Bali + Singapore: 2 week recap

After several months, I am finally done all my recaps for my last vacation, including all the places we ate at, where we stayed, and what activities we did.

Check out my travel montage video:

Bali + Singapore trip 2023 recap
Seminyak | Ubud | Kuta + Uluwatu | Singapore part 1 | Singapore part 2

Overview of my trip to Bali & Singapore

• Dates traveled: April 4 – 19, 2023 (2 weeks, including the 2 Easter stat holidays)
• Countries visited: Indonesia + Singapore
• Cities visited: Seminyak, Ubud, Kuta, Uluwatu, Singapore
• Total money spent: $5000 CAD per person

The highlights

Bali

• Low cost of living. You can literally live like royalty here for very little money 👑. You can stay at really nice Airbnbs for less than $100 a night per person with your own pool, king-sized bed, full kitchen, etc. Food costs even less – you can have a good traditional Balinese meal for $4, and restaurants really cater to tourists so you can find both nasi goreng and $5 avocado toast if you want.
• Beach clubs. I really love the concept of beach clubs. I guess it kinda only works if you have access to a nice beach, unlike the gravel beaches we have here in Vancouver. It’s cheap to get a table and you can stay there for essentially the whole day.
• Massages and spa treatments. I would recommend you to get a spa treatment at least 3x during your stay in Bali (again, they are cheap). Best bang for your buck would be 60-90 minute massages and facials 😌.
• Very romantic! I can see why this place is a hot honeymoon destination. With all the beautiful beaches, luxury accommodations and restaurants for a much lower price, it is an attractive destination for couples with all sorts of budgets. I am usually a very go-go type of person when I travel and I try to cram all the touristy attractions in, but during our trip to Bali, I found it to be very relaxing sometimes to just enjoy our nice Airbnb and chill at the beach or by the pool 🥰.

Singapore

• Food! Omg the food in Singapore is just *chefs kiss* 🤤. The hawker stalls are amazing with Michelin stars and there are so many food options on every block. Food is also reasonably priced for the most part and very authentic.
• Feels like a city from the future. The touristy area with the Gardens by the Bay and Marina Sands Bay really feels like something from outer space 🤩. It makes Singapore really unique compared to other Asian cities/countries. They have a lot of greenery even in their busy financial/work districts with tall skyscrapers.
• Shopping! Compared to Bali, Singapore had much better shopping options. There are tons of big malls and underground shopping complexes at each MTR station for you to choose from. After awhile you will notice the actual store options are pretty much the same and prices are not cheaper than Vancouver or anything, but if you want to get a shopping fix in, it’s convenient and they have western and Asian brands. Lots of luxury options as well (and more stock 😗), which is why we ended up spending so much on this trip.

Lessons learned

Bali

• Bali belly is real. Prepare for some diarrhea 💩.
• Some cities and areas are more dirty than others (like Kuta. Maybe don’t go to Kuta).
• Most Airbnbs only have AC in the bedrooms. Choose hotels or Airbnbs where all the rooms are inside 4 walls (no indoor-outdoor living) if you want more AC.

Singapore

• It’s hot 🥵. Bali was hot too but it was difficult to build up an appetite at lunchtime in the outdoor hawkers with sweat dripping down our backs. Because of the heat, we stayed away from some foods that we really wanted to try like laksa 😢.
• It also rains (like heavy downpour). For like 7 seconds. Just wait for it to stop if you can.
• Don’t buy your phone SIM card from the airport unless you wanna get scammed.

Final thoughts

We had a really fun and relaxing 2 weeks in Bali and Singapore.

One thing that really stood out for me on this trip was that I actually felt old. For example, in my itinerary, I had scheduled some nights for nightlife so we can go clubbing and things like that, but in the end we preferred to spend time with our friends just drinking at our own Airbnb or we were just tired/jetlagged and didn’t go out at night 💀. From now on, I’m going to have to factor in time for us to re-adjust our jetlag and to include more down-time because we clearly need it. The 20 hour flight to Bali was difficult for us, and I used to backpack to Europe and have 6 hour layovers and sleep on the concrete airport floor to save $400 💀💀.

Another thing that stood out for me was just how much I enjoyed traveling with our friends, Ivan and Bella. They moved to Singapore and were really helpful in showing us around and giving recommendations. They were also with us during Bali and I really felt like I could relax because I felt like I could really rely on them to help make decisions on where to eat and what to do. Usually I am the person who does all the research and plans everything, so it was nice to have other people in our travel group that also knew what was going on 😂. I honestly think they really helped make our trip amazing.

Out of the 2, I can see myself returning to Bali sooner than Singapore, simply because of how cheap everything is once you get there. But I would recommend first-timers to visit Singapore and stay for 1 week – you’ll be able to see a lot of Singapore within 1 week. And if you have a weak stomach, I wouldn’t recommend you to visit Bali 💩.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for my next vacation! I am going to South Korea 😆.

Sincerely, Loewe