for wheat, soy or corn fields? I did not however feel that we were inconveniencing anyone or taking advantage of the locals, as they had clearly worked out a more than adequate system to monetize the agricultural site. Nevertheless, I still found it noteworthy that this very obviously was still an actual working rice field with what appeared to be traditional farm workers. On the other side of field, several of us from my group met up in a simple café to have drinks while we appreciated the view; my tasty strawberry shake was only 35000 IDR ($2.10 USD).

Back in the car again at 4:46 PM, just twenty-seven minutes later we arrived at the entrance of Ulu Petanu Waterfall. As I hadn´t really checked where we would be going ahead of time, I took each stop as a pleasant surprise, and this one was no different.

No the water isn´t polluted. It comes directly from the spring this way, supposedly with this milky color because of the blood of a monster who had once been defeated at the site.
While it is possible to swim here, our guide actively discouraged us from doing so. The nearby spring isn´t polluted but there are pollutants in the waterfall which can cause one to get sick . . . obviously, many people take their chances and most are fine afterwards.

At 5:35 PM we departed in the car, arriving to Tirta Empul Temple complex at 5:52 PM. For local Hindus and many who visit from other parts of the world, the water which comes from the natural spring here is considered holy. It is a fully functioning site, with both tourists and those from the immediate community participating in different purification rituals which all involve being immersed in the waters of the temple. I found it noteworthy that locals were fine with “non-believers” participating in the rituals as long as the rules of the ceremony were adhered to in a respectful fashion.

It is forbidden for anyone to ever enter this pool, but twice a year they cut back the water vegetation using special tools on long poles.
This is the first of three important purification pools.
No caption needed . . .

Finishing up at the temple just as it was getting dark, at 6:23 PM we ended the “tour part” of our trip and started back towards my lodging in Kerobokan, dropping off people along the way. It wasn´t until 8:40 PM that Nick dropped me off outside my hotel where we said our goodbyes. After a brief break, at 9:09 PM I decided to go out to find some simple food nearby, which I bought for just 50,000 IDR ($3 USD) including some unexpectedly tasty tempeh and a mug of iced tea. Unfortunately, I had an unpleasant I fell in a hole along the side of the road, thankfully not breaking through the skin nor breaking anything, but I could tell my leg would have some soreness for a couple of days . . . I needed to be more careful, as that could have but a very unpleasant end to my holiday.

Unlike where I had eaten the first night, here they immediately pulled out spoon and fork for me which I was happy to use. Despite it being very simple fare, I was impressed with how well the food was presented.
I looked around in Bali Crown convenience store and was amused to see the dog asleep in a corner.
While not as bad as the area around where I live in Bengaluru, Kerobokan streets have their hazards. I was incredibly lucky here as some of these improperly covered drains are full of dirty water and very deep.

Again, I was very thankful that my long, but very enjoyable trip to Ubud had not been destroyed by a hole in the street. I was a bit cautious to even mention what had happened, because I did not want to take away from the overall fantastic day, but I then decided it was worth the time to warn fellow travelers to be careful when out walking, especially at night in this area. So, you have been warned!

So, what do you think? Do you think that full day trip was worth $69.23 USD or should I have just managed things on my own? Or maybe you think I should have just spent the day at the beach? What would you have done? Leave your comments and questions in the section below, and I will do my best to help make sure your next trip to Bali will be at least as amazing as mine has been so far!

Bali trip: Day 1 (19 October 2025)

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.

Seattle trip: 14-19 June 2025

Hey everyone, so those of you who generally follow along with me know that I don’t generally write too much about my travels when I am primarily visiting friends or family. This isn’t so much because I don’t want you to know what happened, but rather because most of it is of no interest to anyone else except myself. However, even with the most personal of visits, there are bound to be some general details of interest to others, so this time around I have decided to do a general summary entry of my recent experiences in Seattle.

The first thing that struck me in the Seattle airport, besides the rather easy-going immigration process, was the weird baggage claim area. What are those things above the luggage belts supposed to be? Perhaps because I had just arrived in from Taiwan, I thought maybe they were dragon inspired? I mean I guess it’s nice that they are doing some decoration, but it was a bit weird.

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The next thing that hit me as I exited the building was that it was cold! I had already thought ahead that I would need some sort of a coat for my upcoming trip to Bogota, but it was 11 degrees Celsius in June! Seattle natives evidently will be unphased by this, but it was a bit of a surprise for me. Fortunately, my friend Beth quickly picked me up, and we were soon at her beautiful home where I was able to rest for a while.

In what I can only assume is typical Seattle fashion, or maybe this is just Beth and Scott’s lifestyle, in the early evening we went to an art show at Fogue Gallery.

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The art exhibition was free, and I felt very sophisticated with my plate of cheeses and flute of champagne. However, we then walked out and went over to the slightly less sophisticated Georgetown Carnival, which was pretty much what you would expect from almost any town carnival in the United States, but perhaps because of the time of day, it was particularly low key, but still a pleasant experience.

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The next day, early in the afternoon I went down to the Beacon Hill Public Library with Scott. I know you may be thinking, “Why is he writing about a public library?” So, whether or not you agree, I actually think that public libraries are rather amazing, even in this modern world of ubiquitous internet. Most countries don’t have them, or if they do, they are very limited in their scope. So, I love going to any public libraries, especially in smaller neighborhoods or towns. If you have a public library near you, make sure to go check it out; it is probably way more amazing than you previously realized.

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In the evening, Beth and Scott organized a Meet Jay party at their house. This was the second installation, as the first one took place three years ago when I was in town. You won’t get to replicate this experience, as it required Beth’s advance organization, Scott’s attentive cooking, and their joint willingness to open their home to a very interesting group of their friends and neighbors.

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You can however visit the city center like we did on June 16th. The waterfront is beautiful, and the different markets were just as interesting as they were last time I had visited three years ago.

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No, I didn’t buy an energy drink. They were just handing them out for free.
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The doughnuts here taste quite good, but the main draw seems to be the different designs.
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The next day Beth indulged another of my favorite things about the United States, going walking with me at a nearby public park, Green Lake Park. Now public parks are more common outside of the United States than quality libraries, but people here really do know how to nicely maintain some beautiful public spaces which just like the libraries, are completely free and open to the general public. Again, this is one of the big pluses of the United States that I feel people who live there do not fully appreciate. With just public libraries and public parks, I think most people could have perfectly happy leisure lives.

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After hanging out at the park, we went to Snowy Village to get some delicious Korean shaved ice treats. As is obvious, these treats are not a particular highlight of Seattle vs. other places in the country nor even the world, and in this case definitely were not inexpensive. However, for an occasional tasty treat, it’s nice knowing that it is an available option in Seattle.

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After resting a bit back at Beth and Scott’s home, we went out for a lifetime first for me . . . a live hockey game! No, it’s not a team which you would know, but I found the whole experience to be rather exhilarating, despite the fact that there were only two of us in the bleachers. I understand that actually participating in these neighborhood leagues is a bit expensive, but I suspect that watching is always free, as long as you know when they are playing. As Beth is rather tiny (at least compared to me), I was pretty amazed to see how impressive she was out on the ice. Also, who knew how fast live ice-hockey actually is?! If you are interested, it looks like Kent Valley Ice Center has lessons for BOTH ice-hockey and figure skating.

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On June 18th, this was one I had actually done before, but it had been a couple of years. We went bowling at West Seattle Bowl. I was not very good, but that wasn’t really the point. It was nice to share with Beth’s friends and just have fun doing something different.

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Yes, it’s a DIFFERENT art car than the one you saw earlier.
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Afterwards, we went to get a massive slice of surprisingly delicious pizza and an incredibly cold (I know, go figure?) but tasty soft serve ice cream sundae. These last two items were perhaps not so surprising on their own, but in comparative terms, they were crazy cheap . . . just $1.99 USD for the pizza and $2.49 USD for the sundae.

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You would think that the day couldn’t get any fuller but following up on my new experience from the previous evening, I went to my second live hockey match of my entire life, this one at Sno-King Ice Arenas. I think I liked this one a bit better, as the stands were closer to the ice, and I also had a better idea of what to expect in terms of how rapidly they were playing.

For my final day, I really wanted to go to another public park type area, so Scott and Beth decided it would be nice for us to go out to the public beach area near Alki Avenue. I am not sure what this exact spot is called, but it was in that general area, and at least at some point we were next to Elliot Bay. It was great to see so many people taking advantage of the public space, even though I thought it was crazy that there were people in swimsuits and trunks without shirts when it was 19 degrees Celsius. No doubt the Seattle authorities had heard that I would be coming, so they also arranged have a real-life otter sighting!

Yes, it’s a REAL house.

We then wrapped up our outing for the day at Marination Ma Kai. I didn’t really have a strong point of comparison, but Beth and Scott said that they had reasonably authentic Hawaiian food. I don’t know if it was authentic, but I was very pleased with my Luau Plate Combo.

Interestingly, the “Hawaiian chips” are not actually made in Hawaii.

So, that pretty much wrapped things up for the trip. Late in the evening, Scott was kind enough to drop me off at the airport, and the whole check-in experience went quite well despite what appeared to be a rather long line for the security check.

What do you think? Are you interested in visiting Seattle. Or if you aren’t interested in visiting Seattle, maybe you just want to hang out with Beth and Scott? Let me know your questions and comments in the section below.

Taipei trip: Day 5 (13-14 June 2025)

Hey everyone, as there wasn’t so much to tell about the early morning flight out on the 14th, I will do the final day as a single entry. After a simple breakfast in the apartment which Haowen had gone out to pick up while I was packing, at 11:09 AM we headed out towards the bus stop where we arrived at 11:28 AM.

It didn’t take long, and at 11:35 AM we were already in the bus, using our metro cards to swipe in for only 15 NTD ($0.51 USD). It was a 35-minute comfortable bus ride, and when we got off it was still lightly drizzling. However, I think though that even without our mini umbrellas, it would have been fine, since it was only a four-minute walk to Breeze, where we arrived at 12:14 PM.

We went up to the i-ride Taipei place. There were several different options available, but we chose the Taipei one. Our tickets were 400 NTD ($13.50 USD) each, but we had to wait around for a bit.

The “experience” started with an introduction done all in Chinese from 1:00 to 1:14 PM, with the actual 5-D theatre show from 1:15 to 1:25 PM. As part of the whole intro, I think since there were two of us, there was a free green screen, cardboard framed photo which was actually quite nice. I know that for only 10 minutes, this seems like it was a bit expensive, but it actually did feel longer, and it was certainly enjoyable. Whether or not it is “worth it” probably partially corresponds both to your own personal interests and disposable income.

We exited the mall at 1:38 PM and headed over to the nearby Taipei 101 shopping center. I had some nice food there in the food court for a cost of 339 NTD ($11.44 USD).

As Haowen was a bit pressed for time, when we left there from there at 2:45 PM, we immediately grabbed a taxi, arriving back to the apartment at 3:05 PM. I wasn’t sure, but I think that Haowen paid 215 NTD ($7.26 USD).

I took a bit of time to finish getting packed, and then Haowen went walking with me from the apartment at 3:49 PM, with us arriving to Nangang station where I paid 190 NTD ($6.41 USD) for an unreserved THSR (Taiwan High Speed Rail) to Taoyuan. The train departed at 4:00 PM sharp, and once again, was clean, comfortable and uncrowded.

When I arrived at 4:32 PM, as had been projected, it was easy to make my way outside of the train. The train did have a few stops before mine, but there were easy to see scrolling announcements as well as a pleasant, recorded voice in both Chinese and English which announced the upcoming stops.

When I went outside the terminal at 4:37 PM, it wasn’t raining, and it was an easy and pleasant walk to Bluewater Hotel, which I had previously reserved and paid for on Agoda. Note, it is worth comparing prices when reserving hotels, as I paid $10 USD less by booking on Agoda vs. the next cheapest option. The room itself was very small, but certainly more than adequate for a single night. I had paid 3590 INR ($41.44 USD) for the tiny single room with shared bathroom. To have a convenient place to stay near the airport, it was fine . . . and certainly clean.

I wasted a bit of time in the room checking some online needs and then left headed walking towards Gloria Outlets at 6:26 PM, arriving there at 6:39 PM. If you have ever been to an outlet mall anywhere in the United States, it was exactly the same.

I however was not particularly interested in that sort of scene, so I bought my own brand-new easy card at a 7 eleven and charged it with 100 NTD for a total of 215 NTD ($2.48 USD) and then took the subway across the street to the area near Zhongli night market. Upon exiting the metro, I had bought some delicious convenience store sushi for 370 NTD ($12.50 USD) which I ate on a bench just outside.

I then walked over to the market area, really enjoying the different evening views.

I arrived at the market at 8:28 PM, enjoyed wandering around, and spent 150 NTD ($5.07 USD) more on another fried squid (100) and a sausage on a stick (50). I was tempted to buy and eat many other food items, but I was actually already rather full, so I headed back to the Laoije River station at 9:13 PM, arriving there at 9:22 PM.

I arrived back at the hotel room at 10:02 PM, showered, and was in bed going to sleep at 10:36 PM. Despite the other guests trying to be very considerate, it was extremely easy to hear people in several other rooms and in the hallway. Had I not needed to hear the alarm to get up early in the morning, I definitely would have used the free earplugs which had been offered at the front desk.

At 5:23 AM the next morning I exited from my room headed towards the nearby commuter station, catching the first train of the morning at 6:02 AM sharp. With the three rides I had used, there was only 5 NTD left on my transit card, but I will save it as a souvenir and/or to use on a future trip.

I arrived at the airport at 6:18 AM and was already through immigration and security at 6:43 AM. Checking the reviews, I decided to head over to the Oriental Club lounge and was not disappointed. I didn’t pay anything here, as I still had free spots left on my Priority Pass which comes with my HDFC credit card. In particular, the beef noodles were great!

Noting that the plane had already started boarding, I went down at 9:12 AM and had just enough time to buy 1 kg of mochi snacks for only 470 NTD ($15.88 USD) with almost all of my remaining cash, leaving only 12 NTD in coins.

At 9:22 AM I was already on the plane, getting a “special edition” pair of Delta 100th Anniversary edition free earbuds! And that was pretty much it for the trip. In particular for those of you who have been following along since day 1, what do you think? Are you now interested in visiting Taipei?

Taipei trip: Day 4 (12 June 2025)

Hi there loyal readers and also those of you who are just now discovering this travel blog. Not too much happened today, but there was still some exposure to interesting places that the average tourist might want to visit.

When I left the apartment near Nangang MRT station at 9:18 AM, it was lightly raining . . . really more of a drizzle. The collapsible, baby umbrella I had bought on Day 1 was just perfect for this. A short walk later at 9:33 AM I was already inside the station swiping the transit card which Haowen had lent me, and then immediately headed to platform 2. The wait wasn’t long, and at 9:36 AM I was in the uncrowded, comfortable subway car.

It was just fifteen minutes to go the 9 stops needed before exiting the transport. Looking down at the readout while swiping out, I saw it had cost 30 NTD ($1.01 USD). Getting out of the station itself was also fairly intuitive, and at 9:54 AM the baby umbrella once more went up as I walked towards the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall, where I arrived at 10:11 AM. The gardens were very nice, and unsurprisingly, the central building itself was particularly imposing.

This umbrella dryer worked surprisingly well.

I was a bit surprised when I entered at 10:17 AM, as it in some way sort of has a mini-mall vibe, despite still being a bit more reserved. There was a bank branch, a post office, multiple gift shops, various levels of eateries, and a scale model of the whole complex. I am not sure what was originally intended when this was built, but it now seems to be more of an upscale community center. Entrance is free, so if money is tight, that alone is mentionable. There is also free internet here, as well as QR codes to help you explore. I forgot the cost, but one could also checkout a free audio guide, which I declined to do . . . if I really wanted more information, I could look it up later.

Moving on to the actual display area of 10:29 AM the ground floor struck me as being more about the Tiananmen square event/tragedy/protests and Hong Kong democracy movements than about Taiwan. However, they do attempt to make a more direct connection, placing emphasis on how Taiwan has increasingly gone in a different political direction from China since splitting off.

Heading into the permanent display area of the ground floor just ten minutes later, I could see that there really was a lot of valuable historical information. For those who read Chinese, it was nice to note that many original writings of special significance were on display. While this room was overall positive about Chiang Kai Shek, there was also definitely an obvious, strong undertone of criticism, even for a foreigner. It is clear that he is a figure much admired and even loved, but also strongly criticized by modern Taiwanese. I wondered, was the period of “repression” necessary in order for Taiwan to get to where it is today?

I did appreciate the ground floor display, but having learnt my lesson the previous day, decided to head up to the fourth floor at 10:57 AM so that I could see the central statue of Chiang Kai Shek. It was clear that they had planned on having huge crowds here, but there weren’t that many people today. Putting aside the statue, the view from this vantage point was also notable. For those of you who have been to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., there is an obvious, similar vibe in the statue area. I did however find it a tiny odd that even right there very close to the statue there was a gift shop.

At 11:03 PM I went down to the third floor. Here there were various art exhibits and a human rights multimedia exhibition. I felt like the democratization exhibit which I saw at 11:06 AM was the most openly critical part of the memorial, but it covered everything from the Japanese occupation, up to the transition from martial law to modern democracy in Taiwan. nevertheless, there was almost no mention (none that I noticed) of the specific struggles of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples. However, not understanding Chinese, maybe I just missed that.

The exhibits here were rather small, and at 11:11 AM I was wondering through a different area where they were putting up a new exhibit, using green laser to ensure that the paintings were hung at perfect angles. Next to that was a room with an already established exhibit which was fairly enjoyable. I suspect that like everyone else, I particularly liked the painting of the cherries which seemed to spill out of the painted frame. Not to be overly critical, but several of the paintings were not at all that impressive, but there were clearly some better pieces (as if I am some sort of a highly respected art critic).

Just outside the hall with the cherry painting, there was a very nice couch for resting. I also saw that there were several classrooms in the building, presumably for workshops and visiting school groups. I hadn´t felt like I was really rushing the visit, but also didn’t feel that I needed to stay longer, so at 11:20 AM I was outside again, walking towards the Lungshan temple.

At 11:35 AM, on a completely separate note, some very nice ladies asked to speak to me about Falun Dafa, a religious group which is outlawed in China. Rather than speaking much about the religion itself, they were quite upset about illegal organ harvesting in China. If outrage was their goal, then keep it up, but if they were looking for converts, I felt that they needed to redirect their messaging. Maybe they feel that this group in particular is being targeted for this practice? Or maybe their religion is really against organ transplants? Regardless, you can guess how it went, but they were still very nice ladies. Having promised to immediately address these issues (but intending to do nothing) I continued walking at 11:36 AM, noting that even more frequent than Falun Dafa tables were the Ubikes.

I felt that it was a wonderful day for a walk in the city, with a pleasant temperature and light breeze. Adding to that enjoyment was the nice-looking older brick building I saw at 11:41 AM. I was tempted to walk closer to see what it was, but not that tempted, so I continued on my way.

At 11:59 AM I arrived to the Dongsanshui street market. I may be wrong on this, but it appeared to just be a neighborhood market rather that a tourist spot. They had everything from cheap clothes to fresh meat and jewellery.

Then at 12:07 PM I arrived at the temple. It was evidently founded in 1738, but the main building was accidentally destroyed by the USA in 1945. Miraculously though, the main Buddha statue was undamaged. According to the signage, this temple is sort of like a national cathedral. Notably, unlike similar temples, here they don’t burn incense, instead focusing on “prayers from the heart”.

Just inside the gate at 12:11 PM I saw that there was an artificial waterfall and Koi Pond with some very large fish. In case you were hoping to do so, feeding of the fish is prohibited and it is also prohibited to toss coins into the pond.

At 12:13 PM I saw that there was a scannable guide to the temple area, including worshipping instructions. This second part seemed odd to me. I mean if you are actually here to worship, shouldn’t you already know what to do. Furthermore, if you aren’t, then to my way of thinking it seems that you shouldn’t pretend . . . Anyway, I certainly didn’t fake pray. Similar to other temples I have visited in Taiwan, for lack of a better term, there seems to be these sort of dice sets which people would throw, presumably to communicate with gods? I really, have no idea, so feel free to correct me if you know more.

I know what generally happens with food offering when you go to a temple with monks, but at 12:23 PM I was wondering what was done with the plates of food and flowers which had been left as offerings. As far, as I could tell, this was not a monastery, but maybe the monks were nearby and could eat the food. I guess it would also be appropriate to give the food to the poor? That made sense, but what about all of the flowers? Many of them were very nice, and just tossing them in the bin seemed like it would be disrespectful, but again, I am definitely not an expert on the topic . . . as is obvious.

I really appreciated the stone-carved pillars at 12:28 PM, and I also understood why they had put up a sort of iron-fence protection around them. Despite being made from a very hard rock, it was easy to imagine that they could be fairly damaged over time, either by intentional miscreants or just the build-up of oils from hands over time. Off to the side of the main temple building there were various women reading books in a serious fashion, probably reading prayers or some religious text.

So, at 12:36 PM I was having my doubts about the sign which claimed that this temple was the spiritual center of the nation. I mean it is certainly worth a visit, but it’s quite small, so I didn’t see how any major events could happen here. I did however really appreciate how this was clearly an active worship site rather than just a fake tourist spot.

I left the temple at 12:38 PM and headed over towards Bangka old street. Along the way, at 12:46 PM I saw a very simple, old-school arcade. Maybe they somehow connect gambling with it as well? I was tempted to go in and play something, but it seemed weird since there was absolutely nobody else there, but they all looked like early 1980’s machines.

Bangka old street at 12:51 PM was a bit of a disappointment. As I had nothing else to do, it seemed fine that I had visited, but there just wasn’t much to see. Maybe later in the night or when it isn’t raining at all it is more vibrant, but I have my doubts. But sure, if you have time, why not go see it? There was certainly nothing “bad” about it.

Despite some doubts which were fueled by my visit to Bangka old street, at 1:05 PM I decided that I would also walk over to Dihua street. Worst case scenario, I would just get in some more walking.

However, in what I suspect was a fortunate intervention, Haowen called me at 1:12 PM and instead suggested that we go to a special Dim Sum restaurant which is rather famous. It seemed a bit far to walk within the timeframe allotted, so I consulted Google maps, jumped onto a bus, and headed over towards the restaurant which was located near Zhongshan market. Once I was on the bus, I once again reflected that people here were definitely still pro-mask. I’ve seen tons of people wearing them even out on the open street . . . quite a few people are even double masked with surgical masks. It’s not just the elderly but also younger people. However, this appears to be more of a personal choice thing, as tons of other people don’t use them.

I got off the bus at 1:30 PM and arrived in the building at 1:40 PM, much earlier than our programmed meeting time. Thus, I decided to take advantage of the time just wandering around inside. This was clearly some sort of a fancy shopping mall with many mini shops under one roof, for lack of a better term, sort of like a very upscale flea market sort of setup.

While certainly not a disaster, it was a bit funny when Haowen called me at 2:15 PM. Evidently, I had been in the wrong building the whole time. In my defense though, it was just the building next door. I went down to meet Haowen and we entered the correct building. This one seemed much more mainstream than the first one, but definitely still not a “cheap” place.

At 2:17 PM Haowen was unsurprised that we would have to wait, since the restaurant was very popular. She suggested that I might just wander around and wait for her call. There was all sort of delicious and beautiful looking food on this floor. Some of it was absurdly priced, but there was other stuff which seemed more like standard grocery pricing. For those looking to buy tea, they also had that. Again, even though much of the food looked like something which could be eaten right there, there was no clear place to do so. Thus, I assume that everyone buys and takes it home.

At 2:51 PM we were finally able to get a seat. The restaurant is called Din Tai Fung. While it hardly seemed necessary, there was a wheeled robot for us to follow to our seat. The food really was great, and it was just 1815 NTD ($61.26 USD) for both of us, including unlimited hot tea. I know that the cost may seem a little high, but it really was special, so I encourage you to try it if you even have a chance. Evidently there are branches of this restaurant in different places around the world, and the food is supposed to be of the same quality everywhere.

We finished up there at 4:34 PM and were outside walking within ten minutes. Despite having just eaten, knowing how much I liked shaved ice desserts, Haowen suggested that she share a Mango shaved ice at 5:30 PM for just 300 NTD ($10.13 USD).

From there we went to a nearby pier for the sunset and then decided to use Ubikes to get to the Ximen area where we would take the MRT back to Haowen’s place.

However, once we were there, we decided to have a drink at nearby Mudan. I had a zombie and Haowen a Piña Colada, with the cost for both being just 700 NTD ($23.63 USD). It was nice to just sit and chat some more. Coming on this trip has not only been great for getting to know more about Taipei but also for getting closer to Haowen, who is an outstanding person.

Alas, the night did need to come to an end, so we finished up at the restaurant at 9:21 PM, walking into the Ximen station nine minutes later, and exiting from Nangang station at 9:55 PM. The per person cost of the MRT was 30 NTD ($1.01 USD). Despite stopping briefly at a neighborhood convenience store, at 10:18 PM we were already safely back in the apartment.

It was a fairly relaxed day, but it was definitely good. I went to a couple of must-see tourist sites. I had eaten two types of iconic Taiwanese food. I had seen another beautiful sunset over the water. And I had of course spent quality time with an amazing friend. I really couldn’t think of how to further improve the day . . . what do you think?