A luxuriously affordable honeymoon in Bali

A honeymoon just like the wedding is special and comes just once in a lifetime. Thus, one wants it to be perfect. Yet there are so many restrictions like the budget, the duration and the kind of place (hill-y or beaches or historical etc). For us the biggest constraints were the budget and the duration while planning our honeymoon. I had a certain few places in mind (read Turkey, Greece and Maldives) but they didn't quite seem to fit the bill.

My husband wasn't too choosy about the kind of place and left all the planning on me as I seemed more excited about it. The only thing I was sure about was that i did not want to go to any of the cliched places and it had to be a place that no one I knew had gone for their honeymoon. So i searched and searched and decided on Bali. Because, it fit our budget, duration and the "unique place" criteria

The other thing that was I knew was that I didn't want to go to a travel agent and get a fixed commercialized itinery. After all, it was my honeymoon, something personal. How can I let a stranger decide where to go and what sight seeing to do and where to stay. Also, these travel agents usually recommend very commercial places and hotels and I wanted to stay in small but luxurious boutique-y type of a place. So after reading and researching on Wikitravel and TripAdvisor this is how I planned my trip.

All the rates mentioned may have changed as I went for the trip in Dec 2011.

Travel

Airfare - INR 37,000 per ticket from Mumbai to Denpasar, Bali Malaysia Airlines ( no non stop flights available from Mumbai to Bali)Within Bali, we had hired a taxi to take us around. Lot of on the spot bargain deals available. No need for prior booking. Hotel provided airport transfers on paying extra charges

Visa

Indians are given visa on arrival on valid passports and payment of USD 50. Keep some spare dollars as they ask you to pay some charges on departure as well

Places Covered:

Ubud (for 3 days) : Calm, serene, green,non touristy. This is how I would describe Ubud the best. Also made famous by the movie Eat, Pray, Love

Seminyak (for 3 days): We chose Seminyak over Kuta as it belongs to the same bracket (known for shopping and nightlife) but is better, less crowded and more sophisticated

Accomodation:

As I mentioned earlier, I wanted something boutique-y which was luxurious in its own way and yet pocket friendly.

Ubud: We chose Allam Indah. All rooms are beautiful,huge, the decor has a Bali touch, nothing modern about it (no TV also). Since, the concept of the resort was to be secluded and close to nature it is not very centrally located. But they provide shuttle services to the main street and market which was very very convenient and helpful. Our room lily was affordably priced at $65+ tax per night

Image Courtesy:baliwww.com

Seminyak: Uma Sapna Villas. When in Bali. Skip normal hotel rooms and opt for a private villa with personal pool and garden and the works. What is surprising is that both are priced on par. Uma Sapna is very contemporarily designed, spacious, centrally located and moderately priced. We chose the smallest villa to suit our pockets and they were priced at $120 + taxes per nightBoth the options chosen by us are ranked very high by all the reviewers on Tripadvisor. Agoda also provides some good deals.

Image Courtesy: allseminyakvillas.com

Things to do:

For a quick snapshot you can check out my pinboard here

Ubud

• Ubud market- Shop for silver jewellry, trinkets and handicrafts
• Mt batur - active volcanic mountain a must. Also follow it up with lunch at restuarants facing it
• Monkey Forest
• Various temples
• Rice terraces - will be found all across the interiors of Bali
• Spices and coffee plantations
• Also make time for a spa while u are there as Seminyak will be expensive

Mount Batur

Coffee tasting @ plantations

Seminyak 

More popular for its swish restaurants, nightlife and shopping:

• Tanah Lot for sunset
• Uluwatu temple
• Seminyak square for shopping
• Prana spa - Check out the morrocon themed decor. Has also won some awards
• Jimbaran beach - for water sports and sunset dinner for sea food lovers

Tanah Lot Sunset

Restaurants

For us the availability of vegetarian food was a strict criteria while selecting the restaurant which wasn't so difficult as Bali has ample options for the same:

Ubud

• Lotus cafe
• Buddha bar
• Little India

Pond inside Lotus cafe

Seminyak

• Zula - nice mexican and medditaranean food
• Queens Tandoor - Indian food

Bars

Rock Bar - Situated on a cliff, a part of Ayaana resort. Its a must visit. The resort itself is also very beautifully done. While we were at the resort we were also lucky enough to witness a Balinese wedding.

Image courtesy: tipsbaliholiday.blogspot.in/

Potato beach club - for it quirky window walls. A huge huge club. Every place in Bali is huge (the real estate must be very cheap there)

Image courtesy: lostateminor.com

Dining at Potato Beach Club

Also, ask your hotel help desk for the latest bars as new places keep springing up in Seminyak

Hope this information helps you while planning your honeymoon. If you have any queries you can leave them in my comments box and I shall try to answer them.

L'oreal, Forest essentials, Bigelow, Maybelline & More - Latest beauty buys

Last month I bought a lot of beauty and makeup products. The beauty products purely out of need and the makeup well, I have a lot of weddings to attend this season so what better excuse to indulge in some.

Here's what I bought

Forest Essentials Kashmiri Saffron & Neem Facial Cleanser + Panchpushp Facial Toner

I love Forest Essentials. Ever since, I first started using these products two to three years back I haven't used any other brand for my facial care. I say "facial" because these products are expensive. Very expensive. Thus, cannot afford to use them over the rest of my body. But I am completely hooked to their face washes, daily lotion, toners and night treatment creams.These products filled with the goodness of nature's best are purely organic and contain no chemicals whatsoever. This was the first thing that appealed to me when I first bought them after reading the founder's interview in a magazine.No wonder the brand is positioned as Luxurious Ayurveda.

Price: Face Cleanser - INR 875

           Face Toner - INR 945

C.O. Bigelow Rose Salve  (Lip Balm)

This product is my discovery of the moment. I am so happy with this product. This was actually not a buy but gifted to me by a colleague a very senior one. This is not available in India was bought by her from the USA. While gifting she said that she and her family are big fans of this product and nothing heals chapped lips more than this salve (balm). The text on the pack says it can be applied on the face, lips, knees etc but I use it only for lip care. My lips get chapped throughtout the year (not just the winters) and I have tried everything from Vaseline, Himalaya, Neutrogena, Burt Bees to Body shop but nothing has helped me as much as this.

Lips after applying the balm

Price: Available in the USA around $5

Loreal Trumatch Rosy Cheeks blush

This is the first time I have bought a Lorea blush. This season I wanted to try some coralish blush and this product works as a great highlighter + blush. This blends easily but only when applied over compact. else looks a little patchy.

After applying the blush

As you can see here the blush has not blended with the skin due to the lack of a base.

Price: INR 650

Loreal Tender berry Lipstick

Just like the Coral blush, I was also on the lookout for the perfect light pink meets baby pink meets natural pink. I tried a lot of shades from Maybelline, Chambor, MAC etc but this one suited and looked the best on my yellow toned skin.

The colour as you can see looks a little dark, but when worn looks much lighter on the lips

Colour looks darker on the hand than on the lips

Perfect shade of Baby Pink

I also like the fact that it lasts long.

Price: INR 900

Maybelline 24 hr Color Tattoo - Edgy Emerald

Coincidentally I have a lot of green in my Indian outfits this time around. And thus, I needed a shade of green  eyeshadow that would not only match well with my outfits but would also not make me look monstrous. I saw this, tried it, liked it and bought it. The best part about Maybelline is that they are constantly reinventing their products and all of them are reasonable. So if a particular product does not suit one well, one does not feel so bad about not using them enough.What I didn't like much about this is that the product does not glide very smoothly and being creamish in texture it does not blend well when used with other (for example gold) eyeshadows.

Price INR 350