Legian, Bali, Indonesia
After our dive, we chartered a car and driver to get to Kuta. We stayed in Legian, the town north of Kuta, at the Vilarisi Hotel Bali. I was sad that we would only have 1 night in the Kuta area, since that wouldn’t give us enough time to try surfing again.
Our hotel was a bit of a splurge (US$27/night w/breakfast), but it was nice to have a little more space and some creature comforts. The rooftop garden and pool were both very nice bonuses.
Kuta is the #1 tourist destination in Bali, and as such, we were expecting it to be very developped, and westernized, with strips of large highrise buildings and bright lights. But that wasn’t the case, at least not in Legian. The beaches were beautiful, and clean, and not overly saturated with touts pushing their products or services on us. But it is still impossible to lie on the beach and not expect anyone to disturb your sleep, conversation, meditation, or whatever you’re trying to do.
Fish in the Kuta area is to die for. I had my first Baronang, which is a reef fish, and tasted a bit like lobster.
On the Saturday, we checked out of our hotel and made our way to the airport, only to realize that Saturday was the 12th, not the 13th. Our flight didn’t leave until Sunday! You know you’ve been on vacation for a long time when…
I was sad we’d wasted part of the day packing and driving to/from the airport, but very happy to spend another day in Paradise. We played in the waves a bit, and then splurged at a high-end restaurant where we had the best fish dishes yet, prepared in a bali/french/euro-fusion style, at Gado Gado. An expensive splurge at a restaurant like this in Bali cost us US$17/dish!
Now, on to Singapore. I guess we’ll have to kick the massage addiction, or else this trip will come to a premature end very soon with first-world prices.
