Bali 10 days: My first trip as a solo female traveller!
2026 archival note: This article was originally published in April 2014 and is reproduced here substantially as written. Prices, businesses, links, technology and travel information reflect the original 2014 experience and may no longer be current.
Hello, my dear reader!
My apologies (again) for the lack of posts! I have positive feedback from you guys, that you enjoy reading my posts -- I appreciate it and thank you very much! If there is any topic in particular that you would like me to write about, please let me know.
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Yes, I am back safe and sound from 10 days as a solo female traveller in Bali, for which I am thankful. I had an amazing time in Bali, mainly because I made new friends along the way who took good care of me and had a 'relaxed' itinerary which I'll explain later. Needless to say, most of my family and friends were not supportive because the idea of it sounded very dangerous ("don't you have a friend who can go with you?") and they were right, but the few who were encouraging gave me sound advice and so I went with that.
I have several requests from friends who are planning trips to Bali to do a photo entry, and some who are curious about what I did during the trip ("isn't it boring to spend 10 days in Bali by yourself?"), so I thought it would be good to consolidate everything - the planning, the itinerary, my thoughts - into one extremely long entry, instead of dividing it into parts. In addition, I am trying to 'pay it forward', since I usually read many travel blogs and reviews while planning my trips, so I hope that this entry will be useful to whoever reads it, just as how the aforementioned travel blogs and reviews have been useful to me.
I have included clear headings and highlighted some key phrases, so I would suggest scrolling through the entire entry to pick out and zoom in on the ones that interest you.
Disclaimer: This entry is entirely written by me and I am not sponsored by any company or anyone. The views and experiences are all mine and I'm just sharing my S$0.02 worth (two cents' worth). On hindsight, I was extremely fortunate -- I could have been easily kidnapped or attacked by a group. I am just very thankful that nothing untoward happened to me at all.
I would not encourage or discourage anyone from doing a similar trip, since I believe it's a personal choice, and you have to weigh the pros and cons yourself. I suggest reading the "9 points I had considered while planning the trip" section below and see if any of these apply to you.
If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to drop me a comment. :)
Why I decided to do the trip:
Firstly, I am naturally a painfully shy and reserved introvert, despite my extrovert facade. If I am in a group, you will probably not hear me speak at all; I will just listen quietly. Therefore, I decided to step out of my comfort zone - how cliché, but true - by going to a city which I've never been to, for a good 10 days. I wanted to meet new people and have new adventures along the way, which I felt could be provided only by a 'relaxed' itinerary.
Secondly, I wanted to do my first real solo leisure trip. I did a 'solo' trip last November: I went to Melbourne for a vacation and also to attend the Fight For Life 2013 [https://www.facebook.com/events/390418907744666/?ref=22] cancer fund-raising martial arts seminar with my martial arts friends from Melbourne and Auckland (and made new friends), but it wasn't really a solo trip since the only time I was alone was during the airport transit and on the plane. During my eight days in Melbourne, I had learnt how to relax and plan the itinerary for the day - on the same morning - so I was rather sure that I was going to do the same for this Bali solo trip.
Last but not least, I just wanted to be alone for a while. That's all. I managed to clear my head over the course of the 10 days, which was something that I didn't quite expect. It really helped that the different environments were conducive for me: I was 31 metres below sea level for the deep dive and did a night dive at a real shipwreck under the watchful eyes of my dive instructor, Chris; I was calmed by the vast and flat beach shores of Bali (Kuta, Nusa Dua and Jimbaran); I sat on the sand while taking in the brilliant orange-red sunset on the Legian/Kuta beaches before going for dinner and a movie; I stood by the cliffs to watch the powerful waves crash at Tanah Lot and Ulu Watu; I admired the perfectly-manicured rice terraces; I walked barefoot on the moist moss-covered rock surface of the enormous Gunung Kawi temple -- it was so quiet, tranquil and spiritual.
9 points I had considered while planning the trip:
1. I have travelled solo for work several times, so I am familiar with airport and hotel check-ins, airport transits, and so on. Also, I am completely comfortable sleeping in a hotel room alone, because of said past work trips and overseas jujitsu tournaments (my team mates were guys, so I usually had a room to myself).
2. I am considered tall and muscular for an Asian woman, so I probably look like I will struggle like crazy - which I will - if I am attacked. Also, I like to think that I am rather fit for a woman: I can sprint and also regularly take part in long-distance and obstacle races (NTU X-Physique, Commando Challenge 2013, Men's Health Urbanathlon, Army Half Marathon, etc), and I train in judo and kyokushin karate at least twice weekly.
While I have been very fortunate to not have any untoward encounter, knowing some self-defence techniques helps. If you like to learn some self-defence moves, feel free to ask me -- I used to teach sport jujitsu ladies self-defence as a jujitsu trainer in a People's Association community centre for a few months, in 2009-2010.
3. I know my personal 'tolerance' for a 'long alone trip' is about 10 days; I know this from my past work, FFL and jujitsu tournament trips, which ranged from three to 10 days. Everyone has a different 'tolerance' level, so if you are planning a solo trip, I would strongly suggest considering this factor.
4. I read many travel blogs and reviews. I have mentioned this earlier and it really helps to read as many reviews as you can. You have to determine if the reviews are legit, though. If you're unsure, you could ask your friends for their advice. Social media is a very powerful tool; I had asked about what I should do while in Bali and many of my friends gave their recommendations about what to do and what not to do -- thanks, everyone! :)
5. I bought travel insurance from a friend who is also my agent, as I was concerned about food poisoning. I didn't buy the one that covered diving, since my friend and I figured that I would be in the safe hands of a dive instructor.
6. I chose a cheap no-frills hotel, so I had to bring my own daily toiletries which I always do, anyway. I forgot to bring my lip balm and I was reluctant to pay USD10 for a generic brand, so I did without it. In short: bring your own supplies if you're going to Bali. Anyway, I knew I was going to forfeit one night because of my one-night stay during the Tulamben dive trip; in the end, I forfeited two more nights, because of an impromptu decision to stay two nights in Ubud (I'm glad I did), and it was okay since the room rate was relatively cheap (SGD30/night).
Staying in a cheap no-frills hotel meant that I had to take extra safety precautions. There was no safe deposit box in the room, but there was a safety deposit box service at the front desk which used a two-key system (two keys were needed to open the box: they had one key and I had one key to keep with me) -- it was a thin slender metal box, which meant that I could put only my passport and cash, which was fine; nothing was stolen.
In addition, thanks to a friend's suggestion, I decided to put a stool against the door, in case anyone broke in during the night. I'm a pretty light sleeper, so I knew that the stool was sufficient. Maybe it was my paranoia, but the security was pretty low, compared to other hotels that I've stayed in.
7.Always contact people before the trip and be very sure about the dates and times (this also applies to flight timings), because you have no one to rely on during the trip, and people will graciously make time for you and expect you to show up on those dates (duh). I had read several reviews and decided to go with Bali Scuba to do my advanced open water dive licence, which was a great choice!
I also decided (at the last minute) that I would like to bring my grappling gi to roll at Synergy MMA, which was also a great choice! I've brought my gi to San Francisco, Vancouver and Melbourne, so I figured I'd bring it to Bali too. I did a quick Google search and found out that I have seven mutual friends - all well-respected names in the MA scene in Singapore - with the head instructor, Niko, so I contacted him via Facebook and rolled at his gym at the scheduled time.
The Ubud contacts were given to me by a friend, but they were local Bali numbers, so I made sure to contact the Ubud guide as soon as I found a local prepaid SIM card. In addition, it is good to ensure that all appointments after the trip for the next two weeks are well taken care of. It is nice to come home to just rest after the 10-day trip and also, it is quite difficult to contact people with the poor wifi in Bali.
8.Travel light; I usually opt for one hardcase luggage and a shoulder bag. Since Bali is a tropical country like Singapore, it's easy to pack. In fact, I don't know why my luggage was 16.7kg when I left Singapore for Bali and 15.5kg when I left Bali for Singapore. The popular travel tip "bring half the clothes and twice the money" is a good gauge. If you run out of clothes to wear, just use your body soap or gel to wash your clothes and make sure you have enough time to air-dry them before you want to wear them. Another option is to bring a small packet of detergent, which is what I did for this trip, since I had my grappling gi, sportbra, sports tights, and singlet.
9. I like and can walk for hours along the streets, as long as they are relatively safe. It's important to pack light, yet bring the essentials such as your mobile phone, wallet, hotel room key (or you can leave it at the front desk), waterbottle, tissue paper (it's important to me, heh), and an umbrella. This was also useful when I went to visit the Gunung Kawi temple, since there were many steps to climb on the way to the temple, and I also walked through the padi fields which required some balance.
· Useful Bahasa Indonesian words and phrases:
· Selamat pagi/malam = Good morning / night
· Terima kasih = Thank you
· Sama sama = Same to you (This is the usual reply from the other person if you say "Selamat pagi/malam" or "Terima kasih")
· Apa khabar? = How are you?
· Baik = Good
· Pergi (hotel/airport/desired location) = Go to (somewhere)
· Count up to 10
· Satu orang = One person (table for one when at a restaurant)
· Berapa? = How much?
· Kiri / Kana = Left / Right (directions)
· Mana? = Where? (I'm a woman, not a man, so I will ask for directions if I'm lost)
· Mau / Tak mau = Want / Don't want
9 points that I noted while in Bali:
Pre-trip bookings:
Hotel
9 nights in Legian/Kuta: A good friend and his girlfriend went to Bali last December, so I asked him for the hotel that they had stayed at. Since it is the best hotel in Legian and I didn't want to spend that kind of money as I knew I was going to forfeit one night (and it turned out to be three nights -- Tulamben and Ubud), I searched Agoda for nearby hotels with lower prices. I found one that seemed decent, read up plenty of TripAdvisor, Agoda and other reviews I could find, and booked nine days via Agoda for a twin room with no breakfast since the hotel reviews said that the breakfast wasn't good, which was true.
1 night in Tulamben: Bali Scuba booked the room for me and I paid the hotel fees to them, together with the dive course fees.
2 nights in Ubud: On Sunday, my Ubud guide - I got his contact from a friend - suggested that I spend some time in Ubud, since it was closer to the temples, padi fields and white-water rafting rivers, which meant a much shorter travel time and more time to appreciate the beauty of these places. He helped me to book Tuesday and Wednesday nights at Suly Resort [http://www.sulyresort.com/], which is a nice Balinese-style resort with small plots of padi fields beside the restaurant where I had breakfast at.
· 9 nights in Legian/Kuta: A good friend and his girlfriend went to Bali last December, so I asked him for the hotel that they had stayed at. Since it is the best hotel in Legian and I didn't want to spend that kind of money as I knew I was going to forfeit one night (and it turned out to be three nights -- Tulamben and Ubud), I searched Agoda for nearby hotels with lower prices. I found one that seemed decent, read up plenty of TripAdvisor, Agoda and other reviews I could find, and booked nine days via Agoda for a twin room with no breakfast since the hotel reviews said that the breakfast wasn't good, which was true.
· 1 night in Tulamben: Bali Scuba booked the room for me and I paid the hotel fees to them, together with the dive course fees.
· 2 nights in Ubud: On Sunday, my Ubud guide - I got his contact from a friend - suggested that I spend some time in Ubud, since it was closer to the temples, padi fields and white-water rafting rivers, which meant a much shorter travel time and more time to appreciate the beauty of these places. He helped me to book Tuesday and Wednesday nights at Suly Resort [http://www.sulyresort.com/], which is a nice Balinese-style resort with small plots of padi fields beside the restaurant where I had breakfast at.
Flight ticket
Jetstar [http://www.jetstar.com/sg/en/home]: [http://www.jetstar.com/sg/en/home] I had considered Garuda, but they had a transit at Jakarta, so I chose Jetstar. I flew by Jetstar for my short trip last month to Phuket and the flights for both trips were fine.
Scuba
Bali Scuba : [http://www.baliscuba.com/] I had read great reviews about this dive school and the reviews were spot on! I didn't really compare prices between dive schools, since I was willing to pay more to learn with a more established dive school, as I'm not an experienced diver. As it was USD50 less if I started the dive trip on a Thursday or Sunday, I opted to start on a Thursday, so my dive trip was Thursday and Friday. I did the Advanced Open Water Dive course and PADI e-learning; if you're interested, you could email them. I had asked on Facebook if I should go to Nusa Penida (manta rays) or Tulamben (ship wreck and night dive), and a friend highly recommended the shipwreck at Tulamben, so I took her advice.
BJJ
Synergy MMA, Bali [http://www.synergyjiujitsu.com/location.html]: The gym was a 10-minute cab ride away from my Legian/Kuta hotel and I did a two-hour drop-in.
Daily expenses
· I read online and decided to set aside S$10 for every meal, so I brought S$10 x 3 meals/day x 10 days = S$300. I had set aside the same amount for shopping and other expenses, but because I bought only one pair of flip flops which cost me S$20 during the whole trip, I used the amount for restaurant food (better restaurants meant better wifi) and Rp 50 000 massages.
· While the popular tip suggests bringing twice the money, I bring 1.5 times, which came in handy when I stayed at the Ubud resort for the last two nights. I prefer cash over card, so I brought extra SGD and USD. This amount is highly personal and subjective, so just bring the amount you feel comfortable bringing.
Bali 10 days solo
Day 1 (Tuesday): Legian/Kuta - Recce
· After I had checked in, the first thing I did was to look for a prepaid 3G SIM card.
Bebek goreng and a young coconut
· I had bebek goreng and a young coconut for dinner.
· After dinner, I walked around the streets of Legian/Kuta for two hours. I bought a pair of flip-flops from one of the numerous surf/beach wear shops. Surf/beach wear is cheaper in Legian/Kuta.
Fried noodles (a la carte)
Fruit platter that came with my fried noodles
The Magani hotel
· I decided to have a good breakfast at the Magani, since I wanted to lower my risk of getting food poisoning before my advanced dive course. Since the buffet breakfast had ended at 10am, I had their a la carte set.
· BJJ: I went to roll ("roll" means to grapple) at Synergy MMA. I brought my gi, but ended up wearing only my gi pants, since the guys were training nogi. I had a very good training session, with Niko (the head instructor) teaching and demonstrating a variety of BJJ techniques, some of which were new to me. The guys had good grappling fundamentals, helped me with my BJJ techniques as I don't know BJJ, and did not steamroll me (read: they did not crush me, even though I am at least 15-30kg lighter), so I had four technical rolls with them (I don't know the duration of each roll, though), which I appreciate very much!
· I have done many drop-ins at different dojos and gyms for the past nine years, so I am perfectly fine with being the only stranger on the mat, even if it means I am usually the only woman. I have been training with guys since day one, so I am used to it.
Post-BJJ dinner: pork ribs and pineapple juice
· I took a cab back to my hotel, washed up and had dinner which was so-so.
· Many thanks to my Tulamben dive instructors, namely Toto (the lead dive instructor), Chris (my dive instructor for all five dives), Guo Lu, and Cory. I was a little concerned that I would feel out of place since I would be alone, but I had so much fun, laughter and professionalism with you guys over the two days! Guo Lu, "Jia1 Hou4" is my favourite Hokkien song and I was really pleasantly surprised when you shared it with me on your device during the drive back to the Bali Scuba HQ. Thank you for the once-in-a-lifetime experience and I will always remember how I had such a good time while doing my advanced open water course in Tulamben, Bali. :)
One night at Tulamben
Tulamben dive site
Wore my scuba wet suit while resting between dives
· Wreck dive: The wreck dive was my first dive after some time; my last dive was in Tioman, Malaysia, in March 2012. I had forgotten how to use the scuba gear, but my friendly dive instructors were patient and helped me to gear up. The different parts of the wreck were teeming with marine life!
· Navigation dive: I had to do a navigation skills test using an underwater compass and I passed. The current was a little strong, so I had to relax and just read the compass. After the skills test, it was a leisure dive.
· Night dive: The night dive at the shipwreck was my favourite dive! It wasn't as dark as I had expected since there were other divers as well. Nevertheless, I almost crashed into coral walls twice when I was away from the rest for a while, since I was so focused on moving forward that I didn't look to my left and right.
· To do a successful night dive for the first time, you have to trust your instructor: I had complete faith in Chris, since I knew that he was keeping an eye on me all the time. While we didn't dive side by side, we weren't far away from each other at all times, which is especially important for a night dive due to the low visibility. I have been told that I am good with air consumption, so I wasn't too worried about running out of air while doing the night dive. Anyway, I was hoping I would see a giant squid charging from out of nowhere, and live to tell the tale; I later watched a recent TED video [https://www.google.com.sg/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCkQtwIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ted.com%2Ftalks%2Fedith_widder_how_we_found_the_giant_squid&ei=CFJOU9X6DqWXiAeLmIGIBg&usg=AFQjCNGDXT0tH-cVjhylChNnjr1NHwUjFw&sig2=tIur3Vi7hZLJs6ZJ56wPbw&bvm=bv.64764171,d.aGc] that showed how they finally managed to have footage of a giant squid after years of research, so I think it isn't that easy to spot one. Haha.
Babi kecap, which was delicious, and it's not because I was hungry
· We had dinner at one of the restaurants nearby and the babi kecap was yummy! Or maybe it's because I like kecap manis a lot. I was exhausted, so I went to sleep at 10.15pm, instead of joining the dive instructors for a dive.
Day 4 (Friday): Tulamben Day 2 - Deep; Peak Performance Buoyancy
Good morning, Tulamben!
Breakfast by the sea
Lunch by the sea
· Deep dive: The deep dive was 31 metres below sea level, against a cliff drop. I think I had experienced slight nitrogen narcosis, since I remember wanting to dive further towards the bottom of the sea, which wasn't a wise thought, since the seabed couldn't be seen at all. Again, being good with air consumption (read: I think my longest dive was 53 minutes) meant that my dive instructors and I weren't too worried about me running out of air. Diving is such a surreal experience for me -- it's like being in another world, so I am always breathing slowly since I love the water.
· Peak Performance Buoyancy dive: My buoyancy is terrible. I'm not sure if it's partly because of my lanky physique, but I think one of the dive instructors had to slip an extra weight into my BCD during one of the dives and I was already wearing five weights on my weight belt. I learnt how to improve my buoyancy during this dive, although I will need to dive more to get it right. Having better buoyancy would mean that I will be able to dive closer to the corals - I'm currently a foot above the corals, which is rather far compared to the dive instructors - and see the intricate marine life more closely.
Bread and cheese
Steak with balsamic vinegar, cheese and greens
Strawberry and passion fruit vodka cooler
· I was rather hungry after the dive trip, so I decided to have steak and a light drink at a restaurant that had a live band - I like live bands - for dinner. We had to walk a distance (about 200 metres) with our scuba gear (BCD, weight belt, mask, flippers, and occasionally the oxygen tank) to the dive sites and back, so I guess I had a good workout for the two days.
· If you are physically fit and are comfortable with being in the sea, I would recommend scuba diving. I have always said that aquariums try to recreate the experience for land-dwellers, but it is just different when you are in the sea, with the fish and sea creatures right in front of you, without a glass barrier. For this Tulamben dive, I saw a reef shark, many different kinds of strange and colourful fish, shrimps (spearing mantis shrimp and so on), crabs, cuttlefish (two of which were well-camouflaged in the sand and two were rather aggressive while swimming), blue-spotted ray, lots of corals of different colours, sizes and shape, and so on. I have yet to see a sea turtle and a whale shark, so I will definitely dive again.
Day 5 (Saturday): Seminyak - Potato Head Beach Club
Potato Head Beach Club at Seminyak
Sunset at Seminyak
Asian tapas set and a young coconut at Lilin, the Asian restaurant
· The ambience at the Potato Head Beach Club was good, with the lounge music and dim lights -- perfect for chilling with friends and just relaxing under the stars on the large lawn of carpet grass. The Asian food was alright -- you would be able to find similar food in Singapore. I took a cab there and took a cab back to Legian/Kuta; it was a 10-minute cab ride one-way.
Rp 50 000 massage
· I did a Rp 50 000 one-hour massage at 10.30pm.
Day 6 (Sunday): Tanah Lot temple; Nusa Dua; Uluwatu temple; Jimabaran Seafood
Padi field
Padi
· On the way to Tanah Lot, my Ubud guide stopped along the road for me so that I could see the padi fields up close; I think I had asked many questions about padi fields. Haha.
Cliff
Tanah Lot temple
This yummy kueh is similar to ondeh ondeh, with a gula melaka filling and shaved coconut
· The Tanah Lot area was full of tourists and there were many smaller temples. I was taken in by the cliffs and waves, though, since I didn't think I'd see such cliffs in this part of the world. Also, it was during this time that the Ubud guide suggest that I spend two nights at Ubud since Ubud is closer to the other temples and padi fields and has a different vibe, which I eventually did.
Orange juice, which was very sweet and tasted similar to Thai orange juice
Sop Buntut (Oxtail Soup)
The soup
· We had lunch at a local mall, and I had sop buntut and an orange juice, which was very nice.
Nusa Dua
· Nusa Dua is different from Kuta, with five-star hotels and pretty gardens; I would like to stay there for a few nights in future.
Uluwatu temple
Strong waves
Kecak dance
Fire!
· The Uluwatu temple and Kecak dance was our second last stop for the day. I thought I'd see one Balinese dance while I was in Bali, since it was a 'cultural' day for me.
Lobster
Fish
Jimbaran
· Jimbaran seafood was average. I suppose just going there once was enough.
· Since it was last day at Kuta, I decided to spend some time at the mall; I had already walked along the small streets on my first day.
Happily sipping on my ice blended
Eggs Benny and Ice blended
I had the whole place to myself
Beachwalk Shopping Centre, Kuta
· I walked for about 10 minutes to Beachwalk Shopping Centre and had breakfast at The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf as I felt like having a pure double chocolate ice blended with whipped cream.
· I walked around the mall for a bit and found a cinema, so I checked the reviews for "Divergent" and "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" using my smartphone and decided to go with the latter, which was pretty good.
· I did a Rp 50 000 massage at the same massage place before walking back to my hotel to take an afternoon nap. I had planned to surf at Kuta beach before going up to Ubud for the next three days, but the weather was too hot for me and I didn't want to be sunburnt.
Selfie at Legian beach during sunset
Sunset at Legian beach
Bebek betutu at Bebek Tepi Sawah (Beachwalk Shopping Centre, Kuta)
· I had bebek betutu at Bebek Tepi Sawah [http://www.bebektepisawahrestaurant.com/menu-beachwalk.htm], which I thought was decent, although it was my first time eating the dish and I had no basis for comparison.
Day 8 (Tuesday): from Legian/Kuta to Ubud
While waiting for my room; I had an early check-in at 12 noon instead of 2pm
My room at Suly resort
· In the morning, a driver - not the Ubud guide since he was busy - came to pick me up from my hotel in Legian/Kuta and off we went to Ubud. Before I had arrived in Bali, my plan was to do white-water rafting at Telaga Waja river, but I may be white-water rafting somewhere else, so I decided not to.
Babi guling, which was very tasty
The soup was very good too
My usual drink, since I love the jelly-like flesh of young coconuts that can only be found in Bali and Thailand
· Babi guling @ Mum Oka/Ibu Oka
Fish, which was nice
Vegetables
Self-explanatory
We ate in a 'hut' and sat cross-legged
· Dinner was with the Ubud guide at a local Balinese restaurant. The ambience was good: quiet and there was a slight drizzle.
Day 9 (Wednesday): Ubud; Gunung Kawi temple; Tirta Empul temple; Tegallalang Rice Terrace; 2-hour Massage, Scrub and Spa; Organic Food dinner
While walking to the Gunung Kawi temple
While walking through the rice terraces
One side of the Gunung Kawi temple
The other side of the Gunung Kawi temple
· Gunung Kawi temple: I let my Ubud guide plan the tour, although I did mention that I wanted to see the "temple that has the large stone carvings" which I had seen online as part of my research for the trip, so the first stop was the Gunung Kawi temple, also known as The Rocky temple. It is my favourite temple of the four temples that I visited, so I would definitely recommend it. A little warning: There are many steps to climb, but you get to see some rice terraces along the way.
Tirta Empul temple aka The Holy Spring temple
One of the locals at the Tirta Empul temple
This is where the water flows from, all year round
Praying mantis on my Ubud guide's finger
· Tirta Empul temple: This temple is also known as the Holy Spring temple. It is an ancient temple and there are tourists who will also go into the water for cleansing. There is a spring from which all the water comes from and apparently there is water flowing from it all the time.
Tegallalang
Selfie at Tegallalang; the path was very narrow and I was trying my best to balance
· Tegallalang Rice Terrace: The rice terraces are perfectly manicured. There were tourists who walked through them, but I didn't, since I had already walked through the rice terraces that were near the Gunung Kawi temple.
· I asked my guide if he could plan a spa session for me and so he dropped me off at a spa place -- I did two hours of massage, scrub and soak. After the pampering session, the spa owner dropped me off at Suly and I took an afternoon nap.
Avocado on pita bread
Coconut-based vanilla drink, with a hollow stem for a straw
Organic chocolate mousse
· Down to Earth Cafe: [http://www.downtoearthbali.com/#!__dte-ubud] I met my guide for dinner and he took me to this organic food cafe, which served fresh produce and had a very good ambience. We had gone to Bali Buddha first, but there were no available seats. This time, though, he came on a motorbike, so I rode pillion without a helmet, at about 30-34 km/hour. It was fun having the cool night wind in my hair and being on a motorbike after five years. I didn't think he was serious when he had casually mentioned in the afternoon that he would come on a motorbike, but I think he knew I was game for almost anything.
Day 10 (Thursday): Return home to Singapore
Breakfast at Suly resort
· It was a quiet morning of having breakfast while looking at the small plots of padi fields in the gentle sunshine. I returned my hotel key and went to Ngurah Rai airport with my guide. I thanked him for the awesome company -- he spoke good English, explained the little details of the Balinese way of life which I was interested in, and knew the best spots for sight-seeing and photo-taking at the different sites. If you would like his contact, let me know. Many thanks to you for passing his contact to me! :)
· I arrived at the airport, checked in my luggage, paid the departure tax at another counter, went through the security clearance smoothly, and had a safe flight. I landed in Singapore at 5pm, took a cab at 5.45pm and was home at 6pm, with my dog sticking to me for the next few hours since we missed each other so much. Haha.
Post-trip
· I didn't miss Singapore food at all, which is strange since I usually miss bak chor mee very much. Then again, I had my sambal stingray and fried hokkien prawn mee fix before the Bali trip, thanks to a friend.
· It's always good to be home. Home sweet home. I love Singapore!
Thanks for reading this extremely long entry!
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Travelling solo as a woman?
I wrote this article after travelling around Bali alone for 10 days in 2014. More than a decade later, many of the lessons I took away from travelling solo - awareness, composure, confidence, good judgment, and knowing what to do when something does not feel right - are also reflected in the work I now do through Iron Flora.
If you are preparing for your first solo trip, travelling regularly for work, or simply want to feel more confident navigating unfamiliar situations on your own, you are welcome to learn with us.
Through Iron Flora, we practise practical awareness, communication, confidence-building and simple effective self-protection skills in a supportive environment for women.