Uluwatu, Bali

No one in my family has ever really had that pull to travel to Bali… I was always sceptical about those that travelled there, the food and the dreaded ‘Bali Belly’. I’d much rather just save and go back to Europe but moving out of home last year and attempting to save meant I needed a more obtainable holiday destination…so excuse my prior naiveté but I’m glad I knocked some sense into myself and made the decision to visit the humble destination that is Bali.  

Working full time in social media management meant I was ideally looking for a holiday where I could completely switch off. Go off the grid as people say… Whilst I was still posting photos every few days, it really was for the most part, a holiday of complete relaxation.

I’ll be breaking up our Bali travels in 3 parts. The 10-day holiday was spent in 3 key areas of Bali:

•Uluwatu

•Ubud

•Seminyak

Read on for ULUWATU and stay tuned for our recaps on Ubud and Semiyak, coming soon:

Uluwatu, is literally a treasure on earth. Never in my wildest dreams did I think Bali was as beautiful as what I experienced in my 4 days here. I think the words “I feel like I’m in Mykonos” were said on many occasions.

The sun was glorious on day 1 so we were eager to spend the day at Sunday’s Beach Club. This is directly below the beautiful Ungasan Clifftop Resort and you make your way down by an inclinator. (If you’re afraid of heights just don’t look down).

Sundays recently opened for breakfast and honestly, you could almost mistake yourself for being at Bondi Beach with the food that was brought to the table, except I had the pleasure of looking at crystal clear water with all the shades of blue right in front of my eyes.

As always, I needed something sweet, so we started with the Wood Fired Brioche with ricotta, honeycomb butter & strawberries. This glorified French toast was light and pillowy and while my stretched-out stomach begged to differ, at the time I felt okay and ready to tackle the different water sports that was available on the beach. This was quickly followed by the Charred Kale on sourdough with avocado, pumpkin seed tahini, edamame and dukkah served with poached eggs.

Breakfast was at 9 and the cocktails started almost instantly so we’ll skip ahead 6 cocktails where we ended up at Karma Beach Club.

Now, we stupidly walked along the beach from Sundays and made it to Karma (without realising) and turned back, went back up the inclinator, spent money on a cab, and 15 minutes later made it to the top of Karma, having to then catch another inclinator down to the restaurant. NOTE TO SELF, depending on the tide you can walk to Karma Beach Club from Sundays Beach Club, saving you time, money and the inconvenience.

Karma Kandara is a luxury resort situated in Uluwatu and offers phenomenal views over Bali’s Bukit Peninsula. The beach club below is a more casual affair than Sundays, however the vibe is still just as relaxing and peaceful.

We stocked up on the food knowing full well that we would be continuing to drink quite a bit so we opted for the Chicken Picatta Milanese with rocket, parmesan and balsamic dressing. Schnitzel is my all-time favourite meal and we’ve been blessed with the best thanks to Mumma FFS. It’s hard to do schnitzel wrong so thankfully I wasn’t disappointed. The grilled Octopus with potato garlic, herbed red wine vinegar and EVOO was tender and juicy. I particularly liked the char on the tips that helped to cut through the intensity of the red wine vinegar. Another dish that will always be ordered when I’m around is a Tomato & Burrata. I did find that this burrata in particular was almost similar in texture to that of a ricotta cheese, but the flavours were still there. The last dish that made it to the table was the Crab Linguini with chilli, parsley, garlic and tomato. The pasta served al dente was drowning in the juices of the oil and tomato; however, I did find the crab to be a little overpowering.

After a full belly we relocated to the day beds set up along the beach with a fruit platter and cocktail in hand as the attentive wait staff began to set up for the nightly bonfire on the beach.

Clearly, after suffering an intense day of drinking, eating and tanning we decided to finish off at Rockbar Bali. The bar is an extremely busy tourist hot spot that has fantastic views of the sunset. Be prepared however as bookings are essential and the prices are steep for what you’re getting.

The following day was spent at Omnia Day club, and this place really needs no introduction. The venue, originally a nightclub in Las Vegas opened up over the cliffs of Uluwatu. You almost forget you’re in Bali when you enter the blue hued venue with private cabanas, daybeds, a huge infinity pool and swarms of staff to ensure you barely have to lift a finger.

We stayed for the whole day; drank, swam, drank, tanned, and had a few more drinks to which we then moved upstairs to the Japanese restaurant Sake No Hana which offered a beautiful view of Omnia and beyond as the sun over the picturesque venue.

As the days went on and the tan grew stronger, we figured we’d spend the day out of the sun to visit Banyan Tree Ungasan. The resort itself is absolutely gorgeous…and almost the same size as a small suburb here in Melbourne. Golf buggies drive you to your villa or restaurant of choice. We were luckily enough to visit Ju-Ma-Na Restaurant for lunch with easily the best view of the Indian ocean.

The venue itself exudes class and elegance with white furniture and linen all housed within a two-story penthouse style room with hues of blue reflecting off certain parts of the venue.

We indulged in a 3-course French inspired menu with notable elements of Japanese ingredients being used within the dishes. Plating was art like with gold leaf being used and intricate handling with the food making the experience that much more memorable.

After our long lunch we headed to the resorts pool where a floating lunch was waiting for us with champagne, orange juice and traditional Balinese dishes. These are available at an extra cost to all guests to enjoy at the pool. We recommend doing a late lunch so you can enjoy the sunset in the water!

After our extended long lunch at The Banyan Tree Resort, the time was nearing 8pm and our driver arrived to take us to the oasis that is UBUD!

Stay tuned…

Alex