We both love to travel, see new sites, and explore. Although, speaking for myself, I really appreciate some infrastructure, flush toilets and a pool. So planning a dream trip with unlimited funds sounded like a lot of fun to us. We would love your opinions in the comments, especially if you’ve been to our dream vacation spot!
If you love the idea of a trip to tropical paradise, check out my French Polynesia Travel Guide! We used Airbnbs, and I have lots of tips of how to make the most of a rental apartment kitchen here.
Where is my dream vacation?
The tropical Indonesian island of Bali.
Why do I want to go there?
Nothing says “tropical paradise” in my mind like Bali. Clear waters. Long, sunny days (averages twelve hours of daylight per day). Warm, but not too warm (between eighty and ninety degrees year round). A good mixture of beach, scenery and culture.
Where would I stay?
Even thought the prices are crazy, I would love to stay in one of those five star over-the-water bungalows where you can just walk out of your bedroom and drop into the clear blue ocean. And it would have air conditioning, of course!
Photo from Bali Bungalows: https://www.balibungalows.wordpress.com/2009/08/19/world-top-5-over-water-luxury-bungalow-destinations/
(Update: I realized after our trip to French Polynesia that those bungalows are actually in Bora Bora! Not entirely sure what that photo is doing on the “Bali Bungalows” website, but here’s a site with 6 absolutely gorgeous bungalows that are actually in Bali, like this one:)
Bambu Indah in Ubud. Photo from: bali.mehthesheep.com
What would I see and do?
I think most of my days would be spent on the beach! The island’s largest industry is tourism, so you’re not going to find many undiscovered, hidden beaches there. But I’m actually okay with that. Personally, I’d rather have a really polite poolboy adjusting my umbrella hourly so the sun doesn’t scorch me. And a beautiful, sarong-clad waitress asking me if I’d like another delicious Mai Tai with an orchid garnish.
But I wouldn’t want to spend every day on the white sand beaches, gazing over clear blue waters (wait…why not?). Bali is surrounded by coral reefs, so I’d definitely go snorkeling or scuba diving.
Photo from Bali-Travel-Life.com: https://www.www.bali-travel-life.com/gunung-kawi.html
I would also want to see a few temples, and Gunung Kawi is at the top of my list. It’s located just outside of the main city of Ubud, and is a complex of temples that are built around 11th century royal tombs. There are beautiful rock carvings on a tropical jungle mountain. It just sounds so Indiana Jones to me!
Oh, and of course I would take a cooking class. I took one in Thailand and it was one of my favorite parts of the trip.
What would I eat?
My favorite way to experience a country’s food is through night markets, street food vendors and festivals. I would be sure to try lots of different kinds of satay (grilled skewered meat with peanut sauce), lumpia (fried spring rolls), nasi goring (fried rice) and mie goring (fried noodles).
And I would DEFINITELY eat lots of the crispy skin and succulent meat of the island’s favorite dish: spit-roasted pork marinated in coconut water, chili, turmeric, garlic and ginger. Drool!
