Bali Holiday Itinerary Highlights • Island of Gods & Food

This is my diary of my Bali trip from 20 to 26 Dec 2022 written as we go. We were doing slow travel with no fixed itinerary, making it up as we go (my preferred way to travel). This post of some of our observations and notable moments in Bali is in chronological order.

I downloaded the Indonesian contact tracing app (PeduliLindungi) but was not asked to show it at immigration nor use it while in Bali. The immigration officer did asked to see printed copies of our vaccination certificates. We were also required to fill and show the customs officer an online health declaration. The online form can be accessed via QR code at the airline departure check in or at Bali immigration. Wifi or mobile data is required.

For local sim card, I got Axiata 16 gb for 1 month use for Rp150,000. The staff at the kiosk will register the sim card for you (no extra charge but passport is required). After registeration it takes about 6 hours for the card to be active. Once activated, I got no problems with 5G service and signal strength even outside the city.

We stayed at Marriott Nusa Dua Terrace Vacation Club. The room was big and nice, the morning buffet breakfast has international and local dishes, service was generally enthusiastic with some exceptionally good staff, facilities from spa to pool are available. Villas require buggy service especially with luggage or when it is raining. Very comfortable stay though I got the business hotel rather than the "I am holidaying in Bali" feel.

Our first food stop was babi guling and naturally we went to Babi Guling Sari Dewi as it is just 10 minutes drive from our hotel (and buddy Richard highly recommended it). Unfortunately, there was a crushing crowd and long line of people waiting for tables. The weather was scorching hot, so it was not conducive for standing and queuing.

We decided to take a rain check for Sari Dewi and hoped to come back one day for it. Lesson learned is to avoid coming to Bali during the Dec and Jun holidays, if possible. Bali was swarmed with Indonesian and international tourists. We had to pay a premium for most services but may not get the best of anything.

We drove around determined to have a good start for our Bali food trail. After a few false starts, we settled for Babi Guling Karya Rebo. The shop was full house, but we decided to have our babi guling here not matter what (starting to feel famish already 😬 ).

To keep things simple, we just ordered set meals for everyone. The mound of boiled white rice was topped with fried marinated pork, fried long beans with spiced pork, fried pork skin and just one piece of roasted pork skin. There was also a stick of satay.

Everything in the dish tasted good. I especially like the fried long beans and pork. The pork satay was a delight. I like its mild spice marination and tender springy chewy bite. If you come here, order an extra set of satay.

I enjoyed the savoury porky sweetness of the pig skin but the texture was stiff, actually tough and we could barely break it even with hard chewing.

December is not really the best time to come to Bali, if you can help it.

Bali roads are mostly single narrow lane throughfares. Traffic jams in the popular areas like Ubud Centre can match those in Bangkok or Jakarta. When it rains, puddles form, leading to gridlocks in many places.

When you are in Bali, you will notice many temples and shrines. In many places there are temples, literally every one hundred feet because besides village temples, Balinese homes have elaborate home temples. You will frequently see Balinese in traditional clothes conducting ceremonies. Bali is literally the Island of the Gods. The spiritual side of life is part and parcel of Balinese daily living.

Floral and incense offerings are lighted in the mornings and evenings outside temples, homes, shops, work places, etc. So the floral and incense fragrance hang in the air everywhere you go in Bali.

We stopped a while at Pura Puseh Desa Adat Batuan, the temple of Batuan village which was established in 1025.

Requires Rp30,000 entrance fee. Staff will help wrap your legs with a sarong before you enter the temple.

I spotted three huge statues of the sea turtle deity in Pura Puseh Desa Adat Batuan temple. (There could be more.)

The sea turtle is one of Lord Vishnu's twelve incarnations. Lord Vishnu carried the world above water on his (sea turtle) back.

Outside Pura Puseh Desa Adat Batuan temple.

In Bali, you will frequently see such gateway pillars. Balinese temples have this gateway. Some businesses, government buildings and occasionally traditional homes have this type of pillar entrance too.

You will also see this on roads, marking entrances to villages or districts like this mist shrouded gateway at Puncak Sari on Christmas day 2022.

This design goes back to the great Majapahit era (1293 - 1527) and is found in Central and East Java as well (but as Majapahit relics).

These gateway pillars represent the flat of the feet of a person laying down flat on his back. Past the pillar, the middle or the belly is the main area of activities. In temples, it is the pavilions for ceremonies, and the courtyard. At the deepest, far end, it is the head where the main sanctuary of the temple is located.

In homes, the deepest end is the place for ancestral shrines where living descendants offer offerings daily.

We went to Nasi Tempong Indra for one of our dinners in Bali.

I like the vibes at Nasi Tempong Indra. The space is huge, wood furnishings and decor gave it a rustic kampung feel which I like. It was full house and obviously popular with locals.

Nasi Tempong come in sets with rice, boiled vegetables, fried tofu, tempe, salted fish and choice of meat. We had duck, chicken, gourami and catfish which were all deep fried. The chicken and duck were fried till dry, stiff and chewy. The gourami was tender. Spice flavours were mild, so the dishes tasted mainly savoury salty and a little flat.

I enjoyed the fried catfish as its flesh was moist, soft, slightly sweet without any earthly taste at all. This was my favourite.

The best thing here has to be their ultra spicy hot sambal chili which burns the tongue but makes everything taste better.

If you intend to have a driver and car for your Bali holiday, a good or bad driver can make or break your vacation. A good driver and guide steers you away from tourist traps and commission shops besides being knowledgeable, safe and reliable (e.g. punctual).

I contacted Pak Budi Art whom I first met during my last Bali trip over ten years ago. Pak Budi is born and raised in Bali, so he has intimate knowledge of Bali culture and places. Just let Pak Budi know your travel objectives and agenda, and he will suggest and take you to the right places in Bali.

Pak Budi is fluent in English and can be reached on WhatsApp +62 818 0531 6362.

I was last at Nasi Bali Made Weti in Sanur with Pak Budi over ten years ago. This humble breakfast kiosk was one of my best memories of Bali.

I enjoy mingling with locals, eat what they eat and through food get an understanding of Balinese culture and life. It is a bonus that Nasi Bali is delicious and I love it ❤️

At Warung Made Weti, it's boiled white rice blanketed with pulled spiced fried chicken, fried chicken skin, fried peanut, some pickled vegetables, and a huge dollop of fiery looking sambal. It is a form of nasi campur, Balinese style. Price was about Rp30,000 per serving. I love it.

Our hunt for Balinese food icon, bebek betutu brought us to Bale Udang restaurant. The restaurant has a huge dining hall and popular above water pavilions. Don't worry if you can't sit cross legged on the floor for long as the seats have sunken bottoms for our feet. (No difference in comfort from sitting in a chair.)

Bebek betutu is traditionally made by marinating and stuffing the duck with spices (bumbu Bali), wrapped in green betel nut palm leaf sheath then slow baked in rice husk embers.

Now bebek betutu is also made by oven baking, steaming or deep frying. This bebek betutu at Bale Udang restaurant seemed to be steamed then deep fried as it was juicy and tender with a bit of crispness outside.

I enjoyed the mild spice taste of this bebek betutu even though it wasn't cooked the traditional way.

An obligatory visit to the rice terraces at Ubud. All the vantage points are occupied by cafes. There is a fee of Rp10,000 if you wish to walk down to the rice fields.

Nevertheless, we can still see and shoot the terraces from the sidewalk along the road shoulder, if you just want a photo.

Beautiful souvenir hats for tourists 😃

Browsing galleries, I noticed some statuettes made with ancient Chinese coins (the type with the square hole for threading the coins together). I thought it was curious and wondered what the connection might be.

Speaking with Pak Budi, he shared that Balinese traditionally conduct ceremonies with old Chinese coins for good luck and fortune. Apparently, Chinese coins were used in Nusantara trade since the Majapahit era (1293 - 1527) and this was discontinued in Bali only as recently as 1970. However, the use of ancient Chinese coins for rituals persisted in Bali even today.

Nasi Lawar is a Balinese rice dish where boiled rice is eaten with a clump of mixed chopped vegetables, spices and meat (at this stall it is pork but it can chicken, mutton and even sea turtle in other places).

I enjoyed my first nasi lawar though I can see why it is not for everyone. The chopped pork seemed medium rare, and it is held together with bits of roasted coconut meat and vegetables by raw pig blood (hence the reddish colour).

We also had pork satay. I like the mildly spiced and sweet meat. It is eaten without any sauce.

The humble Nasi Lawar Dugong 21 stall is run outside, in front of the owner's beautiful home. The gracious owners welcome customers to go inside their house compound and eat in the courtyard of their home. It is a spacious traditional Balinese home with living quarters, kitchen, raised pavilions for Hindu ceremonies, as well as sanctuary for ancestral shrines at the back.

We stopped by a spice or bumbu Bali stall. The Balinese have a unique spice blend with signature flavours and aroma which you will taste in many of their dishes. There's candlenut, turmeric, peppercorn, coriander, nutmeg, galangal, and many more in the spice blend. It is bumbu Bali that make many dishes Bali.

Pak Budi brought us to Cafe Wayan in the heart of Ubud for bebek betutu.

Cafe Wayan is set in a beautiful sprawling Balinese garden with private dining pavilions, fish ponds, fountains, and lots of greenery. An oasis from the crowded, gridlocked narrow Monkey Forest tourist strip outside.

Cafe Wayan cooks bebek betutu the traditional way. The duck is marinated, stuffed with spices, wrapped in betelnut leaf sheaf, then buried in rice husk embers for hours to slow bake.

The duck meat is tender-soft, moist. There's a slight savoury flavour though a little flat tasting. The taste of duck or spice was not pronounced in the meat or skin. I tried the spices stuffed in the cavity - they were flavourful and aromatic but didn't seemed to infuse into the duck meat.

Cafe Wayan's bebek betutu costs Rp430,000 ++ and serves two.

Whether you intend to buy any silver or gold jewelry, UC Gallery is worth stopping for a few minutes if you are passing by. They have interesting statuettes, decorative items and jewelry made of silver or gold.

For the second half of our holiday, we stayed at Om Ham Resort just outside of Ubud. Om Ham has the Bali holiday vibes and atmospherics of fables. The rooms are comfortable, clean, they have spa, yoga and meditation classes. Chants and tantra meditation / Balinese music is constantly heard in the background.

We woke up to the call of cockerels and chirping birds, and get our eyes and lungs refreshed from the surrounding padi fields.

I could sit here for hours with free flow of coffee and a good book. It is the recharging vacation the tourist brochures claimed.

There were a couple of Majapahit trees at Om Ham Resort where we stayed. The great Majapahit Empire which ruled Nusantara (today's Indonesia) from 1293 to 1527 was named after the Majapahit tree. The large fruit is bitter and poisonous. When the great Majapahit fell, loyalists migrated from Java to Bali. Today, 30% of Balinese are descended from Javanese Majapahit migrants.

Pak Budi brought us to Babi Guling Pande Egi in Gianyar.

Warung Pande Egi is about an hour from Ubud town but it is well worth the drive. The babi guling come in sets ranging from Rp22,000 to Rp36,000. Half the price compared to shops in the tourist belt.

I had the largest set 😬 Everything in the set was delicious - there's lawar, meat sausage, liver sausage, grilled meat, fried meat, vegetables, sambal, etc.

The roasted pork skin is a winner. It was crackly crisp, shattered easily with every bite like a biscuit. Beneath the crispy skin was a juicy layer of savoury sweet melty fat. Together, the blend of crisp and melty soft texture felt wonderful in the mouth.

The live pigs are processed here, stuffed with spice and roasted on a hand turned spit over flaming wood.

The pig is used for different products such as sausages.

Making Balinese style pork satay. Traditionally, the meat and fat are minced then hand wrapped around a bamboo stick. Nowadays, lemongrass and torch ginger flower stems are gaining in popularity for the additional flavour they impart.

I love Balinese pork satay because of their aromatic and flavourful spices. It is eaten with sambal but without the familiar peanut sauce of Singapore / Malaysia. The satay tastes so good, I ate them without the sambal.

Our stomachs filled, we drove over an hour to Gunung Batur, an active volcano. Gunung Batur last erupted in 1999, and still bears the scares of that fiery episode. The black swathes of barren slopes were where the molten lava burnt its way through the forest.

Pura Ulun Danu Beratan temple has changed a lot since I was here some ten years ago. I love the sight of this ancient temple built in 1633 i.e. nearly 500 years ago.

Pura Ulun Danu Beratan has developed into a mini theme park for families with boat rides, playground, photo props, bad coffee cafes, etc. For foreign tourists, entrance fee is now Rp75,000 per person.

Next stop, the famous Jutiluwih rice terraces in West Bali. Passing this gateway requires Rp40,000 per pax, Rp5,000 for the car.

The rain was quite heavy when we were at Jutiluwih but we managed to snatch a few obligatory shots of the rice terraces before returning to Ubud for bebek betutu. At the edge of the terraces, I could smell the cow dung they use for fertilizer. In the fields, it doesn't smell that bad in my opinion.

Came to Bebek Tepi Sawah for dinner. It is a fascinating place where we literally ate duck beside the rice fields.

When it comes to a unique Bali style dining experience, Bebek Tepi Sawah has it down pat. Diners eat at private pavilions ringing the lush green padi field.

Our main target was BTS's signature bebek betutu.

BTS's bebek betutu is tender but slightly chewy to the bite, which I prefer (like that at Bale Udang). However, its savoury and spice flavours were relatively mild compared to that at Bale Udang and Cafe Wayan.

We also had ayam betutu. Same spices but chicken meat doesn't have the intensity of savoury flavours compared to duck. Together with fresh juices, our bill came to Rp402,000. Worth the price for the unique padi side experience, in my opinion.

Our fourth bebek betutu for this Bali trip was at Bebek Bengil or Dirty Duck Diner in Ubud (the next day). Our Bali trip was becoming a duck trail.

Dirty Duck also has sprawling landscaped Balinese gardens with fruit trees, palms, flowers, fountains, and lily ponds.

Dirty Duck also has rice fields in its compound.

Of the four bebek betutu we had during this trip, we like Dirty Duck's rendition most.

The duck meat was soft but not mushy. It was juicy, slightly wet from juices from the spice and herb blend stuffed in the cavity. The seventeen spices and herbs provided lots of aromatics, and slight spicy heat. I could taste some of it infused in the meat. Nice.

The bebek betutu set which costs Rp410,000++ is more than enough for 3 persons. Our bebek betutu with an extra serving of their kerupuk (prawn crackers) and wonderful sambal came to Rp505,000 total.

Despite the rain, crushing crowds, some false starts and misses, overall, I enjoyed my trip to Bali. Experienced and learned first hand many things about Balinese culture. Enjoyed some Balinese cuisine for the first time e.g. bebek betutu and various forms of lawar.

Would love to be back for more slow travel in beautiful Bali. Next time, I will make arrangements for more hyperlocal experiences and stay off the rainy season and school / festive holidays.

Written by Tony Boey on 26 Dec 2022