Just over six hours flying time – and significantly less if you live in Perth – Bali is the perfect tropical island getaway for Australians who want to chill out for a few days.
We decided to take a forty minute ferry from the main island and stay on Nusa Lembongan, where it’s quieter.
The air-conditioned Karang Island Villas near Mushroom Bay were comfortable and spacious, with our own swimming pool. Breakfast was included and although there was a kitchen if we had wanted to cook we ate out for lunch and dinner. The villas offer a shuttle service and charge a flat rate of about $15 when you need to go anywhere. Nothing is very far away, but sometimes you just don’t feel like walking in the heat.
By and large the food was pretty good – mostly Western dishes, with a few local options such as satay, nasi goreng, mee goreng and local fish. And there’s plenty of choice of restaurants.
Dinner at The Curry Traders near Jungubatu beach was the culinary highlight of the week. Crispy Eggplant Cigars and Asian Fish served with a creamy curry sauce were amongst several memorable dishes we shared. Run by an Australian couple this place is not to be missed.
We experienced some very heavy downpours on a couple of days, but January is in the rainy season and who cares? There’s always a book to read and even snorkeling can be done in the rain: once you’re wet, you’re wet! Highly-skilled divemaster “Dollar,” who also teaches surfing, can be booked to take anyone with a Padi scuba diving license down below the surface to admire the turtles, majestic manta rays and smaller colourful fish which live around the coral reefs.
Island Massage at Mushroom Beach was within walking distance of our villa, offeringa high quality massage for a very reasonable price. More upmarket, offering the whole spa experience, is Spring Spa at Jungutbatu Beach, where my daughter and I spent a couple of hours to celebrate her birthday.
When local chef Puspa had a stroke in her late 30s she decided it was time to change to a less stressful lifestyle. She now gives cooking demonstrations and uses the income to fund a dog refuge. Fourteen very lucky dogs now share her home and there will undoubtedly be more to come. We learnt to make several local dishes, including crispy corn fritters and chicken satays, while helping this worthy cause.
The first photo is of Puspa and the second one shows the locals harvesting seaweed which is dried and sent to Denmark to be turned into health foods and medicines
Curry Traders: Jalan Jungutbatu, Nusa Lembongan
Dollar Scuba Diving Instructor: dollardoru@gmail.com
Island Spa: +62 823 5768 2175
Puspa Cooking School: lembongan.cooking on Instagram
Spring Spa: lembongan@springspa.com
