There’s big happy, medium happy and small happy. All are valid and play an important role in our lives. Small happy includes getting a little treat on the way to work, like a cappuccino or a bakery item on the weekend. Medium happy is a meal out or maybe buying the cute pair of sunglasses you’ve been eyeing for a while. Now big happy revolves around large events, almost exclusively related to family and travel. Things like weddings, trips, holidays etc. Big happy is the most impactful but also happens to be the most expensive.
Our trip was full of all the best things and made for a couple of really wonderful weeks away.
One of our trip highlights was our day excursion to the island of Nusa Penida. We stayed two nights in Sanur, on the East coast of Bali to accommodate our day trip to the nearby island. Here we got to swim with the manta rays and see Kelingking Beach (also known as T-Rex beach for its dino shaped coastline 🦖). We were blessed with clear weather and lucky enough to see the mantas feeding on the plankton that get stirred up off the coast. Manta rays can have wingspans of up to 29 feet! They’re such stunning and majestic creatures. It was a privilege to have the opportunity to swim with them watch them feed in the water below us.
After swimming in the morning we docked and headed to the beach lookout. The island is getting extremely popular, so the traffic is all jammed up with small shitty ‘roads’ that look like rough atv trails. The speed boat getting to the island was equally as dodgy, but we made it there and back in one piece.
Next, we travelled up north and stayed in Ubud for a few days. Ubud is more inland and higher in elevation. This usually means a rainier and more temperate climate suitable for rice terraces and waterfalls. We rented out this adorable Balinese villa among the rice terraces. What we didn’t know was that the villa was inaccessible by car. The staff shuttle guests and their luggage via motorbike (which I wasn’t thrilled about, but didn’t die or get injured either…so I guess it was okay)? It was nice to be close enough to the city but escape to our villa to be in nature.
Around Ubud we were able to visit all the tourist hot spots as well as some quieter places. We saw waterfalls, rice terraces, mountains and temples. We enjoyed the fusion of culture and nature of the area. I think it’s the most special area in Bali, there’s something about it that feels amazing. It’s old and has a rich culture to appreciate.
We visited Ubud coffee roasters, the Tegallalang rice terraces, Nung Nung waterfall (498 steps down and 498 steps back up), ate spectacular food and headed north to the Kintamani region to have breakfast overlooking Mt Batur and Mt Anung. We also booked a morning Balinese cooking class (the same one I did when I first visited Bali back in 2016)!
From Ubud we headed to the west coast and stayed in Canggu for a few days. Canggu is the most recently developed city in Bali and a classic example of a place getting too popular too quick. The infrastructure is way behind to accommodate all the traffic and sewage created by so many humans. We battled the rain in Canggu which was unfortunate but we did have a few pockets of sun to enjoy!
We ended our stay in Seminyak, a bit further down the west coast which is nice and close to the airport. Here we dabbled in some beach clubs and brushed up on our tans as the sun was in full force. We also got asked so many times if we needed a taxi or wanted to buy cocaine or a variety of other drugs (which is a fun offer but a bit too fun for us 😂)!
Our last mini-day trip was driving down to Uluwatu for unobstructed ocean views off the southern tip of the island. We visited Uluwatu cliff temple, watched some surfers and ran away from the scary monkeys. We also saw a monkey run up, steal a guys iPhone straight out of his hand and watched as he had to barter for it back with some food. Such smart and cheeky bastards!
No trip is complete without eating and drinking all the good stuff (with very little guilt). We tried many traditional Balinese dishes, a lot of asian fusion cuisine and plenty of yummy cocktails. Here is a spotlight on our food and drinks:
Sadly, we came home to rain and yucky winter weather and quickly lost our sun-kissed Bali glow. Boo. We did consider turning right around and getting back on that plane! Overall, we had such a lovely time away and are grateful for these opportunities to travel and explore the world together.
Thanks for sharing this adventure with us! With love,
Alex & Michael
