Bali - 2025.04.15 ~ 2025.04.20

1. Overview

It was a very spontaneous arrangement to begin with. 

I had 9 days of vacation before I had to start working again.. and I was unsure whether I should actually proceed with the plan of traveling to foreign country alone.

In the end.. I think it was definitely worth the visit, and I think i will do it routinely when I have spare time available whether it be with somebody or just by myself as it was this time.

The best part in retrospect, is that I had the chance to be completely away from the mundane routine of my life.
I didn't have to push myself to make every day different, because from the moment I open my eyes and head off to eat breakfast, everything is completely new.

 

There are good things about your life being structured.. but not all parts of it is exactly how you want them to be.

You try to change for the better, but it's not all that easy. 

Meeting new people, visiting new places, going through all sorts of troubles that I would not normally encounter back home, forced my mind to detach myself from the lifestyle I am so used to, and I feel like I am in a better position now to give it some tweaks and be a better person.

 

2. Days in Bali

 Day1. Amnaya Kuta Resort

 When I arrived at the airport it was nearly 11:30 pm and was quite fatigued. 

Reserving grab taxi at the airport was also not an easy task with so many taxi hustlers trying to force me or persuade me to take their ride and even cancel my appointments in grab app.

I did my best to ignore them, and managed to use connect with one grab driver to get to my resort in Kuta.
I took a stroll to macdonalds after leaving my belongings to grab a quick bite. That was the end of day1.

FYI, it is extremely hot in Bali, and nightlife in Kuta isn't the most desirable compared to other regions like Canggu or Seminyak.

 

Day2. Ubud, Monkey Temple & Sky-garden 

 I normally don't eat breakfast but doesn't have to be so, while traveling.:)

The breakfast experience in Amnaya kuta is really nice in general. The ambience, foods and services were extremely pleasant. I was given a choice of starter breads, side dishes, main dishes, and fresh drinks to choose from every day. Aside from the breakfast burrito which I had for the first day, I really enjoyed it.

 

During my stay, I started my day by working out at a gym then choosing the main destination for the day. For day 2, it was monkey forest in Ubud. It was worth the visit, but if you are keen on seeing monkeys and is not staying in Bali for a long while so that you need to choose your iteneary carefully, I think it'd be better to visit Uluwatu temple.
The reason being.. unless you plan to take some lessons in Ubud like yoga,meditation, or cross fit classes it's not easy to go some place else after you finished visiting the monkey forest.

Afterwards I went eye-shopping in traditional markets, had nashi-goreng at a nice restaurant suggested by google, and headed back to the resort using grab bike.

 

The bike is 3 times cheaper than taking a cab, and also faster. I took cabs during daytime to avoid sunlight, and rode on bikes near or after sunset.

 

After taking a quick shower, I went to sky garden night club. They were offering unlimited drinks for 2 hours for just $15, and I was looking for some place that open till late in the morning.

I had 5 cocktails, met one extroverted and friendly korean guy, who was happy to see somebody korean in a place filled with caucasians. We had small talks then headed to a pub for a beer to wrap things up. We sat next to one indonesian guy from Ja karta, who was spending his last day in Bali before going back. I enjoy talking to random people generally, but it wasn't easy trying to make out what he's trying to say. I had to run-off when he decided to sing a song at the stage located within the pub. That was the end of day 2.

 

Day3. Just chillin & Kuta beach

 5 glasses of cocktail coupled with 2 bottles of beer gave me an extreme hangover the next day . My head was fuzzy and my stomach was growling for some reason.

I forced myself to go to the gym in the morning.. but couldn't muster enough strength to any place else, knowing it would take me more than 1 hours to go anywhere. Locational inconvinience is the crucial reason why I will not stay in Kuta if I come back to bali next time.

It is not easy to travel to different areas in Bali because you are expected to be stuck in traffic jam anywhere you go. It would be nice to have some attractions that are just a few mins away, but Kuta has no significant tourist attraction places. I went to take a stroll in kuta beach, and it was ok, but not really that special whether it be the scenary or the vibe.

That was the end of day 3, and luckily the end of hangover.

 

Day4. Denpasar, Living world mall & Finn's beach-club

 I have never used any dating apps before in my life. I had the curiosity to try but never did muster enough courage to start until this day. I went to starbucks for my first coffee of the day, and swiped right on some girls in the category of "lets meet today". I had a match with a girl who was living in Bali and decided to go over to see her at d living world mall.

 We met in starbucks, and we chatted for 3 hours. It was just a friendly conversation with random topics including traveling,work, relationships etc. I asked her if she wanted to join for dinner, but she wasn't keen on taking a grab to some place too far from home so it ended there. After having a quick bite near my resort, I took a bike again to experience Finn's beach club at around 10pm.
To make it simple, the club is really hot, with good looking people from all over the world, with amazing views,vibe, and energy.

Sadly, it was just wayyy to energetic for people like me, and I had hard time trying to make myself comfortable even with the help of alcohol. When I had seen enough, which was like only half an hour or so, I went back home to mark the end of day 4.

 

Day5.  Tanah-lot Temple & Seminyak, ShiShi nightclub

 It was another 1.5 hours of drive from Kuta to Tanah-lot temple.

I arrived there nearly at 4, and took a leisurely stroll around the temple for nearly an hour. I think this is one of the sought after spot to have dinner and watch the sunset in Bali, but it was just too hot to linger any longer. I was planning to have some satays at seminyak ended up eating at ShiShi night club which involves a slightly complicated story which I dont really want to disclose in this post. As for the food, it was worth the price and I had my first foie gras in my life! They don't just have foie gras but offer all-you-can-eat  with various menu at a reasonable price. 

The 2nd and 3rd floor of ShiShi was filled with soooo many people clubbing, that it was a serious amount of work just to buy a drink or go to the toilet. The 3rd floor was featuring some famous DJ and I couldn't even enter with so many people queued up just to get inside . I stayed there until 4AM in the morning, and headed back to the resort.

 

Day6. Seminyak Naughty nuri's warung & Airport

 After checking out from the resort at 12pm, I had about 11 hours till departure.

I spent most of the time at cafes making small progress in the app i am trying to make atm, and had pork ribs at Naughty nuri's warung in Seminyak. The plane was delayed for 20 mins which was more desirable than departing on time. 

That was the end of the last day of my trip and now I am back home in Korea.

 

3. Reset Complete

It was good to be detached from my ordinary life for a while.

I will go back to work tomorrow, and start working in a new project which potentially involves traveling back to hanoi to get things done. 

It was a valuable experience overall.. and one day I wish to go back there.