Bali for Amy and Megan's 30th

It's Andrew and I's first time in Bali for Amy and Megan's 30th birthday, and I think we've been a tad spoiled by the experience. A group of 12 of us stayed at the hidden paradise of Villa Simpatico. The villa itself was absolutely incredible, the staff were lovely, and the pool was exactly what we needed to get out of the heat and humidity.





We arrived on Friday and after getting settled in had a wander around Seminyak. We stopped into a cuban themed bar to have a drink which turned into two for the boys while Amy, Megan and I went to get an amazing $6 massage at Nabila Beauty. That night Megan organised a surprise dinner at Barbacoa, the new tapas place in town. The food was incredible, my favourite was the chickpea and  cauliflower salad, and the 8h pork was a hit. We ate and drank until we had to hobble out of there and the bill was only $75! Andrew and I thought that was really cheap but apparently that's really expensive for Bali standards even thought something like that would have easily gone over $100 a head in Perth.



After a cooked breakfast at our villa, Amy and Megan kicked everyone out so they could begin the secret party preparations. Andrew, Kyle and I went to Waterbom Park and were surprised to find that there were barely any lines so we managed to collect all of the slides, including 3 of those drop type slides where you stand on a platform that gets whipped out from under you for a close to vertical fall. It was a really great water park, we thought it beat Wet n Wild and Costa Caribe (in Spain), and it had a great system where you preload money onto a waterproof bracelet that you can use around the park so you don't have to keep going back to your water (or stuff money in your bather tops).



Amy and Megan (and the villa team) did a wonderful job decorating the place. We lasted in our pretty dresses for about 1h and then it was "one more! one more!" time on the blow up flamingo (the record was 8). There were bar staff, cocktails, a magician, fire twirlers, and Andrew was the first (and only after some stern but also impressed yelling) to jump off the balcony into the pool. Definitely a 30th to remember although I think that's not going to be possible for most of us.





Everyone woke up  feeling a bit sorry for themselves, but the massages at the villa were a great way to start the day. Andrew and I went for a walk and got coffees at Grain Cafe, and then went back to Nabila for another $6 massage. That day Andrew had his first (and second) massage ever! He still thinks knots are a made up thing, but he really enjoyed it. Everyone was having a lazy day either in the pool or getting spa treatments so Andrew and I decided to go to Motel Mexicola for lunch and for a walk along the beach. Motel Mexicola was really beautifully decorated, and despite not having air con we still thoroughly enjoyed it (especially the fish tacos). The walk along the beach was another pleasant surprise; everyone had warned us that it was dirty and lots of people would try and sell us stuff, but it was very clean and the few people selling things were lovely and not pushy at all. I guess nothing can be grosser than Barcalonetta though!







Dinner was at Hog Wild for ribs and a Bintang tower.



So we didn't get to barter for anything (I was looking forward to bartering for a Bintang shirt to sleep in and Andrew wanted some Ray Bans), and we didn't get to see much other than the city, but it definitely gave us some ideas for next time!