Bali - Day 1

We were welcomed at the Westin in Nusa Dua after a 7.5 hour flight with a stop in Bangkok on Thai Airways. We were greeted by two lovely dancers who offered us flowers and drinks at the reception. A member of the Kids Club gave Sindhu and Rushil a tote bag full of goodies while we waited in the lounge to register. Their check-in is excellent. The hotel was operating at 60% occupancy so the pools and restaurants were not full. Nusa Dua is a resort area and not accessible to locals and only hotels and resorts are located in the area. Given that I didn't put much thought into the reservations, just an hour or two of net browsing and we didn't buy a travel book on Bali, I think we could of planned the itinerary a bit better. I'm really not the Nusa Dua type, maybe a couple days is fine but we really craved the real Bali. I had originally scheduled 5 nights in Nusa Dua and 2 nights in Ubud, but after some net reading, changed it 4 nights in Nusa Dua and 3 nights in Ubud, I probably could have done 3 nights in Nusa Dua and 4 nights in Ubud, most of the places to see are in and around Ubud.

Bali is amazing and I would love to go back one day as we won't be able to cover everything in one week! Bali's biggest asset is its people, they are just wonderful and their culture and way of living is very interesting. They are so proud to be Hindu and one of the first few questions they ask us is about our religion since we are Indian. They also identify with the Indian culture through Bollywood movies and are quite familiar with the Bachchans and the Khans. We had some insightful conversations with our guides and drivers,.

Our first day, the kids and Prasad had a swim and we ate at a nearby restaurant called Ulam, which I would recommend if you stay at the Westin. They serve Balinese food and we had the typical Nasi Goreng and Mi Goreng dishes which were pretty good. Prasad and I also had fresh coconut and were surprised to see how large the coconuts are in Bali! The coconut was however very tender and delicious! Even though there are tender coconuts being sold at ever corner in Bangalore, we’ve eaten more of it here in Bali! Being vegetarian is a bit of a problem more so because it's difficult to explain what we would like to eat and we're slowing getting "Gorenged Out!" The fresh fruits are amazing, We have tried interesting and delicious fruits I have never seen anywhere else in the world, They have some unique citrus fruits or at least they seem to be from that family as they smell somewhat like oranges but taste very different. Rambutans (like lichees) are in season and Sindhu is loving them!