Day 1:
We arrived at Ngurah Rai International Airport at Bali around 10 in the morning by Air Asia from Kuala Lumpur. I had already booked Sanny from Sanny Bali Tours for our 2 days stay in Bali to drive us around in his Toyota van. He came highly recommended by the posters in Tripadvisor Bali forum. Sanny was waiting in arrival hall for us and after a brief stop to pick up some local currency, he drove us to our hotel (Sheraton Bali Kuta Resort).
After checking in and freshening up, we had lunch at a local cafe. Next we were on our way to the famous Tanah Lot Temple.
We passed by the countryside where we saw the famous terrace farming of rice. They are not as picturesque as the terrace farming you see in Ubud but it was still interesting.
We arrived at the Tanah Lot temple about 2 hours before sunset.
It was such an experience to see this wonderful temple surrounded by water.
We spent a couple hours walking the grounds and taking pictures of the temples and the cliffs and watching the sunset. It was great having Sanny (car service) with us because he acted as both guide and photographer. He was able to answer questions about both the temple and the local culture, as well as taking our photo for us. We then drove back to our hotel.
For dinner, instead of going out we decided to eat at the hotel itself at the on-property restaurant Feast. Since SPG members get 30% discount at this restaurant, it was a great value.
Day 2:
The day started out being overcast and drizzling. When the rain stopped we decided to check out Kuta Beach which was right opposite to the Sheraton hotel where were staying. The beach was still pretty empty this early in the morning and more so because of the rain earlier.
We decided to also have breakfast at the Sheraton on-property restaurant Feast. After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and Sanny drove us to the second temple on our itinerary, Taman Ayun.
Right outside the Taman Ayun entrance, we saw this giant statue of Bhima, the second brother of the Pandavas from the Hindu mythology – The Mahabharata.
After entering the Taman Ayun temple grounds, we were struck with the serenity of the whole atmosphere. It was so green all around with the beautiful temples in stark contrast to the greenery in the background. One thing to note about this temple is that although you can not walk through the temple, there is a walk-way all the way around so that you get perfect views from all around. You don’t feel like you miss out anything.
We were mesmerized by the classic beauty of these temples. This temple has not had any restoration done (according to our “guide”) and has the authentic look of the old balinese. After spending a couple of hours at the temple grounds, we proceeded to Nusa Dua where were were staying the rest of the day.
After checking-in at our hotel (Courtyard Bali Nusa Dua), we decided to have lunch. I had read great reviews of the Nusa Dua Beach Grill at Geger Beach and we decided to try it out.
The food was delicious at this restaurant. Every one of us loved what we ordered. My salmon was probably among top 3 I have ever had.
After lunch, my parents retired to their room and we decided to check out the Nusa Dua beach.
The beach was unimpressive to both of us but it could be because it couldn’t hold candle to the beautiful Caribbean beaches we have seen. The water was not very clear and there was a lot of sea weed both on the shore and in the breaking water on the sand that you had to wade through to get into the water (very unpleasant).
We decided to check out the rocky caves by one of the hills beside the beach. After walking for 5 minutes we found this small cove with a small sand area and loved the privacy of this little beach. The water was clearer and there wasn’t any seaweed (probably due to the rocks).
It was getting dark and we decided to head back to the hotel. In the evening we took the hotel shuttle to the only big shopping area in Nusa Dua, the Bali Collection. Looking from outside, you cannot fathom how big this shopping complex is. There are a lot of dining and souvenir shopping options here.
Early the next day we had breakfast at the hotel and took a cab to the airport to catch our Air Asia flight to Bangkok.