Uluwatu & The Trouble With Monkeys

Our first day in Bali, I had arranged for a little bit of sightseeing and a bunch of relaxing. Besides, we were jetlagged after 48 hours of travel and layovers!

We had arranged for a driver and private tour guide through the hotel. While this sounds awfully luxe, it was incredibly cheap; around $80 for ten hours versus a group tour that would have had a set itinerary and probably cost upwards of $50 per person. I had given the hotel our itinerary in advance so our driver knew where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do.

Our first stop was Uluwatu Temple. I had seen so many photos of Bali on Pinterest and the photos I had seen of Uluwatu were some of my favorites. When we got to the temple, the ticket handler tied yellow sashes around our waists (to show respect to the temple) and advised us to beware of monkeys. I had prepared myself for monkeys in the monkey forest but had totally forgotten that they would be wandering around here as well. We secured all of our sunglasses and hats and walked in.

The views were incredible and the ocean breeze was so lovely. It was a gorgeous sunny day and everything was absolutely beautiful. Even the monkeys were behaving. Or so I thought.

On our way out, I heard our tour guide say "Uh oh". I turned and out of the corner of my eye, saw a small monkey clutching my camera. All articles say to not fight the monkeys lest they attack but frankly, when one sneaks up on you, you forget how to react. I looked down and screamed. In my case, this worked out because apparently, I scared the living shit out of that monkey and he promptly froze with his hands in the air like a criminal with a gun to his head. I briskly walked (or ran) away and when I turned back, the monkey was standing in the same position and staring at me like I had just tried to rob HIM. Looking back, this was hilarious. At the time, it was a little terrifying. 

I think this was the culprit. 

Arriving in Bali

Luckily the flight from Singapore to Bali was one of the shorter flights.

I had heard a lot of really poor experiences people have had going through Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar and was kind of apprehensive up until arrival. There were stories about corrupt officials, airport staff holding their luggage ransom for bribes, etc. And of course there are those horror stories and paranoia about accidentally becoming drug mules if someone slips something into your luggage (we've seen the movies, okay).

I have to say, I experienced none of this. We had recently discovered that US citizens no longer have to pay the Visa upon arrival at most Indonesian entry points but were told that if the officials decided to charge it there was nothing we could do about it. When passing through immigrations, I dealt with possibly the most pleasant immigrations official ever and she explained that there were only a few points in Indonesia that still charge it but that Bali was not one of them. My mother was a bit concerned when it took me twice as long to pass through immigrations as her but that was simply because the official and I were chatting away. 

Security and customs were quite fast and everyone we encountered was at the very least cordial and many were really nice and friendly. Everyone seemed really confused or in a hurry when they went through so perhaps they were just happy to deal with people who didn't look confused or rushed. Ngurah Rai is also a really beautiful airport. It was very clean and well equipped. The only cluster was where the drivers meet visitors in the arrival hall, but we still managed to find our driver within ten minutes.

The trip to Ize Seminyak Hotel was less than 30 minutes which was great because we were exhausted. Upon arriving I was thrilled to see that the hotel looked just like Google Street view. Yes, I check Google Street view. We got checked in very quickly and had a nice little upgrade thanks to my Expedia Elite membership. The room was extremely clean and welcoming and the staff was amazing. Even before our arrival, I had been communicating with a few staff members for tours and whatnot and they had been wonderful. 

We were too tired to go out so we grabbed dinner downstairs at Meja, the inhouse restaurant. Wonderful food and atmosphere.

Singapore's Changi International Airport Round 01

Singapore's Changi International Airport is kind of amazing. They really do prepare for long layovers and stopovers with all kinds of amenities like a giant slide (which I never actually saw myself), gardens, a movie theatre, nap lounges, multiple 24 hour food options, etc. There is free wifi throughout the airport and it is regulated (you scan your passport for a code if you are not using cellular services on your phone). The airport even offers tours for people who want to get out of the airport and see a few sights before catching their next flight!

One of the things I found most intriguing (weird, funny, same thing) were the large statues of classic Singaporean food dishes. This year is the 50th anniversary of the country's independence and the vibe at the airport and all over the country is extremely festive.

I took lots of photos of the giant Hainanese Chicken Rice, the Satay, the Chili Crab, and the huge glittery Durian.

Yes, you can even sit in a giant slice.

I managed to stop by the orchid garden as well during this stop.

And of course, grabbed a bite at one of their 24 hour food courts. Kaya Toast and Char Kway Teow.

And while I'm usually totally against going to an American chain while traveling, I couldn't help stopping by the Swensen's Ice Cream inside of the airport. I had celebrated my fourth birthday here ages and ages ago and they actually had a few Singapore specific dishes and treats!

Singapore Stopover

We got to Singapore at about 2:15AM after another 7 hour and 30 minute flight.

Fortunately, Changi Airport is designed for long layovers and stopovers. But more on that later.

We had until about 1:30PM until we had to be at the airport so that left us the whole morning to do something. I decided on one attraction for that day just so that we wouldn't have to rush too much. We paid one of the left luggage ports to hold our carry-on bags and then too the MRT into town. The ride was about $2.40 Singapore Dollars so it was quite cheap. 

I had arranged for a breakfast and tour at the Singapore Zoo. I remembered going there when I was about three years old and it was a lot of fun so we decided it would be interesting to revisit. The zoo shuttle picked us up at one of the major hotels that was close to an MRT Station and drove us through town on the way to the zoo. After arriving, we were quickly escorted into the breakfast area.

I had seen a lot of complaints about the breakfast spread not having a whole lot of Western items but frankly, I think they did. I loaded up on the local cuisine (a whole plate of Roti Prata and some guava juice). Shortly after settling in, the orangutans came out by the dining room. It was nice eating and watching the monkeys just hang out and eat their breakfast. Super cute.

After breakfast, we took the tram around the zoo. I remembered this tram ride from when I was really really young. It was really hote and humid so after the tram ride, some wandering, and a trip to the giftshop, we were ready to head back to the air conditioned airport.