"Island of the Gods" a Bali Travel Page by SFHulaGIrl

I'm a bonafide Europhile. France & Italy are like drugs to me -- I can't go very long without them. I went to France last year (2006) for 2 weeks to attend the wedding of a friend & had a fabulous time. This year I was thinking of Italy until... Anthony Bourdain! I was watching one of his episodes midway through & wondered where he was. The country looked so beautiful & peaceful. He just happened to be in Bali. That's what initially intrigued me. Then my friend, Jacques, had recently returned to Paris from three weeks in Bali. He assured me that it truly is the "Island of the Gods" (i.e. paradise) & that I simply MUST go. That's when I began my research. Even after I booked my ticket to Bali, I had second thoughts. I feared that I wouldn't enjoy it as much as France or Italy, & that I might end up regretting my decision in one way or another. I can tell you now that that simply wasn't the case.

I flew for (what seemed to be) an eternity to what felt like (to me) the end of the world. I had pretty much an entire day's lay-over in L.A., which ended up being relaxing. I dropped my suitcase at my friend's apt. in Santa Monica, did my usual run-through of the Jewelry Mart downtown & relaxed with a pizza & wine dinner in the evening before heading off to LAX again. The flight from L.A. to Taipei was arduous & COLD!! My flight from Kuala Lumpur to Denpasar was delayed, which made me even more antsy. When I was finally on the plane to Denpasar & could glimpse Bali from the window, we were flying through gigantic, billowy white clouds. The song "Angels Over Bali" from Putamayo's "Asian Lounge" CD popped into my head. Landing at the airport, the smell of incense was immediately apparent as we walked in. The $25 Visa line was short & quick, as was picking up my luggage at the baggage claim. I walked outside, with just a touch of trepidation, only to be greeted by the smiling face of my driver, Nengah.

My bungalow at Ananda Boutique Resort & Spa in Seminyak was not what I'd expected at all; I'd expected a regular room. What I got was a private little house set back from the front of the hotel, surrounded by lots of greenery. All through the night, I heard unusual birds & other animal sounds outside my bungalow, which I'd certainly never heard in San Francisco or anywhere else in my thus-far travels! I didn't really see much of Seminyak that one night. My plans were to have dinner & explore the area, but my body told me that I wasn't quite up to it. The following morning, Nengah was back to transport me to Ubud. (Ubud tales can be found on my Ubud pages.)

"Why are you going to Candi Dasa?" people kept asking me. They assured me that there was little to do, which was exactly what I had in mind. My bungalow at Temple Cafe & Seaside Cottages directly faced the ocean. There were chaise lounges outside my bedroom window. My two days in Candi Dasa mostly consisted of me sitting on those chaise lounges, sunbathing on those chaise lounges, staring out my window to the ocean, & eating & drinking underneath the ceiling fans of the Temple Cafe. I did wander further down the road to take a few pictures of the Lotus Pond & some boats on the beach. I also hired a driver to take me to the ATM in Amlapura, as well as to Budakeling & Tenganan. I had a facial at Dewi Spa. I was asked if I wanted to snorkel or go fishing out on the ocean, but I don't exactly swim (at least, not in water over 6 feet deep!), so there's a certain kind of terror that goes along with that! I'll bring water wings next time! Yes, life is slow in Candi Dasa, but that was kind of the calm before the storm (i.e. the total relaxation break before heading back to the madness of the Kuta/Legian/Seminyak/Tuban area).

By the time I was back in the Kuta/Legian/Seminyak/Tuban area, I was ready to get the slightest bit crazy. Legian was the only place where, much to my dismay, I had a regular hotel room at the Vilarisi Hotel. The location was right in the middle of lots of action, particularly for restaurants, shopping and the beach. To think, I'd wondered if I could buy the same things in Legian that I had the opportunity to buy in Ubud! The shopping in Legian is stellar! The amount & bright colors of textiles, housewares, clothing, shoes, paintings, etc. was overwhelming. It was hard to concentrate. Don't they call that the Stendhal syndrome?! Aside from the shopping, I had plans to hit up Hu'u, Ku De Ta, Fabio's, La Lucciola & Paul's Place. I only made it to Fabio's & Paul's Place, partially due to my in-hotel room tattoo taking about twice as long as had been promised. Yes, you heard me right. ANOTHER tattoo, for about a third of the price I'd have paid in the U.S. So my tattoo took longer than anticipated/promised, plus I had to hide/avoid a couple of someones. I won't go into any type of explanation there. Just take it for what it is!

I'm telling you, though, next year I might hit up this area first & get a few days of partying out of my system before I go into culture & relaxation mode for the remainder of the trip!

Oh, a little aside. No, I did NOT get any vaccinations at all. I ate fruit, vegetables, meats & salads. I even drank a beverage with ice cubes in it once. It wasn't purposely; I'd already drank half of it before I realized there were ice cubes in it! Even so, I didn't get sick in the least. I avoided food carts, though. What DID bother me was the endless mosquitos & gnats flying everywhere. They LOVE me! If there were 50 people in the room, all of the mosquitos & gnats would still only bite ME!! So now I know in the future not to forget my citronella candles, to cover myself in DEET and/or Autan, &, if possible, to buy one of those beekeeper's hats with head to toe netting!