#KLMinstantgetaway: My Bali Experience!

Hi everyone! I'm back from one of the most amazing vacations I've ever been to! Thank you KLM and Airbnb for making it all happen. This post is going to be very visual heavy so I apologise in advance if you're looking for a good read. But hey! Bali's so beautiful, pictures of it will do much more justice than me having to speak about it.

Initially, I couldn't believe I was finally going to Bali. I've been waiting all year long for a beach/resort vacation but I never had the time to get down to it. So when the news came from Gushcloud that was I selected alongside other influencers to fly to Bali, it felt like a dream. Immediately, I thought of what to wear, and what to bring for the trip and inevitably that was tough because I've been purchasing, collecting and storing tons of beach wear over the years. I was so happy that I could finally bring them out after years of hiding them in my wardrobe.

I didn't think the day would come and go so quickly though. I still remember waiting at the airport with everyone else for our KLM flight. We flew economy but had the privilege of enjoying the priority queue and sky lounge thanks to the lovely folks behind this campaign. We must have been TOO excited to even think of anything.

I purposely bought an ultra wide angle lens for my DSLR camera for this trip so that I could take better quality videos. Here's a compilation vlog of what happened filmed using various lenses and cameras. Enjoy!;)

Saturday, 6th December 2014

Flew off to Bali with KLM

I was especially excited to go to Bali because of the company I was flying with - some of my favourite people from the Gushcloud family! We arrived at *SCAPE for the #klminstantgetaway live draw and were headed straight to the airport after the winners were picked. Everything felt so surreal and I'm sure it must have felt ten times better for the winners! Congrats to everyone who won, I've seen your pictures on Instagram and you guys looked like you had a hell lot of fun.

Lydia and I posing for a picture. You can expect tons of selfies in this post, pardon me ;)

Fai working his glasses. Being in somewhat the same company as your other half can be either a bonus or a downfall. In this case, it's a HUGE bonus!

I like to snap pictures of my beautiful friends when they're not looking.

And Fai likes to do the same to me!

Final group picture before we get on our flight!

I didn't manage to take many pictures onboard the flight to Bali because I was extremely tired and knocked out in almost an instant. The seats were so comfy, I couldn't feel anything at all! Thank God I woke up at the last minute to play around with the entertainment feature though, I managed to find my favourite DJ Dash Berlin in the music section! There were so many inflight entertainment programmes and features to play, watch and listen to, a 2-hour flight wouldn't be enough to cover them all. 

Sadly, I didn't get to try the food on the way to Bali so I made a point to try it on the flight back instead. The fact that I could sleep throughout an economy flight without any disturbance goes to show how comfortable the seats were and how thoughtful the flight attendants were as well. Oh yes! On the way back to Singapore, we managed to get Economy Comfort seats, which I highly recommend to everyone if you plan to fly Economy with KLM any time soon. You can enjoy extra legroom and since it's positioned towards the front of the Economy Class cabin, you get to settle down or leave the flight first.

All in all, I had a pleasant experience with KLM! As always, I enjoyed listening to the Dutch flight attendants speak in their native language, it reminded me of my cousins in Holland.

After about 3 hours, we finally arrived in Bali! It was a pretty tiring day for all of us but we couldn't stop smiling the moment we arrived at our villa. It was so beautiful even in the dark! hahaha. Our humble host Ika and her helpers Ayu and Eva greeted us warmly. They had the house tidied up and prepared fruits upon our arrival, it was truly heartwarming to witness their efforts into making us feel like home. 

Sunday, 7th December 2014

Swim & Shop

We woke up the next day appreciating our villa even more. It's a stunner by day! The group was split into two so there were only five of us staying in the entire villa fit for ten people. It was more than what we'd asked for and we had a great time chilling by the pool, of course with our booze ;)

By 12pm, the folks from the other villa joined us for a dip in the pool and we hung out till late afternoon. Everyone couldn't get enough of how uber cool our jacuzzi was and how modernized our villa looked. It's definitely the kind of place I'd look for on my own, so thank you Airbnb for choosing it for us! It was spot on. 

I remember waking up everyday and jumping into the pool straight away without even taking a bath! hahaha (of course, I brushed my teeth before that.) But that was how relaxing everything was, entirely different from the sort of life I lead here in Singapore. I didn't have a care in the world, I didn't even need to put on make up!

Just check out these pictures of our villa, it's beautiful.

Lydia's boyfriend, Aiman enjoying himself in the jacuzzi.

My favourite spot in the entire villa!

The kitchen. Not a place we use at all because we had our helpers Ayu and Eva cook for us instead. hehehe. We were so spoilt in Bali.

The dinning table where we gathered at quite a lot for breakfast and some times, dinner.

The living room, one of the best places to chill at if it's raining outside.

The view of the pool from the second floor.

Fai in his PJs. hehehe

I brought a total of about 8 sets of bikinis so I had a hard time deciding which one to wear. It was a blessing in disguise because the girls needed to borrow them anyway! So they were all put to good used :) I wore this colourful one on the first day to start the trip off on a good note, its colours just make me feel extremely happy, and that's exactly what I want to feel throughout my stay in Bali.

Thank you for the airplane floats KLM! They were very handy ;)

Mandatory OOTD shots^^

Changed into another bikini by afternoon to ensure a more even tan line. The sun was blazing that day which was great because we were all afraid that it would rain since we were in Bali during the monsoon season. So don't believe what they say guys! It's alright to visit your beach destination during the monsoon season, it doesn't rain as much as you think it would.

Really miss soaking up the sun with you guys!

You can be sure that your picture will turn out looking amazing as long as you take it in Bali. The blue skies and luscious green trees in the background are bound to make any picture look perfect. Check out this candid shot I took of Fai! It's almost perfect. No editing done ;)

Changed out into one of my floral dresses that I've been hiding in my wardrobe for way too long! It's from www.vogueavenue.com.sg for those of you who're wondering. They don't sell it anymore though :x On a side note, I could go on forever just wearing bikinis under a sun dress. If only that's possible in Singapore.

Monday, 8th December 2014

Swim again, beach, Seafood for dinner

We spent the next day swimming AGAIN. Yes, we love our pool that much but we got out of the villa extra early that day to explore two beaches - Nusa Dua beach and Seminyak beach. I am all for the beach life so when I heard that we were going to the beach, I couldn't contain my excitement! 

More visuals of our pool "party".

On the road to Nusa Dua beach. The clouds were so near us! It's unreal! The awesome thing about our trip was having our amazing diver, Komang bring us around. He's probably the friendliest, most humble guy I've ever met and it was such a pleasure travelling around Bali in his car. That's what I like a lot about staying in an Airbnb apartment/house/villa, the hosts would always be there ready to help you should you require any assistants. Our host took a step further by providing us with transport, massages and food throughout our stay in Bali. Having someone to turn to and communicate with in a foreign land made the entire experience a more memorable one.

Lydia and Aiman chose to ride a bike instead! So adorable!

We arrived at the beautiful Nusa Dua beach and were greeted by an adorable four-legged friend. There're tons of stray dogs in Bali and they aren't intimidating at all, so you shouldn't have to worry about them if you're visiting Bali any time soon. 

Nusa Dua's the perfect beach if you're looking for a place to chill at. It offers clean, soft sand, astonishingly clear waters and a few bars. It's an entire island away from our villa so it was quite a drive but definitely worth it for a quiet romantic date by the beach. We found quite an extensive amount of seaweed in the water though which can be quite dangerous if you plan to go for a swim, and we all wanted to swim so we had to bid farewell to Nusa Dua beach.

We drove back to Seminyak beach and stayed there for the rest of the day. It didn't have soft, white sand, but the water was just as clear and no seaweed was in sight- perfect for us to swim in! It didn't have huge waves like the other beaches (e.g. Kuta beach etc.) so it definitely wasn't made for one to surf at but it's a beautiful place to unwind at with your friends. 

There're plenty of bars and restaurants for you to choose so you'll never go hungry. It's also only a distant away from local shops, ideal place to purchase souvenirs for your loved ones. We wouldn't know about this beach at all if it wasn't for Komang our driver! Really thankful for him!

We stayed till after the sunset and it was one of the most alluring sights I've ever seen in my life. I never have the time to capture such a scene in Singapore thanks to my busy schedule and since we're mostly always caught up in air-conditioned buildings, we never get the opportunity to enjoy nature at it's best. I was at a loss of words as the sun set, an acoustic band was playing softly in the background, it was the perfect setting. At that very moment, I told myself to always remember that feeling should I ever face a difficult situation in future.

We drove back to our respective villas after that to clean up and headed out to party after! After much considerations, we picked SkyGarden in the end. I've heard a lot about clubbing in Bali, how fun it can be but also how terribly wrong it could go. So we were very careful of what we drank and where we went. 

I didn't take any pictures in SkyGarden for I was a little too tipsy and I just wanted to enjoy the night, but I assure you that it's one of the places you have to visit if you're in Bali (if you're legal). It's basically a 3-4 storey club and you can find different genres of music at each floor. The place is huge so make sure you're always moving around in groups, or at least have a buddy system.

Tuesday, 9th December 2014

Massage & time to say Goodbye

I woke up the next day with a terrible headache and wished I hadn't partied too much the night before, but that's always the case isn't it? hahaha. Anyway, I had a great time, made lots of remarkable memories and I couldn't believe it was time to say goodbye. The day came too soon. We took one last dip in the pool, enjoyed a full body massaged, packed up and it was time to go.

I'll definitely miss the people I met the most. I'm the sort that would always miss people. haha. We are all so grateful for their selflessness, generosity and humility. Though it was a little tough to converse with them since they speak mostly Behasa Melayu, I've still learnt a great deal about staying grounded from them. We've all fostered great friendship especially with Komang our driver since we saw him everyday. What truly touched my heart was when they said "Come back here again next time! Stay here again okay?", it's almost as though we really have a home in Bali and a group of people always waiting for us to come back to it.

With our driver, Komang. I wish you all the best, may you be blessed with the best things in life! And when we see you next time, may you own a business! You have all our support.

Last group photo at the airport before the flight back to Singapore.

And that's the end! All in all, I had not only a wonderful experience in Bali, but a very enriching life-changing one as well. I've learnt not to take things for granted, I've learnt to appreciate the littlest things in life, be it nature or the simple life. I really needed this trip to understand what true happiness is, how I could channel more positive energy into my daily life and my experiences in Bali served as a strong reminder of that. 

You know, I love the beach life so much, I really think I will live by one in the future. I genuinely enjoy how uncomplicated things are there and how contented I feel everyday. Till next time Bali <3

Once again, thank you KLM and Airbnb for the unforgettable experience. Thank you my fellow GC mates for sharing the journey with me too! And thank you all for reading!