Explore with Fran : Exploring the best of Bali

The importance of food on culture

Having been out of Australia for a few weeks now there are some quintessential Aussie foods that I could crave. If I thought about it for too long.

Our last week in Western Australia I had one such craving and so found myself enjoying something so Australian it would be remiss of me not to indulge.

The meat pie. It is an institution in Australia and the one I had at the French Bakery in Cowaramup satisfied the craving I had. I knew that for quite some time the cuisine would be very different. For the next two weeks we would be travelling around Bali.

Back to Bali

Bali is somewhere that we have spent quite some time exploring. It is an island that keeps drawing us back for many reasons. The people. The enduring culture. The food. And yes, dare I say it, the chaos. It is vibrant. Alive. And lots of fun. To start our 2026 overseas travels we would be spending a couple of weeks indulging in nasi goreng and Bintang.

We flew into Bali, arriving late as appears to be the norm for us. Over the years the airport in Bali has improved no end. At one time all arrivals were met with huge lines at immigration. Undergoing the laborious process of obtaining your visa on arrival. Taking a very long time.

Now the arrival visa, giving you a 30 day stay, can be applied for online and with the dozens of electronic passport gates we are now through within seconds. Literally. On our last few visits, as today, there are lots of free gates so we just walk up, scan our passports and we are in the country.

Chaotic Canggu

The benefit of landing at 12.30am is that the traffic on the roads is a little quieter than the usual chaos. This resulted in our anticipated hour plus ride being less than than 45 minutes. A record and we were pleased to get to bed just a little earlier than expected. A quick check in and we were in our room and in bed by 2am.

Our first week was to be spent in Canggu. A place on the west coast that we have previously visited. We even stayed at the same hotel as it is central, close to so many restaurants, and a ten minute walk to the beach for those Balinese sunsets. Breakfast was included and was typical of hotel breakfasts in larger Asian hotels. An egg station, warm Asian dishes, and a buffet of cereals, breads, fruits and yoghurts.

This is where being strategic pays off. Working out what foods to have and how many trips you will make. I tend to have “3 courses”, starting out with noodles and curry, moving onto fried eggs, and finishing with a few small bakery items and a final coffee. By this point I feel I have had an elegant sufficiency and should be good through to lunchtime.

A typical day would see us finishing breakfast and spending the morning around and in the pool. This is something we learned over the years as the weather in Bali is tropical and often rains in the afternoon. That said, in the two weeks that we were on the island we saw very little rain. Then, before lunch it would be time in the gym to maintain the balance that is so important when you are on the road. Some cardio to raise the heart rate, a few weights, and ending with a little stretching.

If you have travelled in Asia you will know that scooters far outnumber cars on the road. And walking anywhere in Bali is to be aware that scooters come from all directions. Not always in the direction that traffic is flowing. At times the pavements, what there are of them are, also full of scooter riders trying to shave seconds off their trip. It pays to be alert at all times.

Alert, not just for the scooters but also for where the pavement suddenly disappears. Yes, it is common to look down and notice that the pavement has disappeared leaving a yawning great hole that it would be easy to do yourself a lot of damage with. Having negotiated the tricky pavements and had a busy day on our feet it was bliss to end the day with a foot massage, a very common pastime across South East Asia.

To celebrate our final night in Canggu we had a dinner reservation at Yuki. A Japanese restaurant that we had thoroughly enjoyed in the past here in Canggu. On a different Bali trip we discovered that there is an outlet of Yuki in Uluwatu and we enjoyed dinner there too. In even better news, we were to discover later in the trip that their third restaurant will open later this year, in Ubud.

Serenity in Sideman

All part of the charm of this beautiful little island. An island that we love exploring and after five nights in Canggu we were off to the middle of the island. To a village that was new to us. Sideman. A two and half hour taxi ride away. The distance wasn’t too far but the roads are so busy that it takes a long time to get anywhere.

It was worth the drive. Sideman is stunning. High in the hills, surrounded by resplendent green rice fields and sat in the shadow of the hulking Mt Agung, Bali’s highest peak. An active volcano that last erupted in 2019 we were hoping she remains sleepy through our visit.

Our accommodation was called Samanvaya, a collection of villas around a number of swimming pools. Amazing views in every direction. My mornings started with hot strong Balinese coffee sat outside in silence taking in the expansive views. Paradise.

Being a small traditional village there was not much to do other than enjoy the tranquility. It really was a side of Bali you don’t often see. A local stopped us and asked if we were enjoying Bali “from the 1970s?”

We were. Immensely. In the more built up areas of Bali modern hotels and restaurants now predominate. Here in Sideman it is all local homestays and warungs (a local restaurant). A true step back in time and more reminiscent of my first visit over 30 years ago.

Whilst in Sideman we celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary with a great meal at the hotel. We even managed to splurge on a glass of wine, forgoing the customary Bintang lager. Pre dinner saw us enjoying the 2 for 1 cocktails and a few games of UNO. The less said about the result the better.

Closing out the Balinese adventure

Our final four nights were to be spent in Ubud, the spiritual centre of Bali. A favourite spot of ours. We stayed at Kano Sari, home to six villas in a traditional Balinese compound. Whilst Ubud remains a chaotic place in terms of the traffic, a mere ten minute walk north and we were enveloped by just the sounds of nature.

Each morning and evening we had a very strange noise outside our villa. I initially thought it was a large gecko but it made the strangest noise, almost like a little bark. It became our “nature’s alarm clock” without us establishing what it might be.

Our last day in Bali saw us visiting the Sacred Monkey Forest, me making my traditional visit to the tattoo shop before we both went and had an hour long massage. A perfect end to a perfect couple of weeks in Bali. A place we know we will return to.