Bali, Ubud and Gili Trawangan – Our Trip to Indonesia

Shani on the private beach of the Novotel Nusa Dua in Bali

Shani on the private beach of the Novotel Nusa Dua in Bali

Shani took a solo trip to Malaysia to visit the Orangutan Rehabilitation Center in Borneo and you can read all about that in this post – Hanging with the Orangutans in Borneo – and I was set to meet her in Bali, Indonesia for a couple of weeks.  It’s a tough life we lead but someone’s got to do it!

View from our hotel in Seminyak

View from our hotel in Seminyak

She arrived in Bali before I did and took care of checking us into the hotel and arranged a driver at the airport for me and even picked up a cold Bintang to enjoy once I got to the hotel. Boy did I need it!  It’s a long trip from LAX to Bali only to be topped off with the worst immigration line of my life. It took me HOURS to get through! Not only were we making no progress but the airport had no A/C. It sucked! It was mass chaos as you have to buy your visa first and then get in an immigration line but most people don’t know that and just get in line and then have to go get the visa, and then try to get back in the front of the line. If you go be sure to check the current process. Apparently my timing was bad as she sailed through just hours before me.

Shopping in Bali

Shopping in Bali

Every trip to a developing country takes a bit of getting used to and Indonesia was no exception. So many scooters and minibuses crowding the ill defined traffic lanes! There were whole families on one scooter. Like a lot of places, all the sights and sounds of daily life in Bali can be overwhelming. I was glad to finally get there and see what this mystical/tropical paradise destination had to offer.

We did not order the Beef Tornado!

We did not order the Beef Tornado!

Our first couple of days were in the Seminyak neighborhood and we stayed at the very nice The Haven Seminyak hotel.  After a bit of the of local sights and some much needed beach time (and a few frosty Bintangs) we were headed inland a bit to Ubud, made slightly famous for a while as the expat haven in the novel Eat, Pray, Love.  For the record, the book is not why we went to Ubud. It had been on our map for a while and we did want to check out the expat scene just like we do all over the world. We like to evaluate the places and determine if it’s a place we want to come back to and settle down for a bit once we move into full travel mode.

The lush gardens of the hotel in Ubud.

The lush gardens of the hotel in Ubud.

Our hotel in Ubud had an amazing fruit bat as a ‘pet’ that the guys fed on a regular basis and was a great source of entertainment for Shani and I while we were there. Such a fascinating creature, like a dog with wings!

Amazing fruit bat! Such a cool little dude.

Amazing fruit bat! Such a cool little dude.

Ubud is also the home of the Sacred Monkey Forest.  As the name implies, there are a lot of sacred shrines and a whole lot of monkeys! These monkeys have a reputation for being aggressive and they most certainly are. If you have food they will climb all over you trying to get those tasty bananas. This thought terrified me and we politely declined the vendors selling the fruits outside of the sanctuary.

Monkey not sharing his coconut.

Monkey not sharing his coconut.

Ubud is also known for it’s beautiful terraced rice paddies but somehow we managed to miss those on the two days we were there. However, the walks we did take were very peaceful and we may have to go back for a second look.

The Sacred Monkey Forest.

The Sacred Monkey Forest.

After the hustle and bustle of Bali we were really looking for a place to slow down and just sit and unwind and do some serious relaxing on the beach. The Gili islands seemed to fit the bill and Gili Trawangan (or Gili T as it’s commonly called) was the next destination. However we needed to catch a ferry over and that required an overnight in Padangbai Harbour and then a boat first thing the next day.

One of the massive statues at the hotel.

One of the massive statues at the hotel in Padangbai.

A very easy to catch and cheap tourist mini bus took us from Ubud to Padangbai and when we checked into the hotel the owners and staff were celebrating a religious holiday/ceremony and insisted we eat with them. It was incredible! There were four or five types of grilled meat skewers, fish, rice, a ton of little dishes of sauce and condiments. All of it was delicious! It was an amazing homemade feast and we were grateful to experience their hospitality.

More of the Sacred Monkey Forest.

More of the Sacred Monkey Forest.

One thing you should know about Padangbai, at least when we were there, ATM’s are not prevalent and only dispense very small amounts of cash. Also when we went Gili T had only two or three ATM’s that were prone to running out of money and credit card use was not widespread. This little issue led to me stockpiling cash and hitting the ATM every chance I got.

Incredible views in the Gili Islands.

Incredible views in the Gili Islands.

One of the really unique and charming aspects of Gili T is that there are no cars allowed on the island. Such a stark contrast from the overcrowded streets in Seminyak!  So the options are walking, renting a bike or take the horse drawn carriages.  Our first couple of nights were in the main developed part of the island which features many of the restaurants and bars and has a reputation for getting pretty loud.

The easy mode of transport on Gili T.

The easy mode of transport on Gili T.

After exploring the island for a bit and actually walking the whole island we decided to move north to the quieter and less developed part of the island.  There we stayed at a very unique property called Savana Beach Resort that was in the midst of being redone and is now called Oceano Jambuluwuk Resort. One of the most interesting architectural aspects of this resort is the massive pirate ship that appears to be sailing into the pool. The ship structure has a bar/restaurant and seating looking out to the ocean. The road around Gili T is mostly a sandy track that separates many of the resorts from the beach but it was so quiet you never really notice that the resort isn’t ocean front property. There is actual ocean front property and beach that is part of the resort and that’s where we spent a lot of our time.

The infamous pirate ship.

The infamous pirate ship.

Our intention was to stay on Gili T for a couple of days and then hop on a boat to go see the famed Komodo Dragons. There were several options we looked at but each day we opted for just one more day on Gili T.  Eventually it became obvious that we weren’t going anywhere and we spent the rest of our holiday parked at the Savana Beach Resort soaking up the sun and enjoying the phenomenal snorkeling directly in front of the resort. I even got in a few surf sessions on the south part of the island!

Practically our private beach on Gili T.

Practically our private beach on Gili T.

We did take in a short day trip to Gili Meno for some more snorkeling and a different beach to laze about on.  It really was what we needed, just enjoying the ocean, walking around the island and evening strolls for our dinner.  Incredibly relaxing! While it would have been great to see the Komodo Dragons, I imagine we’ll be back as we only scratched the surface of what Indonesia has to offer.

The awesome guys at Savana Beach Resort.

The awesome guys at Savana Beach Resort.

We were sad to leave the Gili islands but had to come back to reality. Our boat back to Bali actually left without us as there was some mix-up in communication but they came back and all was well. That could have been a huge problem especially since our backpacks were on that boat!

The boat coming back to collect us.

The boat coming back to collect us.

Our last night was spent at the Novotel Nusa Dua Bali Hotel & Residence, a great five star resort in a very exclusive part of the city.  We actually got an incredible deal online and very much enjoyed the resort.  They have a separate private beach and shuttle for their guests and we did go enjoy the sun, sand and water for one last time before the long flight home.

The private beach of the Novotel.

The private beach of the Novotel.

All in all it was a proper relaxing holiday with just the right amount of adventure, sights and laying about.  If you would like to know more about our exact itinerary or are just interested in knowing more about our trip just drop us a line or leave a comment and we’ll be sure to get back to you.

Here’s a gallery from our trip.

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