What we did in Uluwatu

What we did in Uluwatu

My internal alarm clock went off and I was wide awake 2 hours before the sun would come up. I wish I was more of an early bird usually. I used those hours to catch up on my travel journal – I’ve been slacking on it.

Scootered over to Padang Padang Beach to check out the Impossibles surf break. It was barely 7am and there were at least 15 people out already. An hour and 2 other surf spots later, we stopped for breakfast at Cempaka Cafe.

We had the whole day ahead of us, but we needed to see one more break – Bingin beach. It looked big everywhere. Ian concentrated on the waves and I fell asleep on the beach. About 2 hours later, I was burnt out. I needed to move around.

We refueled our scooter and checked out Nyang Nyang beach. Our taxi driver told us it was a sweet spot but after having to pay a toll to enter and discovering halfway that we would have to descend a quarter mile on slippery limestone to the unshaded beach, we realized we were getting hot and hangry.

So we doubled back to Padang Padang beach, where we passed through a temple with macaques running around everywhere, and walked through a corridor in the 200-foot cliffs. It was high noon and the beach was packed. I’m still in a state of culture shock over the density of tourists here! We strategically placed our things next to a big group of suntanning“bule” or white foreigners (lol), and cooled off in the cool Indian Ocean. Ian also got chicken satay skewers from a tiny beach vendor, and we couldn’t help but buy souvenirs to remind us of this place.

After the beach we stopped by Dedari Theory, a treetop bar which caught my eye when we zipped by earlier.

It had the chillest vibes, and we were the only ones there! How can this be?! Such a sweet little spot.

Got to the cabin and jumped in the pool right away for the next hour or so.

The sun was about to go down, and Ian and I rushed to the Uluwatu Temple. Again, there were macaques everywhere. I’m honestly scared of them – whenever they would look at me, I’d look away and pretend I was minding my own business. They definitely look mischievous.

We hoped to catch the Kecak Fire Dance but by the time we got there, it was sold out. There were a LOT of people there, so we sat around for a bit and all watched the clouds lose their luminance and the sun fall behind the horizon.

But the night was not over yet!

We zipped off to Padang Padang again for some amazzzzzing yellowfin and salmon poke bowls at Coco & Poké, and dancing at the famous Single Fin bar. The scene was bustling. Surfers and non-surfers, bloggers, business people, drifters, young and old travelers of every age and nationality. Just dancing to some funky tunes.
We got home before midnight to rest our tired bones.

We made it to Bali! | Day 1 in Uluwatu

We made it to Bali! | Day 1 in Uluwatu

We made it to Bali! 

ULUWATU DAY 1

It took a 13 hour flight from LAX to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, and then a 5 hour flight from Taiwan to Denpasar. I immediately noticed the amount of tourists flooding the airport hall towards baggage claim. There were a lot of them, and we were part of it. I don’t know how but somehow I packed verrrrry light for this trip and only brought my Deuter backpack. I was very thankful for this because that meant I didn’t have to wait in line for my bags, and I wouldn’t have to worry about losing my luggage.

*Pro Tip: Use the bathroom before you head to immigration because (1) there will be a long line, and (2) it’s harder to find a bathroom once you leave the airport.

We stepped out to the arrivals area and were greeted by about a hundred hoteliers and taxi drivers holding up signs with all sorts of names on them. I prearranged a pick up with a guy named Mario who we were referred to, but after half an hour of searching for him and feeling lost, we decided to go with another taxi driver who approached us asking if we needed a ride. The drive was a 1.5-hour sensory overload ride from Denpasar to Uluwatu. It was about 4pm and traffic was peaking. Lucky for us, our taxi driver knew all the backroads so we barely had to stop. The road was bumpy, the air smelled of fuel, and I got a little motion sickness. I didn’t care, I was having the time of my life. By about 5pm, we finally arrived at Batu Jaran Hill – our beautiful AirBnB clifftop cabin.

Can you believe it only cost $55 USD per night? After a quick dip in the infinity pool, Ian rented a scooter and we zipped off to Pantai Suluban beach just in time for a magnificent red sunset into the ocean’s horizon.

To get there, we traversed down many flights of uneven steps and ended up below the cliffs and marveled at the beach access. It’s known locally as Suluban Beach (“sulub” meaning to dodge) because surfers may need to crawl beneath the cliff rocks. We stopped for dinner at Delpi Waroeng at the top of the cliff, and I got my first taste of the Indonesia’s most popular meal – nasi goreng (fried rice).

low res images / high quality memories

I was too excited to sit in our BnB, no matter how beautiful it was. So we moto’d around Uluwatu looking for a power adapter and a SIM card, but to no avail. By 9pm we had retreated back to our cabin and got some much needed sleep.

*Note to self: always remember to pack universal power adapter! We could not find it in all of Uluwatu (that we saw, and we stopped many a mini-mart).


I barely took any photos on this first day. I was soaking it all in and prioritized the present. And didn’t want to risk bringing my camera while we were scootering around at first. But I do want to take more photos in the coming days!

What would you like to see from Bali? More to come!