Written: Feb 06, 2023
Updated: Jun 02, 2023
Read time: 12 min

6 days in Bali, Indonesia (2022)

Last year we traveled to Bali, Indonesia to spend a week with friends and to celebrate one of my best friends' 30th birthdays. Before arriving in Bali, we spent a few days in Singapore, which you can read about in my post, 3 Days in Singapore.

Feel free to skip around to any of the sections below:

Things to know before going

Reflections on ethical tourism

If I have another opportunity to visit to Indonesia, I would love to spend more time learning its history, seeing their cultural, historical, and natural sights, and appreciating what the country natively has to offer. I'd like to pay more patronage to local businesses, stay in smaller towns, and participate in activities geared more towards education than consumerism.

However, my experience in Bali was a heavily expat-curated one. There are tons of expats from the US and Australia who've relocated to Bali and now own (too) much of the land and properties across the island. Seminyak in particular was very Westernized: many of the shop and restaurant owners were all expats and everyone and everything was in English. I think I saw more white people than I did Balinese and heard more English spoken than Balinese, Javanese, or any other common language in Indonesia.

All in all, it felt really touristy and I felt very privileged as an American visiting. It was hard to overlook how affordable Bali felt to me, while seeing the locals enduring hard labor to earn fractions of a dollar while working for white expats. Sukra and Puta, the staff who cleaned and cooked for us at the Airbnb every da of our stay, told us that they'd get a $10 bonus for every five Airbnb reviews that gave 5-stars, and the reviews must specifically mention them both by name. The owner is a white Australian man who I believe can absolutely afford to pay them a bonus for every stay completed, and likely a much better salary as well. We gave them a couple hundred dollars as tip, but it doesn't feel like enough.

If you do choose to visit Bali, I thought this was good guide and starting point for how to visit responsibly.

Culture

Bali is less conservative than the rest of Indonesia, but still be mindful of how you dress and act. Some knowledge you may find useful:

Balinese basics: selamat pagi (good morning), selamat siang (good day), suksema (thank you), suksema mewali (you're welcome)
Make sure any clothing covers your shoulders and knees before entering temples
Be respectful and quiet near sacred sites
Watch out for offerings placed on the streets, usually in front of homes or store fronts -- try not to step on these as best you can and you can read more about their religious significance here
Use your palm or hand to point out something instead using a finger
Give and receive things, e.g. change, with both hands
Remove your shoes in the house

An example of a canang sari, or daily offering

Food

All of the places we stayed in Bali -- Nusa Dua, Seminyak, Canggu -- had pretty good access to food options regardless of where you were in the town. As a vegetarian, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I wasn't limited to a salad or some sad side dishes. It was consistently easy to find delicious main options.

We did mostly stick to restaurants rather than explore the many warungs, or "shop" in Indonesian. It describes small, traditional restaurants that can be kiosks, carts, or food stalls. I liked the idea of eating at more local food shops, but I personally did not want to risk exacerbating the traveler's diarrhea I already had on the trip or end up eating something that wasn't vegetarian because I didn't understand the menu. I have a really sensitive stomach and struggle with IBS; if you have a strong stomach, then definitely check out some warungs to support local business and get the full Balinese experience!

Water

I did a lot of research before going and still got sick. This isn't to scare anyone, but more so to caution those who are sensitive like me to be extra mindful of possible contamination. Drink and brush your teeth only treated water or bottled water. A lot of my friends used tap and were fine. I was the only one on the trip to get sick. I'm not exactly sure how I got bacteria in my system; it could've been from being lazy one night and using the tap to brush, drinking beverages with ice, eating raw fruits and vegetables, or eating off dishware that was maybe washed with tap rather than filtered water...who knows.

If you do happen to get diarrhea, the best thing to do is to honestly just let the bacteria pass through your system. Drink lots of water, don't eat for a day and just wait it out. I made the decision to continue eating because I didn't want to miss out on the food (I know, really bad and dumb) and took Imodium to do so, which ultimately that prevented my body from clearing anything out. I ended up struggling with diarrhea for another week after we got home. Pepto does not work, so if you want to be prepared, ask your doctor for some meds before leaving on your trip. I've also heard that taking a lot of probiotics beforehand helps.

Transportation

The adventurous people in our group had the confidence to rent scooters to get around, or jump on the back of a local's scooter that they hired on Grab. D and I mostly stuck to Grab cars since we were scared to do the scooter. Regardless, Grab is the app to use.

Money

If you are staying in the areas of Bali that we stayed in, you really don't need to carry that much cash. The only times I used cash was to tip. Pretty much every business in Seminyak took credit cards or even tap-to-pay with your digital wallet, so it was really convenient to pay for things. If you do need to exchange for rupiah, make sure to check the commission fee that stores charge; some places charge nothing and others charge up to 20% of the amount exchanged.

Safety

I felt pretty safe walking around Bali and often saw women walking around in the populous neighborhoods by themselves in the daytime. Not sure about nighttime, but I don't even walk alone at night anywhere in the States. I often left my DSLR, wallet, and backpack at home and generally just carried my phone, a water bottle, and a few bills for emergency use -- pretty much whatever could fit and hide deep enough in my pockets. Like traveling in any densely-populated area, just be aware of your surroundings and exercise caution. Traveling in Bali didn't feel any more or less safe than wandering through big cities in the USA.

Day 1: Nusa Dua

D and I landed in Bali a night before everyone else since the flights were cheaper. Since we'd be staying in Seminyak for the whole week, I booked us a place in Nusa Dua so we'd get to see a different area. We stayed at the Amnaya Resort Nusa Dua, a beautiful and intimate property located in the middle of the Nusa Dua peninsula.

Potted plants on the wall — I really liked this wire grid of potted plants on the wall

A long wooden bed in the middle of a pool — This waiting area outside the spa looked so relaxing

I don't know how we got so lucky, but we realized when we walked into the room that they quietly upgraded us from a regular double room to their Amnaya Suite. The suite had a foyer, a living room with kitchenette, two balconies that wrap around the east and north faces of the building, a bedroom with sliding doors out to the balcony, and a bathroom with two sinks, a soaking tub that could fit two, a shower, and a toilet stall. It was honestly larger than both of the apartments we've rented in San Francisco.

The bedroom and bathroom — This was just one half of the room (pardon the mess)

View of bungalows, jungle, and the ocean from the room — Our view of the ocean from the room

A balcony with a daybed — This is one of three balconies our room had! Unfortunately didn't have time to use them due to the downpour and thunderstorm the night before and have to check out the next day.

Day 2: Arrival in Seminyak

We had an easy morning of waking up and getting ready. The Amnaya includes breakfast with each stay, and it was a really lovely meal. Our breakfast set menu had vegetarian alternatives for each option! I got:

Coffee, tea, and a glass of guava juice
A small fruit plate
A refreshing mint smoothie bowl (?) with fresh strawberries, dried coconut, and puffed grains
A toast tasting with chutney, mushrooms, and avocado
A main of eggs benedict with mushrooms and spinach

A board with small toast snacks — The toast tasting board

Smoothie bowl, fruit plate, and drinks — It's so rare to be traveling and feel like you're getting a healthy and fresh meal.

Eggs benedict with mushrooms — Eggs bennies

What a deal for $100/night. We tried to grab a couples spa session for the morning (only $120/couple for 3 hours!!), but they were unfortunately all booked up for the day.

We took a walk around the property before checking out since we didn't get to see anything the previous night. There was a beautiful little Hindu temple in the center as you walk out from the main lobby and atrium towards the pool. I loved seeing so much lush greenery covering all the walls and structures: huge ferns, palms, philodendrons, alocasia, plumeria trees, pothos...etc. If only my plants at home could grow to even a quarter of these sizes!

Temple doors and stone guardians — This was the temple on the hotel grounds

Two cats hanging out in the courtyard — Took a peek into the other small temple courtyard and saw these two kitties hanging around.

Orchids on a vine — Beautiful orchids like these were dangling everywhere we went in Bali

Doorway opening to the hotel gardens — I love the "secret garden" vibe on the walk to the pool

Pool cabana with woven lamps — This was the poolside cabana -- the woven light fixtures were so cool

Hotel swimming pool — We took an early morning dip in the pool, but it was actually quite cold in the rain

A worn wooden door painted in bright blue and red — I found the textures and colors of this door very pleasing

After checking out, we still had ample time before our friends arrived in the afternoon, so we walked around Nusa Dua for a bit. Nusa Dua is known for resort stays and a base for water sport activities like jet skiing, scuba diving...etc, so there really wasn't much we could see or do by foot. We walked down to the water and ate a quiet lunch at the Nikko Hotel before calling our Grab ride to Seminyak.

A stray dog eating trash on the street — Street doggo looking for a meal

A brick path with small pagoda-like structure at the end, reaching out to the ocean — This was the only part of the beach that was walkable from our hotel. Not much to see, but this path was cool!

A rusty and abandoned boat on the beach — It looks like the boat was cut in half and stripped for parts

A drop of water in the middle of a lily pad — You can see the veins of the lily pad here!

A vibrant, lotus flower — The lotus flowers were all in bloom, and they were stunning!

Tempura with rice — Our humble meal at Hotel Nikko -- this was surprisingly the only restaurant open at 11am in our area

It took us a little over an hour to reach the Airbnb at Seminyak, where some of our friends had just arrived. Once everyone had settled in, we went to a hip tapas bar called Ling-Ling's that serves Asian fusion tapas. There weren't a lot of options for vegetarians, but the mushroom tacos were the best item on the menu for me. The atmosphere was really energetic and fun; they also had some really strong but good slushies that come in a carved out watermelon.

Day 3: Exploring Seminyak

Our Airbnb stay included a cooked breakfast every morning by Sukra and Puta, the house staff, which felt both luxurious and morally conflicting (but luxury is always built on the backs of the marginalized and oppressed, isn't it?). We had an option between nasi lemak and nasi goreng every morning, along with fresh-cut fruit, juice, and tea or coffee. They were also really kind about portioning off a plate for me when cooking the nasi lemak/goreng before they added meat for the rest of the group. None of the staff lived on-site and would arrive at 5-6am to start prepping our meal, so there were a couple mornings where we told them we'd skip breakfast since we felt bad making them come so early.

The neighbor's dog — Meet Mochi, our neighbor's cute and friendly pup who would walk us to the end of the block before returning home.

One of my favorite things about walking around Bali was all the random edible plants growing in the gutters, along sidewalks, and over neighborhood walls. There were small papaya trees shooting out from the gaps between cement, bushes of chilies growing in the smallest handfuls of soil on the road, and bushels of bananas hanging over walls and fences.

In the afternoon, some of us hung out at the Airbnb to read or swim at the pool; others of us went out to explore the neighborhood. D and I went to check out a local coffee roaster called Temu Coffee. It took us a bit of walking back and forth down the main road to find the inconspicuous, narrow path to Temu that cut through the main shops on the road. The path opens up to a pretty courtyard with a handful of artisan shops and eateries surrounding it, with Temu in the very back corner. As you walk under the arbored path around the courtyard, there are curtains of orchids blooming and draping over the arbor. It was really lovely taking in the greenery while sipping a good cortado and latte; D couldn't resist buying a bag of beans to make coffee with back at the house.

An arbored path with orchid vines hanging down one side — This was the quaint path to Temu Coffee

Orchids hanging over the arbor — Orchids galore!

Temu coffee sign — Temu had great aesthetics

It was honestly too hot to be walking around a lot, so after an hour or so of browsing the little boutique shops around Seminyak Village, we headed back to the Airbnb to recover in the A/C.

A Balinese temple — This Balinese temple was right around the corner from our Airbnb; I think it might have just been for the block.

A wooden door with intricate carvings — The carved doors throughout the island had such wonderful detail. I also enjoy the complementary colors of the greenery and blue walls.

We went to the famous Potato Head Beach Club in the evening. Clubs aren't usually my scene -- I've gone maybe twice in my life just to say I've experienced it -- so this type of club was totally new to me. We walked through a building, exited into a courtyard, walked onto a spiraling pathway where the walls around you rise higher and higher like a canyon and rolling, rainbow hills of recycled sandals fall behind you (yes, you read that right), entered into an amphitheater decorated in a mosaic of retired, wooden shutters, and then we were finally in the club.

As you stand at the entrance to the club, cozy sofas, bar counters, and dining tables curve out your left and right. If you look out across the lawn seating with dotted bean bags, past the cabanas, past the tiki bars, and past the infinity pools, your gaze will finally rest on a beach where the Indian Ocean meets the setting sun. I felt like I was in one of those vacation commercials for Sandals or a spring break brochure. I was relieved and surprised that the whole experience (food and drinks) came out to be only $40/person for the night!

A mountain of recycled beach sandals — Do you think all these sandals were left by guests?

A matrix of wooden shutters on the outside walls of the club — Amazing how they were able to align the edges all these shutters so neatly together

Sunset at the infinity pool — The sunset at the infinity pool at Potato Head was gorgeous!

Day 4: Petitenget Beach

A handful of us headed out to Petitenget Beach to spend the morning. We paid for a couple of lounge chairs with umbrellas for the hour. Some of us read and others hit the surf.

We grabbed a late lunch at the Alila Resort's Sea Salt restaurant. It was a gorgeous open-air restaurant on the beach front where you can sit on sofas and watch the waves crash. It was also one of the more expensive meals that we had in Bali. I was relieved to see vegetarian options that didn't feel like just afterthoughts to the meat dishes even though it was primarily a seafood restaurant. I was able to try their agedashi tofu, mushroom soba, morinaga tofu katsu, and pumpkin tempura. All were really well-balanced, tender where they needed to be, and perfectly crisp where desired. The desserts and cocktails were also A+.

After lunch, we met everyone back at the house. Played some games, did some more reading, floated around in the pool. Mostly just hung out. After dinner we all went to grab drinks at Manina Cocktail Bar, which was about a five-minute walk away from the Airbnb. Good drinks, very low-key, and pretty quiet in the evening.

Presenting: the dogs of Bali

A brown and black pup getting back scratches — This cutie was at one of the ice cream shops we stopped at

Three dogs with striped, white, and black coats walking — These three were up to some shenanigans

A white dog with black spots — Look at that smile!

A stout dog with brown ears and white coat — This little one was also very happy to give licks and get scratches

A German Shepherd mix resting in the shade

A dog naps in the shade of a parking structure

A black dog greeting passersby outside the grocery store

Two dogs looking bored, lying outside a door — One of my personal favorite shots of Bali

Day 5: Padang Padang Beach and Finn's

Our group ventured out to Uluwatu for the day. Padang Padang Beach, locally known as Labuan Sait Beach, is apparently a really famous surf spot in Bali. The white sand beach is tucked inside a cove. There is a small entrance fee of 10,000 Rupiah. You descend from the street and down several flights of steep steps carved into the rock formations that form the cove. Don't fall victim to the cute but sneaky monkeys ready to pounce on your hat or bag of chips at any moment!

The beach itself was honestly too crowded for me to find it enjoyable. Every square centimeter was covered by a body part. There was no shade and all the umbrellas had been rented already. It took some waiting before we were able to move to a spot under a few umbrellas from beachgoers who were leaving.

I was struggling with some traveler's diarrhea, and man, it was tough trying not to hog one of two bathroom stalls for the whole beach. One of them didn't even have a toilet seat, so I got a pretty good quad workout one of the several times I went to use the restroom. In Bali, some of the toilets are flushed using a ladle and buckets that you fill with water and pour into the bowl. It was a little nerve-wracking to run out of water when flushing because I didn't want to be that person...but shit happens (badum-psh).

Bathroom troubles and crowding aside, there were some really cute pups that didn't seemed like they had any owners and just hung around on the beach. Most of them came to you for looking scraps, but I'm okay being used like that. There was a cute, white dog (maybe a Labrador mix?) who came over and sat under the umbrella with us for several minutes and got some good pets and scratches from the group before trotting off. All beaches should have beach pups.

I got pretty tired of constantly having to shift elbow-to-elbow and flipping back and forth to find a comfortable reading position after about an hour or so. I don't know how people spend hours on the beach like this. The tide was low and I noticed a large overhang on the cliffside that had a few sea caves that looked like good spots for tidepooling. D also loves exploring tide pools, so I called him over to check it out together. We found small eels, different kinds of angel fish, small butterfly fish, crabs, sea stars, urchins, and a little puffer. It was definitely the highlight of the day!

After everyone washed off at the house, we headed to Finn's Beach Club. It was a shockingly enormous venue, replete with giant pools, wooden terraces, a DJ/tiki stand in the middle of the pool, cabanas, rooftop dining...the list goes on. It was so extravagant. We had lawn seating on a couple of bean bags and chairs, and just went ham on the menu because it was happy hour. According to my friends, I'm a bit of a scamp when I'm drunk, but I can't say I remember. We ended up spending something like $90/person for the evening, which is still cheaper than any mid-range fancy meal I've had on the East or West Coast.

Rooftop restaurant at Finn's — The rooftop restaurant

Swimming pools lit up — So many lights and pools to party in! (Apologies for the shitty iPhone photos)

Day 6: Canggu

Most of our friends flew home on day six, but a few of us decided to hang back for a day or more before continuing on all our journeys. We checked out of our place in Seminyak and into an Airbnb in Canggu. Canggu runs at a slower place, and is known for rice terraces, surfing, and an ancient Hindu temple on the ocean, Tanah Lot. D and I were only staying for one extra night, so we unfortunately didn't have the time to really explore Canggu and see any of the cultural sites since it required additional travel time. We only had time during the late afternoon during the hottest hours. I did bring my DSLR out on the neighborhood walk this time, so finally got a few street photos on the memory card!

Rice terraces — The terraced rice fields outside the window of our Airbnb

Canang sari (offerings) all along the sidewalks

A metal gate adorned with flowers, guarding a large building — This building was so beautiful; I can't quite remember what it was anymore

A pineapple cart — How did we get the word bananas if "ananas" or "nanas" means pineapple? Genuinely curious.

A building with murals and field of grass in front — Just a cool building we passed walking around the city.

Our last dinner with the group was at Xich Lo, a Vietnamese restaurant that overlooks some rice terraces. It was an incredible spot to watch the stratified layers of water and green rice plants reflect the colors of the sunset. There were also some resident restaurant cats that hung around as we ate.

View of Canggu from our table at the restaurant

We spent the last evening hanging out at the house and playing games. I also got to try snake fruit for the first time! (Not a fan, unfortunately.)

Not to end in a cliché, and not that all clichés are bad, but the best part of the trip was really just spending time with my best friend and all our other friends. The bars, clubs, and beaches are glamorous and fun, but I prefer spending my time reading, floating in the pool during the hot afternoons, and getting unnecessarily competitive and aggressive playing children's card games with my friends (highly recommend The Mind and Spot It!).

I'm so grateful to my friend for bringing us all together to share in such an incredible experience. If you happen to be reading this, love you!