Bali - In Da Lodge

People like me (a.k.a control freaks) need to do lots of research before we travel. And one of the things I do a lot of research on is on the hotels that I choose to book online. I blogged about Nefatari Villas last year and I found that a lot of people view that page.

So here is my experience of staying in In Da Lodge. I booked this BB inn because of all the great reviews I read on Trip Adviser.

To get to In Da Lodge, drive along Jalan Raya Ubud and along the way you'll see this steep road where you'll see Klinik Dharma Usada. Once you see that clinic, there's a small little path you'll have to walk through to get to the inn (there's a sign to guide you).

Go down along this little path and you'll see the entrance to the inn.

And this is what you'll see around the neighborhood

Once you step into the inn, you'll be welcomed into a lush environment. 

There's a lazy bed with books for you to relax your day away

The bar

One of the rooms on the ground floor

Our room was on the first floor

Entrance to our room. The doors are the traditional kind of doors with no proper locks. There's a padlock to hold the door handles together, but you'll still be able to look into the room if you push the doors back. The window blinds are also slightly see through. 

The bed was comfortable. 

There one stand fan provided. No air conditioning or TV. The weather was cool so we didn't have to turn on the fans.

Opposite the bed, there's another room with a table and a small cupboard. There's also a small kitchen area with a sink that wasn't working

The toilet area wasn't very comfortable to me. It wasn't very clean and I felt like I had to wear my slippers into the bathroom.

Water takes slow to heat up and after a while, the water turned cold again. Also, there isn't any proper drainage in the toilet. And because the toilet floor and the bedroom floor is at the same level, if you take a long shower, the water will start flowing into the bedroom. There wasn't any sink in the bathroom and since the kitchen sink wasn't working, I had no sink to brush my teeth the next morning. Had to go to the shower.

Each room as a table and two chairs just outside the room. 

In the morning, breakfast was served to our room. They have a very basic menu but it was good enough for me.

You'll get to enjoy the beautiful view of rice paddy fields while having your breakfast.

The staff in this BB inn were friendly and warm. The hubby didn't really like the inn because it didn't have any TV and he felt bored at night and he wasn't happy that there wasn't a proper sink and that water could flow into the room. 

But to me, Bali is about getting away for technology and just enjoying the nature. The environment was very quiet and peaceful. However, the rooms are not soundproof and you can hear conversations from people staying in the other room. Also, there weren't any reading lights and all other lights are dim so I couldn't really read my book at night.

If you want to experience a more Balinese stay, then this is the inn for you. I'm glad I booked this inn because I felt it was a good experience. I have to admit though that I was glad that I wasn't staying a 2nd night because of the uncomfortable toilet. If the toilets were cleaner and if the sink was working, this little inn would be perfect. 

Pros

1. Good location, 5 minutes away from Ubud Market
2. Quiet and peaceful surroundings
3. Gives you the Balinese stay experience
4. Warm friendly staff
5. Serves breakfast to your room
6. Wonderful view of the padi fields if your room is on the first floor

Cons

1. Toilet not very clean, sink wasn't working, water may flow into the bedroom
2. Rooms not soundproof which would be bad if there are noisy people staying near your (but the guest here seems more of the mature and considerate type, not the typical drunken youngsters you'll see in Kuta, so I doubt there will be problems with this)
3. No reading lights, no TV
4. Doesn't have private parking areas, you'll have to park on the street outside

I paid RM160 for the Superior room. 

For more info about In Da Logde, go to their website.

http://indalodge.com/

Bali - Pantai Geger

Pantai Geger is a beautiful beach in Bali. I didn't go there the first time I went to Bali and I almost didn't go there again this time because we had to travel all the way there just to see a beach and in Bali one place to another place is far.

When I got there, I was astounded by the beauty.

The water was so clear. I can see my feet in the water!

I regretted so much for not wearing a bikini there. All I wanted to do was to jump into the water.

Imagine staying here and going out to your balcony to see this gourgeous view. I could have sat there the whole day. The hotels here are super expensive and there are not many of them so the beach is not that crowded. But there are lots of villas currently under construction so in another year, probably there will be more people staying around here.

When I saw this picture we took,

 it reminded me of a photo we took together years ago during our first vacation together (guess how many years ago). :)

Since I wanted to go back with my bikini, we went back on our last day just before we flew off.

It was so wonderful to sit by the beach and relax.

You have to rent the chairs there for RP20k. And there are people there to give you massages but we didn't take it because we had to fly off in an hour.

We asked a guy to take a photo of us and in 5 seconds, he took 4 different styles for us. Next time when somebody asks me to help take a photo for them, I'll do this as well.

          

Was sad to leave the beach and head off to the airport. Change out of my bikini in the car on the way to the airport.

Next destination I want to go: Phuket. :)

Bali 5 day 4 nights

To the hubby, Ubud was his paradise. When I went to Bali the first time with the girls, we did lots of shopping. This time with the hubby, I thought we weren't going to spend much time shopping. Ended up that most of the Bali trip was for him to go shopping.

I've blogged about the Bali itenarary here for the first trip I had for Bali. I reused most of the itenarary but ended up having a different experience.

Day 1
We reached Bali at 12.30pm. Rented a car, drove to Ubud for about 1 1/2 hours. This time I had the GPS to guides us and looking back to my first trip where we only dependant on maps, I have no idea how we manage to find our way around.

Checked into Da Lodge, which I blogged about here. And then start exploring Ubud, first stop was Naughty Nuris. If you go to Ubud, you need to try their spare ribs. It was my 2nd time there and it was just as good as last year but it's expensive compared to other restaurants

The hubby was happy because he loves loves loves street markets and he loves loves loves to bargain.

And he was fascinated with the things he saw there

If you're going to shop at Ubud Market, make sure you bargain to at least 70% off the price they quote you. I bought a dress for RP40,000 (~RM14) and another for RP25,000 (~RM8.80). My local driver said that the one for RP40,000 is still expensive. The original price they quote to me was RP100,000. Also, if you can, speak Malay to them. They tend to charge you a little cheaper compare to what they quote the westerners. I have seen them quote different prices to me and a white woman for the same thing at the same time. Difference was she spoke to me in Malay so that the white woman couldn't understand.

Most shops close early at Ubud and it gets dark after 6pm. Next time, a good thing to do at night would be to go to the Ubud Palace to watch the dance there which we didn't go this time. I was very surprise to find the weather in Bali so cool compared to my last trip when it was so hot.

And that's the end of Day 1.

Day 2
Next day, the hubby and I decided to go to Sukawati Art Market. I remember Soma telling me last year that it's the place where local folks go to buy stuff to sell to tourist. We kept exploring the street markets there until we reached the end of the road. And there's where the hubby found his shopping haven.

A whole market just filled with lots and lots of wood craving. The hubby lit up like a little boy getting candy. We went round and round and bought so many stuff there including a big Buddha statue. And the price there is so much cheaper compared to the regular tourist shops. We bought the big Buddha statue for RP770,000. We went to another shop somewhere else in Ubud and it was RP3 million.

The market closes at 12pm, otherwise the hubby would have gladly spent the whole day there bargaining his way.

On the way back, we stopped at a shop by the road selling mirrors and we ended buying more stuff from there.

We made purchase and followed the wood craver back to his home behind the shop for him to attached the mirror to the wood craving.

And I got to explore the compound of a typical Balinese house.

They kept a pig and Mr Pig and I were fascinated with each other.

The pig stopped eating and come forward to stare about me. Pigs have such big noses.

We wandered aimless again and found Ibu Oka2 which is a more upgraded version of Ibu Oka1 I visited last year. Prices are also more expensive.

After lunch, we went back to check into the very nice but expensive villa I booked. Will blog about that later.

At night we went to Sang Spa which I blogged about last year here, where I finally got to see the hubby wearing the grandma underwear in a bath tub full of flowers. Was I turned on? Hmmmm....

Half way through the massage, I could hear the hubby snooring. He snored so loud that he woke himself up. Pay money for the massage just for him to sleep through it. Esh.

<Hubby won't let me upload the photo of him in the flower bath,

so use your imagination here>

We went to Dirty Duck for dinner. It was already dark and we couldn't see the padi fields but I'm sure that it must be absolutely beautiful to watch the sunset there.

The crispy duck there was yummy.

At night, we went back to the villa, and I had to go online to top up our check in luggage at Air Asia due to the many wood cravings the hubby bought.

And Day 2 ended wonderfully well with the answer to the Sang Spa question above (to tell you the truth, I was more turned on by the beautiful villa than the spa).

Day 3
Next morning, we had to say goodbye to the beautiful villa and beautiful Ubud. Before we left, we stopped at Sukawati market again to buy even more wood cravings.

We stopped to eat at a street stall. Ate the Bakso Ayam (or was I called something else, can't remember).

Like all places, if you want to try the best food there, see what the locals eat and try that. The bowl of noodles with meat balls was really really yummy.

To me, Ubud is the best place in Bali. It's rich in culture and nature and I was sad when we had to leave Ubud. The only thing I don't like though is how much the sellers there try to cheat you, hiking up prices something to more than 10 times more expensive than the orignal price.

We drove to Kuta and checked into Amaris Hotel. After that we headed to Tanah Lot to catch the sunset there. The hubby was bored looking at what I thought is a beautiful temple. He got excited again when he got to go shopping at the street markets outside where he bought a painting of Tanah Lot.

Drove back to Kuta, walked around the street shops there for a while and that's the end of Day 3.

Day 4
Next morning, we rented a motorbike and explored Kuta. Bought one of those helmets that lots of tourist were wearing. And I got really sunburnt after riding on the motorbike.

Hung out at Kuta Beach for a while. Then we went to Flap Jacks to have waffles, pancakes and crepes. Best waffles I've ever eaten.

We wandered around with the bike, stopped to fill up petrol and saw this super cool dog riding with its owner. I wish my dogs could ride on the bike like that

Wandered out of the busy streets of Kuta and the hubby found his second shopping haven. A whole place filled with stone craving. He was tempted to ship some of the statues back but decided not to because the cost to ship it back is more expensive than the statue itself.

We went back to get our car and drove to Pantai Geger. I'll blog about this place later because this was the most favourite place I went.

After Pantai Geger, we went to Uluwatu. We reached at 5pm, Kecak Dance was at 6pm. My dear hubby saw people going into the dance area and the kiasu-ness in him wanted to go in there so that we could get the best seats. I was sulking because it was still early and I wanted to see the temple but didn't get to in the end thanks to his kiasu-ness. Place was crazy packed with tourist.

Drove back to Kuta. Went to Made's Warung for dinner. The place was full and we had to wait for a while. If you go there, order the Ribs with Young Papaya. One of the best things I ate in Bali. I forgot to take a photo of it though. The one below is Nasi Campur.

And that's the end of Day 4.

Day 5

Next day, our flight back was at 2.25pm. But because I loved Pantai Geger so much and I was cursing myself of not wearing a bikini when I went there, I had to go back again. To be continued in another bloggy post. Gotta go for dinner now (which I'm already late).

Bali Love

I just came back from Bali and I loved it even more than the 1st time I went there. This time I went with the hubby. And this time, despite my control freak nature of having to plan the itenarary to every last detail, I found that renting a motorbike there and wandering aimlessly around the town was much more interesting.

The hubby and I have been working damn hard this year. And I spent this whole year unhappy about a lot of things. To spend those few days in Bali was definitely refreshing. For once in a very long time, my mind was at peace. No schedules or no demands, only nature, spirit, peace and love.

The hubby and I have been working damn hard. It is so easy to carried away with the stress of work, rushing for deadlines, coming back late from work, skipping meals, day after day after day. While we are both not ready to quit our careers yet, we need to slow down and start relaxing and enjoying life and each other.

And I'm already starting to think about the next vacation. Somewhere with lots of street markets for the hubby and beautiful beaches for me. :)