Discover Bali: Day 1 – Hello Ubud

My first day in Bali was short but sweet. It was a mission to get to Bali. I travelled from Los Angeles to Hong Kong, a 14.5 hour flight on American Airlines, a 2.5 hour layover, than a 4.5 hour flight from Hong Kong to Depensar, Bali on Cathay Pacific. I arrived at Depensar Bali Airport around 15:30. By the time I got through immigration and customs, it was about 17:00.

As I walked out of the secured area, I felt overwhelmed by groups of people holding a card of their client’s name. My friend somehow spotted our driver in the crowd. We flagged him down. Hotel, here we come.

The drive from the airport to our hotel, Puri Anyar Heritage was about a one hour. I was quite surprise to see how much congestion there was in the city. As we inch closer to Ubud, the driving lanes reduced to one lane each way. Pedestrians were passing us in every way. I was thrilled to finally get to our hotel.

Where to Stay:

I stayed in at the Puri Anyar Heritage Hotel. The hotel was located in the main market streets of Ubud. The hotel was in a hidden paradise wrapped in a jungle like theme. Each room had their own patio or balcony. The inside of the hotel was basic. There was one bed, a night stand, TV, a bathroom with a shower, and that was it. They do supply you with shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and 2 towels (1 body, 1 face) per guest.

After settling in, we decided to venture out for a quick bite to eat before turning in early for a day of excursion the following day.

Where to Eat:

For dinner, my friend and I went to Tropical Seafood & Grill which was located near our hotel. The restaurant had a mix variety of food options to choose from. My friend is a vegetarian and I cannot have seafood but we were able to select an entree from the menu.

We both ordered balinese food to kick off our journey. I ordered the popular dish Mie Goreng Kampung, a fried egg noodle dish with chicken and veggies with 2 chicken satay skewers. The dish was only IDR 57,000. My friend ordered a similar dish, Bihun Goreng, but it is in vegetarian form with tofu skewers (IDR 58,000). We shared a plate of spring rolls for IDR 39,000. Everything tasted delicious. We each ordered a couple of signature cocktails (about IDR 79,000 each) as well to complete our dinner experience.

After dinner, we turned in but anxious to start our adventures tomorrow.