It seems a smidgen of chaos is a recurring theme among my two recent trips to the island of Bali in Indonesia. My trip back in October 2022 with my older brother involved getting on board a replacement aircraft and scurrying to a wedding. While the plane had no issues, this trip had its fair share of chaotic moments. Welcome to my first trip planned with friends from start to finish since my mildly ridiculous college days.
Planning for this trip came about in late 2022 when me Ethan, Amanda, and Su-Jean decided to do a joint birthday celebration in lieu of separate celebrations. We realized none of us were hitting milestone years, and Amanda suggested a trip to Bali. It was not hard not to convince us as a weekend in Bali is hard to pass up. So, after a couple months of planning, we went to Bali with our new friend Miguel adding a fun dynamic to our little friend family. It is safe to say that this particular trip to Bali was one of the more memorable trips I’ve been on, and it has made me more excited to go on future trips with friends.
Bali highlights:
Easily one of the top highlights from the trip was the villa Amanda helped us book on AirBnb. It was an unbelievably beautiful property with spacious rooms, a long pool, a stunning kitchen, and peaceful views of the rice terraces of Ubud. It was easy to spend hours in the villa just enjoying each other’s company, and in the case of Ethan, Miguel, and myself, slowly sip away at a bottle of whiskey over the course of a day while playing a game. The vibes in the villa were immaculate, and was a much-needed escape/celebration away from Singapore.
To go along with the relaxing nature of the trip, another highlight would have to be the accidental all-nighter we pulled in a bid to climb Mount Batur. Despite having been to Bali numerous times, climbing Mount Batur was not something I had yet to do until now. The five of us had little to no sleep, and it was somewhat commendable that we could climb up and down the mountain in remarkably decent time. While on the climb up, we spent the time making casual conversation, though, with the lack of sleep, I doubt much of what we said was what you would call cohesive. Nevertheless, the views were worth the climb, particularly the sun rising over scattered clouds.
In keeping with the “relaxing” theme, another highlight would be the quad biking tour Amanda helped us book. The tour felt like a combination of intensive off-road riding mixed with the mobile phone game temple run. While it may seem a bit gimmicky on the surface, it is an experience I would recommend doing, but hot tip, make sure the wellies (rubber boots) they provide don’t have a hole in them; otherwise, you’ll end up with mildly ruined socks.
In addition to the serenity theme, I’d also have to talk about motorbike riding in Bali. It is important to note that since my trip to Bali, there is now a new law restricting tourists from renting motorbikes, so any shenanigans that you may see in this blog post may not be continued anymore.
Riding in Bali is an experience, especially when coming from Singapore’s relatively calm traffic conditions. Thankfully, my experiences of riding in Vietnam and Thailand proved to be an adequate prerequisite. While I don’t often have pillion riders, Amanda and Ethan decided to place their trust in my riding skills. I can safely say one can earn the title of Passenger Queen, the other but a simple Passenger Princess (the former being Amanda and the latter Ethan). I will give Ethan credit for being a fantastic passenger, especially for helping me to carry groceries and coffee on the little motorcycle. At the same time, I got to grips with the traffic, bike condition, and riding confidence. However, I think we did get a bit chaotic with some of my exuberant revving to avoid traffic and navigation of light rain in the area. On the other hand, Amanda provided an incredible amount of entertainment and was incredibly calm when I was stressed about Ubud traffic.
In keeping with tradition on these blogs, I must talk about some of the food we had on this trip. Indonesian food is one of my favorite cuisines (granted, my bias does come from being born in Jakarta), and we had some excellent vegan versions of some favorites. I managed to satisfy my cravings for satay with tempeh, gado gado, and my personal favorite, mie goreng. The staff in the villa also cooked us a wide breakfast spread of nasi goreng and mie goreng.
We also tried a fun magic-themed bar called Merlin’s, with a fantastic spread and some decent cocktails.
On our final day, we ended up getting brunch together near Uluwatu at a place called Milk and Madu, where the five of us got quite the spread, including my broad beverage choices ranging from a pot of earl grey tea to a refreshing ginger drink and a pint of Ubud beer.
Trip reflections:
As I parted ways with the group and nursed a mild hangover, I thought about how much fun this trip was. It was a perfect blend of relaxation and action, plus we could bestow ourselves the honor of executing the trip beyond the group chat. I am eagerly looking forward to any future trip with this group, especially as we are about to embark on some exciting new chapters.