The Best of Uluwatu

Bukit Cafe Tomato Egg Bake and Bacon

Single Fin Sundays

Single Fin

Fresh juice at the Corner Cafe

Bukit Cafe Breakfast Burrito 

Suka

After two months in our Uluwatu nook, we're sad to leave but feel accustomed to life in Southern Bali and ready to release our "Best of Uluwatu" list to link you with some of our favorites.  Many of these places you'll need; some of them, you'll want; others you'll wonder how you lived without.  We agree on most, but for a few categories you'll see our personal thoughts...overall, you'll can't go wrong in Uluwatu.  

The best motorbike rental company...

• Ulu's Family, on the right as you turn off towards Single Fin
• Safe bikes, deals for renting for longer periods of time, personable service

The best place to buy, rent, or customize a surf board...

• White Monkey Surf Shop

The best nightlife...

• Single Fin, Sunday Nights
• You have to get there early to get a table, but even if you can't get one you'll enjoy an epic sunset, bird's eye view of awesome surf, great DJs, and people from all over the world

The best driver...

• Mario, WhatsApp +62 896-9832-4488
• Kind, helpful, and so reliable

The best activity coordinator...

• Agung, WhatsApp +62 896-8393-0428
• Organized Mt. Batur, secret waterfalls, Gili transport and beyond
• We met him back in February and he's a gem

The best laundry...

• Padang Padang Laundry, across from Buddha Soul; this small place accounts for every item when you drop it off, giving you a copy of that record that you bring back for pickup
• Laundry smells great and is nicely folded, but they get busy and often need two full days

The best dive company...

• Bali International Diving Professionals
• Avandy Djunaidi is the Yoda of diving; don't learn anywhere else. (Note: He's not technically in Uluwatu, but he'll arrange transport and he knows underwater Bali better than anyone else.)

The best daytime beach...

• If it's low tide, get down to Single Fin and head left though the caves.
• You'll find a secret beach with shipwreck ruins and a lot of privacy

The best sunset...

• Balangan Beach Sunset Point
• Use maps.me to get here through the Bingin Beach entrance; the black sands are worth it

The best place to get a book...

• Yeye's is an Uluwatu staple- great food, beautiful atmosphere, awesome gift shop, and huge selection of books
• Trade two you've read for one that you want

The best breakfast...

• Bukit Cafe- anything on the menu
• Buddha Soul- the chocolate smoothie bowl, and all of their other healthy options, will keep you coming back 
  • Be sure to try Om Burger for lunch (same owner, epic black rice buns)
• Corner Cafe- There are two, and they're both great.  Cash only, but great prices.

Best juices and smoothies

• Yoga Searcher- fresh, healthy, organic (you can do yoga in the back and even book villas there)

The best Italian food...

• La Baracca is a newcomer to the Uluwatu scene, but the owners are from Rome and their food is exceptional (Jay's Pick)
  • Beautiful nighttime ambiance and personable service
• Rolling Fork is one of our favorite places to enjoy a long, slow, blogging dinner (Chantal's pick)
  • Homemade pasta is a must, and the lava cake will make you wish you started with dessert

The best milkshake...

• Suka Espresso has pretty much the best EVERYTHING
• Their Unicorn Milkshake is unbelievable 
  • This isn't about a milkshake, but the Lemme Wrap (chicken wrap) will change your life.

Canggu

Yesterday we set out on a 3 day excursion to Canggu, motorbiking up the western side of Bali.  Canggu came into our plans for different reasons.  Jay met a Bali enthusiast a few weeks before we left who insisted he see Canggu.  I am a kombucha enthusiast and found Happy Kombucha's Instagram back in February, filled with beautiful displays of their super-healthy drink flavors amid dreamy Bali scenes; the company is based in Canggu and I was eager to see the area.  A mini adventure brewed (kombucha pun intended). 

We've had days of rain, but the sky cleared for our adventure and we jammed a backpack full of the things we'd need for the week.  Jay's become a natural on the motorbike, following the locals up on sidewalks when the traffic is too busy on the streets.  It's not my favorite trick, but we are getting places much faster.  I'm squeezing his leg with my death grip less and less and can't complain because I get to see the beautiful world fly by (sometimes directly into our path, but that's a story for another time).

 "Controlled chaos" is the best way I've heard the streets of Bali described.  You have to just go for it, because if you stop and wait for it to be your turn you'll sit there all day.  In a way, our trip is kind of like that- diving into life and going for it.  Of course, obstacles pop up along the way. As we left Uluwatu the police flagged us down and asked to see Jay's driver's license.  They gave us a whole song and dance about needing an international driver's license, which can only be obtained in the home country, and being subject to a fine, but we were "very lucky" and they would give us a "good deal" and allow us to "buy" a permit for the rest of our time here...in case we were stopped again.  They hurried us, because they'd stopped the next bunch of confused tourists.  I scrambled to find the 300,000 rupiah ($20 ish) for the scam permit, but didn't have the full amount in my pockets.  As I started to dig through the backpack the man said, "Give me what you have.  Special deal for you today," and settled for the lesser amount so they could "help" the next set of tourists.  The European couple walking in looked terrified until I rolled my eyes.  On the road again, with our very official handwritten permit.

We made one more stop on our way up, and it's my fault.  I saw a Starbucks and had to see how it compared to my stateside addiction.  The drinks were the same, but the bakery had a complete Bali twist.  purple yam cake, pandan coconut brulee, and corned beef cowboy puff pastries shared space in the glass display.  But my favorite part was the Hindu offering at the counter (found in all Balinese businesses) that included a cake and shot of espresso.  Perfection. 

starbucks hindu offering

the best welcome

We continued our journey north, with the highway crossing waterways and crowded city eventually giving way to rice paddies and narrow streets.  We drove past our villa 4-5 times because the sign was tucked off to the side, but it was love at first sight when we saw Canggu and when we arrived at Ngeluwungan Boutique Villa.  My name was written on the welcome board as we pulled up to the property, and the young staff hasn't stopped smiling since we arrived.

This villa is pure magic.  It's a block from the beach, but nestled into rice paddies.  You can count the number of rooms on one hand, and each is spacious and filled with beautiful wooden furniture.  Plumeria flowers were scattered everywhere when we arrived and we enjoyed refreshing welcome drinks by the saltwater pool.  It's a true oasis, and the skies were blue for the first time this week.

Ngeluwungan Boutique Villa

For dinner, we headed to nearby Echo Beach, which is filled with restaurants and shops along a spectacular black sand beach.  Colorful bean bag chairs and umbrellas line the shore, and fresh fish is grilling from the open air restaurants.  The sunset filled the sky with colors that only seem to exist in Bali, and Canggu found a special place in our hearts.  We're excited to explore here the next few days.

refreshments at echo beach club

echo beach sunset

Making it Official

Over the past few days, we have felt more like island people. The first week or so we traveled by foot to get some local food or hit the closest beaches, but we finally hit home with renting a motor scooter for the summer. Funny story: we bargained a great deal for renting a brand new scooter, but we had to borrow an old, crappy, used one for the first day because they were putting a surf rack on the new one for us.

The first day, I (Jay), was zooming all around the island and through the windy streets. Not to mention, they gave Chantal a pink helmet to rock **chuckle**. I love the rush I get when I'm cruising through the Uluwatu streets.

We took it on an exploring adventure until we heard something scraping against the cement. Chantal freaking out, I could have sworn it was a flat tire... (great, just our luck). As I pulled off the street, we found out that it was just a piece of the plastic of the side panel hanging off. Phew, Mr. Fixit (me) kicked that sucker right back into place and continued the journey. You can say our "adventure" got cut short.  

Anyway, the next day we went back to the rental spot and picked up our brand new, shiny black, Honda Vario '17 with a surf rack. We set out on our first mission, looking for the perfect surf board. We must have hit 15 shops until I saw my baby.

A 6' red, wide body Mayhem board that is almost identical to the one I have at home. Bargaining took a while on this board, because the girl who owned this board usually only rents it; apparently, she has too many memories with it. The "I promise I will sell it back to you in 2 months when I leave" won her over and she let it go "temporarily." 

No less then 20 minutes later, I was out in the water at the Padang Padang beach break while Chantal went for a run. Talking about making it official in Bali, right?  

NEW TOYS

TAKING OFF FOR THE FIRST SET

FRONT PORCHIN' IT