Food isn’t really the first thing that comes to mind when one speaks of Bali. What this island paradise south of Indonesia conjures up are images of white sandy beaches filled with skimpily-clad bodies and moss-laden temples perched on cliffs. Bali has become such a popular year-round destination for tourists that modern air-conditioned restaurants and popular fastfood places can be found just about anywhere. But dig deeper through the local eateries they call warung and you just might be surprised to find something unique to eat in Bali.

BALI’S INFAMOUS BABI GULING

Yes, they do serve local dishes on the many fancy restaurants in Bali, but for a more local taste—which is a lot easier on the wallet, by the way—the way to go is to eat where the locals does. Be brave. Go down and dirty, and legitly eat your way through Bali.

►CHECK OUT: BALI TRAVEL GUIDE

A TYPICAL HAWKER SELLING LUNCH ON A MOTORBIKE

From my observations, Balinese dishes are cut into three categories—rice meals, noodles, and soups. That’s not discounting snacks and desserts, of course. The difference between the food here to the rest in Indonesia is that they do serve pork, Bali being Hindu instead of Muslim. The taste usually gravitates to a mix of salty and mild spiciness with nary a note of sweetness. It’s a tad similar to the food in Malaysia, albeit with the flavor and spiciness toned down in half. Eating in Bali is generally cheap, with a serving at a warung costing at an average of IDR10,000.00 to IDR20,000.00 (USD0.75 to USD1.50)

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Mention Bali and the first things that come to mind are its white sand beaches and the hundreds of ornate temples that dot its landscape. But there’s more to Bali than these, and no, it’s not babi guling—although that porky delight is indeed another aspect of the island worth considering. It’s the traditional Balinese villages that still celebrate the way life was on the island before hordes of tourists started invading this paradise.

COLORFUL TRADITIONAL WOODEN MASKS BEING SOLD ON THE VILLAGES

During the course of my visits to Bali, I’ve visited only two of these so-called Bali traditional villages. There are more, like the Trunyan Village which has the custom of leaving their deceased above ground, a cloth and bamboo canopy its only cover, to the more famous jewelry-making village of Celuk and the culturally rich and more touristy Batubulan Village in Gianyar.

►CHECK OUT: BALI TRAVEL GUIDE

How many beaches are there in Bali? That was the thought that was running through my mind as we savored our last sunset on the island, pastels painting the lower part of the horizon as surfers glide through the curling waves. We’ve just spent almost two weeks on the island, exploring the temples of Bali and waterfalls of Bali, and of course, its beaches. We’ve seen quite a lot, swimming on a few and wishing we actually know how to surf.

Bali, the Land of the Gods. Separated from mainland Indonesia, this island paradise has a belief unique from the rest of the country, practicing Hinduism instead of Islam. With it comes temples, lots of them, sacred grounds carved on mountainsides, built over lakes, and standing over cliffs, all dedicated to their faith’s gods. And they literally have millions of gods, thirty three million to be exact.

HINDU IMAGERIES ON BALINESE TEMPLES

Imagine how hard it was for us, unfamiliar with Hinduism, to choose which temples to visit—each Balinese village having no less than three temples on their soil. We consulted guidebooks and read about Sad Kahyangan, the six cardinal temples of Bali, the holiest and most revered pura or temples in the whole of the island. But not all of these are easily accessible, being located on the heart and perimeters of Bali, and this island is huge.

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Our last couple of days in Malaysia were spent at the Sunway Lagoon, a resort town built a hundred and fifty feet below ground from an old tin mine. From what was once a wasteland, a complete town emerged in 1992, and it has everything—from hotels, villas, and malls, to universities, hospitals, and theme parks. It was actually a good and relaxing way to end our hectic long weekend trip in Malaysia.

PRIVATE VILLAS AT SUNWAY RESORT

A CAVE RESTAURANT!

SHOPPING OR ICE SKATING?

Situated on eighty eight acres of land, half an hour away from the airport, Sunway Lagoon is a multi-awarded resort located at Subang Jaya in the state of Selangor. We arrived at night, after our Ipoh day tour from Kuala Lumpur (and prior to that, a KL day tour), and was set to depart the next evening. I like how we were able to maximize our time in Malaysia with Cebu Pacific’s daily evening flights to and from Manila to Kuala Lumpur.

Our trip to Malaysia comprises of not only touring Kuala Lumpur but also a day trip to Ipoh. We checked out early from our lodging, Dorsett Kuala Lumpur, and set off for a three-hour trip to Ipoh. There are actually a lot of day trips you can do to nearby cities from KL, the most popular of which is to Melaka. And since we’ve been to the capital numerous times, we’ve been asking ourselves why we haven’t thought of going to Ipoh before.

AN OLD SHOPHOUSE ALONG CONCUBINE LANE IN IPOH

Taking advantage of Cebu Pacific’s daily evening flights from Manila to Kuala Lumpur, it was one way of making the most out of our weekend in Malaysia.

►FIND THE CHEAPEST FLIGHT TO KL

Kuala Lumpur, being a hub for flights around South East Asia, is one of the most visited cities for travelers. Most drop by the city on a day trip, some, like us, spends a couple of nights before pushing off to their destinations. We love Kuala Lumpur—the sights are accessible, the city is safe, there’s a lot of shopping options, and the food is something we look forward to every single time.

DOING A ONE-DAY KUALA LUMPUR ITINERARY

And it was no different as we flew in to KL this time around. We took advantage of Cebu Pacific’s daily evening flight from Manila, departing Friday night and arriving in KL just in time for the weekend. It’s nice that we can actually sleep and rest first—booking rooms at Dorsett Kuala Lumpur—before going out for a full day KL city tour the next day.

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“The first thing we’re gonna do when we arrive in Kuala Lumpur is to have a plate of our favorite Malaysian noodle dish, mee goreng!” I excitedly told C as our plane touched down on KLIA 2’s tarmac. We arrived at Malaysia’s capital city at three in the morning, checking in at the Dorsett Kuala Lumpur for two nights. My noodle craving was still in full effect, it has been years since I had one, but when we opened the doors to our hotel room, the pull of the bed seemed much stronger than my tummy’s cravings. We slept.

Finding nothing that really interests us at Surfers Paradise, we decided on booking a day trip to the nearby city of Brisbane. It was just an hour away and booking a tour was easy and affordable enough via Klook. We simply fired up the app on our phone, checked out the available tours, decided on the Grand Brisbane Tour, and was whisked off to Brisbane with no fuss.

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A van was supposed to pick us up right in front of our hotel, but the tour company affiliated with Klook requested that we rendezvous on another hotel about five minutes by foot from where we were. It was no biggie so off we went to the hotel on the morning of our second to the last day in Australia.

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THE SPACIOUS MINI-BUS WE USED TO TOUR BRISBANE

A chirpy fellow greeted us and we were soon zooming off across the wide highways of Gold Coast. The guy was quite impressive, shuffling between English and Japanese—for the benefit of our Japanese companions—as we passed points of interests en route to Brisbane. We were dropped at bus depot, then transferred to a larger van—or rather a mini-bus—picking up a few more tour participants before the tour proper commenced.

►FIND THE CHEAPEST FLIGHT TO BRISBANE

What to do with five days at Gold Coasts’ Surfers Paradise? A lot, if you’re into surfing, shopping, and theme parks. But we’re totally not into surfing, shopping, and theme parks. So, I was wondering myself why I booked a total of five long days here instead of stretching our stay for a day or more at Byron Bay—a town which we feel a deeper connection with.

SURFERS PARADISE FROM OUR BALCONY AT RHAPSODY HOTEL

Our first and second day at Surfers Paradise was spent on a forced staycation at the Rhapsody Hotel. Incessant rain kept us in, but I’m not complaining. With friends in tow, a cache of grocery food to cook, and plenty of alcohol, we were more than happy to stay cooped up.

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It was way past midnight when we arrived at Surfers Paradise in Gold Coast. A few hours ago, we’re baby sitting at G’s crib in Ballina, trying extremely hard to put L to sleep at their living room sofa, and now we’re on a totally different kind of living room, one seventeen stories up from the street, with a full view of the raging pacific from a floor to ceiling window. It was swanky as heck, but we miss L.

Similar to our previous lodging, Byron Bay Hotel and Apartments, we had to check ourselves in by following the email instructions given by Rhapsody Resort—input a code on a deposit box outside the lobby, take our key, access the lobby, then our room. Problem was we had a hard time finding the said box. It turned out we were at the wrong entrance, lol.

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It was almost dusk when our car navigated the ascent towards Byron Bay’s famed lighthouse. We just flew in from Sydney that same day, visiting the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary right after touching down—our backpacks still at the back of G’s car.

THE GANG AT CAPE BYRON LIGHTHOUSE

She dropped us off a hundred meters or so from the lighthouse, Tallows Beach was in full view on our right, while she went back down to park her car. She doesn’t want us to miss the sunset, she said. She’s sweet like that.

Byron Bay changed its name from Cavvanbah after Lieutenant James Cook anchored along its waters, naming it after sailor John Byron. From a sleepy industrial town, it has since become a haven for hippies after surfers has discovered its swells. The deal was sealed during the seventies when the Aquarius Festival, a counter-culture arts and music festival, arrived in town.

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TAKING AN UBER TO LAKE AINSWORTH THE NEXT DAY

BYRON BAY AND BALLINA DIY TOUR WHAT’S INSIDE? • Cape Byron Lighthouse • Lake Ainsworth • Seven Mile Beach • The Point Cafe at Lennox Head • Lighthouse Beach ► AUSTRALIA ITINERARY 10 DAYS

CAPE BYRON LIGHTHOUSE

 ENTRANCE FEE: FREE | OPENING HOURS: 8:00AM TO 6:00PM | GPS COORDINATES MAP: -28.638535,153.6346196 

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Built in 1901, the stately Cape Byron Lighthouse boasts of being the most powerful of its kind in terms of light intensity across the whole of Australia. It sits on the easternmost promontory of the continent and is three kilometers away from Byron Bay. People actually walk up and bike to this place.

Since it’s on the eastside, the best time to go here is actually during sunrise. But since we didn’t have a choice, sunset it was. Being quite old, I can see how immaculately preserved it was—it actually looks new if not for the 1901 numerals carved along some of its pillars.

Going back down to the car, we passed by a viewpoint overlooking Tallows Beach. Once flocked by people panning for gold during 1870’s, the beach is now a haven for surfers. We promised ourselves we’d visit the beach the next day, but promises are meant to be broken, especially if you’d be drinking beer cider ‘til past midnight.

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THE BYRON BAY LIGHTHOUSE DURING SUNSET

THE LIGHTHOUSE IS VERY WELL MAINTAINED IT ACTUALLY LOOKS NEW

A VIEWPOINT AND A WALKING TRAIL OFF THE SIDE OF THE LIGHTHOUSE

TALLOWS BEACH CAN BE SEEN FROM THE CAPE

LAKE AINSWORTH

 ENTRANCE FEE: FREE | GPS COORDINATES MAP: -28.7815749,153.5871468

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Checking out late from Byron Bay Hotel and Apartments, we decided on heading straight to Lake Ainsworth instead of Tallows Beach. M and C were just so entranced with the photos of the lake on the interweb that we’d have to go, like, right away.

This particular body of water is surrounded by tea trees, and the tannins from these leach down to the water giving it a red-orangey tint, hence its monikers Orange Lake and Tea Tree Lake.

Getting there by public transport is impossible, but since we were three in the group, we decided on getting an Uber ride right up to the lake’s edge. Imagine our chagrin after paying a hefty bill to find a lake with no hint of orange whatsoever. Seemingly, the sun needs to be on full blast for the effect to be apparent. And it was darn cloudy.

On closer inspection, we did find the water along the banks to be orange in color. It’s not gonna get a thousand likes on Instagram though, lol.

With barbecue pits and picnic grounds, the place is popular for weekenders wanting to chill out—as if Byron Bay itself isn’t chill enough. We also saw a couple taking a dip on the water, we were like, eww why at first, but upon further reading, we found that its water has healing elements, sort of like a medical bath from the tea trees.

►FIND THE CHEAPEST FLIGHT TO BALLINA

LOOKING FOR ORANGE WATER

THE LAKE APPEARS ORANGE UNDER INTENSE SUNLIGHT—IT WAS, UNFORTUNATELY, CLOUDY

TEA TREES SURROUNDING THE LAKE

THE LAKE’S ORANGE TINT COMES FROM THE TEA TREES SURROUNDING ITS PERIMETER

SEVEN MILE BEACH

 ENTRANCE FEE: FREE | GPS COORDINATES MAP: -28.7612643,153.5688558

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Parallel to the lake is the Seven Mile Beach. It was an easy two-minute walk and we’re right by the Pacific.

The beach, which stretches for, uhmm, seven miles from Broken Head—where Thor actually has a house—up to Lennox Head, is utterly deserted. Well, there’s a dog walker or two and a few people off the horizon. But they’re so far away that we might as well be on Mars.

We’re ready for a swim even if C forgot her swimsuit but signs warning of sharks and rips told us we’re better off at the water’s edge. We turned back after taking a few snaps.

ALONE AT SEVEN MILE BEACH

COLD DAY FOR A SWIM

THERE’S A CROWD AT THE NORTHERN END OF THE BEACH

THERE ARE WARNING SIGNS FOR SHARKS

THE POINT CAFÉ AT LENNOX HEAD

 OPENING HOURS: 6:00AM TO 4:00PM  | GPS COORDINATES MAP: -28.7941648,153.5910754

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With no cabs or Internet to hail an Uber car, we walked our way to the not-so-near Lennox Head. Why there? Well, we can’t find anywhere else to go. Besides, we saw a few cafes on the map and we were hungry. And, they probably have Internet, it might be the only way we get out of this place.

While updating our social media apps at The Point Café, we sipped on bracingly cold milkshakes and feasted on their larger-than-mouth The Point Burger. Our tables and hands were pretty messed up right after.

CLEAN AND SIMPLE INTERIORS OF THE POINT CAFE

WE CHOSE TO EAT AL FRESCO

NO WAY WE CAN FIT THOSE IN OUR MOUTHS

LIGHTHOUSE BEACH

 ENTRANCE FEE: FREE | GPS COORDINATES MAP: -28.8698223,153.5890083

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Coming from work, G rescued us at Lennox Head. We proceeded on raiding a liquor store and a KFC joint before crashing at her pad at the nearby town of Ballina. We picked L, her super adorable six-year old kid, en route.

The plan was for us to visit a watering hole while G goes to work, but we decided on scratching that off our to-do list. Instead, we offered on babysitting L instead. While feasting on a bucket of chicken and guzzling a dozen cans of beer and cider, that is. Cider is the bomb, by the way.

L is so much fun, right before sundown, we went to the Lighthouse Beach, which is like three minutes away from their doorstep. The 700-meter stretch of sand apparently formed when an entrance wall was put along the nearby Richmond River, filling up the then Shaws Bay with sand, instantly producing thirty hectares of prime real estate property. G’s house probably sits above the former bay.

Again, like most beaches in the area, there are sharks and people actually get swept to the sea due to currents. Apparently, it’s only good for surfing. So we did the next best thing. We taught L how to play hopscotch, the Filipino way, on the beach until it went full dark.

C AND L WAITNG FOR THE DUSK AT LIGHTHOUSE BEACH

SEAGULLS RESTING ALONG THE SHORE

GEOMETRIC GIANT JACKSTONES ON ONE SIDE OF THE BEACH

 

SCOOT HAS DAILY PROMO FARES FROM MANILA TO AUSTRALIA

SCOOT, KLOOK, AND ONE VINE MIGRATION MADE OUR TRIP TO AUSTRALIA POSSIBLE. VIEWS AND OPINION ALL MINE.

 

Following our quick tour of Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, where we got to see koalas and kangaroos, we drove—or rather, our friend G, drove us to her hometown of Byron Bay. We’re planning on staying here for a night before moving to Surfers Paradise in Gold Coast.

BYRON BAY HOTEL & APARTMENT

It was past sundown when we arrived in our lodging, Byron Bay Hotel & Apartments, checking out the historic Byron Bay Lighthouse first, which sits on a majestic promontory overlooking Tallows Beach, before finally settling down.

►CHECK OUT: BYRON BAY DIY TOUR

“It looks like a plush toy,” I told C as we stood transfixed staring at an actual real live koala inside a pen. Clinging on a vertical tree branch and slowly gnawing on eucalyptus leaves, the furry little creature unhurriedly moved to a more comfortable position. Being nocturnal animals, most of its neighbors were asleep, also clinging to tree branches as they do. It’s the first time I’ve actually seen a koala in real life and it’s as cute and cuddly as a, well, a plush koala toy.

FLYING IN FROM SYDNEY TO GOLD COAST

Coming from a one-hour flight from Sydney, we arrived at the Gold Coast International Airport at around noon. The heat was unbearable as we navigated its almost empty roadways. We’re here to see Byron Bay, but before that, we took a quick detour to Currumbin—G of Pinay Travel Junkie apparently booked us to see them kangaroos and koalas.

►CHECK FOR AFFORDABLE HOTELS IN GOLD COAST