Blog Details

Bali, Indonesia

Bali, Indonesia is a special place.  I have to say there was so much that I was able to see in do in a span of 11 days. What felt like a whirlwind trip, wasn’t as long as I would like it to have been, but I am blessed to have just been able to fulfill my dream to visit Bali. Timing couldn’t have been more perfect, despite the looming volcano that was hyped up so much by local and foreign news agencies. 

What I will say is this , go, go on the trips, buy the shoes, buy that dress and tell that person you love them. Life is too short and you just never know what life will bring you. So, despite a volcano I went to Bali and loved it so much that I want to go back.

I was able to use the end of 2017 into the new year so I could make the most of my 11 days in Asia. I wasn’t even sure I was going to make the trip to Bali, for what was a second attempt since 2015 when I had originally booked a trip to Bali via Taiwan.

In 2015 I was interrupted by a typhoon that hit Taiwan and my EVA airways flight wasn’t going anywhere or landing in Taiwan, so to much avail I cancelled that trip. 

Fast forward to October 2017 when I was gearing up to book my ticket and travel plans Mt. Agung, the spewing volcano, decides it is time to act up.

I thought, what should I do? I searched high and low and looked to my new networking facebook group, to get some accurate answers, as we all know the media outlets can really alter any news media coverage, especially overseas. The truth behind the matter is that Mt. Agung was exploding but the main people affected by the volcano and the 2.5 day closure were the 10,000+ people within the outter limits of the volcano. It is a shame that so many got displaced, but at the same time, tourism needs to go on and continue as Bali is a small island and relies on us tourists. So, what I say to that is go to bali, it is a must, at least once in this lifetime.

Most of the tourist locations are a good 70 kilometers from the site and were not affected, by air quality or anything else. In a nutshell after speaking to some locals that were living in Bali they told me life on the ground below the confines of the volcano was safe. As a result I booked my ticket about a month before flying to Bali, Indonesia.

Bali turned out to be one of the best trips that I have had. From the people, to the accommodations and the great food places that I discovered, Bali is a magical place.  I cannot forget the amazing shopping, especially the incredible hand adorn jewelry by so many talented artisans. If you were to leave me in the country for a year I might end up with not only an entire wardrobe, but a handful of goodies from incredible painters, artists and local  jewelry smiths.

Upon booking my trip I decided to play it safe and have an exit strategy should the volcano erupt again.

I booked a direct non-stop flight to Singapore from Los Angeles California. Have you ever desired to spend 18 hours on a direct flight? Well, no human probably desires to spend 18 hours, but you surely plan in advance what you will do for those 18 hours, if you are not sleeping for most of it.

I traveled via Singapore in case of an eruption and then headed on over to Bali after exploring Singapore upon landing at 7:00am. Onto Bali I went and over a course of my days I was able to make it to the surfing town of Canguu, a day trip to Seminyak, New Years Eve well spent on the island of Gili Trawangan ending with four days in Ubud.

My trip concluded with my stay at an amazing villa surrounding by an organic farm along the river with the most gracious hosts.

You can find Frances and Adi at Tresna Bali Cooking School.

If you want to know more about these lovely hosts, then you should definitely check them out at their cooking school ten minutes outside of Ubud, Bali center. You can find information here.

Tresna Bali Cooking school is a beautifully built cooking school built by Frances and her husband Adi. (photo enclosed is courtesy of Frances the amazing photographer). Adi and Frances (with the help fo their beautiful daughter Santi) put countless hours into finding the perfect location for their dream to bring others together to create healthy and great tasting food.

Upon arrival and greetings by the local hosts and cooking staff you will be instructed on how to prepare all the ingredients for the meal, prep, cut, wash and learn how the meal is put together. Then whomever is attending your class, will come together to devour the fantastic meal that you prepared. 

I was lucky to have a semi-private class with a beautiful couple from England, who shared in the laughs and cooking as we embarked on our day of cooking and later feasting together. 

You may be wondering where all the ingredients for the class came from. Well, I am very proud of is that fact I was the first traveler to stay with Adi and Frances and accomplished waking at 4:00am to go pick out all the fresh ingredients at the local food market. The open air market is the very same location where tourists go around 9:00am to do their shopping and bartering for Balinesian goods and paintings to bring home to their respective countries.

I had the pleasure and honor to be a solo female traveler that got to stay on the property in their amazing villa. 

The villa truly made the end of my eat, pray, love tour in Bali come to life. If you are considering a trip to Bali, Ubud has something magical about it that everyone needs to see. It is a small city within a larger city in a way. When I was there it wasn’t as busy as usual due to the volcanic eruption over 70 kilometers away. If you fancy great shopping, day trips and fun excursions, temples, yoga and fantastic food followed by some of the most friendly people I have ever met, than definitely add Bali of your list of places to visit.