Mr P and I are back from our week long getaway to Seminyak, Indonesia feeling relaxed and recharged - the sign of a good holiday!
I first visited Bali about 15 years ago and stayed in Kuta which is a bustling, lively, party town. This time around it was nice to stay out of the hustle and bustle and in the nicer area of Seminyak.
A few months ago I found an amazing deal on Scoopon which gave us over 60% off accommodation plus a bunch of extras like airport transfers, meals, massages and more which was too good a deal to pass up.
The place we stayed at The Jineng Villas was amazing - it's a group of about 10 villas which are all privately enclosed with their own swimming pool. If you are looking for a romantic and secluded place to stay which is perfect for couples I highly recommend it.
The accommodation package included 3 meals a day which they would bring to our villa and set the dining table for a romantic meal. We could have breakfast, lunch or dinner and high tea every day.
I had so many recommendations from people for places to go for dinner or bars for drinks but because the food was so good at our villa we only went out for lunch and dinner a few times as it was just too relaxing dining in and it was free!
Bali is a really hot and humid climate and they have two seasons - wet and dry. November is the wet season so it was even more humid after it rained, which it did in the afternoon and evening most days.
So when we weren't having a dip in our private swimming pool we spent time at the beach cooling down with our toes in the water and at the beach side bars.
One day we went on a sightseeing tour with Bali Driver Seminyak - we did the full day Tanah Lot and Countryside Tour.
We were in our own private van and driven around by our guide out of the city of Bali, through all the little towns and into the countryside. We visited three temples which were all so different and unique to one another, we trekked through a rice terrace field and had lunch overlooking the rice fields (this was on my bucket list and I loved it) and on our way home we went to a coffee and tea plantation and tasted samples of all the different coffee and tea varieties.
It was great to get out of the city and tourist areas for the day and see some of the real Bali.
It was great to get out of the city and tourist areas for the day and see some of the real Bali.
Another really fun thing we did was a Balinese Cooking Class with Nia Cooking School - it was great and I highly recommend doing a cooking class if you want to know more about the local food.
We met up with our group and were taken to a local food market in Seminyak and learnt all about the different spices, herbs and vegetables used in Balinese cooking. Then we went to the Chef's Restaurant Warung Nia and our group took it in turns to help the Chef prepare each dish - we made 12 dishes in total which we were then served for lunch.
We were given a recipe book of the dishes we made which was a really nice touch. Mr P and I are big foodies so we can't wait to recreate some of these traditional Balinese dishes at home.
We were given a recipe book of the dishes we made which was a really nice touch. Mr P and I are big foodies so we can't wait to recreate some of these traditional Balinese dishes at home.
We had such a great holiday on this tropical island with a good balance of relaxing, pampering, eating, swimming, shopping and sightseeing!
Have you been to Indonesia?
Have you been to Indonesia?
[All images my own]
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Brian and I really need to do a relaxing vacation sometime, we always do big cities! lol! I love how you got all 3 meals PLUS high tea! The tiered food by the pool looks relaxing and yummy!
ReplyDeleteCarrie
curlycraftymom.com
We are the same always doing big trips and seeing the sights this was the first holiday where we really spent time to relax and wind down it was just what we needed! The food was great and such a bonus that it was included (more money for shopping!) x
DeleteHow fabulous! We are currently planning our next getaway for late January and I love the look of this accommodation option! So glad you had a great time :)
ReplyDeleteA villa is the way to go if you want some privacy Casey it was fabulous! Thanks for your tips they were really handy too :)
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