Oh Bali

All of a sudden, P3 was over and my flight back to Portugal on the 2nd of March was non-changeable and non-refundable. As soon as I realized I would have to pay at least €800 to arrive home a few days earlier, I decided to spend such days (and part of such money) in Bali instead. What a bright idea I had...

On Saturday, the day after classes and exams were over, Laura, Stefania, Iuliana and I took the 10 am flight to Bali. We could hardly be more aligned. All we wanted to do was to chill, enjoy a few last sunny days before moving to the forest, eat well, and detox from the Singy INSEAD bohemian life. We even had a rule that prohibited us to make plans, have schedules or impose anything to each other.

The four of us rented a nice villa in Canggu - in our opinion Bali's coolest spot. Canggu is a hipster surfer's village, between two beaches, by the sea, still with no traffic, and packed with the coolest cafes, healthy restaurants, hip stores and surfers. It's hard to describe how cool Canggu's vibe is. And it's incredibly easy to be happy there.

Two friends of ours, Nar and Rob, both from my P1-P2 study group, travelled to Bali too. They stayed in Seminyak - not too close nor too far from us - which enabled us to have independent lives but still enjoy dinner together. Oh man, those dinners... Nar is Indonesian - a quite well acquainted Indonesian btw - and he took us to some of Bali's best places: Bamboo, Kilo, La Laguna... <3

So, what was our life in Canggu all about? Every day started with an early workout led by me, followed by a dream breakfast in one of Canggu's unforgettable cafes, and by a few hours of work/ study/ chill by the pool. There was some shopping, there was some beach, some walking around, an healthy snack in the afternoon, sometimes a second workout later in the day, and a fancy-ish dinner late in the evening. We laughed and bonded a lot too. Among the cafes, we tried Crate, Avocado, and Canteen. Among beach clubs, we checked Echo Beach, One Man's, and La Laguna. Among restaurants, we went to Bambu and Kilo in Seminyak, and The Slow in Canggu. All super duper yummy, and incredibly healthy. Now that I think about it, this was quite a foodie trip...

 

On Tuesday, Stef and Iuli moved back to Singapore to pack their lives before going back to Europe, and Laura and I moved to Ubud. Ubud was very different but great too.

Throughout the past 6 months, Anandita, Nar's fiancé and a it-girl in Indonesia, became my friend. Her family - the Makes - manages, among other things, an Indonesian chain of hotels called Plantaran. Laura and I decided to book a room at Dita's hotel as it seemed quite nice, well located and not too expensive. Dita, hearing that we were staying there, was kind enough to give us not only the best suite of the hotel at the cost of its cheapest room, but also a complementary 1-hour massage each, as well as attributing us a personal assistant during our stay. The hotel was very good, extremely well decorated - simple, modern, and typically Indonesian as it should be -, and had hardly any customers, which allowed us to enjoy two incredibly peaceful days there.

We ended up spending quite a lot of time at the hotel, between long workouts, work by (or even inside) the pool, and more hours of sleep than usual. We took one day to explore the region. We loved both the rice fields and the coffee production site. We walked around, and, again, ate in very good places suggested by Nar and Dita. Heads up to Spices and to Lazy Cats Caffe. Yum!

We are now about to move to Europe with our hearts full, our body detoxified, and impressed with the Indonesian people and culture. I definitely want to come back to Bali one day. What a way of closing the Asian chapter of my life... Time to go closer to home now. See you (literally) soon!