Category: Bali

Bali

Sea Circus, Seminyak, Bali: Colourful and Delicious!

Post author By Adam
Post date 17/01/2017
No Comments on Sea Circus, Seminyak, Bali: Colourful and Delicious!

Sea Circus was one of the first modern cafes in Seminyak at the start of the decade when Seminyak was more upmarket than it is today.

As a modern cafe, it’s done incredibly well to keep up with all the modern cafe trends. They’ve always served great coffee, but these days they also sell things like acai bowls kombucha.In our view, the food and drinks at Sea Circus are as good as they always have been and remain one of our top picks in Seminyak.

Coffee comes smooth and dark and is really good.Juices are fresh and sweet without the need for extra sugar.

The fitout of Sea Circus is what really sets it apart from many other cafes in Bali. There’s a real beach feel about it with a bunch of circus lights thrown into the mix. It’s bright and fresh and a perfect tonic if you’re feeling down.

Sea Circus remains one of our Bali favourites and we think it will be one of yours too. Top marks.

Sea Circus
Jalan Kayu Aya 22, Seminyak
www.seacircus-bali.com
Instagram: @seacircus
Opening Hours: setiap hari 08:00 – 01:00
Cappuccino: Rp28.000++
Blended juice: Rp40.000++
Acai bowl: Rp90.000++
Eggs benedict: Rp85.000++

Tags bali, Great Cafes in Seminyak, indonesia

Bali

Pison, Seminyak, Bali: A Good All-Rounder

Post author By Adam
Post date 15/01/2017
No Comments on Pison, Seminyak, Bali: A Good All-Rounder

On the number of times we’ve been to Pison, we’ve had completely different experiences. Some have been extremely busy, some really quiet. And it’s the busyness that really changes the nature of this place.

When we visited on a quiet occasion, the service was pleasant and attentive and the vibe of the cafe so chilled and relaxed. But when we visited and the cafe was full, service was very poor and waiters simply didn’t serve us unless we waved them over.Additionally, the vibe was a lot more chaotic and not really that nice. If you love a chaotic vibe, maybe you’d love Pison when it’s busy.The burger on a red velvet bun we had here was really really good. Generous meat patty, brioche-like bun and tasty cheese. It all sat together nicely so that you could pick it up and smash it.The coffee here is also very good and up there with some of the best in Bali.So while we think this is a very good cafe, we don’t really like it when it gets too busy.So will we come again? Absolutely. It’s just one of those places that is nice to come with a coffee and your laptop.

Pison Coffee
Jalan Petitenget 8A, Seminyak
(0812) 383 4986
info@pisoncoffee.com
www.pisoncoffee.com
Instagram: @pisoncoffee
Jam bu: Minggu – Jumat 08:00-23.00, Sabtu 08:00 – 00:00
Cappuccino: Rp30.000++
Iced Taro: Rp35.000++
Red Velvet Burger: Rp65.000++

Tags bali, Great Cafes in Seminyak, indonesia

Bali

The Fat Turtle, Seminyak, Bali: A Top Spot for Brekky

Post author By Adam
Post date 13/01/2017
No Comments on The Fat Turtle, Seminyak, Bali: A Top Spot for Brekky

Located on Jalan Petitenget right next to Biku, The Fat Turtle is a casual cafe serving up toast and pancakes and great coffee. A great place for a slow and leisurely breakfast!

The cafe is small with old fashioned tiles, sewing machine tables and hipster lights. We found the tables to be slightly small for groups of 4, but we managed anyway. If you’re a couple wanting to come here, there’s plenty of room.We ordered a range of dishes and all were quite good. The red velvet pancakes came topped with cream and were tasty and moist.The banana bread French toast was also moist, but some might think it’s too small. We like the size.The corn fritters were awesome and the addition of the avocado purée was a good choice in order to keep the dish from being too dry.

The coffee was too notch and pretty much in line with what we expect in Bali these days.We’re fans of this place and would be happy to come back here again for breakfast or lunch. A good solid cafe for those in need of sustenance in Seminyak and one of the better places around.

The Fat Turtle
Jalan Petitenget 886A, Seminyak
thefatturtlebali@gmail.com
Instagram: @thefatturtlebali
Opening Hours: 08:00 – 18:00
Red Velvet Pancakes: Rp55.000++
Banana Bread French Toast: Rp45.000++
Corn Fritters: Rp55.000++
Cappuccino: Rp25.000++

Tags bali, Great Cafes in Seminyak, indonesia

Bali

Milk & Madu, Canggu, Bali: Great Food in a Fantastic Open Air Pavilion

Post author By Adam
Post date 11/01/2017
No Comments on Milk & Madu, Canggu, Bali: Great Food in a Fantastic Open Air Pavilion

As Canggu opens up to more and more foreigners, more and more cafes open. Milk & Madu is one of the better ones in Canggu catering toward the foreigner crowd.

Located in a large Balinese style pavilion out towards Pantai Berawa, Milk & Madu serves up a range of baked egg dishes, toast, pancakes and other standard cafe fare.And the food we’ve tried is good! The skillet eggs are not huge, but enough for a breakfast and very tasty.The eggs benedict with smashed avo was sensational. The mango pancakes tasted great, but were just too much for one person to eat.

Coffees and juices are good and worth coming here for on their own.For people with kids, this is the perfect cafe. There’s a fair sized play area on the back lawn which doesn’t disturb other guests, but caters perfectly for families with kids.We really like this cafe and think it’s worth visiting if you want to get away from the hustle and bustle of Seminyak for a while.

Milk & Madu
Jalan Raya Pantai Berawa No.52, Tibubeneng, Kuta Utara
www.milkandmadu.com
Instagram: @milkandmadu
Jam Buka: setiap hari 07:00 – 22:00
Buttermilk hotcakes: Rp60.000++
Sauteed chorizo organic skillet eggs: Rp65.000++
Cappuccino: Rp30.000++
Super smoothies: Rp55.000++

Tags bali, Great Cafes in Seminyak, indonesia

Bali

Baby Revolver, Seminyak, Bali: Small in Stature, Grand in Flavour and Style

Post author By Adam
Post date 07/01/2017
No Comments on Baby Revolver, Seminyak, Bali: Small in Stature, Grand in Flavour and Style

You may well have heard of Revolver in Seminyak, that famous coffee shop with the hidden entrance which opened around 2012. It was a hit at the time and in our view is still one of the best places for coffee in Bali.

But since 2013 there has also been a coffee shop called Baby Revolver which we absolutely love. On our last visit, we ordered a couple of coffees and we were blown away by the quality which we think exceeds just about anything else out there.Great temperature, great flavour and great texture.

The iced coffee was on the strong side, just as I like it. But Susan prefers a weaker coffee and would ask for a half shot next time.

They also serve a range of pastries and cakes here which hit the spot when you’ve sipping a coffee.The location is what we really love about this place. It’s tiny and feels awesome when you’re the only one there.When it fills up it can feel a little crowded, but not so bad. Surprisingly, it’s not always full, so you’ve always got a good chance of getting a seat.The staff are cool and helpful and we’ll definitely be back regularly for a coffee fix. Highly recommended and one of our favourites in Bali!

Baby Revolver
Jalan Kayu Aya / Gang 51, Seminyak
(0361) 735 648
info@revolverespresso.com
revolverespresso.com
Instagram: @revolverespresso
Black coffee: Rp25.000++
White coffee: Rp30.000++
Brownie: Rp40.000++

Tags bali, Great Cafes in Seminyak

Bali Indonesia Photography Travel

Bali Photo Essay – Culture

Post author By Adam
Post date 17/08/2011
8 Comments on Bali Photo Essay – Culture

So once upon a time, I got all enthusiastic about showing people some awesome Bali sights… And I did that by posting a few photo essays about People and Animals, Food and Beaches. But then I started a new adventure and events overtook the Bali one and here I am, with a bunch of Bali photos that need to see the light of day some 9 months after I took them.

So today I show to you Bali’s culture. Before visiting this small island which is a speck in the vast Indonesian archipelago, most people have visions of an exotic culture of bare breasted women carry offerings to temples, men tilling verdant ricefields and kids playing joyfully with archaic toys. Well, of course that’s fallacy, but a similar feeling can be experienced if you try hard enough – albeit of the more modern kind (ie no boobies).

So this is one of the small rice offerings put out by Balinese people at the start of each day from the rice they have cooked. A thanks to the gods for the food.

These “temples” are placed all throughout rice fields for purposes that are too complex for me to understand. Probably something to do with the rice goddess, Dewi Sri. Needless to say, they are everywhere.

Pura Melanting is a large temple near the coastal town of Pemuteran in northwest Bali. When I was there, it was decorated coloufully and looked fabulous.

Penjors are used for a variety of reasons, but most tourists will see these around Galungan – a 10 day period of great importance to Balinese. Usually lots of pigs are slaughtered as well and made into lawar and sate. If you get a chance, eat the raw blood version of lawar – it is an experience.

Skulls are cool. Especially when they’re on a black flag and you ponce around with a peg leg and an eye patch. Better still, you can get up and personal in the village of Trunyan where local people don’t really bury their dead. Well not all of them anyway. Some of them just decompose above ground and the resultant skulls are placed on a wall for all to see. Cool!

Balinese have quite a few artistic specialities. They carve, they chisel, they weave and they paint. Sometimes all on the same piece. This temple box is similar to many you will see all around the island.

Balinese People Praying at Pura Lempuyang

Finally, Balinese people pray. A lot. And it’s not uncommon to see scenes like this when you get out of the main tourist centres. The settings are usually unbelievably peaceful and the devotees completely focussed. Bliss.

So there you have it. Bali really does have culture in spades and many people fall in love with it. Wanna go to Bali?

Tags bali, culture, indonesia, photography

Bali Food Indonesia Photography Travel

Bali Photo Essay – Food

This is the third in a series of shameless posts with a lot of Bali photos. Click here for Bali Beaches, People and Animals and Culture.

I love food. It really makes travelling much more interesting for me. Of course, not all foods I encounter on the road suit my palate, but when it does, I usually like to take photos. So here is a bit Bali food porn to get you salivating.

A favourite meal of many Indonesia is Nasi Campur. It literally means mixed rice – a plate of rice with an assortment of vegetarian dishes and if you’re lucky, one or two pieces of meat. A meal such as the one above can be had for about a dollar. Maybe a little more when you start to pile on meat.

This is gorengan. The word “goreng” means “fried”. And gorengan is simply an extension of that with a very general meaning of “fried stuff”. Most of these bite-sized morsels contain potato-like substances and are served cold. I can almost feel the fat stick to the roof of my mouth.

Gado gado is popular in tourist restaurants around Bali, but it is also a genuine Indonesian dish. It’s simply a bunch of vegetables mixed in a peanut sauce with a bit of soy. Something like this costs around the 50c mark at a local food stall, but isn’t enough food to satisfy fat Western appetites — so buy two.

Babi guling is a favourite meal at ceremonies in Bali. A whole pig such as this one will set back a village about $150, but will be shared between as many as 20 families. The pig is roasted with a bumbu (mixed spice paste) and then served in a variety different ways. Sometimes foreigners refer to babi guling as roast suckling pig, but Balinese more often than not use bigger pigs than those that are still suckling — there’s more meat on a big pig.

The local food in Bali is fantastic, but there is also a wonderful Western food scene. Grocer & Grind in Seminyak does the full range of Western food and good coffee as well. I like to go here for brunch…

Food defines many of my experiences in a country. Does it for you?

Tags bali, Food, indonesia, Travel

Bali Photography Travel

Bali Photo Essay – People and Animals

Post author By Adam
Post date 21/05/2011
4 Comments on Bali Photo Essay – People and Animals

This is the second in a series of shameless posts with a lot of Bali photos. Click here for Bali Beaches & Food!

I think I’m getting the hang of this photo essay thing. Easy! Just chuck up a few photos with a bit of commentary and you have yourself a blog post! Might have to do more of it. Anyway, this one is about people and animals in Bali. Why are both people and animals in the same post? Some might say that I’m seeking to draw the viewer into recognising the commonalities between humans and other animals and begging for there to be a greater understanding of the plight of animals in Indonesia which are often deprived of even the most basic living conditions. Others might just say I didn’t have enough photos to do two separate posts. I have no comment.

I was inspecting a hotel near Lake Tamblingan when a man in the distance was motioning for me to come over. It was a little awkward, but he had the most glorious smile, warm spirit and wanted to shake my hand forever. We had a little chat in Indonesian and he then wanted me to take his photo. After snapping a few shots, I showed him the results and he thanked me profusely. Of course I felt humbled by the kindness of one of the most incredible spirits I’ve ever met.

Photography experts often talk about how people’s eyes are what make or break a portrait photo. Judging by this photo, the same can be said for all primates. This monkey was chained at an animal market in Denpasar and gave an incredible look of sorrow.

We can talk about warm spirits all we like, but it means nothing until you experience it. In Bali, there are many of these warm spirits – I met this man after he just hauled in a bunch of fish for his family from the local reef in Pemuteran. He was very humble, gracious and a little bit bemused as to why I would care to look at his fish!

Bali is overfished – to the point where protected reefs are now the target of fishermen in a bid to keep up with ever-increasing demand. To be fair to Bali, large portions of Indonesia are overfished and waters outside those of Indonesia’s own are now the target of fishermen. The array of fish on display at the fresh fish market in Jimbaran is bewildering and a great reminder that the fish you have for dinner may well have been a spectacular juvenile reef fish caught illegally.

These young boys were running amok as young boys normally do. Except in Bali, the world is your oyster with the freedom to roam around and get up to mischief without fear of speeding cars, the stranger next door or an overly critical community. These boys puffed out their chests when they saw my camera and galloped away to continue their reign of terror in no time at all.

Baby monkeys also have much freedom from an early age although their mothers keep a protective eye out for them at all times. It’s not unusual for a baby monkey to scratch around in the bushes while a dozen metres away its mother snacks on bananas stolen from panicked tourists. A great place to spot this sort of behaviour is the Ubud Monkey Forest, although it can be heavily touristed in the middle of the day. The Monkey Forest at Sangeh is also a spectacular setting for primate observation.

Man and beast work together to plough the fields near a guesthouse 7km from Amlapura. Many Balinese farmers still use old-fashioned techniques to plough their fields despite the explosion in motorised transport over the past two decades. Preparing a ricefield for planting is a multi-stage process that has not changed significantly over hundreds of years. Scenes like this are played out across the island and outside of the main tourist towns, it’s possible to have a room with views of glorious terraced ricefields such as this one.

An important aspect of preparing a ricefield for planting is allowing hundreds of ducks to forage in the muddy field for spilled rice and unwanted insects. During the process, ducks also add nutrients to the soil which is then mixed through during the ploughing process. I saw this duck chasing its friends across the sprawling fields immediately north of Ubud at the end of Jalan Kajeng – my favourite place to walk in Ubud.

These is no human counterpoint to this photo – this animal is pure evil. I think monkeys are cute, but they’re mischievous little critters that are entirely unpredictable. This particular cutie was fossicking in the shallows when I thought it’d be a splendid idea to take a few shots. Maybe I should have asked for permission first, but it took exception to the candid shots I was taking and charged me, teeth all over the place.

What a fantastic place Bali is. Ever been? Going soon? Want to go? Do you need more convincing?

Tags animals, bali, indonesia, people, photography, Travel

Bali Indonesia Photography Travel

Bali Photo Essay – Beaches

Post author By Adam
Post date 05/04/2011
8 Comments on Bali Photo Essay – Beaches

This is the first in a series of shameless posts with a lot of Bali photos. Click here for People and Animals & Food!

I don’t even really know what a photo essay is, but everyone seems to be doing one so I thought I’d finally get around to putting up some Bali photographs from my recent sojourn.

For many, the beaches of Bali are a disappointment. The main reason is that people dream of an idyllic paradise – palm-fringed white-sand beaches with bare chested beauties bringing fresh coconut juice and pina coladas at the snap of your fingers. OK, maybe that last part was just me. But really, it’s nothing like that. Perhaps they were once like this back in the 70s, but those days are gone.

The best beaches nowadays are off the main tourist trail, but are still popular enough to attract people with an entrepreneurial spirit willing to build decent hotels, provide delicious food and generally make you feel like you’re not roughing it. The beaches in the tourist areas are OK, but places like Australia and the US have better ones. Each of the photos below look better when you click on them as they expand to fill more of your screen. Lucky you!

The first beach most visitors to Bali see is Kuta Beach. It’s an impressive stretch of sand that is now developed to the point where it’s no longer pleasant in the middle of the day when all the other tourists are around. Harrassing beach vendors, sometimes dirty water and loads of people. Still it’s a great place to stroll in the early morning before most people wake up and it has a chilled vibe in the evenings.

When looking at the 5 or 6km long Sanur Beach, it’s easy to be torn. Sections of it are beautiful with trees shading raked sand and turquoise water lapping at your feet. Other sections are an eyesore with dated hotels shadowing unpleasant swimming areas. Overall, however, it’s a more family friendly area than Kuta and less hectic. It can be a good spot to relax with a beer and a nasi goreng.

Get away from the main tourist areas and everything changes. Padang Padang Beach is one of the best in Bali and is not visited anywhere near as frequently as those in Kuta and Sanur. It’s also small giving you the feeling that it’s a secret hideaway that the masses haven’t yet discovered. Much like the other beaches on the Bukit.

Yeh Gangga is one of my favourite places in all of Bali because it is so secluded. The beach stretches for kilometres in both directions and there is hardly another tourist to be seen – just locals playing football and the odd family paddling. What tops it all off is that you can watch an endless stream of ceremonies which arrive at the beach to complete the scattering of ashes of the recently cremated.

Amed beaches are different from those of the south as they are generally tainted black as a result of volcanic activity plus they are home to coral reefs. Loads of them. And they’re easy to snorkel. The place commonly referred to as Amed is in fact a series of fishing villages which starts in the west at the actual village of Amed and finishes in the east at Aas. Amed is a top spot that is relatively empty outside of the Christmas period and the European summer. Cheap food, cheap accommodation and unlimited snorkeling. Could this be the Balinese Paradise that people are searching for?

So there you have it. Beaches in Bali. You like?

Tags bali, beach, indonesia, photography, Travel

Bali Travel

Bali Disco

Post author By Adam
Post date 22/03/2011
2 Comments on Bali Disco

I’ve been getting a lot of searches lately for the term “Bali Disco” and I thought I’d do all those searchers a favour and actually provide some decent info on the generalities of discos in Bali.

The main party area in Bali is in the south of island with the most popular spots being Kuta and Seminyak. Seminyak tends to cater to the more upmarket crowd where fancy cocktails and expensive clothes reign supreme. Kuta… well it’s all about cheap drinks, cheap discos and cheap sex. There’s actually an abundance of all three and those ready to party are guaranteed a great time… Discos, nightclubs, parties… whatever you like to call them, they are in abundance and they are all full of people all there for a great time.

So, Kuta for cheap discos and Seminyak for expensive ones. Same stuff, different prices.

When I visit Bali, I’m not really going there for this type activity and it’s easy to move away from Kuta and Seminyak into the hills or other parts of the coast… No discos!

So, all you people searching for “Bali Disco” should now go on your way and party it up!