After two days of intense touring around the island of Bali and getting all our butts numb on the bumpy rides in the van, it’s finally time to pamper ourselves and go walk around afoot. As our hotel is situated right in Kuta, it was best that we walk to the nearest Kuta Town to explore and see what’s hidden inside.
Walking in Bali is extremely hot. The heat burns your skin and applying enough suntan lotion helps keep you from turning into a hot potato. After walking for just about 10 minutes, it felt like we’ve been under the sun for 6 hours. It was crazy. We ran into the Discovery Mall nearby only to find that their air-conditioner wasn’t really helping as well. Don’t forget to bring an umbrella along, it helps A LOT!
Enough about the heat, let’s talk about Kuta. Kuta is famous for it’s sandy beaches and also to the infamous Bali Bombing attacks back in 2005. It is situated in the southern part of the Balinese island and the town is very near to the International Airport. Kuta is the center of an extensive tourist-oriented urban area that merges into the neighbouring towns. There are lots of hotels and restaurants here. Mostly ang mo people here as well.
A trip to Bali is not complete without pampering yourself nicely with the famous Bali massage. Bali is famous for their traditional massage. However, prices vary very much here. Ranging from a IDR100,000 to IDR500,000. Well, that’s what our first thing to do when we land on Kuta Town. To find a nice and cozy place to have a massage.
We checked out this shop called Sole Pantai Kuta. It looked pretty decent and the staff were quite friendly too. It’s easy to spot because their reception is placed outside of the shop with a huge hanging sign of their services. Overall, their massage was pretty good. I wish I had tantric massage near me as it has the ability to solve any kind of issue.
The aunty that helped me loosen my back was absolutely fantastic. The strength from her magic hands are just fine and after an hour of massage, I felt like a new person. Only then, we can continue to walk around this terrifying hot weather.
Our next stop was to lunch. We came across the famous restaurant called Made Warung. If you’re looking for delicious and affordable eats, then this is your place. A very Balinese warung with a taste of Balinese heaven. Reviews of this place is great as you can find out on the internet. The interior of the restaurant is very unique and has that extremely Balinese feel to it. They also have a lot of vintage photos decorated around the walls. It felt pretty comfy.
They are famous for the nasi kandar with pork satay but, we ordered our favourite fried rice with beef and chicken porridge instead. Also, with a delicious can of Coke to cool down. The portion was quite big and Fann couldn’t finish her porridge too. The food was pretty good and even on a hot day, it tasted quite good.
Fann wanted to purchase some Bali clothes and shoes and girly stuff. So, we walked around to explore ourselves. Turns out that Kuta square is scattered with boutique shops and massage parlours. Each and everyone of them basically sells almost the same things but it’s not harmful to walk in and try your luck with your bargaining skills.
Fann tried out her skills at this shoe store in Kuta and managed to get a nice pair of red flats at a very cheap price. The owner knows we are Malaysians and gave us a friendlier discount compared to the caucasians who walked in with us. Shhh.. We quickly left after paying the shop keeper. She bought some clothes and I bought some magnets back for my fridge. There were many surfing gear and apparel shops around. Not to mention a lot of Billabong shops too. Due to the heat, we really couldn’t stand it. We finally took a cab back to our hotel and rested for a while.
After chilling out at the hotel, Fann suggested that we head to the beach behind our hotel to watch the beautiful sunset. The beach was only about a 5 minute walk away. This beach was next to the Holiday Inn hotel and the beach was in pretty bad shape. It seems like trash has found it’s way here and awfully polluted the sand. My feet hurts when walking on the garbage sand. I was pretty disappointed.
However, upon walking a few metres away towards the west and the direction of the airport, the sand was much cleaner and softer. We found ourselves a good spot and chilled on the sand. The sea was calm and it was a fantastic place to rest and enjoy the view. We saw many parents coming over to the beach with their kids to enjoy the sunset and I thought that it was such a great way to spend time with your family. In the city, you don’t normally do that, unless you’re on vacation. It felt rather pleasing.
As the sun sets, the beach turned into heaven. It was one of the most romantic sunsets I’ve seen so far. Spending the last hours of the day with your partner in this kind of setting is just absolute Perfection! Our days in Bali were amazing. Despite the rough sides of the people trying to con us of our money, Bali has the sceneries fit for the Kings. Sandy Beaches, Friendly People, Beautiful Sunsets and Affordable Massages, just what paradise is all about!
Our last day in Bali ended with more pampering and we tried out the spa at the hotel. It costed us about IDR450,000 for a couple and it was absolutely amazing. After our 1.5 hours of massage, they gave us a nice tub for a bath. Absolutely heavenly.
I will definitely come back to Bali again some day. It’s one of my favourite destinations to chill for a vacation. It’s a very different experience for me and a great way to escape from the big city. Thanks Boby for driving us around and showing us most of Bali’s famous sights. Good bye!
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