This was my first trip to Bali and the trip was a destination wedding photography trip with some other fellow photographers.
Took Garuda 2pm flight from Singapore to Bali. The journey lasts about 3 hours. My return flight is via Jetstar (ValueAir)'s 10:20pm flight from Bali to Singapore.
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| I had practically the entire row to myself. heh. |
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| seafood fried rice |
The Bali's (Ngurah Rai International Airport) airport is actually very near to Kuta (about 15mins cab ride north of airport). However, for this trip, I stayed at Nusa Dua's Ayodya Resort at the southern part of Bali (about 20mins cab ride south of airport).
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| Hotel's lobby |
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| Ayodya Resort's pond and Balinese architecture |
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| Sunrise at Nusa Dua's beach |
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| hotel staff working at the beach at sunrise |
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| The beach at Ayodya resort during sunrise |
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| breakfast at the resort |
Nusa Dua
Ayodya's website:
http://www.ayodyaresortbali.com/
Nusa Dua's wikipedia entry:
http://wikitravel.org/en/Nusa_Dua
Bali Collection's website:
http://www.bali-collection.com/
Nusa Dua area's resorts are comparatively more expensive, but most of them have private beaches (therefore, less crowded) and is good for sunrise since it faces east. There's a small cluster of shops and restaurants about 5 mins away from our resort called the Bali Collection where we had our dinner after we arrived at Bali. I believe there's shuttle bus service from resorts in Nusa Dua to Bali Collection.
If you want to take sunrise photos, best to head for beach between 5:30am to 5:45am. I was at the beach around 6:10am and the sun was already up.
Tanah Lot
Tanah Lot's website:
http://tanahlot.net/home/
Tanah Lot's wikipedia entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanah_Lot
1 of the most famous place in Bali is Tanah Lot. It's about 1 hour drive away from Kuta. I went there during sunset when it's low tide for our photography session. There are many small shops/stalls along the way while you walk from the carpark area to towards the beach (about 10-15mins walk).
Admission charge
(source:
http://tanahlot.net/home/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=814&Itemid=16)
Adult: 10,000 rupiah
Children 7,000 rupiah
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| Walking towards the beach at Tanah Lot |
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| Beach at Tanah Lot during sunset |
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| Sunset at Tanah Lot |
Berdugul
Berdugul is about 2hrs odd away from Kuta. It is up in the highlands area of northern Bali and the weather is pretty cool (think Genting Highlands of Malaysia) so bring a cardigan when you visit this area. The most popular place here is the Pura Ulun Danu Bratan on the shores of Lake Bratan. For those of you who are considering taking wedding photography here, please note that they charge an additional fee per couple (on top of the usual admissions fee). Can't really recall how much though.
Kuta
As mentioned earlier in this blog entry, Kuta is just 15mins away from the airport. This is generally the main shopping district with a (usually crowded) beach. The beach faces west so it's good of sunset. The roads are pretty narrow so expect traffic jam during peak hours and weekends.
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| traffic at Kuta |
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| Some of my fellow photographers stayed an additional night here at Kuta before flying back to Singapore. The beach is just across the road from the hotel. |
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| Mercure Hotel at Kuta |
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| Kuta beach at sunset. Packed with locals and tourists. |
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| Taking photos of Sunset |
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| Sunset at Kuta Beach. |
All I remembered is that I had many meals of Nasi Goreng (fried rice) and they are kinda too salty for my tastebuds.
The A&W's chicken nuggets is very nice though.
As for getting around, from what I read from other Bali websites and my own experience, I'd say get "Blue Bird" brand of cab. Apparantly, it's more reputable (and safer). I took a blue bird cab from Kuta to airport (alone) at night and the cab driver was friendly, speaks a little English, and helps me with my luggage too.
