Welcome to Bali, Indonesia

Jenn Horning
Feb 14, 2017
4 min read

Bali had always been on the top of my bucket list of places to go in the world, so when I was given the opportunity to head over to Bali in September of 2015 I couldn't say no. I had seen so many gorgeous pictures on Instagram of people traveling in Bali my mind was a buzz with the idea of this place.

Unfortunately for me Bali was a very different kind of experience, unlike every trip I had ever been on before I fell very sick towards the end of my trip with a stomach parasite and for the last 10 days of my trip I couldn't hold any food and lost over to 15 pounds. To anyone wondering how I got sick, it was from the food at the Conrad Bali, they must have used tap water or perhaps the rat in our room had something to do with it but I ended up with a very severe form of food poisoning which resulted in a stomach parasite which took very strong antibiotics which I had prescribed to me upon my return to North America. This was no joke, the parasite was beyond painful and the antibiotics to recover from it were unlike anything I had ever experienced in my life.

However before falling sick I had the time of my life. I stayed at the W Bali and to anyone wondering which hotel to stay at in when in Bali this is it. W Bali is the nicest hotel I have ever been to in my life. This says a lot because as most people know I have stayed at close to 80 different hotels from Asia, Europe, Middle East, North America and Australia/New Zealand. (For more details on the W Bali please read my full review.) During my trip I also had the amazing opportunity of experiencing the brand new Ritz-Carlton Reserve, Mandapa in Ubud which if this place is within your budget I highly recommend it, the luxury, beauty and experience is worth every penny. (Read my review for full details.)

While in Bali I made sure to make my way up to Ubud and visit the rice fields and the famous monkey forest. These are both a must when in Bali, trust me you do not want to miss the monkey forest even if the monkey can be a little scary at times, the adventure is worth it. Make sure you bring a bag that completely seals, no zippers because the monkeys know how to open bags. These are not your average monkeys; they know how to steal something straight out of your hand. I saw them steal multiple items from tourists around me from there bags and pockets, so be forewarned. But if your willing to take the time and enjoy the experience you might be given the amazing opportunity to capture a photo you never thought possible I was able to capture a mother and her baby. It was such a beautiful moment watching them together and to see how such a majestic animal moved and nurtured each other is such an amazing experience.

As for our visit to the rice fields it involved a long drive but once you arrive you will realize the amazing beauty before you. I went during the off time for the rice fields so if you are blessed to make your way over during the peak time of year I am sure it will be even more magical. Most hotels in Ubud offer a car service to the rice fields and I would recommend you go with whatever your hotel suggests as they have pre arranged rates like everyone in town.

Another must is making your way to Uluwatu. We visited two beaches in the area Padang Padang, which for all those ‘Eat Pray Love’ readers out there, is the beach from the movie. We also hit up Suluban aka Blue Point Beach. This one involves a trek down to the sand, winding down very very narrow stairs. The name of the beach means ‘to crouch under’ in Balinese, inspired from all the work it will take you crouching down through the rocks to make it to the sand. If you want to ensure you get a prime spot heading over early in the morning is a must, we went towards the end of the day as the sun was setting and it wasn’t to crowded and well worth the trip. I highly recommend that you make the 10 minutes hike down to the water to enjoy it for yourself. It will be well worth it. Just an FYI, there will be no taxis in the area, we learnt the hard way and were lucky another couple let us use the car and driver they had paid for. I recommend you find yourself a driver to follow you for the day or you rent a car whichever meets your needs.

One last thought for you, I learnt the hard way in Bali and being sick was very scary especially when you can’t hold any food and Bali being so 3rd world I was worried I wouldn’t get appropriate medical care if I needed it. Check before you head over if you need to get the yellow fever shot aka Pirates Disease or another shot. And please pay the 45$ for medical insurance, so should you need to be air lifted to Singapore for medical reasons you can with your million dollar medical health policy you paid 45$ for, you will thank me if anything happens.