05 December 2014

Romantic Getaway to Bali

Somewhere in 2011. Suddenly I get a special message. And that is the start of my beautiful short getaway to Bali

I leave Jakarta early in the morning using the first flight. When I arrive in Bali, the driver pick me up and stop by first at Westin Hotel, Nusa Dua for a quick morning coffee. Welcome home, Astrid!

After I finish my morning coffee, the driver takes me to the Oberoi Hotels and Resorts, the place where I stay. Great! 
The Oberoi Hotels and Resorts is located in:

Seminyak Beach,
Jalan Kayu Aya,
Denpasar,
Bali, Indonesia




The Oberoi is a heaven, because it is located near the beach. Well, you guys need to know how much I love beach, trees, and all the nature things. The Oberoi is also huge, and you need to take a small car to go to the lobby, the room, and other spots in the hotel. Wow!




After the registration at the lobby is done, the staff in the hotel gives me a fresh flower necklace. How nice it is! The greeting is nice and I feel very welcomed here. 




As I said, we need to use a small car to go to some spots in the hotel. So yeah, I take that small car to go to my room. Quite funny, but special! When we drive around to go to my room, what I see is that the rooms are built separately like small houses in a location. This is great for privacy.

So my room has its own balcony, and the bathroom is awesome! What do I want to do in the bathroom? Sitting down in a chair and reading newspaper? Enjoying a cup of tea or coffee? Having a bubble bath? Enjoying a small garden near it? No problem! I can do all those things there ;-D 




As soon as I finish unpacking, I go to Me'nu cafe for lunch. The cafe is located in: 

Jl. Caplak Tanduk,
Seminyak
Bali




When I arrive, they serve a good small welcome drink! I do not know what it is, but there is a taste of orange in it. So I order Salmon Steak with Seafood. The taste is good and I love it. As I sit down there, I have a chat with the owner of the cafe. I do not know where he comes from, but he sounds so Australian. I also can see the busy street and the relax tourists there. A busy day for the holiday people! 
There is an update recently that the cafe is closed down. So sad to know it. I hope they make their way to reopen again.

After I finish the lunch, I do some shoppings around the area. There are many massage places there, but I do not have the chance to do it.

I go back to the Oberoi in the late afternoon. I have a lot of time until the dinner time, so I decide to spend my time at the beach near the hotel. I am worry as it is cloudy out there, but I still want to go to the beach! As I step my feet on the sands at the beach, I am not worried anymore as the beach calms my mind. Beautiful! The beach is very clean. Maybe the hotel also takes care of it. As I enjoy the sands and the sea, there are many people walking with their horses and Bali dogs. Very unique sights ;-)) 
It is a cloudy day and the weather is not so friendly, so I can not go for a swim there. But it is fine. Playing with the water there is enough for me.
After a few moments, finally the rain starts to fall down, and it is the time for me to go back to my room. It is only a short moment at the beach, but it is lovely too. Thank you, Mother Nature!




While waiting for the dinner time, I call the spa to arrange a massage treatment, but they are fully booked for that day and the next day. I also ask them to arrange me a yoga practice in the next morning, and I get it! I can not wait to try it.

OK, it is the time for dinner! My plan is to have it in Metis Restaurant. It is located in:

Jl. Petitenget No. 6
Kerobokan, Bali

Whatever that takes me there, it is paid off! The french restaurant is awesome! It is a beautiful place with paddy fields in the middle of it. I enjoy the calmness in the paddy field. I try to make a picture of the paddy field that night, but it is too dark.

The restaurant also places some Buddha statues in the dining area. It feels so holy to eat there ;-D





Now, let me talk about the food. I order Green Salad, medium rare Steak, Foie Gras, red wine, ice cream and sorbet. All of the food taste very good. And I just find out that their Foie Gras is one of the best food in the restaurant. Perfect!





During the dinner, I meet some friends both from Jakarta and Bali. So, it is a great place to dine, hang out and meet the people I know. Again, it is a perfect night!
I go back to my hotel room that night with a full happy belly. Just enough fuel to be burned at the next morning's yoga practice ;-)

The next morning, I wake up very early to catch the early morning yoga practice. The Oberoi Hotels has assigned pak Gde to teach me the yoga practice. We practice yoga under a small roof near the beach. It is a paradise!
The yoga practice is nice, and pak Gde knows that I have been practicing yoga for some times. Yeay! Thank you, pak Gde, for your compliments!

After the morning yoga practice, I have the most beautiful breakfast in the hotel! I choose to sit outside under the trees and facing the beach, just to feel the nice wind from the beach that brings the smell of the sea. Beautiful!

That morning, I order a huge American Breakfast - the complete set! There are waffles, sunny side up egg, cheese platters, fruit and milk, orange juice, and black coffee from Bali. Again, my belly is full and happy, as happy as the morning sunshine that day. Happy! 










Just before checking out from the hotel, I visit the mini store there. A great thing about the store is that they sell some paintings about Bali. And, someone buys three paintings from the store. Marvellous ;-) 

After checking out from the Oberoi Hotels, I visit Warung Nasi Pedas Ibu Andika (Spicy Rice of Mrs. Andika Stall). It is located opposite of Jogger store and the address is: 

Jl. Raya Kuta 120C
Kuta, Bali

There are always a long queue there, but I successfully grab my plate. In my plate, I get rice, tempe (soya bean cake) and chicken. It tastes great and the portion is enough for my still-full-belly-after-the-big-breakfast ;-D 

I leave Bali with such a happy heart, and off course, a happy belly too.

So where is the romantic side of this trip? Everything is romantic! This trip sweeps my feet off and charms the beauty in me. So, in everything I do, I always try to feel romantic. Because when I feel romantic, everything I do looks and feels good in me.

Enjoy your romantic getaway with your other half, romantic people!