Disclaimer: Don't ever limit yourself to 7kgs for 5 days in Bali!
When I first started researching Bali and in particular Canggu, I was overwhelmed with recommendations on places to eat, visit and drink. This wasn't surprising considering Canggu recently emerged (well to me anyways) as one of Bali's hottest destinations.
I have always appreciated Bali due to it's diverse service offering, accommodating families, to couple retreats, or your local footy team's end of season trip. Bali truly has it all!
We spent our first day grasping a better understanding of the Canggu area. It soon became evident it was dominated with hip cafes, edgy bars and everything in-between. We visited what turned out to be one of my favourite cafes, Crate Cafe. Crate Cafe is a minimalistic space with commanding bare concrete. My favourite dish, 'So Corny' with an iced latte (cubes not slush). We strolled up and down Pantai Batu Bolong Street and accomplished what felt like a million steps.
Monday started pretty much like the day prior at 'Crate Cafe'. If I'm honest, I'm very much a routine person. Back home I wake up the exact same time on Monday as I do Sunday. It's somewhat different in Bali, time is nonsensical. Unfortunately, my body clock however thought differently. We scooted down to Seminyak and in true Bali fashion, we indulged at 'Bodyworks Spa'. Followed by one of the best coffees I had in the whole trip at 'Temu Coffee'. Our afternoon involved relaxing poolside in our villa.
Our first day trip took us to Batuan Temple, followed by lunch at 'Wanna Jungle Pool and Bar', an incredible resort in the mountains. After enjoying the endless infinity pools and full stomaches, every eye was shut as we were commuted back to our villa to relax before heading out. We decided to keep it local and head down to 'Old Man's' a seaside, open layout bar with music all night. Drinks were cheaper than soft drink back home.
The second day was devoted to 'Cafe Del Mar', a refined pool club that recently opened in Bali. I haven't personally been to Greece, but it felt like a slice of Mykonos on the other side of the world! At night, we thought we would stay with the whole 'European' theme, this time a slice of the Amalfi Coast at Da Maria's - where we danced the night away.
We decided again to move away from our inhabitants to 'Kuber Bali Adventure' for some quad biking. This was high on my list that's for sure. We adventured through all terrain, from open fields to caves in complete darkness. I'm not much of a rev-head, but hearing multiple engines echo at full throttle is invigorating. In the evening, we went to one of my favourite restaurants in Bali called 'Sardine'. Cool wine and fresh seafood whilst overcooking rice fields is always a yes from me.
The most exhausting day was the second to last. We swam with the fish at 'Blue Lagoon Beach'. This was a first for me. It's incredible the amount of fish that are attracted to some bread in a recycled coke bottle. We followed this with a bite to eat at 'Deus' or 'God's Country' if you speak Latin. Deus was a curation of dining and vintage motorcycles.
Our final day was well spent. We started by going to a funky spa called 'Spring' on the main street of Canggu. A one hour Balinese Massage just didn't feel long enough. Other activities for the day consisted of eating at a 'Local Warung'. For a whole AUD$5, you could eat like a king... you can't go wa-rung with that right? Across the road was a health food store, with prices well below those back home. If 7kgs were tough on the way here, they were about to get a lot harder!
Highlight:
My favourite memory was the infamous "shortcut road" or "shortcut" if you want to sound more like a local. Shortcut is a 800m road (the term "road" is used very loosely) that connects Berawa to Batu Bolong. Paddy fields span either side as far as you can see, and frequently served as arrester beds for the vehicles that fall into them. Comical at times, hundreds of vehicles plummet into the paddy fields each day as the road appears to be an intense game of chess.
Yours truly
JR
