The Authentic Bali Experience

Gratefully, last year I managed to bring my family to Bali. Mostly it was for the Maybank Bali Half Marathon. But since we're there, we took the time to experience the island.

Unfortunately, that didn't went as planned. We spent too much time on the road.  That is the main reason that I've got nothing interesting to tell about the trip to Bali.

But then I stumbled across Trevor Noah's Netflix clip. He told about his authentic Bali experience. That instantly got me inspired.

If I have to pick one, our 2nd stop place in Gianyar was the most memorable experience.

While Denpasar is the most well known city in Pulau Bali, our run will be held in Gianyar. The city is approximately 35km from Denpasar.

My biggest regret was I made the decisions to choose our stopping places. 

When we arrived, it was late in the evening. Our tummy were grumbling, especially Haziq. The host served us with some fried rice. It was one of the most delicious that we had in Bali.

On the paper the stop was matched to our requirements. Our entourage included 3 kids, so a family room is necessary. The price was also doesn't really hurt our pocket.

What we didn't realized afterward when the host brought us to our rooms was that it was a whole separate complex from the others.  

This is what Haziq had to say once he saw our rooms. 

"Abah, betul ke kita nak tidur di sini malam ni. Nampak sangat menyeramkan..."

Our driver quipped.

"Ye la adik. Pakcik juga fikir begitu..."

The place oozed some serious creepy vibes.. It was a two large rooms that have a empty complex in the middle. In fact, the layout is just the same as the native's Bali house complex. The 2 tiger statues that guarding at its front lane completed the façade. 

Our location was really out from town. There were no activities at night at that place. We walked to the main complex of the hotel and also to the small grocery stores during the lunch. It was pitch black. The roads were small and narrow.

A entirely another world of interesting experience.

Haziq was quite adamant that everyone sleep together in one bed that night. Of course we didn't. We had 2 rooms with both have king size beds. After that, he insist that I didn't switch off the lightings of the room that night.

Other than being creepy, the rooms were great.

Around us were the paddy field village. The air is refreshing.

At night, we could totally hear the insects and sometimes some animals from the wood.

We don't even have to use the air-cond. The pollution didn't touch this side of the world that badly yet.

The next morning, Haziq, myself, Iqbal and Adilah had our Maybank Half Marathon Run at the Bali Zoo.

The pool was great when we got back from the run. The breakfast was delicious after the long run.

But it served the whole group better because we don't have to spend another night here and went back to Denpasar. 

That was out authentic Bali experience

Should leave picking our hotels to Iqbal next time....