Our first day in Seminyak was spent almost exclusively at Potato Head Beach Club. We soaked in those last rays of Uluwatu sunshine and packed ourselves up in our taxi for the three hour traffic jammed journey, finally getting to Seminyak and collapsing onto daybeds at the beach club. More on Potato Head tomorrow.
Our second day was the real big kahuna – we learned how to surf!
Stopping first for breakfast at Cafe Organic – a cute little cafe in Seminyak town. We arrived right before the rush and were seated almost immediately, although you could have fooled us because it took about 45 minutes for our breakfast to come out.
I wanted to like this place (and I did, kinda) but I do think they were just too busy and understaffed and it made for a poor experience. The acai bowl was good but not excellent,
the breakfast burrito was yummy but poorly constructed and fell apart in minutes,
the poached eggs with beans and marinated tomatoes and mushrooms was actually fantastic,
but I just can’t get over that an iced coffee took over 30 minutes to bring. My annoyance might have been egged on a bit by the headache I was nursing but like, hello, it’s iced coffee and people need it TO. SURVIVE. Who’s with me?!
With breakfast over we rode our scooter 40 minutes south to Kuta beach. TT had signed us up for surfing lessons at Up2You Surf School and it was a prompt 11am start.
We suited up and were divided into smaller instructable groups before heaving our boards across the street and into the sand to learn technique. We practiced laying on our boards and paddling through the sand and then jumping up into position for about 30 minutes before heading into the water!
We spent the full day practicing on the waves, falling over, getting pummeled by other waves, and then dragging our boards right back out to try again.
Here is picture evidence of TT ripping those waves, brah.
And here is picture evidence that I literally never been worse at a sport in my entire life.
Surfing is HARD!!! Fun but so tiring and literally so difficult. I could not, for the life of me, stand up on my board. One of the instructors told me I couldn’t do it because I had succumbed to the ocean and let her win to which I raised an eyebrow and then went back out, determined to beat the ocean at its own tricky little game. I finally did get up (!!) which might have been top 5 most exciting moments of my life but unfortunately, it seems the photographer thought I was a lost cause so stopped taking pictures of me before I triumphed. While the above pic is no clear indicator, you’ll just have to take my word for it.
We only had one thing on our exhausted minds when we finished – FOOD! We had been told about Brazilian Aussie BBQ, a restaurant that combines Australian and Brazilian BBQ to make one delicious unlimited meat sweat induced feast. Plate after plate of skewered meat prepared multiple ways is brought out for you to devour. We were the only ones in the restaurant since it was 4pm and we were basically the BBQ King and Queen. We ate an egregious amount and then hopped back on our scooter to chase that sunset.
One thing I will say, Bali has incredible sunsets. We saw some really stellar day2night moments during out stay in both Uluwatu and Seminyak. If you are looking for a great place to enjoy those orange and pink hues, head to Pantai Batubelig. There is uninterrupted beach both ways you look and a fun little tiki bar set up that has beanbags, music, and drinks.
We dropped off our scooter and took a cab into town for drinks.
If you go to Seminyak, you MUST go to La Favela. I cannot even adequately describe this awesome space. Think of a whole city block over which sprawls an enormous three story building with the roof conveniently removed for open air enjoyment. It is decorated in the most brilliant lush greenery and set up with tiny sitting areas in every little nook and cranny. you can truly get lost in there. They are open for meals but we just went for drinks. We ended up returning later in the night when it had turned into more of a dance club and it was buzzing! Go for food, go for drinks, go to dance – if you’re in Seminyak, just GO!
We also stopped by a bar directly across the street from La Favela called Red Carpet that was recommended to us by a friend. I would also highly recommend this place! It is a champagne bar and all of the waiters and waitresses where little champagne server outfits. there are other drinks to be had, of course, but if you’re craving a chilled bottle of bubbly, this is your spot. it’s outside (as most places in Bali are) and has giant TV screens that play old timey music videos while patrons belt out the lyrics and sway in unison. It was like one big party and was lots of fun! They even have tiny champagne bottle shaped sidecars that men dressed as bellhops will ferry you home in should you need a lift.
Seminyak is a fun, fun place. It is a bit more touristy than Uluwatu (and I assume other parts of Bali) but it is great fun.The two center is easily accessible and filled with the cutest little local shops and cafes. The beaches are spectacular, the sunsets completely engulf you, and the nightlife is trendy and super fun.
One more day to go!
