What we did in Bali, Indonesia

Jimbaran Beach

Dinner by the Sea

Seafood dinner by Jimbaran Beach!

Jimbaran Beach - Lia Cafe

One of the most iconic things to do in Bali is to have a tranquil seafood dinner on the beach while watching the sunset. Yes, literally on the sand, facing the sea and sunset. We arranged a car to take all seven of us for Rp300,000, both ways and including waiting time for us while we have dinner.

We knew we wanted to head to Jimbaran for dinner, but there were SOOO many choices to choose from. After researching, we heeded TripAdvisor's recommendation and headed to Lia Cafe.

Address: Jalan Pemelisan Agung Kuta Sel. Bali 80361, Indonesia
Tel: +62 361 709002
Check out the menu here.

Lia Cafe!

There are about 3 different sections of Jimbaran Beach with different restaurants. Lia Cafe is located in the middle section. This small establishment boosts about 20 odd tables, so do go early to secure your table with a good view!

Table facing the sea and sunset

Sunset is about 6pm, so we got our car to pick us up at 4.45pm (from Potato Head) and we arrived at about 5.30pm with sufficient daylight to take more photos and wonder around the beach. Of course, traffic is also rather bad around that timing, so do give yourself ample time to get lost or even to find a suitable restaurant that you like.

Many restaurants line the Jimbaran shore

Lia Cafe has several menu packages, most of which caters to two persons only. Thus, the guys went to select and choose our own seafood and style of cooking.

Group photo with setting sun!

We had a total of four Sri Lankan crabs, 15 big prawns, one fish, one (according to the guys - hugeass) squid and a plate of kangkong vegetables. Later on, we also ordered grilled chicken (just a chicken leg) and satay. To be honest, the seafood was much better than the meat dishes.Also, I've had better crabs in Singapore, but for that amount we're paying I can't really complain much. At least the seafood was fresh and juicy!

Seafood feast!

We spent about Rp1,300,000+ for the seven of us in total for all the food.

Lounge at Beach Clubs

Lounging by the sea

There's a plethora of beach clubs dotting the shores of Bali. During our trip, we visited two of the most popular beach clubs in the Seminyak/Kuta area. It's a perfect place to just lounge and laze the day away, drinking Mojitos and eating pizzas, while working on your tans.

Check out the full list of the best 10 beach clubs in Bali!

Ku De Ta

Address: Jl. Kayu Aya No. 9, Seminyak, Bali, Indonesia
Phone:+62 361 736969
Opening Hours: 8:00 am – 2:00 am
Website: http://www.kudeta.net/

Ku De Ta

We visited Ku De Ta on the whim late at night after returning back to the Villa after our scrumptious dinner at Jimbaran. We were tired, but we've heard so much about Ku De Ta that we just had to check it out. I initially refused to go as I was tired and oh-so-smelly. I didn't want to walk alllllll the way there in the middle of the night. I was just looking forward to soak in the tub and scrubbing all the salt and grim away. The guys persuaded me by saying that we will just take a taxi over.. I was on board! The taxi fare was about Rp30,000.

Lounging on the grass

I sincerely apologize for the sucky quality of the photographs as I was so lazy to adjust the settings and just used Auto mode all the way.

Arriving at KDT, everyone was granted access.. All except G, because he was in singlet. It was almost midnight and we only had two options. To go back to the villa to get a t-shirt or to just go outside and purchase one. We choose the latter. He bought a Bob Marley t-shirt for Rp100,000 (which was rather steep, but we were desperate). The guy initially quote us Rp300,000. Madness or what! But G being the uncle he is... Well, you know the rest..

Full crowd

There's both a restaurant (which looked really posh) & a bar lounge area. Surprisingly at 12 midnight, the lounge area was full! When my friends requested for a table outside, they said "free seating". Hmmm~ My friends found a table indoors by the bar and about 10mins later, G said there's an area on the grass patch with two small tables and beanbags. Quite a nice place to lounge, so we shifted! It was a good idea as KDT installed flood lights facing the sea, so you're able to look at the waves crashing against the shore.

Pulled pork pizza

We all ordered cocktails each, pulled pork pizza and a bowl of fries. The red stuff on the pizza is actually red cabbage! The pork is so heavenly, I swear! As the clock ticks on, people started to leave, and the wait staff shifted us to the day beds where we stayed till about 2am.

Potato Head Beach Club

Address: Jalan Petitenget, Seminyak, Bali 83061, Indonesia 

Tel: +62 361 4737979 

Opening Hours: 11:00 am – 2:00 am

Website: http://www.ptthead.com/

Hordes of people lounging on Easter Sunday!

After walking for nearly 1.5 hours from our Villa to Potato Head, we just wanted to relax and soak up some Vitamin Ds. We honestly did not expect throngs of people that flooded Potato Head Beach Club! My big mistake then was not making a reservation for a day bed! We couldn't lounge by the pool or even near the sand. The only place available was on the second floor terrace. Although it's away from the crowd and pretty peaceful, there was no shade at all. I didn't mind though, as the day wore on, the sun grew lower and we found some solace in the shadows of the surrounding palm trees.

Check out all those people on beach towels on the grass! It was crowded to the point where people just laid down on the grass and soaked up the Easter Sunday atmosphere! By the way, I had no idea how those people did it. I was just walking through the grass patch as I was returning from the beach and I got bitten by a red ant on my foot! Although, it wasn't very serious, it did hurt and itched like crazy over the course of the next few days. I might had an allergic reaction or perhaps it's because I scratched it in my sleep, but the ant bite became an ugly, angry, 1-inch wide, red patch of inflamed ugliness. You could still see the small, teeny-tiny dot in the middle where the ant bit and the surrounding area was just massively red and inflamed. Thus, morale of the story: DON'T SCRATCH! Damn, my itchy fingers!

Check out G's grumpy face

We had a fantastic view of the beach and could see gigantic waves crashing onto shore. People were being tossed around (including us when we went down) in the sea and having so much fun! Potato Head is more casual as compared to Ku De Ta, and surprisingly, the hostesses attending to the front of the club were all Caucasians, some could even speak fluent Berhasa, whereas, Ku De Ta's staff were mainly Indonesians. It was quite a pleasure because for once, I could communicate efficiently to the staff and get myself understood.

We ordered some sparkling water to cool ourselves down, fries and calamari with squid ink sauce. The squid ink sauce is absolutely divine. I suspect it was finished in 10 mins! Clean towels were draped over the day beds so it was not too hot to lie on.

It is a fantastic place to just chill and soak up the atmosphere. The staff were friendly, though they were a little overwhelmed with the large crowd that gathered over Easter Sunday. I don't blamed them though, I totally understood what they were going!

Try the Local Food

Warung Babi Guling Pak Malen

Babi Guling

Address: Jalan Sunset Road No. 5, Kuta Utara, Badung, Bali 80361, Indonesia
Tel: +62 361 7452968
Opening Hours: 8:00 am – 6:00 pm

Pak Malen

We've been meaning to try this Babi Guling (pork rolls) since the first day we arrive in Bali. We just didn't get round to it with all the activities. Now, this place is like an ordinary coffee shop, just like the shop name states "Warung" (food stall/street stall), so don't expect much for an ambiance or service.

Long long queues

Do expect long queues and sweltering heat though! The service is pretty fast so you're able to find a table soon enough. I was surprised that with such a big group, we were able to find two tables for ourselves within about 10mins of waiting. Besides, with the heat in the shop, most people will just eat and go. Hardly anyone lingered around chatting. Wear comfortable clothing (singlet and shorts will be best), bring a hair tie and lots of tissue! You're bound to perspire like you just took a shower!

Yummy Babi Guling

The mixed plate consists of the pork skin cracker, pork skin, spicy minced pork, fried pork cutlets, seasoned meat, a satay stick and some pork roll. The minced meat is really good and flavourful, but be warned! It is spicy as hell!

Have a Spa Day

 Spa Bali Seminyak

Bali Spa Seminyak!

Address: Seminyak Bali, Indonesia
Tel: (0361)-737-932/(0361)-737-933
Website: http://www.spabali.biz/
Opening Hours: 10am to 11pm
Outlets: Drupadi, Seminyak & Kuta

Spa Bali has a professional spa ambiance throughout the vicinity. There's professional hair salon facilities as well as big comfy chairs for your meni-pedi! We got the hot-stone massage as I needed the heat to ease the tension in my muscles after climbing the two volcanoes. It cost me about Rp200,000++ (Rp235,000nett) for an hour's massage.

This is considered expensive in Balinese standard as we we went to a more casual/street massage place the next day and had an hour's worth of Balinese Massage for Rp60,000. I guess you're paying for the ambiance, cleanliness and the service as the massage techniques and styles were about the same for both Spa Bali & the street one we went the next day.

We were shown to a locker room where we could keep our belongings safely and then we were ushered into a couple's room. It's a wide, beautiful room with two bathtubs which we wished we could use. We were asked for our names and the therapists used it frequently when she asked about the strength and hotness of the stones during the massage.

Usually, after the massage, we're used to having something hot, like hot lemongrass teas served in Thailand spas (even dodgy street ones), or even warm water if they're really budget ones.. But Spa Bali gave us cold water in those disposable plastic cups. Quite a funny end to our wonderful treatment I must say!

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Check out our beautiful villa where we stayed for 3 days!

Or our experiences climbing Mount Bromo & Kawah Ijen!