16 February,2010 11:01 AM IST | | Urmimala Banerjee
Anchor- actor Samir Kochhar just returned from his honeymoon in Bali. He and his newly-wedded wife Radhika had a blast sightseeing, shopping and romancing in the fabled island of the Gods. Samir shares his Bali trip with CS readers:
Romantic sojourn
We spent 10 days in the island, staying at Nusa Dua and Seminiyak. In Nusa Dua, we stayed at the Laguna Sheraton. We had a private pool in our suite! At Seminiyak, I had booked a private villa for us, complete with butler service and all. Both the places offered excellent privacy, which is great for honeymooners. Bali has these beautiful beaches, so we went for walks, lazed in the sun and gorged on the seafood.
Sightseeing trips
The island has spectacular natural beauty. Sun kissed beaches, rolling hills, terraced fields, and exotic temples make for a visual extravaganza. We went to Ubud, which is in the countryside. This place had quaint old market places and was a hub of Bali's woodwork industry. We picked up really nice carved furniture pieces for our home.
En route to Ubud, we visited the Elephant Park, where we took elephant rides, fed the animals and played with them in the river. The Sunset Temple at Uluwatu gave us a magnificent view of the surroundings. We saw the Kecak dance out there. It is a traditional Balinese dance that tells the local interpretation of the Ramayana.u00a0
Adventure escapade
One of the highlights of our trip was scuba diving in Nusa Dua. It was a first-time experience for both me and Radhika. We went underwater and they filmed it for us. We also did surfing on the Dreamland beach. It has huge waves and is sought-after by professional surfers across the globe. But we didn't go too far into the waters as it was risky.
In a relaxed mode
As we were honeymooning, we didn't want to pack in too many things on the trip. We explored the island on a scooter, stopping at points for shopping, eating or just chilling. The Legian Street had rocking nightlife with thumping music. We spent a lot of time on the beach enjoying the sunset views. The cruise was a high point of our trip. There are lot of cafes in Bali offering excellent Thai, Italian, Mexican and other cuisines. Jimbaran beach has these eating shacks, where you can choose from the wide variety of crabs, prawns and lobsters.
Tips for travellers
Visitors must check out the Balinese handicrafts. They are exquisite and reasonably priced. The water sports are also exciting. If you can't do without Indian food, the Queens of India restaurant has excellent Indian cuisine. Make sure that you party a bit as the nightlife is very good.
