June 3rd: Arrival
We arrived at the Denpasar Airport at 4:00 pm, quickly went through customs, and were on our way to the hotel (not before negotiating our taxi fare of course). Myself and the rest of the group were immediately taken back by the level of service the Bali Hyatt offered. Leis upon arrival, fresh fruit juice, and an open-air lobby filled with traditional Balinese music welcomed us as we waited for the most well-mannered person I've ever met to check us in. Once our things were in our room, we took a quick walk around the hotel grounds to inspect the tropical paradise that was to be our home for the next five nights. After picking our jaws off the ground, we went and grabbed some dinner at one of the hotel restaurants. Perhaps the "million bucks feeling" overcame us as we ordered a Rp 110,000 (roughly $110 USD) bottle of wine. F**k it, you only live once!
June 4th: Elephants, Shit Coffee, and Temples
Our waiter from the prior night offered us a sweet deal to have his brother drive us around for the day for about $50 USD. We went to several different villages, my favorite of which was where I was able to drink Luwak coffee. Luwak coffee is made from the coffee beans eaten by the Kopi Luwak, a cat-like animal, and then sifted out of their excrement. We dubbed this coffee, Shit Coffee, which was fondly taken to by our tour guide. I also rode an elephant, watched Kelly risk AIDS whilst hanging with an orangutan, saw some rice paddies, and toured a Hindu temple. We finished off the evening with some Bintangs and a 3 course dinner for around $10 USD.
June 5th: Surfing at Kuta Beach
Steve and I wanted to get some surfing in so we decided to venture on over to the west side and have a surf at Kuta Beach while the girls soaked up the sun and fended off street vendors. Waves were okay at first but started to close out after about two hours so we packed up and headed out. We had a particularly interesting taxi ride home since the cab driver didn't have any straps to put the surfboards on top of the car. He ran down the street and returned with some plastic rope/string. Needless to say it was a sketchy ride home with us reaching up out of the windows to hold on to the boards. We hit up the pool for happy hour which became a regular theme for the remainder of the trip and closed out the evening with another dirt cheap meal and some more drinks.
June 6th: Surfing at Hyatt Reef and Ubud Markets
Steve saw a group of surfers heading over to one of the boats parked near our hotel so we decided to take a chance and pay $5 for a round-trip boat ride out to the Hyatt Reef. Hardly any wind and solid chest to 1 ft overhead surf with only a handful of other guys out made for an awesome session. Unfortunately, my Go Pro got water damage so I don't have any footage from that day. Second half of the day was spent at the markets in Ubud trying to barter with local shop owners for the coveted Bintang tank top. I finally found one and talked the lady down to $3. Deal.
June 7th: Beach Bums, Waverunners, and Booze
We decided to take a break from running around and decided to hang around the hotel. We had a few Bintangs down by the beach before we negotiated to rent two waverunners for half an hour for $30 each (half the price they were asking). Poor Danielle. I was jumping waves, sliding out, and trying to surf the waves with her clutched to my back. Did I mention it was her first time on a waverunner? In all fairness, I gave her a turn at the wheel and she managed to tip us off into the water while I was trying to teach her how to slide out. The rest of the day was spent playing golf, badminton, and tennis with Bintangs in hand, horribly might I add. We finally accepted our lack of coordination and choose a less strenuous activity, drinking at the pool bar.
June 8th: Relaxing and Departure
After checking out of the hotel, we spent the rest of the day hanging out at the beach and by the pool until it was time to depart for the airport. Three security checkpoints later, we were on the plane and back to cold, rainy Sydney.
That's all for now. Enjoy the pictures!
We arrived at the Denpasar Airport at 4:00 pm, quickly went through customs, and were on our way to the hotel (not before negotiating our taxi fare of course). Myself and the rest of the group were immediately taken back by the level of service the Bali Hyatt offered. Leis upon arrival, fresh fruit juice, and an open-air lobby filled with traditional Balinese music welcomed us as we waited for the most well-mannered person I've ever met to check us in. Once our things were in our room, we took a quick walk around the hotel grounds to inspect the tropical paradise that was to be our home for the next five nights. After picking our jaws off the ground, we went and grabbed some dinner at one of the hotel restaurants. Perhaps the "million bucks feeling" overcame us as we ordered a Rp 110,000 (roughly $110 USD) bottle of wine. F**k it, you only live once!
June 4th: Elephants, Shit Coffee, and Temples
Our waiter from the prior night offered us a sweet deal to have his brother drive us around for the day for about $50 USD. We went to several different villages, my favorite of which was where I was able to drink Luwak coffee. Luwak coffee is made from the coffee beans eaten by the Kopi Luwak, a cat-like animal, and then sifted out of their excrement. We dubbed this coffee, Shit Coffee, which was fondly taken to by our tour guide. I also rode an elephant, watched Kelly risk AIDS whilst hanging with an orangutan, saw some rice paddies, and toured a Hindu temple. We finished off the evening with some Bintangs and a 3 course dinner for around $10 USD.
June 5th: Surfing at Kuta Beach
Steve and I wanted to get some surfing in so we decided to venture on over to the west side and have a surf at Kuta Beach while the girls soaked up the sun and fended off street vendors. Waves were okay at first but started to close out after about two hours so we packed up and headed out. We had a particularly interesting taxi ride home since the cab driver didn't have any straps to put the surfboards on top of the car. He ran down the street and returned with some plastic rope/string. Needless to say it was a sketchy ride home with us reaching up out of the windows to hold on to the boards. We hit up the pool for happy hour which became a regular theme for the remainder of the trip and closed out the evening with another dirt cheap meal and some more drinks.
June 6th: Surfing at Hyatt Reef and Ubud Markets
Steve saw a group of surfers heading over to one of the boats parked near our hotel so we decided to take a chance and pay $5 for a round-trip boat ride out to the Hyatt Reef. Hardly any wind and solid chest to 1 ft overhead surf with only a handful of other guys out made for an awesome session. Unfortunately, my Go Pro got water damage so I don't have any footage from that day. Second half of the day was spent at the markets in Ubud trying to barter with local shop owners for the coveted Bintang tank top. I finally found one and talked the lady down to $3. Deal.
June 7th: Beach Bums, Waverunners, and Booze
We decided to take a break from running around and decided to hang around the hotel. We had a few Bintangs down by the beach before we negotiated to rent two waverunners for half an hour for $30 each (half the price they were asking). Poor Danielle. I was jumping waves, sliding out, and trying to surf the waves with her clutched to my back. Did I mention it was her first time on a waverunner? In all fairness, I gave her a turn at the wheel and she managed to tip us off into the water while I was trying to teach her how to slide out. The rest of the day was spent playing golf, badminton, and tennis with Bintangs in hand, horribly might I add. We finally accepted our lack of coordination and choose a less strenuous activity, drinking at the pool bar.
June 8th: Relaxing and Departure
After checking out of the hotel, we spent the rest of the day hanging out at the beach and by the pool until it was time to depart for the airport. Three security checkpoints later, we were on the plane and back to cold, rainy Sydney.
That's all for now. Enjoy the pictures!
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