Bali Travel Guide: Lessons Learned In Padang Bai

If you're asking yourself whether or not to go to Padang Bai on your Bali trip, I'd ask you one question: Do you plan to spend your days either diving or lounging by the pool? If not, I wouldn't recommend this place. It's by far where Kev and I had the roughest experience, and by that I mean we were often uncomfortable and somewhat at a loss for things to do. 

Below, I recount some of the very silly things that happened on our 24 hour stay there. 

Getting to Padang Bai

We traveled to Padang Bai from the island of Gili T, which is about an hour and a half boat ride back to the mainland. 

I begged Kev to let us sit on top of the boat this time so that I could get some much needed sun. We’d been on the go so often that I’d barely gotten a tan! In Bali! He begrudgingly agreed and I sat like a puppy in the backseat of the car, so excitedly looking around at the great big world outside the boat. It was a lovely ride, but a little longer than expected. By the time we reached the port and got up to get out, we were burnt and crispy.

The gorgeous view from atop our speed ferry to Padang Bai.

Where to Stay & What To Do in Padang Bai

First stop: after-sun lotion and lunch. After dropping our bags at the Dewivilla Hotel, we got a ride back into town and stopped into the first restaurant we found. No cards accepted, so we frantically begin searching for an ATM in this tiny, ramshackle town. The locals point us in the direction of this one ATM that we finally find. To our absolute dismay, there is a paper sign inside that reads “No Visa or Mastercard accepted.” Good thing I brought my Discover card. Not.

We think there is no way this is true and both try our debit cards anyway. Blame it on the hunger or the sunburn, but this may have been one of our dumbest decisions on the trip. At the time, the machine simply returned an error and we found a different ATM. Flash forward 1.5 months to when $1,000 has been taken out of my account in a series of cash advance transactions in - where else - Bali!

Pro Tip: Always check the ATM you’re using for fake card readers, and walk away if it looks fishy at all.

Moving on, we had a yummy and inexpensive lunch and then started exploring to see what exactly the area had to offer. It turns out….not much! Unless you are interested in diving, you’ve got a handful of hotels, restaurants, and a little central market.

Our surprisingly delicious lunch at Ozone cafe in Padang Bai. 

A cool little hostel/restaurant/activity center we stumbled upon. 

At this point, our sunburns were feeling not so good, so our idea for spending the day was to get aloe vera massages. We finally find a spa that seems legit and not too pricey, and it turns out that they are out of aloe vera. Womp womp.

I’m feeling set on the idea though, so when we pass a gift shop advertising spa treatments, I inquire. At 200K IDR a pop, it's the most expensive massage we’ve paid for to date, and it's literally in a tiny room in the back of the gift shop. And it's possibly the most awkward and least comfortable experience of our entire trip (lives?).

The “aloe vera” comes in powder form, which two women proceed to scrub into our sunburned skin. At one point, I hear the woman working on Kevin pounding his back as if trying to harm him. To end the massage, we are told to rinse off the aloe vera, which has hardened into a mask on our bodies, in their tiny bathroom/shower.

To be clear, this was a room the size of a small port-o-potty, with a toilet and small sink taking up most of the floor space, and a shower head jutting out of the wall. You are supposed to rinse off in this place with the help of one small rag.

We booked it out of there and back to the hotel to truly rinse away any evidence of this experience. Laughing the whole way, of course -___-

My little dork nugget practicing some male modeling. 

After showering and polishing off our remaining black spiced rum, which Kevin had brought in via Duty Free in the US airport, we went to the “best pizza place in town” for a tipsy dinner. There is oddly a lot of Italian-inspired cuisine in Bali, though none of it necessarily good. The restaurant had a cat though, so no complaints from me.

Some of the beautiful flowers found on the walk outside our hotel room. 

We finished the night at the Sunshine Bar, where there is live music every night. Kevin even jammed a little on the guitar with some of the locals! It was a pretty cute and happy place, even though there were a total of 10 people there. Even sleepy, sketchy little towns need to have their fun.

Kev jamming with some locals at the Sunshine Bar in Padang Bai. 

The next morning, we woke up with a massive gecko  in the room. Although small geckos are very common in tropical locals, I can't say I’ve ever seen one the size of my forearm. Until today! I guess it was maybe an iguana?

Whatever it was, it was incredibly huge and alarming, though kindly stayed behind the curtain and barely moved from the time we found him. We left him alone (Note: In the same room the day before, I had come to Kevin’s rescue by shooting a spider out of the room with a bidet hose, and had thus already fulfilled my wildlife taming duties).

What Next? 

Eager to get out of this town, we hired a private car to drive us to Uluwatu ASAP. Read the rest of the Uluwatu adventure here. 

Bali Travel Guide: One Wild Night In Gili T

Gili T was truly reminiscent of Cabo, which was ironic because it was the only truly Muslim area we stayed in. Indonesia as a country is Muslim, but the island of Bali identifies as mainly Hindu.

Even more interesting, we were there during Ramadan. This was only apparent when we were woken up in the middle of the night to the tolling of the neighborhood mosque bells for 2 am prayer. Love experiencing different cultures, don't love being woken up in the middle of the night.

The roads in Gili T are more like cobblestone footpaths. Wheeled suitcases do not fare well here. 

Getting To Gili T

To get to Gili T, we were picked up from our hotel in Amed and transported to the port. We boarded our “speedboat” with about 30 others and began the hour long ride to the Gili Islands. These are three tiny landmasses off the coast of Lombak, another Indonesian island. Gili T is the biggest and most popular for its party vibes, so was a natural choice for us.

Where To Drink On Gili T

We spent the day drinking world’s yummiest rum punch at a literally on-the-beach restaurant called Brown Bean’s. There are a lot of restaurants like this on the island, where all you have to do is buy a drink to gain access to a sun chair right at the edge of the ocean. We got mildly tipsy (for Bali) after maybe 5-6 punches in a row. They were really yummy and relatively inexpensive (for Bali). We wandered the beach and considered doing magic mushrooms (which are available here), but thought... better not.

The oceanside setup most restaurants on Gili T are rocking. 

Kev and I sipping Brown Bean's rum punch on the beach. 

One highlight of the day: We found a beer pong-themed bar that had a running challenge...chug a Bintang beer and put a point on the board for your country. Chug three in under a minute and get five points for your country. Kevin tried to go for five and almost threw up, but over the course of 24 hours managed to put up a few points for America. We later came back and played BP against some British guys and lost so, not our best day repping the USA.

Balinese bar owners leveraging game mechanics to get drunk foreigners to drink more. 

Second highlight of the day: We returned to Brown Bean’s for more rum punch before dinner, but more importantly to catch some live music. A sole violinist, skinny and dressed in traditional Balinese garb, playing the most complex and heart wrenching music you’ve ever heard. Kevin almost cried, he loved it so much. At times, we were pulled onto the dance floor by the restaurant manager, hoping to attract more customers with our obvious joy for the music. We're also forever memorialized on their Instagram, if someone can figure out what that handle is...

This kid might not look like much, but he was inspiring Kev to the point of tears with his violin skills. 

Where To Eat On Gili T

We had dinner at the famed Scallywag’s, which is a BBQ and buffet joint, again on the water. Nice ambiance and experience, but maybe not exactly worth the money. Walking back to our room, there was all kinds of partying going on around us very reminiscent of spring break in college. We tried to be into it, but it turns out we’re too old to do shots if our friends aren't buying them for us. Oh well!

The next morning, we were served breakfast on our terrace. Eggs and toast and fruit and banana pancakes, complete with fresh juice and real french pressed coffee (one of the first times we didn't find coffee ground sludge in the bottom of the cup).

What Next? 

We did a little shopping around in the morning, as the little island has a ton of cute, affordable boutiques. Then, it was back on the boat for our hour and a half trip back to the mainland - this time, to the tiny town of Padang Bai.

Lining up to get back on our speed ferry -- this time, to Padang Bai! 

Bali Travel Guide: How to Successfully Hike Mt. Batur & Visit The Beautiful Amed

What a day. We successfully wake up for our hotel pickup at 2:30 am, but are so sad to leave our magical palace. We sleep for the hour long drive to Mt. Batur, arriving at the starting point while it is still dark.

The hike begins with a small group - all of us wearing headlamps - at 4 am, lead by a Balinese guide who does this all day every day for a living. I am in shorts and Nike’s, Kev is in hiking boots and adventure pants. Within 30 minutes, we lose two of our group members to fatigue and food poisoning (by lose, I mean they turned around!). The guide is keeping a quick pace and in the dark, it’s hard to tell how far we’ve gone at all. We emerge from the trees and it looks like you can see the top of the mountain hanging out up there in the starry sky, and from our vantage, it looks a quick 30 minutes to the top. Wrong. We hike for at least another hour, with the terrain steadily getting steeper and rockier. There’s just the faintest amount of light creeping into the sky now, and I’m literally dripping sweat.

The view from the top of Mt. Batur before sunrise. 

Finally, we make it to the top, where hundreds of other hikers are trickling in and plopping down on the sparse few benches overlooking the view. As our internal temperatures begin to normalize, we realize... it’s very freezing up here.

The sun is still taking its sweet time to clear the horizon, and with the wind blowing, we eat our “prepared breakfast” of hard boiled eggs (cooked in natural steam pockets), dry bread, and stone fruits. Batur was a good example of how we (I) could have better prepared for my sometimes high-maintenance travel needs.

Wondering why I didn't bring a warmer jacket to go sit on top of a mountain. 

Pro Tip I: Jacket, hiking boots, sunglasses, and a backpack filled with water, snacks, and cash - these are things that would have made the experience more enjoyable, but that I didn't bring in the name of minimalism. As much as I love the concept of “less is more,” I’m just not that easy to please.

Pro Tip II: Go to the bathroom before & save water for the top! There are no bathrooms until you near the end.

We were so lucky to have this perfect weather for our climb. 

The experience of watching the sun rise over the ocean and finally witnessing the view was unforgettable. I was proud of us for our accomplishment! We woke up early on vacation and worked hard to get to the top of that mountain. But now for the walk down. This was easily the most treacherous part, because the path was pure rubble that slipped and slid under each step. Luckily I had Kevin to cling onto for most of the way, and made it without a single fall. But it wasn't easy and I was tense the whole trek down.

Cuddling up next to the natural steam pockets for warmth. 

Met a few more monkey friends on our way down the mountain. These ones were a bit less scary. 

Pro Tip III: We wouldn't recommend going if it’s rainy or even cloudy. You’ll have completed a very strenuous hike for just about nothing. Even if you’ve put money down, maybe just ditch the other half of your deposit at that point. The view is what makes everything worth it.

From there, we were joyfully reunited with our bags, which (in a leap of faith) we had entrusted with the tour company. We set out on our shuttle to the town of Amed, which only upon getting in the car did we learn was about 2.5 hours away. Thus began our winding ride through the countryside and small towns of Bali. This was a really cool way to see the "real Bali." Mt. Batur area specifically is so remote and untouched by tourism, as were most parts we drove through. Sadly though, poverty on the island is very apparent.

Side view of the serene lake at Mt. Batur. 

Arriving in Amed, we struggled to find our hotel, even though there is literally only one road through the entire town. Our driver got out and asked a few people (even taking my cellphone with him at one point!), and we were able to find it that way. We had an ocean view room at Anugerah Villas, which was modest but lovely with the balcony and view.

Our view from the hotel in Amed. My actual dream. 

We had lunch at the hotel, watching their tiny staff wake up from their afternoon naps to make us fresh juice, grilled mahi mahi, and veggies. From there, we treated ourselves to our first full body massage at this beautiful spa in town called Swasti Dewi Salon & Spa. It was the first place we did massages that didn't look like a dingy US nail salon. We began our massage with fresh juice (as is customary) and ended with green tea and...a PUPPY! Snuggling tiny, three-week old Lompak the golden retriever was a trip highlight, for sure.

View from the rooftop restaurant at Anugerah Villas, where we stayed in Amed. 

Tiny puppy friend we met at Dewi Swasti Spa! So much joy in this little guy. 

We spent the rest of the day riding our motorbike around, sipping mai tais and “zombies” on the black rock beaches, and eating dinner on a cliffside as the sun set. Early bedtime because hiked a mountain today.

Sunset on Amed's black rock beaches. 

Enjoying our happy hour on the beach.

Amed was easily one of my very favorite places on the trip. Sleepy, but absolutely beautiful, so charming, and very untouched by tourism.

View of Amed from the clifftop restaruant we ate dinner at.

Pro Tip IIII: We got an awesome round trip deal to our next destination, Gili T, through our hotel. 500K rupiah total for two people to go from Amed and return via Padang Bai. Kevin was ready to accept the first offer of 800K per person. The best deal is usually not the first one!

Next up, read about our wild 24 hours on Gili T!