Denpasar (Indonesia) – Travel Diary
I told you in my practical guide that you need to leave Denpasar very, very quickly. You can make the most of it at the end of your trip (a night in Denpasar is always recommended to avoid any risk of missing your flight – there’s always a lot of traffic in Bali). We stayed in Denpasar mainly to drop off our stuff, just in time for a day trip to Nusa Penida island (see our travel diary) nearby. Our hotel is right next to the port, but JB still picked a really nice hotel (huge but quiet): Prime Plaza Hotel Sanur – Bali (Booking link, Agoda link, €75). Right across from our hotel, at the Griya Umalaba hotel, a very, very kind man rented us a cheap scooter without taking our passport.
We didn’t have time to go see the cliffs, because between our hotel and the cliffs, you still need to count 30 minutes (not to mention traffic). I wanted to buy a day pass at the Four Seasons and take the opportunity to get a massage (massages at all Four Seasons worldwide are always accompanied by crystal bowls which I’ll tell you about someday), but they had no availability, so we just hung out at the Hyatt Regency instead.
This hotel is very, very pretty, the pools are magnificent, but as expected, the beach isn’t really a dream. There’s no water!
The big plus point of Denpasar is this French restaurant Parisi French Cuisine. It’s been almost 7 months since we set foot in France, so having a fondue with homemade cheese in Indonesia, and beef tartare prepared just right—what a joy! Yes, I’m specifying the context because some readers coming here for the first time criticize us for going to the other side of the world to eat French food.
The long-awaited moment finally arrives: leaving Indonesia. It’s not because this country did anything to me; it’s just a nasty feelingsince we arrived in Ubud that we were going to die any moment. And even on the plane, despite the beautiful scenery passing by (get a window seat, right side), I can’t stop wondering: will I leave Indonesia alive?
It’s when the plane lands in Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) that I feel a huge relief: that’s it, we’re saved.
What are we saved from? We’ll find out a few weeks later, when JB is admitted to the hospital in an emergency, is rushed into surgery and that being in my country makes it easier to save him than if we were in some remote corner of Bali.
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