Never in my wildest dreams, had I ever thought I’d choose to go to Bali for my honeymoon. It just wasn’t on my bucket list, until my husband showed me a few pictures. Needless to say, I was blown. One picture of Kubu beach was enough to get me packing my bags. Without much planning, we were on our way to Bali.

Kubu Beach

Welcomed by some intriguing architecture, we had finally landed, after almost a day of transition and travel.
A kind Indonesian woman, had warned us about the fake taxi services that awaited us. We were prepared to not be coerced by their marketing skills. The said service seemed legit but was not. The drivers quoted a much higher price than the taxis with meters.

We managed to hire an airport taxi to take us to our first resort. On our way we had to stop to get our dollars exchanged with Indonesian rupiah. We were astonished to see the exchange rate, 1400000 IDR just for 100$, crazy, I know.

Enough of discussing the sad state of Indonesian currency. I want to tell you about Bali. Sigh! It’s a beautiful place, narrow roads lined with small shops on both sides. What a sight! Even the architecture was breathtaking. Beautifully carved stone statues made the streets even more exotic.

We checked into our resort ‘Grand Inna Kuta’, on Kuta beach. The view from our room was just too beautiful. Not even a picture can depict the actual hues of blue.

View from our room at ‘Grand Inna Kuta’.

We decide to visit the beach, after unpacking. What a disappointment, I tell you. The beach was dirty. It was such a put off, after the view from our room. I wondered how I’d spend the remaining 4 days there, with a heavy heart. Some tourists sat under a shed, enjoying the breeze and drinks. We sat near them to let the breeze unravel us. What followed that night is a separate story and not a very pleasant one either. I’ll save that for later. I don’t want to taint Bali’s image just yet.

I had no clue a surprise awaited me the next morning. My husband woke up asking me to pack our bags and check out. I thought the man had lost it, he seemed to think four days had passed. Then he revealed what he had been hiding for the past month. We were going to another resort. The one I was drooling over. I was ecstatic. He had booked a room in Rimba-by Ayana. You’ll see why I was going gaga over the place.

An hour and a half later, we had entered Ayana. Oh my God! What a serene and green place. We were greeted by necklaces made of frangipani, the national flower. We stepped in the lobby, the tranquility of the place pierced our hearts. I can almost cry visualizing the sight.


Kubu Beach

I can tell you the next 3 days seemed like a dream. The hill in our backyard, to the private beach (Kubu beach, yes, that’s right, THE KUBU beach!), to the iconic sunset at Rockbar, to the uniqueness of Unique bar, to the scrumptious seafood at Jimbaran beach; I didn’t think the trip could get any better, but it did. I promise, to go into details next time, ALL THE details.
Kubu Beach

We were sad to check out and go to our next resort, but we had to. Our next destination was Ubud, up in the mountains.

Ulun Ubud

Ulun Ubud, the resort, was even more tranquil than Rimba. The beauty of this place cannot be explained through words or pictures. It was a sight to behold. The resort was built in the most awe-inspiring way. Our suite had its very own private pool and a view of the forest. You can imagine, how amazing it was.

View from the main pool at Ulun Ubud

The next three days in Bali were great. Ubud was very different from Jimbaran (Ayana). Our resort was near the royal palace and just 5 minutes away from the central market. Narrow, brick roads were lined with super cool shops and incredibly built temples.


Our Resort Ulun Ubud

Did I mention that Balinese food is amazing and the massages too, you just have to go to the right places though. The taxi mafia was charging an arm’s length just to go to the market. We decided to rent a bike instead. We went around Ubud on that bike. It added to the fun.

So, we went to the market, trekked at the Campuhan Ridge, visited the monkey forest and watched a Balinese dance at a temple.

Our trip had finally come to an end, sadly. We really didn’t want to return back home to our lives, but we had to. I hope I have convinced you enough to book your tickets to Bali.