The Bukit Peninsula – My rainy Beach Hopping experience

Bali offers a huge variety of things you should see, you would probably need a couple of months to see everything. As you may know, we went to the north of Bali (click and click), which was amazingly beautiful. We saw waterfalls, rice terraces and monkeys.
Today, I would like to share with you my experiences on our day trip to the south of Bali, to the Bukit Peninsula. We booked a driver for a whole day who picked us up around 8:30am and we came back around 6:00pm. Our tour should have included Balangan Beach, Dreamland Beach, Bingin Beach, Padang Padang Beach and Uluwatu Temple with the famous Kecak Dance. However, the weather upset our plans. It started to rain and we were only able to do half the trip. Consequently, I will talk about the beaches we were able to visit today, and I will show you some other pictures we took on this day trip in a couple of days. So, this post is supposed to be a little „Beach Guide“ for the Bukit Peninsula.

Balangan Beach Area

Our first stop was Balangan Beach. We arrived on a hill and walked around, explored the location. We found some cool cliffs, a hidden temple and had a nice view on the beach itself.

On top of the hill, we observed the fishermen, who must have climbed to these rock spurs in order to fish. It looked so idyllic!

When we climbed down some rocks, in order to take pictures of the sea, we found this little temple that is hidden in the rocks. Unfortunately there was a lot of garbage, however the experience was really cool! There was a little wooden house in the temple itself and the view on the sea.

There was another temple on the way to Balangan Beach, with traditional statues in front of it:

In order to get to the beach, we had to walk down some stairs and climbed over some cliffs. The view was amazing, the water clear and blue and full of advanced surfers.
As we walked along the coast, we discovered some nice „Surf Warungs“ and coincidentally met friends from the camp, who were joining an intermediate/ advanced day trip to Balangan Beach. We sat down together and had lunch, since the sky already gave the impression that it was about to rain.
After half an hour, the rain had reached the shore and we were stuck in the Warung for almost three hours. Although it went quite cold and stormy, the atmosphere was still idyllic and nice, since they played good music and we were able to talk to our surf guides and friends. The Balinese and Indonesians were crazy, they would not stop surfing and enjoyed the messy waves, although it was raining heavily.

Dreamland Beach

After three hours of waiting, eating and talking, we finally went back to our car and asked the driver to drive us to Dreamland Beach.
However, I unfortunately have to disappoint you, Dreamland Beach is not a dream at all.
In order to get to the beach, you have to take a free shuttle bus and still walk past some markets to get to Dreamland Beach. Although the water was very blue and turquoise, all the Air Asia umbrellas disturbed the view and the atmosphere. Still, it may be a nice beach on a sunny day, but our expectations were higher than reality. Additionally, there were many people at the beach, even though it was still raining.

 

Padang Padang Beach

Our next stop was Padang Padang Beach, since we decided to skip Bingin Beach. Well, we did not get out of the car, as it was still raining a lot. However, I suppose it will be a very nice beach if the weather is good and it is also a well known surf spot!

Even though the weather upset our plans, it was still a very nice trip!
I hope you enjoyed reading this.

Have a nice weekend!

Sophie

Werbung

Exploring the North of Bali #2 – Sekumpul Waterfalls

Hello everybody,

this is the second part of my day trip to the north of Bali, click here to read the first part.
After we jumped into a waterfall and enjoyed the fresh water of the natural swimming pool, we continued our hike, wondering how beautiful the so called Fiji Waterfalls may be. It was hot, the air was humid and we were exhausted but still enthusiastic to see our first big waterfall.
Climbing down around 250 stairs and going back upstairs took it out of us.
Nevertheless, it was worth it! The waterfalls were huge but we were still able to stand underneath them and take pictures with the GoPro. The water was fresh and cold, we were so amazed to swim in an actual waterfall!

Additionally, we also went to see the Sekumpul Waterfall which was humongous!
However, I forgot to take a picture…pretty ridiculous.

On our way back we were picked up by the locals who drove us to a restaurant where we got a 30.000 Rupiah Voucher and had food. I ordered Nasi Goreng, Fried Banana and Water for only 2€!!

All in all, the day was really nice and we were all happy that we went on this tour.
In total we payed around 33-35€ which is not too much for this amazing experience, since it includes transport, food and the guided tour.

I hope you enjoyed reading this, have a good week!

Sophie

Learn To Surf with Kima – My experience

Four weeks in Indonesia are already over and I am now ready to talk about my experience with Kima Surf. They are providing „Surfaris“ since 1995 and I can say that I really enjoyed my time in the camp. We stayed in the Surf Camp in Seminyak, which is in the Kuta area. However, they also have Camps in Canggu and on the Bukit Peninsula.

As you know from my Surf Preparation blogpost, I’ve been dreaming of learning to surf since I was a child. This dream came true in Bali.
They picked us up from the airport (airport pick-up will be included if you stay longer than five nights) and drove us to the camp. The traffic in Bali is hell, almost all Balinese/Indonesian people drive a scooter and there are lots of them on the streets.
After having arrived, a surf guide gave us an introduction and showed us the camp. The camp has two pools, one pool bar, a restaurant, a surf shop and a jacuzzi.

 

You can decide whether you want to sleep in dorms or in a private room. Just check their website, they have multiple room categories available!
Breakfast is included in your room package, but you can also upgrade your meals and have „Deluxe Breakfast“ and dinner. We just went for the normal breakfast which was really sufficient. You will be able to choose kind of a fruit appetizer (fruit platter, fruit salad, pancake with fruit or even yoghurt), a fresh juice, a main dish (things like Nasi Goreng, eggs or even Coconut Risotto), toast and jam or butter. It was simply delicious! My favourite was the Coconut Risotto, which is similar to Mango Sticky Rice.

On the regular menu, there is also a variety of western and asian dishes provided! We often had dinner and lunch outside, since the restaurant is not very cheap, however the dishes were freaking good! Additionally, all the dishes are really healthy, prepared with fresh vegetables, not fatty at all and many whole wheat products are used. My favourites were Pad Thai (see the picture below) and Whole Wheat Burritos.
Nevertheless I do not want to much about the food, since I am planing a separate post about food in Indonesia/Bali.

The Surf Guiding is included, which means that you can sign up for two surf sessions per day (one in the morning, one in the afternoon) or you can sign up for a day trip (also two sessions, but you are not returning to the camp between the sessions).
If you do not have a board you can rent one, they have all sizes and shapes of boards which is really cool. Make sure to book Board Insurance as well, it is easier than expected to break a board, or lose a fin. The boards they provide are quite good I think, for me they were perfect!

Additionally, the surf guides and the staff in the camp are very friendly. I already miss fooling around with the surf guides, they are really cool and also great teachers!
They know how to read the water and the waves, additionally they will always give their best to pass their knowledge down to you and teach you how to protect yourself.
Knowledge is power and when you paddled behind the waves, waiting for the perfect green wave, it is crucial to know how to read the waves and also to have respect. The water can be really dangerous but if you follow the rules and stay aware of your surroundings, it will be unlikely that something really bad happens.

Nonetheless, injuries can happen and it is likely that you will hurt yourself if you are surfing a lot. Sometimes the waves are unpredictable and even experienced surfers can be overwhelmed by the water. On my last day, a two to three meter wave broke right in front of me, pushed me under the water and threw me around and my fin cut my leg. The cut was a little deep, but I survived :)!
Accidents happen, so be careful and listen to your guides!

As a beginner and even as a pro surfer it is normal to „get laundry“ sometimes. This means that you are stuck in the wave which „rolls“ to the beach with you in it, sounds worse than it is. Just remember: Don’t be afraid, just have respect.

You can’t control the waves, but you can learn to surf!

All in all, surfing was a great experience! There is nothing better than paddling so hard to get behind the waves and then finally taking the perfect wave and surfing in the green water. Your arms and shoulders will be exhausted, your ribs will hurt but you will feel so great in the end!

I became obsessed with surfing and I cannot wait to go on my next Surfari!
I hope you liked this little „Surf Camp Review“ and let me know if you have ever surfed and what you think about it!

Have a nice weekend,
Sophie

Exploring the North of Bali #1 The Rice Terraces

If you are planning a trip to Bali, you will love to get out of the touristy places and explore the north of Bali! I can highly recommend booking day trips on the street, since you can hire a driver who will take you wherever you want to go. We booked a tour with seven people and payed 750IDR in total.

We arrived at the park and had to pay another 400IDR (instead of 450IDR) per person for the guided hiking tour. I suppose you cannot go on your own, but the tour was really cool! You should really try to negotiate, they may give you a discount when you are booking with a group of people.

After having payed the fee, some locals took us on their scooters and drove us to the Rice Terraces. We started hiking from there and the view was really beautiful! The first stop was a view point where our guides gave us young coconuts and we took a short break.
Walking through the Rice Terraces was thrilling, since you have to watch your steps if you do not want to fall over. I guess this kind of hikes would not be possible in Germany, as it was slightly dangerous some times.

The next stop was a natural waterslide which was really amazing. At first I was really scared, as they will ask you to sit down on a rubber tyre and push you down the rock-waterslide, but it turned out to be really cool and save though.
After our little waterslide adventure, they brought us ginger tea and fresh fried bananas. (I love fried bananas!!!)

We continued our hike and after half an hour we arrived at a small waterfall where we were able to jump into the water and swim in a natural swimming pool.
My GoPro did a nice job, we took so many videos! I still have to edit them though which will take a lot of time probably, since I am really bad at editing videos…
Anyway, this was not the last waterfall we were supposed to see but I would like to split this blogpost into half, since I took far too many photographs!

Enjoy the view and stay tuned :)!

Trying not to fall in the mud…

You can’t buy happiness, but you can buy a flight to Bali!

Enjoying my coconut

Durian, definitely not my favourite…

Have a good week!
xx, Sophie

 

Three partys you shouldn’t miss out when visiting Bali

I recently spent three weeks in Bali, Indonesia. My friend and I stayed in a Surf Camp and besides our „Eat-Sleep-Surf“ rhythm, we occasionally went out to Bali’s most famous party places.
As I had to be fit for my surf sessions at six o’clock in the morning, we did not went out that often.
Anyway, today I would like to share with you my three favorite places/parties you should not miss out when visiting Bali.

Single Fin – Uluwatu

Uluwatu is located on the Bukit Peninsula and it is really beautiful! There is a big pro surf spot where the surfers have to go out in the water through a cave in order to surf the nice, big reef break waves. Besides the little bars and Warungs, there is a famous bar on top of the hill with a nice sea view, called Single Fin.
Every Sunday they have a big party with a DJ, a live band and dance music.

 

 

 

I can highly recommend taking a taxi or an Uber to Uluwatu in the afternoon and visiting the surf spot before sunset.
Around six o’clock you can sit down in a Warung and have some good cheap Nasi Goreng and a Bintang for little money while watching the surfers surfing in the sunset.
Later you will be happy to join the free entrance party at Single Fin, where you will meet lots of people.
The location is really nice and you will have a great evening with lots of dancing and fun.

 

 

 

Old Man’s Wednesday Night Party – Canggu

Canggu is kind of a hippie village above Seminyak which is in the Kuta area.
Above the famous reef break surf spot „Batu Bolong“, there is a bar called „Old Man’s“. Every Wednesday they have the huge open air party „Old Man’s Bar’s ‘Dirty Ol’ Wednesday“ with lots of drinks and food.
They usually close around twelve, but people told me that there are other beach partys around if you are still not tired of dancing.

 

La Favela – Seminyak

„La Favela“ is one of the most famous clubs in Seminyak, Bali. We were even able to walk there within 10 minutes from our surf camp.
The club itself is really nice, the DJs play good music (they are mostly playing charts) and the atmosphere is just great.
They also have different floors, open air seating and smoking areas and they even have a Photo Booth. Even though it was pretty expensive (50K per print), we loved taking pictures and fooling around in front of the camera.

 

What I loved while we were in the Surf Camp is that the people often go clubbing together, which is really nice. Just be careful when walking back home or taking a scooter or a cap, never go alone, it is always better to go in a group.

 

Let me know if you ever went clubbing in Bali :)!
I’m sorry for the bad quality of the pictures, I took them with my phone.

Stay tuned!
xx, Sophie