Bali - Day One

Well welcome to Paradise.

We’ve stayed in some amazing places in recent years. But today I honestly wonder if I have in fact died and woken up in heaven.

Welcome to AYANA.

After arriving last night around 9.30pm having booked a private taxi through the hotel to meet us at Denpaser airport for the half hour drive to the resort, we were still blown away upon arrival. The trees all lit up with fairy lights. The Chinese New Year decorations so beautifully done and the warmest of welcomes with frangipani garlands and  a coconut water cocktail. Our room was spacious and spotless and after a quick shower we fell in to bed.

On waking it was straight off for a smorgasbord  breakfast that saw me eat my way around the world in 30 minutes. There was Japanese sushi, French cheeses, English bacon and eggs, Indonesian nasi goreng, Korean chicken and bibimbap and not to be outdone coming in hot and fast Italian sausage and Greek meze.

But food aside, oh my goodness, the people. To quote my favourite Maori proverb, tangata, he tangata, he tangata meaning “it is the people, it is the people, it is the people.” What friendly, thoughtful, warm people the Balinese are. It’s only Day One and it is an absolute stand out for us. The people.

We are staying in a huge resort of just under 100 hectares in an area of Bali called Jimbaran. The resort has 4 hotels, 14 swimming pools, a spa, 40+ bars and restaurants, a museum, an events centre and numerous trams to transport you between it all. It’s huge but feels so manageable to navigate. So after breakfast at the nearest restaurant to our room we wandered off to the nearest next “resort” where we found the beach and cliff top pools/restaurants and the spa. After a bit of an explore we made our way by tram back to our room (about 4 minutes by tram!) got our swimsuits, books and stuff and set off back to the infinity pool to sunbathe, swim and read. Day one for us when we go away, generally means a fairly relaxed day finding our bearings, so often walking heaps and getting the lay of the land. But this is a bit different as there’s no need to venture outside of the resort at this point. After poolside drinks and lunch we had a wander around the selection of small boutique shops, before heading back to our room before we burnt to a crisp. Due to some pretty noisy construction work though we decided to head off for a walk around the gardens and then to the onsite museum of Balinese culture, the Saka Museum. This is free to anyone staying at the resort. It was small but really interesting. And, air conditioned! Now be warned, the museum requires advance booking if you are not staying at Ayana resort. Inside there’s some good background about Balinese culture and some amazing examples of Ogoh-Ogoh which are formidable towering statues of mythical beings and spirits from Balinese Hindu culture. They are created for parading in the festival of Ngrupuk on the eve of Nyepi, the Day of Silence. (I repeat, the Day of Silence. See, I told you I’d died and gone to Heaven.) As much noise as possible is made in the Ngrupuk parade as they shake the spirits free and then the next day … silence. Nyepi brings Bali to a complete standstill. No travel, no work, no light, no noise. The streets are empty. People stay home. A day dedicated to reflection and stillness. The Day of Silence. So I spent my time at the museum pointing out to the Favourite Husband what a most excellent idea this is. One we (he) needs to adopt. No talking. No chewing. No crashing around. Just fairy feet. Ethereal, floating like the wisp of gossamer wings of a moth on the breeze. Silence. Stillness. No breathing even …

Nyepi isn’t actually until the 29th March this year so he has plenty of time to practice. He’ll need it.

He spotted an article of a different ancient Balinese tradition that he said he’d like more information on. Wife burning. Until I educated him that actually that’s the tradition of a devoted wife throwing herself on her husband’s funeral pyre. So he’d have to die first and also, I’m not sure I’m that devoted.

From the museum it was back to our hotel for a shower (me) the gym (him) and then back on the tram for an evening out. We went off to an area within the resort called Rimba where we had a drink at the rooftop bar overlooking Uluwatu hills. No sunset tonight as it was cloudy. Then down to a forest restaurant for a great meal before back on the tram to head to bed.

We know we have to leave the resort at some stage and we will, but day one was an orientation. Exploring outside of the resort seems a stretch when there’s so much on offer here. Tomorrow morning we have aqua pilates. We have a couples massage to book in. The Favourite Husband has a private Muay Thai session on Tuesday and we are off to Uluwatu temple Wednesday. Oh, and did I mention the famous Rock Bar? I really fancy a Balinese cooking lesson and then there’s the curate your own botanicals gin over on the farm. What about the stand up paddle board yoga? Or the guided meditation? I might try to squeeze in the sunset parade before the traditional cultural dinner and markets. I’ll need a holiday by the time we get to Singapore …

Our hotel lobby