Weekend Getaway: Bummin’ Around in Bali

All aboard! Singapore Airlines to Bali

We land at Bali’s Denpasar (DPS) airport around 7 p.m. on a Saturday night and race off the plane. Immigration is surprisingly easy – pay $25USD or the equivalent for a Visa on Arrival –  then exit the airport.

We are greeted by a crowd of 50 or so drivers waving various names in various languages. Fortunately, it doesn’t take us long to find our friendly greeter who welcomes us with a warm smile, two chilled bottles of water and hot towels. Ahh, relaxation begins. He guides us to our nice air-conditioned car and our Balinese driver, who is very eager to know if we had a comfortable flight and safe journey. He tells us we have a 45-minute ride to our hotel, the Pan Pacific Nirwana Bali Resort, so we settle in. Louis, still jet-lagged from his US flight, essentially passes out so I am comforted by a soft snoring as we make our way to the southwest part of the island.

We had looked up on Google Maps directions from DPS to our hotel, so we had a sense of where we were going. It looked pretty straightforward on the map, so we expected we would be cruising along on a highway up the coast; after all, Bali has been pretty tourist-y for a few decades. Alas, no. Our drive consists of narrow two-lane roads (which really are the size of 1.5 lane roads…), continuously lined with local satay stands, shops (mostly closed by that time), small restaurants, countless craft/furniture huts and a chaotic buzz of motorbikes. It is pitch black, as there are no street lights of any kind. Our driver deftly navigates through alleys, streets that I swear are driveways, and motorbikes – sometimes with three people abroad – weaving in and out. It’s a wonder my motion sickness doesn’t kick in. 

We eventually are driving through more remote areas, which I imagine are bordered by rice paddies and local homes but can’t confirm in the darkness.  We turn into the long drive of our resort, and are immediately struck by how dramatic it seems. It’s a five-star property* on an award-winning golf course right on the cliffs of the Indian Ocean, so the driveway is long and flanked by dramatic landscaping, lighting and security guards. Five employees greet us as we pull up in front of the gorgeous open-air lobby; one to open the door, two to grab luggage, one to seemingly observe then wave over a gorgeous Balinese woman who presents a welcome drink of fresh squeezed juices and a ridiculously fragrant flower over our ears (Louis looks cute with a flower over his ear). 

View from our balcony

We are shown to our room, which is a basic deluxe suite, but we are pleasantly surprised at how luxe it is. Dark Balinese teak wood everywhere, spacious marble bathroom with rain shower and large tub, sitting area and large sliding doors that opened up to a lovely balcony with a view of the villas and property. Even a slice of Indian Ocean to the right!

By then it’s 830 and we’re hungry. We discuss popping down to one of the restaurants for a light dinner of grilled fish and chilled wine after a quick power nap. Well, the “power nap” turned into deep slumber from which wee didn’t wake for several hours so we’re off to a relaxing start to our Balinese getaway. 

* Don’t think we’re high rollers. Because we were there Saturday through Tuesday during monsoon season, we scored a great deal through Zuji (a Travelocity site) – two roundtrip Singapore Airlines tickets and three nights for about $450USD each. Nice!