For our honeymoon, The Hubby and I spent 5 nights in Bali. However since we arrived in the evening on the first day and spent our last day lounging around the resort, we truly only spent 3 days exploring the island. Our itinerary was tight, and we did end up cutting a few activities (no underwater scooter). Since we were in Bali for only a short time, I decided to stay at one resort and hire a driver, rather than moving from city to city. We chose to base ourselves in Nusa Dua, where many of Bali’s luxury resorts are located, because we wanted to spoil ourselves and enjoy the stunning white sand beach.

Tips

• – Tackle one area of the island at a time. Traffic in Bali was awful, at one point we even decided to hop out of the car and walk to dinner, rather than crawl along on the road.
• – Prioritize, what’s more important? Catching the sunset at Tanah Lot? Or Avoiding crowds? In general, I prefer to avoid crowds.
• – Money exchanges were literally every few steps, and each offered a different rate, which fluctuated daily, sometimes hourly. We exchanged USD to the amount of IDR we needed for 2 days at a time. With the ease of money exchanges (many open at 8am and close around 6pm) and the fact that IDR is difficult to exchange back into other currencies, I wouldn’t worry about having IDR before landing at Denpasar and exchange only the amount needed for a few days at a time.
• – The monkeys in Ubud are fearless. I would not recommend a visit for anyone who’s not comfortable with the thought of having monkeys randomly jump on you without consent.
• – Hire a private driver, the cost is fairly low (~$50 USD/day) relative to the convenience.
• – Bargain. I am not good at haggling and don’t think I made a single purchase that was well-priced. I think I got better by the end of the trip, but I’m sure I still overpaid for every souvenir.
• – Take advantage of the fresh tropical fruits. Mangosteen every day!
• – Massages are incredibly well priced. We really enjoyed the service and treatment at Bodyworks

Day 1 – Ubud

Explore the green rice paddies in Ubud. At the very touristy area, as we hiked through the paddies, there were people collecting “donations” to maintenance. However, as you wander, you may run into the toll booths multiple times and the villagers may be pushy and aggressive with their collection efforts. After that, we stopped by a cafe close by that served Luwak coffee and walked us through the process. We drove into the city for lunch at Naughty Nuri’s and to visit the Monkey sanctuary before heading back to relax at the resort.

Day 2 – Ubud

Spend the day with one of the many cooking classes in Ubud. The day starts early with a tour of the morning market, before turning hands-on. After preparing a traditional Balinese meal, classes will end around 2pm, the perfect time to head to a massage. Both the cooking class and massage should be booked at least one day ahead of time. Originally, I had planned for dinner at Locavore, but they were all booked a day ahead. I would recommend making reservations at least one or two weeks ahead of time. If you have a chance, I would also recommend picking up some fresh fruit to enjoy throughout the week.

Day 3 – Seminyak

Start with a visit to Tanah Lot early to avoid the crowds. Grab a lunch of Babi Guling on the way to a beach club, Ku de Ta or Potato Head to spend the afternoon people watching and enjoy the sunset. Both clubs have direct access to the beach, loungers and DJs. We sipped on cocktails until the evening set in. For dinner I would recommend trying Mama San or Sardine.  

Day 4 – Nusa Dua (Optional)

Relax at your resort, stroll on the beach and take a dip in the pool. We spent the day lounging and snacking on fresh fruit and chocolates. While the ocean was too choppy for us to venture into, I enjoyed my beach time sipping on coconut water and reading.

Staying at the St. Regis Bali was my first time at a luxury hotel. Our villa was triple the size of my condo in Toronto and the private hot tub of our pool suite made me question if we ever needed to leave. To be honest, The Hubby and I didn’t really take advantage of the personal butler service, because we didn’t even know what to ask for, but we did find the concierge incredibly helpful and useful. Before heading out on our first day to visit Ubud, we sat with the concierge desk who helped us find and book a cooking class for the next day and suggested restaurants for dinner. We were looking for traditional Indonesian cuisine close to the resort. The concierge recommended Bumbu Bali, a popular, well rated restaurant with a shuttle service. I had come across the restaurant in my own research as well so we made a reservation.

My first day in Bali was spent exploring Ubud and meeting the local monkeys. The Hubby and I returned to our suite pretty exhausted, and sweaty, so sweaty. A quick shower and some downtime was perfect before we headed back out to dinner.

Bumbu Bali was an open air restaurant with several wooden tables set under the night sky and others under canopies. I loved being able to enjoy the fresh tropical air with my meal. While the setting was lovely and romantic with soft lighting and lots of greenery, service and food was underwhelming. Also guests at the table next to us were loud, cracking inappropriate massage jokes with the servers and distracting. In fact, we had time getting attention from servers, because they were busy managing that table.

Being our first night in Bali, we were still learning about Indonesian cuisine. Thus the safest bet for dinner seemed to be Bumbu Bali’s set dinner, 550,000 IDR ($55 CAD) for two people. The set included a soup, 10 traditional dishes and a platter of desserts. Based on the many platters being served to tables around us, other diners had the same idea.

Dinner included pork, chicken and seafood satay skewers, beef rendang, lamb stew, grilled fish, two vegetable dishes, shredded chicken with chili and tomato, tuna salad and nasi. I found the flavours muted or overpowered by heat. Dessert included a selection of Balinese cakes, black rice pudding, a glutinous rice flour dumpling and seasonal fruit. I have to admit, I was being spoiled by the St. Regis’s daily fruit plate and Bumbu Bali’s didn’t quite compare in sweetness or selection. Unfortunately, Of the 10 dishes, I only enjoyed about half of them and even then none were spectacular. I was also surprised at the level of spice, taste buds disintegrating spice. Watching the kitchen, none of the dishes were prepared to order, simpled ladled out of pre-prepared pots. This may be how dinner is served, I’m unsure. That night, the Hubby and I were mildly disappointed with dinner but after our experience the next day with Paon Cooking Class, we were super disappointed.

After touring the morning market in Ubud, we were shuttled to Wayan’s house where his wife Puspa led us through preparing a traditional Balinese feast. There were 25 approximately 25 students in the class and everyone was involved in cooking. I liked the structure of the class, preparation of the ingredients was broken up into stations and students rotated through them, students then paired up at stations and took turns cooking each dish. Each pair’s contribution was then added to a large pot and mixed together, which meant mistakes were hidden. Even if your dish was a little burnt or had a pinch too much salt, once in the big pot, the final product was delicious.

Many of the dishes we cooked had lots of vegetables, which I loved since usually vegetables are hard to fit into meals when travelling. There were also no small appliances in the cooking class, this was the traditional way of cooking. Puspa mentioned how a food processor would cut down a lot of prep time, but she wanted us to have an authentic experience. Every sauce was made from scratch, fresh raw ingredients and blended using a Bali Blender, aka by hand with a mortar and pestle. Almost all of the dishes included yellow sauce, which has close to 20 ingredients. With the tasks of mincing and grinding broken up though, it took no time at all to put together.

To start, I was at the deep frying tempeh station. One of the assistants showed me the colour I wanted to achieve for the tempeh and kept an eye on me since this was one of the more “difficult” stations. The Hubby was set to work dicing long beans before being moved to the Bali Blender to work on grinding fried peanuts. His wrist was sore, but the aroma of fresh peanut sauce was mouth watering.

After all the ingredients were diced, minced and chopped, there was a break while Puspa demonstrated how to make yellow sauce using a giant mortar and pestle. Students took turns to try their hand at pounding out the sauce. During this time, the prepared ingredients were measured out for each dish and couple. The flow of the class was at a good pace and efficient, we were always active and there was very little waiting time.

For each dish, Puspa demonstrated the instructions and then walked around to each station as we cooked. In general, one person was responsible for adding seasoning while the other cooked. With each dish, The Hubby and I switched roles. In addition to curries and salads, we also wrapped fish in banana leaves to be steamed and made skewers on sugarcane that was grilled.

Once we were done cooking, all of the food was set up buffet style to be enjoyed. The food was delicious, rich in flavours, fresh and fragrant. I had two full plates and went back for a third helping of bean salad. Creating such a tasty meal in the communal effort was incredibly fun and satisfying.

Overall, both The Hubby and I had an incredible tine with Paon Cooking Class. We enjoyed the hands-on teaching style, Wayan and Puspa’s easy-going humour made them fun hosts, and the food was really good. In fact, better than a popular traditional Bali restaurant we tried the night before. For anyone visiting Bali, I would highly recommend including a cooking class in your itinerary, even to make the time for one. 

One of the coolest days I had in Bali was spent with Paon Cooking Class. In fact, The Hubby and I enjoyed our market tour and hands-on experience so much, we’ve started researching similar classes for our next vacation (One month until Italy!). Based on Ubud, the concierge at the St. Regis helped us book a morning class the day before. Two start times were available, 8:30am, which included a tour of the Ubud old market and 4:00pm, which was cooking only. The cost was 350,000 IDR per person, about $35 Canadian with today’s exchange rates. While we had our driver drop us off at the meeting location in Ubud, Paon Cooking Class does offer pick up services. The class itself took place in a Balinese village a short drive away and a shuttle service was provided to bring us back to any address in Ubud.

We chose to go with the morning class, which meant leaving Nusa Dua at 7am. As much as I hate early mornings, walking through the market was worth the extra caffeine I needed. When we arrived at Ubud, we met up with our guide, Wayan, who was lovely. Wayan and his wife run Paon Cooking Classes and he was our tour guide for the morning. His English was accented, easy to understand and full of humour. Our group was made up of tourists from Australia, Europe and Singapore with the majority being couples, many on honeymoons, a group of friends and one solo girl who was in Bali for work.

Wandering through the market, Wayan would stop at certain stalls and explain the products being sold and answer questions. The market itself was located in a stone building with a few levels. Produce was on the lower levels while meat was in the basement. Wayan included details about how the market was deeply rooted in everyday Indonesian life and how vendors pass down their spots through generations. We sampled fresh fruits, like mangosteen and passion fruit and learned about how essential pandan was in Indonesian cooking. Throughout the tour, Wayan pointed out ingredients that we would be cooking with later that day.

In addition to fresh fruit and produce, the market also sold bales of flower petals (used in crafting daily offerings). After 9am, the produce vendors pack up and the market becomes an art market filled with souvenirs and handcrafts. As is, by the time we had arrived, all of the meat vendors were cleaning up. A blessing as the market wasn’t overly hygienic and strong odurs still lingered. Wayan actually gave each guest a flower blossom to smell if they found the meat section of the market too overpowering.

After our market tour, we piled into shuttles and headed to his house for the next part of our day, cooking.

While in Bali, Tanah Lot was high on my list of must-sees. A temple perched on a rock cliff over the ocean. During low tide, the temple is easily accessible from the white sandy beach. As the tide rises, the temple is surrounded by salt water and crashing waves. Most websites recommended visiting Tanah Lot during sunset for a spectacular view but warned of equally spectacular crowds. The Hubby and I decided to prioritize our own comfort and chose instead to visit during the morning, a quieter time at the temple. There were still plenty of tourists roaming around, but we managed to snap photos without background extras.

After admiring the view of Tanah Lot, picking up some souvenirs and ice cream, we headed to lunch. With one exceptional rib meal under our belt, we asked our driver for another bbq recommendation in the area. He knew of a place a short drive away and The hubby and I dozed off as soon as the engine started. We woke up as we pulled up in front of Hog Wild in Bali.

Hog Wild in Bali was a fairly modern restaurant with lots of fans and a bright sun room. Menus were in English and we had no issues communicating with our servers. In fact, I felt the restaurant was more of a tourist stop than where locals would eat. Their slogan proclaimed “Been naughty! Now Wild!” hinted at a potential rivalry between BBQ establishments on the island. Personally, Hog Wild in Bali felt like they were pushing hard to get their “wild” message across to visitors. We sat down at a wooden picnic table and settled on ordering half a rack each of beef and pork ribs.

Healthy jabs at the competition and kitschy persona aside, I was there for the ribs and unfortunately, Hog Wild didn’t win me over. Between the beef and pork ribs, the pork ones were way better. I found the beef ribs tough and chewy. The pork ribs were tastier, but a little light on sauce and compared to our previous bbq experience, not as juicy or tender. Based on ribs alone, our meal was ok but not amazing. Hog Wild was tourist friendly, clean and oozed a fun vibe.

Full from the meaty meal we headed to our next stop, Ku De Ta, a popular beach club in Seminyak, to lounge on pillows, sip cocktails people watch and and enjoy the sunset.

The first stop on my South East Asia honeymoon was 5 days in beautiful Bali. One of the best perks of The Hubby travelling for work all the time is the hotel points he racks up. Using these points we stayed at the St. Regis resort in Nusa Dua and had the budget to hire a private driver to take us around the island, which I highly recommend. Having a driver allowed us to explore all areas of Bali with ease. We could just name a popular restaurant or attraction and our driver typically knew the best route, where to find the entrance and/or buy tickets. Another perk was air conditioning inside the SUV and built in naps while on the road.

We spent our first day near Ubud, exploring rice fields, sampling luwak coffee and hanging out with the free roaming monkeys at the Sacred Monkey Forest. Aggressive, people friendly monkeys. We were advised to not bring in any food and keep all bags zipped up. The monkeys would happily jump on you at the whiff of anything edible, they could also open zippers to get to hidden treats. One monkey latched onto The Hubby right as we walked in and ripped a small bottle of antibacterial handwash right off his back back zipper. Later on, another monkey jumped on me, unzipped my backpack and proceeded to rummage around inside before getting bored. Aside from the involuntary monkey interaction, visitors could also buy bananas from villagers tending the park to feed them. Holding the bananas up in the air, monkeys climbed onto your shoulder and snacked away. This was fun but also a tad terrifying when the banana attracted multiple climbers.

Before all that excitement, we stopped by Naughty Nuri’s Warung for lunch. Famous for their BBQ pork ribs and being tourist friendly, our meal did not disappoint. The grill was set up roadside, tempting passersby with smokey goodness. We sat at a wooden picnic table under an awning near the grill so we could watch the ribs being cooked. Being the middle of the afternoon, only a few tables were taken and the atmosphere was laid back. Naughty Nuri has multiple locations in Bali and the one in Ubud was designed to be like a traditional warung, a small, roadside stall.

An English menu was available but with limited descriptions. We ended up ordering fried noodles, mie goreng, and of course ribs. While simple in ingredients, the flavour of the noodles were balanced with lots of vegetables and sauce. The ribs were phenomenal. Smokey, charred and fall off the bone, we licked every rib clean. Our meal was super satisfying. Naughty Nuri’s is also well known for their martinis but we passed on the heavy day drinking opportunity. Instead we stuck to splitting a large bottle of Bintang beer to cool us in the hot afternoon.