It’s only about a three hour flight from Bangkok to Bali - about like going Seattle to Phoenix. We arrived and within another 30 minutes we were at our Marriott Vacation Club. Just opened about 6 months ago, so everything was clean and new (and a few things were still not quite completed).

Marriott has two Vacation Clubs here - the one we stayed at is within a Renaissance complex, and the other which is maybe a half mile away is in a Courtyard Hotel complex.

We had a nice lap pool to use each morning, helping me to offset each days food and drink consumption. A shuttle to the beach where they have their own beach club area was also nice and we made our way down there a few times. The beach was not great, with quite a bit of trash washed up and in the water. But the hawkers were very nice and we enjoyed chatting and of course buying some of their trinkets.

One day we decided to walk back to our home from the beach - only maybe a mile or so - and we walked right past the Courtyard, so we stopped in for a look. Beautiful pools winding throughout the property, and even a lazy river with the pool bar! We ended up returning a few time to use the pools and eat here as well. The location made this an easy walk to the beach and the small town area, so this might be a good choice on a future trip, but our location was great and maybe a bit more peaceful as well.

Time for a day trip to see some of the sights. We had a driver for a day to take us to several different places. Found this on TripAdvisor, and a very reasonable cost for 10 hours, which can get you to many places. Traffic here is generally horrible - many roads are about one and a half lanes wide, so everyone going slow. Also, very few traffic signals, so close your eyes when you get to intersections! They know what they’re doing, so leave it to the professionals!

We opted out of visiting the Monkey Forest, and headed straight to Tegalalang Rice Terrace. Incredibly beautiful fields in a valley built using an ancient irrigation system. The views were spectacular but if you want an even better view, you can take one of the zip lines that go back and forth across the valley, or go on a giant swing that takes you over the edge of the valley. I just took some nice pictures!

From here we went to visit the “Water Temple” aka Gunung Kawi Sebatu Temple. Beautiful place and I believe it was part of the “Eat, Pray, Love” book and movie.

Next stop was the Taman Ayun Temple set almost inside the city area, but with a huge green park area and pond surrounding it.

Now we head on and after a late lunch we visit Tanah Lot Temple and Pura Batu

Bolong Temple. Both are built out over the water with Tanah Lot only accessible at low tide.

We spent the next few days hanging around our neighborhood, enjoying the pools and the beach, and also getting our for a foot massage at a local place. There are also many nice spas and we did enjoy them s one day, with all the flower petals, etc. but really found the massage at the local place much better.

We enjoyed the local food, having Nasi Goreng (fried rice with chicken and an egg on top), and also the fried noodle version, Mie Goreng. We drew the line though when we saw the Babi Guling (suckling pig on a spit)!

One more day tour. This time by boat to the smaller island off Bali - Nusa Penida. A few snorkeling spots along the way, and then a road trip and lunch on the island. Keep your eyes closed when driving - mostly one lane roads, and inching past each other with tires on the edge many times. Oh, and the gas stations are great! (Mostly for the scooters).

A couple great beaches along the way, and a family of monkeys as well. We head back on the boat stopping to snorkel one more time. Then about 40 minutes back to the harbor. There is a reef a few hundred yards out from the beach and a fairly narrow harbor channel coming in, with many boats. Good sized swells also. We suddenly here “wham”, and look back to see half a surfboard, and it was covered in blood!

Luckily, the blood was fish blood - it was a spear fisherman, who was happily not near his board. We turned back and picked him up (and his board and fish) and headed to shore. Captain gave him some water , a banana and maybe $10 (100,000 IDR). He thanked the captain and promptly put the banana and the money into the sea - giving thanks to god.

Bali was another fun adventure and somewhere we’d love to spend more time. But, it’s a big world out there and we have many other places to visit first.

All the best,

Tim & Eileen