not a mile high, not a mile low ©: Bali Paradise

I was brainwashed by the media selling me beautiful beaches of Maldives. Originally I planned to visit Maldives for my yearly honeymoon trip; even though I have been there many times before. Luckily it is typhoon and rainy season now for Northern hemisphere. Therefore I changed plan to visit the Southern hemisphere, looking for another great island which offers great beach life. Bali was chosen after much hesitation. But it was a decision that I never regret as Bali offered me more than just beautiful beaches. It was really a different experience combined with many exotic attractions. I haven't had enough of Bali and I have already made plans to return again in the future.

Bali is a very large island. If you were to travel round the island by car, I think you'd probably need a full day. As public transportation is only limited around the town centre, the only way to get around the island is through car rentals or private tour guide with driver. There are many horror stories of foreign drivers of rented vehicles stopped for no reason by corrupt cops. Therefore I opted for private tour guide cum driver instead. I did some homework scouring the internet before going. While one can easily find a private driver from the airport or even outside, many are touts which fleece tourists with high prices and lousy tour experience. Many disgruntled tourists end up complaining online. I decided to look up in Trip Advisor and found an operator which has got the top ranking and positive reviews. So it was a no brainer decision in hiring them. The operator is called Bali Safest Driver which they also have a website at www.balisafestdriver.com. All the tour details and prices are listed in their website which after comparing with other operators, I can certainly say theirs are almost the cheapest. All prices are fixed so no worries of getting fleeced with extras. Best of all, I had such wonderful experience touring with them and on some days of my tour, they did not charge me extra for going extra hours and I was allowed to make modifications to the itinerary.

I was spoiled for choices in choosing where to stay. There are so many hotels in Bali in various parts of the island. Of course the popular ones are along Seminyak and Kuta beaches which are at the town centre. But this place is also the most expensive, price being driven up by tourists. Yes it is the most happening part of Bali, great place for sunset and surfing. But other than that, the sands are brownish, the waves are big and it is over crowded. So not really a good place to chill and relax by the beach if you are not surfing. Nearer to the volcanic mountains and forest, one can choose many boutique hotels in Ubud with nature setting. Down south near Uluwatu with steep cliffs, there are some isolated luxury hotels like the Bvlgari Hotel that has a fantastic infinity pool. There are also many hotels along the Jimbaran stretch next to the airport and this place is popular for sunset seafood dining by the beach. As for me, I chose the quiet stretch of beach at Nusa Dua. This place is to the south east of the airport and easily accessible by taxis. I only paid around 90,000 rupiah for a metered taxi ride (Blue Bird taxi) from the airport to my hotel that includes the Mandara bridge toll. On my first few days here, I stayed at Nusa Dua Beach Hotel and Spa. This is a true Balinese experience hotel. The best thing in this hotel is the spa which you must try for a very affordable price. Few days later, I hopped over to Sofitel next door to try out the luxury hotel experience. This building looks spanking new with very beautiful swimming pools. The beach along the Nusa Dua stretch is quite sandy with almost white sands. The waters are very calm, perfect for water dipping. However, it only has sunrise to offer instead of sunset; which can still be an amazing sight if you can wake up early in the morning.

Planning my itinerary in Bali was easy with the tour packages from my private driver. I just modify some to skip most of the shopping places and add in other places that I want to see. Basically my first day tour took me to Taman Ayun, Beratan Temple and Lake, Jatiluwih rice paddy field with lunch and ends with Tanah Lot sunset. Day 2 tour took me to Batu Bulan village for Barong dance, I skipped the many arts and souvenir centres, tasted the Kopi Luwak, continued to Kintamani volcanic area to see the beautiful Batur Lake, back to Ubud area passing through Tegallalang rice paddy terrace and finally back to Batu Bulan village for the Kecak dance. Third day starts at Benoa for Turtle Island and water activities, then see the white sandy beaches like Pandawa at the south and ends with sunset at Uluwatu. After that had seafood dinner at Jimbaran. Had such a wonderful experience with my driver so opted for a fourth day half-day tour to shop for souvenirs and back to Tanah Lot to capture some sunset time lapse. Other days were spent chilling and enjoying at the hotels, beaches and spa.

There are many food to try out in Bali. Of course many people talk about Babi Guling and there are a couple of restaurants that people recommend on the internet. But those are where tourists eat, the taste may not be good and the price may not be cheap. For my everyday meal, I relied on my private tour guide. I asked for recommendations of local food and I was brought to eat in many places where locals eat, not tourists. For newcomers to Bali, one must try the Babi Guling, Ayam Penyet, Mee Bakso and Ayam Bertutu (caution: extremely spicy). As for seafood, you must try the ones at Jimbaran. It may not be the cheapest but at least do try it once for the sunset dinner by the beach. The one I tried is called Ganesha and the seafood was fresh.

For those interested in watching some Balinese dances, try catch the Barong, Legong and Kecak dances in Batu Bulan village. This place is the centre for arts. So the performance here is top notch. Other places in Bali also offer such performances but there is a stark difference. Stick with the professionals.

With just a blink of an eye, my one week holiday here was over. There are many things here that I haven't do or see. I left this island impressed and I would definitely return as I have only explored a tiny bit.