Surfing and Scuba Diving in Bali - Checked Off the List!
Hey wait it’s only mid-year and I’ve achieved my two biggest goals, to go surfing in Bali and to scuba dive. That’s kind of cool. Now I have to find something even better for the second half of the year.
Great Things I Did in Bali
- Learn to scuba dive - I took lessons on the island of Nusa Lembongan with Bali Hai Diving Adventures. The setup that gave me a very fulfilling first dive in the ocean in a safe environment where I had a teacher by my side the whole time. If you have ear problems you’ll be able to tell before getting too deep into it (as it were) and they won’t charge you if you can’t complete the dive. If you go to Nusa Lembongan:
- Getting there from Kuta: The Perama Shuttle which includes the boat trip to the island, is a very affordable way to go.
- For snorkeling and diving you need to be there for 2 days - so you can be there in the morning, at high tide. (Important to know if you were planning a 1 day trip.)
- Street food tip: Behind Bungalow 7 there is a market where the owner grills a tuna curry in a banana leaf over a BBQ. It’s called “Pepes” and cost about 10 cents for the tuna and 10 cents for sticky rice. It was perhaps the best food I ate in Bali!
- I stayed at Bungalow 7 which is nice and dirt cheap (BYO soap), on the beach. Other options on the hill run $25 US and higher. The Coconuts Resort on the hill is nice, as well as a sleek boutique hotel with beautiful bungalows next door to it (whose name I can’t remember) where rooms run about $150 off season and around $225 in high season. Gee if only I could remember as the balcony French doors swing open to a wonderful ocean breeze and view.
- Take time to chat with locals. It’s interesting to hear about island life. For example I learned that the island has a fresh water source but imports much of its food from Bali. Cock fighting used to be a problem it was so prevalent so now the government only allows it for religious celebrations! I guess that’s one way to entertain yourself on an island.
Take surfing lessons or go surfing if you know how - There are lots of beautiful sites to surf and surfing schools in Bali, as well as other nearby islands with great surfing. My friend took me to Nusa Dua, where many resort hotels are located, to a place with bunny waves.(Add a goal to learn to surf to your life list, or add it as a past accomplishment.)
- Shop shop shop - for batik, silver jewelry, hand carved wood items, masks, beaded purses and decorative things, clothing, CDs of grooving Bali music, vanilla beans (they’re great to mix with sugar in a jar to flavor it), wind chimes, and so much more. While the Internet access seemed pretty expensive and slow compared to Thailand, the shopping has many bargains to offer. For some reason there are many leather clothing companies in the Kuta area so if you’re shopping for a leather jacket, plan to hunt around.A special note about silver jewelry: I’d read about going to the town of Celuk, between Denpasar and Ubud, where much silver is made and where you can commission silver pieces as well as find great deals. Immediately upon walking into a jewelry place (not one with tourist buses in front), they offered me the wholesale “business” price whether I was buying 1 or more pieces. I happened to find one with really interesting designs I hadn’t seen elsewhere at very good prices (see this site but ignore the prices). It’s important to know what a GOOD price is so you don’t get taken advantage of [insert your word of choice] by a jewelry store that tries to gouge tourists.
- Snorkel at Nusa Penida - There are many places all over Bali to snorkel. As a recent swell decimated much coral by Nusa Lembongan, we were told it’s worth heading over to nearby Nusa Penida for snorkeling to see vibrant fish and coral.
- Read Eat, Pray, Love while in Ubud - It was sheer coincidence I saved the Indonesia section of the bestselling Eat, Pray, Love
by Elizabeth Gilbert until I’d arrived in Ubud, the “cultural center” of Bali. While the city is beautiful, has stellar shopping for any handicraft or type of jewelry you’d want, and has some of the best food I’d had anywhere, after one day I found myself going crazy.
See the Legong Dance at the Ubud Palace - Do not miss it! The hypnotic, playful, and expertly executed Legong Dance transfixed me. I’ve seen many performances and immediately felt this was the best I’d ever seen. OK don’t let me overstate it. Maybe it sas because I had no idea what to expect, but check out my video below and that will give you a preview.
- Plan to tailor make clothes in Bali - It was a happy choice to bring the Thai silk I’d bought to Bali, as the cost to make a skirt was about 1/5 of the asking price in Thailand. There are ample tailors, and I had several dresses, shirts, and skirts made for about $5-6 each. Especially nice souvenirs would be to turn your batik finds into custom made clothing! I had a dress made from a cotton sarong.
- Get a Lulur Massage (or 3) - My local friend took me to COZY Spa (C O Z Y) in Kuta where I spent two hours for about $15 for a full body massage with the lulur cream, which is a scrub that made me as soft as when I was 2 years old. Truly an experience not to miss! You can also buy the lulur cream made locally as well as from larger brands which is a nice gift to bring home for yourself and friends.
(One of my few requirements in a spa was that it be air conditioned. This one was pretty good in that regard!) 
Eat grilled fish at Jimbaran Beach - Tables on the white sand beach at sunset. You pick the fish, grilled over burning coconut husks. Need I say more? Dena’s is a good choice but the restaurants are fairly similar.
Nusa Lembongan is a charming, small island with several beautiful beaches and vibrant commerce in seaweed farming! There are plots of seaweed exposed as the tide retreats, when the farmers walk into the ocean to harvest it, carry it in baskets, then rake and sun dry it; eventually the seaweed may end up in sushi we eat. By night many dig for worms which will end up for sale in Bali.
PS I’ve heard the area near Amed has great diving and even as a beginner you can explore a well-known shipwreck; I was not able to take a trip that way. (Eco-dive Bali is a well known company in that area.)
A Few Tips For a Good Trip
- Count the zeros on your 10K and 100K bills - I found out the hard way how easy it is to confuse these two bills which are both red colored.
- The experiences Elizabeth writes about not only validated what I was feeling but explained it in a way that made me calm down.
- It might be unwise to transport yourself around. - You’ll see scooter and bike rentals all over the place, very cheap and convenient. You will ask yourself if it’s safe even with insurance, given the mayhem of scooters interlacing with cars in a very random way all over town. In the book she gets pushed off the road by a car. An American who lives there said someone who rented a scooter got killed the week before and that the police and everyone else would deny it if asked. (This man had no reason to make this up.) If you do rent, wear a helmet no matter how disgusting it may seem in the heat. You’ll notice locals wearing jackets and helmets often. You should too.
- There’s a reason every single person you pass peppers you with multiple questions about yourself.Here’s an example:I stroll by a wrinkled man sitting on a stoop whittling a broom with a knife. I decide to skip the hello and skulk by, admiring his work.”Hello!” he says. “Where are you from?”
“America’ I said, using the word most people follow with if I say California or United States. However I’ve also found if I saw America, the reply is often “Oh the USA!”
“Where did you come from?”
“The beach” I generalized.
“Are you…” having a baby he motioned with his hands.
“No I’m just fat” I replied smoothing down my dress which had poofed out due to my chest.”
“Are you married?”
“Yes” I quickly lied hoping he wouldn’t comment on my lack of ring. (Elizabeth recommends saying “not yet” instead of “no” if you want to say no although only once did someone ask my marital status.)
“Ahh good.”
“How many people here?”
“Two” I lied again so he wouldn’t feel sorry for me as a single traveler.He swooped his hand as if to let me pass his checkpoint and I was on my way, relieved my answers had left him with a smile. I read one theory in Eat, Pray, Love then asked a guy I met in a cafe. His thought was in the old days when people had to walk place to place in Bali, before there was any transportation including horses, they’d ask where you came from and where you’re going in case they had messages or items to pass along to someone in another village. The questions just stuck.Tip: Your answer doesn’t matter.
Where I stayed: I stayed with friends at this Jimbaran beach rental instead of a hotel. It was beautiful and was nice to feel at home while being so close to the beach. It was a short bike ride from a Trader Joe’s like market called Gourmet Garage with lots of European style food from Australia, Europe and the US as well as famous home made ice cream!
In Ubud, I stayed both at Artini 2 and Artini 3, which are mid-range (about $35 without a/c) and swimming pools. Artini 2 is more centrally located and you’ll see lots of travelers. Artini 3 seems better for families or if you really want to be away from bustle.
Wherever you stay, take time to explore the amazing resort hotels like Amandari and the Four Seasons that integrate the rice paddies and environment into the hotel living spaces.
Thailand tales and tips | Laos discoveries and tips
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