Sept 1 - 16: Bali
When we got married 10 years ago (what?!) we originally planned to go to Bali for our Honeymoon. For a variety of reasons, we ended up in Kenya instead. I wouldn't trade that trip for anything, but we’ve always wanted to make it to Bali. It turns out it’s really no farther from Zurich than it is from SF, so we decided this was the year! We also decided we were going all out for this trip. You came home one day and informed me that you had purchased business class plane tickets, and we only stayed in hotels with private pools. It was rough.
Ubud
We began the trip in Ubud to adjust to the time zone and get settled.
Highlights:
The Komeneka Monkey Forest lodge and the private villa we had with our own plunge pool. Slightly less charming: the disco across the rice paddy that went until 3AM.
The Sacred Monkey Forest. Baby monkeys are the cutest, and watching monkeys steal shit from tourists was hilarious.
Nusantara for dinner - just delicious all around. The fish wrapped in a banana leaf was divine, and we both could have sworn the barbecue tofu was actual meat. Also, we learned what a snake fruit is!
Room4Dessert was one of the most unique dining experiences I’ve ever had. Also, I matched my cocktail for one course.
We went on what was meant to be a short hike. Got lost, met a young German man who was also lost, and led him on an 8 mile journey that was definitively not the hike we meant to do.
The beers we had after that way too long hike.
Lembongan
Lembongan is a small island off the south coast of Bali. We mainly went there for the diving; it’s known for Manta Ray and Mola Mola sightings.
Highlights:
Getting our Advanced Open Water certifications!
<——- Those sunsets
Some of the hardest, but most rewarding dives we’ve ever done - the water was about 17 Celsius and the currents were super strong, but we saw mantas, dolphins, and sharks.
The lunches on the dive boats were some of the best food we ate in Bali. Truly. Talk to me about fried banana cake.
Lembongan is the ultimate beach town - gorgeous sunsets and plenty of places happy to sell you a cocktail while you watch them. It’s the only place we’ve been served amuse-bouche vodka shots.
Our hotel, Batu Karang, was one of the prettiest places I have ever been - it was on a hell of a hill, but worth it for the views.
Tulamben
We went to Tulamben because we wanted to dive the wreck of the USS Liberty. It was super worth it.
Highlights:
Our hotel was a bit of an adventure - it was very remote and much more rustic than advertised. We opted to call it “glamping”. There was a small rodent that went in and out of our room. We decided it was a vole and left it at that.
We dove 3 times in one day (all fairly shallow shore dives). We were only meant to do two, but the dive master recommended a macro dive and you couldn’t say no.
Seeing a baby frog fish and a baby moray eel on said macro dive.
Our hotel room, while a bit odd, had a gigantic private pool that overlooked the water, so it could have been a lot worse.
We tried to go to a restaurant at the hotel next door which turned out to be owned by a Swiss couple. They were almost full, so couldn't feed us dinner. It felt like being at home.
Menjangan
We headed to Menjangen for a bit more diving, but also for the nature out there. It’s a beautiful spot with natural hot springs nestled in the mangrove forests overlooking the ocean. Highly recommend.
Highlights:
Our hotel, Mimpi Resort Menjangan, was amazing. The furniture looks like it fell out of a 1980s summer camp, but everything else about it is perfect.
The first night we were there, we were having a cocktail in one of the hot springs when a troop of monkeys showed up to play in the brackish stream below us. The young ones and babies played and wrestled and, when the tide had come in enough, began to swing from mangroves and cannonball in to the water. I’m not kidding. I have video.
You had your first emergency while diving - your regulators stopped working about 60ft under water. Fortunately you caught my eye and I was able to get you my backup quickly. Our dive master was able to get your backup working, so we soldiered on.
Every night we had dinner on the beach with a bottle of surprisingly-not-terrible Balinese wine.
There was a large water monitor that would wander around every evening in the brackish spring. We sipped cocktails and watched him hunt. He was beautiful and scary.
We celebrated our actual 10-year wedding anniversary here and it was lovely.
Jimbaren
Our last stop before we headed home. Chosen mainly due to it’s proximity to the airport, but the hotel ended up being a real standout.
Highlights:
I can’t say enough about the hotel - it’s gorgeous - we had a bedroom villa, an open air living room, a separate “relaxation room”, a private pool, and a lounging bed to ourselves all surrounded by an 8ft tall wall. I did not realize this before booking, but privacy is really their thing there.
Every day around 3, they would bring us afternoon tea, which included not only tea or coffee, but also a tower of snacks and sweets.
The sunset on the Jimbaren beach was pretty stunning. The view of the airport from the same beach is a bit less so.
The food there was outstanding.
