The Island of Gods: Where Tranquility Meets the Hype of A Metro City

Recently, I've traveled to Bali with my Mom. The last time I went to that beautiful island was two years ago. Bali still looked awesomely pretty to me. And the locals, ah, they were still the same astonishing people, with warm smiles and good manners.

So, when we're in Bali, I stayed at Aston Kuta for two days. the moment I arrived, the front desk greeted to me and helped me with my suitcases while she was taking me to my hotel room after checking-in. I could not find the same hospitality when I am visiting other country, say, Singapore. It is definitely one of Bali's quality, if not Indonesia's.

Aston Kuta, the hotel where I stayed in

But it does not stop right there. Somehow the front desk woman upgraded our room to premium room, with two bedrooms, a living room, a dining room, two televisions, and our own mini pantry. Awesomeness!

The hotel's living room

Visiting Bali is like a reminiscence for me of the old days. And it was definitely a mini escape from the boring routine, the pressure and stress from work, and the crazy life in the megacity (Jakarta, that is). It was also a treat for my Mom to be able to spend quality time with her. But I was not visiting Bali only for the fun and partying.
Well, we did checked out the new-most-talked-about place in Bali called the Rock Bar. The Rock Bar is a bar that sits on the rock (like, literally!) with a state of the art DJ booth (which also sits on the rock), and simple but cozy bar overlooking the blue ocean. The Rock Bar is located in Ayana Resort (formerly, the Ritz-Carlton) and pretty much is the "it" place where bule and Jakarta's socialites gathered during their Bali sweet vacation.

The Rock Bar, decked out with its dashing view

I also visited other tourists' hot spots such as Tanah Lot, Garuda Wisnu Kencana cultural park, and Bedugul. Too bad it was raining cats and dogs in Bedugul so me and my Mom were not having many chances to take pictures of the gorgeous lake Beratan. Garuda Wisnu Kencana was also mesmerizing. The gigantic sculptures made by Nyoman Nuarta were all so huge and debonair. I was like soooo tiny compared to those statues.

Tanah Lot




Garuda Wisnu Kencana

Dreamland beach, where I could live there in a dream

Last but not least, I visited the breathtaking temple of Tanah Lot in Uluwatu. The view was just magnificent. The cliff, the green trees, the ocean. God, You are the greatest creator of all. Apart from the broken steps that are made from part stone part cement, Uluwatu temple is definitely the place where I would like to go back, just to take a glance at the panoramic beauty from the cliff.

Magnificent top-of-the-cliff view from Uluwatu temple

So, all the way from Jakarta to the magnificent Tanah Lot, the dense night bar at Ayana, the rainy Bedugul, and moving to massive cultural park of GWK, and last to the heart of Hindu-Bali, the Uluwatu temple, I could not describe Bali in one phrase except for what I have wrote on the title above.

A place where tranquility meets the hype of a big city.