POSTCARDS FROM BALI
My name is Talya. I’m a blogger from Brisbane, Australia. Im a sometimes collaborator with the girls @ TheSwankStore & when I told them I was going on a short little holiday to Bali, they asked me to put together a little travel diary & blog about the things I get upto on my bali trips. So here’s my run-thru of 7 days & 7 nights about what i like to do when I go on holidays to Bali. You probably have a similar journey too, so I’d love to hear from you – find me on insta! @Taylaaperrin & we can ve friends! YAY
BALI HERE I COME!
DAY 1: YAY WE LANDED IN BALI
Welcome to Bali, Indonesia. After a smooth 5hr flight from Brisbane, Australia we arrived in Bali mid afternoon. With an easy start we were ready to slowly ease into the hustle and bustle of our getaway that is any Bali Holiday!
Picked up from Denpasa Airport, our driver drove us to our villa located in central Seminyak. Appel Villa Seminyak is a small hotel featuring 2 large villas and 4 small one bedroom villas. It was quiet and easy and most importantly RELAXING with pool access and friendly customer service.
Our afternoon wandered from shopping the crafted marketed stalls to full body massages. We were right back where we wanted to be. Beautiful Bali.
Motel Mexicola is an personal favourite I had to visit Featuring a stunning Mexican vibe, full of bright bold colours and flavoursome food. Its a must see. Bring on the Margaritas I say!
DAY 2: SCOOTERS, MASSAGES & THE BEACH CLUB!
Good morning Bali! First on our to do list was to get a Scoopy. A Scoopy is a type of scooter in Bali, very similar to a Vespa. This was our preferred form of transport around Bali as it is super easy to get around with.
With the Scoopy Scooter sorted, Its time to head straight to get a massage. Now there definitely was a method to my madness. You may think why would one get a massage first thing in the morning… Well there is some method to madness… If i get a massage in the morning then my body is all oiled up and ready for a daytime of tanning (mum im sorry, I know you don’t like me in the sun!). Plus you know a massage in Bali is like ohhhhhh so good and soooo cheap too! A genuine proper Full body massage for $8 Bucks. How can a girl go wrong…. And jeez girls, the massages are good… Like real good.
Deciding its time for cocktails – like at 10:30am - Finns Beach Club was our next destination. On the beach down at Seminyak, Finns is only a short 5min scooter drive from our villa. Now this is exactly where you want to be at any time of the day. Cocktails at hand, beautiful day beds and all located right on the beach. Oh and did i mention the pool with a swim up bar… I ain’t going anywhere anytime soon… and guess what,I didn’t!
From Mojitos to Frozen Daiquiri’s oh and of course the classic Bintangs, there’s not a complaint I could have. I spent the majority of my day here soaking in the Bali sun and sipping cocktails.
Needless to say, Scoopy Scooter was left behind for the night & a long, stumbling drunke walk back to the villa was had…. Time to sleep this one off, me thinks!
DAY 3: BREAKFAST / LUNCH / DINNER – Nothing like being waited on all day, I say!
Want an amazing breakfast? Sea Circus is the place. This is another one of my real favourites in Bali. Located in Seminyak, Sea Circus has a variety of western food to choose from along with the classic hangover essentials offered on there menu (panadol and beroca)… When it comes to breakfast i am a sucker for waffles. Thats exactly what i got. Waffles, custard, caramel sauce ahh the list goes on. It was delicious. AND just the thing to soak up the cocktails from the night before…
After breakfast… Massage again… YES… don’t hate me – I did say they were $8 right?
Then Mrs. Sippy’s. This is the Balinese outpost of Eastern Sydneys bar by the same name. Decked out with a cool diving platform, hammocks, bungalow day beds and large pool, so long as I could sip cocktails by a pool, I was happy as girl could be. It was quite the entertainment spectating the diving platform! I saw one young bloke (from Brisy no-less) stumble head first on the platform without even making the water beneath! Hmmmm Maybe so many cocktails aren’t the way to go for all… But when in Bali… disregarding said idiot, Mrs Sippy is a great spot to be for lazing the day away.
As the afternoon was drawing to a close dinner was on our mind. Strange that all you seem to do on holidays is just eat, drink & sleep – and massage!
La Plancha is an old favourite. Located on Seminyak beach it is the perfect sunset spot. Directly on the beach you have the choice of inside which is all open plan or on beanbags on the beach. Food here is delicious, my favourite; Nutella Crepes… Naughty i know… I told you I like sweet stuff!!!
DAY 4: WHEN ADVENTURE CALLS
Adventure Day. What better way to get a bit of adrenaline pumping then white water rafting. This was a bit of an early start which I'm not usually okay with but it was definitely worth an early rise for! We traveling via driver to Ubud which was about 1hr from Seminyak. On arrival we geared up for the adventure and started our trek to the river rapids. This was a beautiful and exhilarating experience. We paddled for a about 2hrs around several waterfalls up close and personal. It was quite a trek, not to mention a few capsizes! But very much worth the experience & loads of fun.
After an adventurous morning its time to relax for the afternoon. Potato Head Beach club was our next pick. Potato Head Beach Club features large pool, swim up bar, day beds and restaurant. Lunch was beautiful here and the cocktails defiantly tickled my taste buds. One of the nicer spots in Bali – but not too cheap – I suggest getting a daybed & chilling out for a few hours…
DAY 5: DAYTRIPPING OFF THE COAST
Island Vibes. Another early start this morning as we were off to Lembongan Island. Our driver drove us to Sanur which is the other side of bali for us to catch a boat to Lembongan Island. We traveled via fast boat to the island where we met our next driver to take us around the island.
Lembongan Island offers an array of activities to do from snorkelling to jet skis. We cruised around the island until we got to Dream Beach. And let me tell you, it is dreamy. Beautiful white sand, crystal blue water and a view you could look at all day. Which is basically what we did.
After our island oasis we met with our group of friends that were also in Bali. They were staying in central Kuta where all the hustle and bustle was. We all went out for drinks and dinner at a little restaurant down the main street of Kuta. Where we then ventured to the famous Sky Garden. Sky Garden is a club in the centre of Kuta, and it is something you haven't seen before.
DAY 6: A SPOT OF SHOPPING & TIME TO CHILL
It was time for a beautiful spread for breakfast and our pick this morning was Strawberry Fields. Our eyes were definitely to big for our stomachs but the food was amazing. With so much to choose from on the menu.
YES OK – Massages again.. I just cant get enough of them! I wish I could afford them back home in Brisbane.
Shopping was on the to do list. There are always a small market stall on every corner in Bali. Double six is the best spot for all your nick nacks. You can find some really great things all for a really great price.
Our good friends were staying at the Akmani Hotel in Kuta. There is a beautiful roof top bar with a pool where we spent the afternoon sipping cocktails as we watched the sunset.
DAY 7: CHECK OUT THE VIEW IN ULUWATU
Something that was on our list was to visit Uluwatu. There are some amazing new beach clubs there that we wanted to see. One of which is The Edge. This is a reasonably new hotel that features a glass bottom pool situated on ‘the edge’ of a cliff! This was so serial and a tad scary! But the view was amazing. If you have time, this is a must
The highlight of our trip was OMNIA. This stunning beach club only opened a week before we arrived in Bali and it is something you have not seen before. It is truly breath taking. Like The Edge, it is situated on the edge of a cliff. OMNIA includes large pool overlooking the endless horizon, swim up bar, somewhat floating platformed bar / eating area, day beds, personal waiters and a view you could look at forever and a day. It literally took our breath away. Everything about it was spectacular. This definitely needs to be on your to do list in Bali!
DAY 8: SADLY, IT’S OVER
And we get to day 8 of our trip to Bali, Indonesia. It’s time to venture home. After quickly squeezing in some last minute shopping and a quick breakfast stop at our favourite La Plancha it was time to head to the airport.
Bali, I love you. I want to come back…Soon
All outfits seen in this blog were supplied by The SwankStore, the home of Modern Classic Luxury Resortwear. My favourite item is the Dreaming Lotus Robe – Gorgeous on & you can wear it in so many ways.
When holidaying in Bali, I always recommend items from TheSwankStore – Nothing feels nicer on your skin than 100% premium Pure silk & in tropical climates, this is exactly what you need… And a great swimsuit of course