Hotel di Nusa Dua yang Cocok Untuk Keluarga

Ada banyak hotel di Nusa Dua Bali, tapi belum tentu semuanya cocok untuk semua anggota keluarga yang liburan bareng. Belum lama ini, saya berkesempatan menginap di Renaissance Bali Nusa Dua Resort dalam rangka kerja. Tapi yang langsung terpikir adalah hotel ini bakal saya rekomendasikan banget untuk kamu yang suka berlibur dengan keluarga. Apa saja alasannya?  

1.     Desainnya seru!

Lobi Reinassance, hotel di Nusa Dua

LIBURAN PERTAMA SEJAK PANDEMI: KE BALI

Bali itu menyenangkan, walau bukan destinasi yang saya gila-gilai. Tapi ketika Diyan ngajak saya nyusul dia ke sana setelah proyek video mappingnya selesai, saya semangat juga untuk pergi karena sudah lama banget nggak liburan keluar kota! Malah, saya packing sejak H-seminggu! 

 

Kalau biasanya Diyan bikin itinerary, kali ini kami hanya merencanakan ke beberapa tempat, lalu sisanya improvisasi. Kenyataannya, liburan kami cukup banyak diselingi pekerjaan. Beberapa rencana non-ambisius terpaksa batal karena tiba-tiba harus buka laptop, kirim email, revisi script, nulis caption, dan kadang ketiduran. 

 

Oke, ini dia tempat-tempat yang kami datangi dan inapi selama 7 hari di Bali: 

 

Traveling Solo in Bali

I've never been fond of traveling solo, though it is much better than traveling than someone that you just can't click with. When traveling solo, I just feel it's not fun because I don't get to goof around, discuss about what we see and experience in the journey and, well, having a travel mate means I can share some cost.

However, this time it feels a bit better. I'm in Bali on my own, and it's my 2nd day now. Yesterday and this morning I bumped into some random things and people that somehow got me feeling happy and interested. I'm excited to welcome whatever will happen in the next few days!

I posted some on Indohoy's Instagram and now here.

Enjoy.

colorful kites with playful shapes, I found hanged on the side of Monkey Forest road.
Bali is known for its kite festival, so maybe making these kites just came natural to them?

10 Days in Bali

10 days in Bali, mixing work, leisure, and Indohoy coverage. I'm not gonna lay everything out here because I'll do that for Indohoy . But I can't not share anything at all, so here's some of what I experienced in the trip, which ended only a few days ago.

Isn't she cute? (or was it a he?)
@ Bali Safari & Marine Park, Gianyar

New Year's Eve in Kuta, Bali

It's a lot more than just Kuta..!

(part 1)

An sms from my pal Badu, “Vira, a common question. Where are you gonna spend your new year’s eve?” I replied, “A common answer. In Bali.”

Yeah, I whipped my ass working for the whole year (ooh this sounds dramatic, doesn’t it?), then I packed my holiday gears for the end of year fun in Bali, just like many other people in Indonesia. Mumun, Bondy, Edo, and I were up for any adventure there at the change of year 2008 to 2009.

About Bali

I bet a lot of you have heard of Bali and more familiar with it more than the country it’s in, Indonesia. Some foreigners even think that Indonesia is in or near Bali. Gosh, that is so dead wrong, people..! We, non-Balinese Indonesians, find that quite offending a li’l bit, but seeing the fact that Bali is the most prepared and welcome place for foreigners of all exotic places in Indonesia, we understand the misconception.

Anyway, Bali is a small island located in the south central part of Indonesia. It is sandwiched between Java island (to its west) and Lombok island (to its east).

Bali higlands and beach

(part 2)

- Ubud Market

Our main goal was to shop at the Ubud market and chill out at some street café or restaurant. So our first stop was that, the Ubud market. 

The prices were negotiable, but don’t even start to haggle if you don’t even mean to buy the stuff once the seller agrees to your request. They’d be so annoyed and grumble, but I guess it wouldn’t really matter much if you don’t even understand a word they’re saying :P 

Bali beaches and the tacky temporary tattoo

(part 3)

Tulamben Beach

Ever seen a ship wreck? This is the place, especially if you dive. It’s only 25 minutes of driving westward from Amed. It’s known for the USS Liberty ship wreck which sank in the 1960s and fortunately took no lives. It’s sinking deeper and deeper now, and it’s about 20 meters from shore. You might wanna check this out for more details http://www.bidp-balidiving.com/eng/location-tulamben-liberty-wreck/ .

Visitors are not allowed diving and snorkeling at Tulamben without hiring a guide. After negotiating, we got a deal with a guide named Made. Each of us had to pay about Rp 30,000 for his service, Rp 50,000 for a life-jacket rent, and Rp 10,000 for a snorkel rent. That is after we haggled off the offered price. Then Made went swimming with us to the shipwreck spot which wasn’t visible from the beach. (They most probably would charge you foreign visitors more than they charged us, but they’re also usually looking for more than just business; they like to befriended with you lot. Especially when you love to party at the beach…!)

The water was crystal clear, the clearest sea water I’ve ever seen, it was breathtaking. And literally I was also almost out of breath because 20 meters felt so far away, added to all the energy I’ve put out while snorkeling in Amed. But Mumun was the champion, she didn’t need no life jacket, she was swimming like a healthy fish, after all the driving all night and day long. I started to doubt if she’s really a human, she might be partly fish. Teehee.. 

The shipwreck was waaaay down in the water, about maybe 10 meters below us, visited closely by divers. I have to say that I was a bit disappointed because I expected something huge right in my face as how my friend Indra, back in Jakarta, had described his own experience when snorkeling at the exact same spot. Here’s where subjectivity and exaggeration take important roles in story telling :P

Done snorkeling for an hour, we rested a while on the beach. I uttered my astonishment on how clear the water is, and how big the size of the fishes are (well, nothing beats the fish size that Mumun has seen at Bunaken, North Sulawesi). Too bad the fishes aren’t so diverse. Made said that if you wanna see more diversity, you should go diving and get closer to the shipwreck. Well, lucky you, divers! (Made said diving apparels are for rent there for US $30.) 

Lovina Beach

Our friend Edo was coming to join us in the trip. Our meeting point was at Lovina beach, northwest part of the island. We drove the whole 1,5 hours to Lovina. It was easy to navigate, just take the main road all the way. 

To reach Lovina beach, we had to go through Singaraja town. It’s the old Bali capital in the Dutch colony era. It’s quiet and doesn’t seem to have many interesting things going on except the beach. 

Lovina is most known as the beach to spot dolphins. Just hire a boat (and the boatman, of course) in the very early morning for about Rp 150,000 and wait for the dolphins to show. Unfortunately we were there in the afternoon, plus it was drizzling, and we were too tired to go for dolphins anyway. 

As soon as we met Edo, we had our late lunch at Warung BU, on Jalan Lovina Raya (also known as Jalan Seririt Singaraja), more or less 500 meters from the gate to Lovina beach area. My Rp 26,500 was really worth the fried rice + pepes tuna + hot tea.

Then, satisfying our need for some rest and relaxing time, we decided to just hang around and have some drink at one of the cafes by the beach called Illy Cafe. I was curious how arak tastes like, and so I ordered a glass of arak mixed with honey, which cost Rp 12,000. It was.. warm inside my throat and tummy, and really fit the cool weather :)

Coffees there cost Rp 25,000, liquor coffee Rp 50,000, Aqua (the most notable bottled mineral water brand) Rp 6,000.

Before it got too dark, we decided to take off and back to the south.

Kerobokan – where we stayed

This is where we stayed. Room rent was only Rp 100,000 for a week (!), thanks to Bondy. He lives at a rent room whose owner also owns another building of rent rooms next to Bondy’s. 

The location is near Kerobokan Jail, Kerobokan. It’s only a few minutes of driving or motor riding from Legian or Seminyak, two other shopping and beach spots. There’s not really much to see at Kerobokan, though. There are mostly just regular houses and small shops.

Seminyak and Legian, temporary tattoo

You want shopping? Seminyak and Legian streets have rows and rows of stores selling clothes, jewelries, footwear, surfing apparels, even dog’s accessories. 

Tattoo parlors, car and motorcycles rentals, cafes and some hotels are also easy to find in these areas. 

The Seminyak beach is where I got my temporary tattoo for Rp 30,000. It was unfortunately kinda smeared because of my sweaty skin after biking. So you better be all dry when getting a temporary tattoo and about an hour after. 

This kind of service is available at other beaches as well. 

Bali Beaches and getting high

(part 4)

Dreamland beach

The day after new year’s eve, we went to Dreamland beach, Uluwatu, high on the southernmost of peninsula of the island. It was a precious discovery less than a decade ago, but now it’s too crowded (or maybe because it was January 1^st where everyone was vacationing in Bali just like we were), and the beautiful beach view is somewhat ruined by the building constructions in progress. 

People still do come here to surf though, cos it does provide great waves and pipes and all. I’m hoping when the resort or whatever it is they’re building is done, everything will look beautiful again, hence suits the name. 

You wonder how to get there? Well, if you are from Kuta, just take the main road of Uluwatu (Jalan Uluwatu) to the Uluwatu direction. The unguarded entrance will be on your right, and you’ll see big statues of Hanoman (monkey-like creature from the puppetry) and Garuda Wisnu Kencana (a huge prehistoric bird ridden by a knight.. err.. Vishnu.. err.. I forgot who that was).

From the entrance, you’ll still have to drive down the road, but you’ll be seeing a peek of the ocean far down there ahead of you. Just follow the asphalt road and you’ll get to the beach. Rays of light in the afternoon was such a beauty..!

Padangpadang bay, Uluwatu beach, Bluepoint bay

These are also quite known beaches for surfing. Uluwatu beach is only about 3 km away from Dreamland. Padangpadang and Bluepoint bays are near there as well, but it’s kinda confusing where to take right and left turns. If you’re not going with a local, I think you better ask direction to local people that you see on the streets. 

Actually we were going to Padangpadang because our friends Adiena and her hubby Ricky recommended us to go there, they said it’s beautiful. But too bad only Mumun and Keta (by Keta’s motorcycle) that got there, while Igoy and I (by Igoy’s motorcycle) was lost and got to Uluwatu beach, and then on our next try to find Padangpadang we got to Bluepoint bay and had a jaffle there. 

In these three places, the beaches are all way down there where you have to take the long stairs to get to. Igoy and I enjoyed the sunset at Bluepoint as well as Mumun and Keta enjoyed the sunset at Padangpadang. (hey, why does it sound like a separated double date? Hahahaaha..!!! It was so.. not!)

Warning: make sure your motorcycle is in good shape if you’re taking it to this area because the road is going up and down like crazy. 

Jimbaran

This beach is most known for its seafood diners that light up the area each night. Rows of restaurants and tables on the beach lit by torches really make this area alive. 

I heard that the bombing which took place a few years ago at exactly Nyoman Seafood quite made a setback of business here, but when we were there everything was already back to normal. 

It’s always lovely to dine on the beach while listening to the sound of waves and musicians playing at other tables.

What’s also unique about this place is that you get to choose your own dinner, as in choose the exact fish/crab/squid/oyster that you want them to cook for you. 

So, first you choose in which café you wanna eat, then choose the dinner victims (fishes to fry, crabs to boil, squids to stir fry, etc), then you sit at one of the tables, wait for the waiters to serve you, and just enjoy one of most exotic dinners you could ever have… :) 

Ooh why is my stomach growling right now? Oh, and yours too..!

Geger beach

This is also a beach that we knew from a friend who’s lived a couple of years in Bali, Febi, my college friend. Geger beach is quite near from Nusa Dua, a bit more to the south. Foreigners go here to surf and tan. When I got here, I couldn’t help from humming, “What a wonderful world..”

We parked our car at the parking area, Febi and Keju their motorcyle, but don’t expect a smooth asphalt road here. The driveway is pretty bumpy and narrow. 

We got out of the car, got our beach amenities ready, walked down the stone stairs to a spread out area full of beauty.. the white sand beach, light blue ocean, people relaxing on the beach chairs, people tanning topless on canoes, and some surfers walk about carrying their surfboards.. Life is a beach…!

Febi, Keju, Desy, and Angky, these four lucky bastards, took us – Mumun, Edo, and me – to a more desolated inlet, to which we had to walk past a coral cliff through the water. 

I was kinda worried with Febi and Angky’s baby, Kafka, being carried through this difficult route, but apparently they’re familiar with Geger already. Yeah so would I, if only I’d been living in this paradise island like themselves. (Oh Envy, please go away..)

Mushy mushy shroom

It’s so unlikely that people can get high legally in this country and in so many other countries. But the fact is shrooms (mushrooms) are sold freely on this island of gods. At least for now. We were curious what it was like, so we bought Fanta juice blended with a portion of shroom and drank it at the Kuta beach, Mumun and me. Bondy and Edo weren’t in for the ‘trip’, but later we had sooooo much fun playing movie charade under the influence.. I felt like I wanted to sink in the sand and Mumun just could not stop laughing..! (Kids, do not try this at home nor anywhere..!)

I forgot on what street the shroom was sold, but it was near the Polsek area of Kuta (polsek is some sort of police office). A portion of shroom cost Rp 20,000 but it expires in, like, only 2 days or so.