Two Days in Kuta, Bali, Indonesia

Lots of pictures in this post!

When I looked up a little information on Kuta, Bali, here's what I found:

"Kuta Beach is located on the western side of the island's narrow isthmus and is considered Bali's most famous beach resort destination."

"Kuta is the best known tourist resort area on the island of Bali in Indonesia..."

"Kuta boasts the best beaches in Bali, a five-mile stretch of clean sand that is a magnet for surfers and sunbathers."

"One of Bali's first tourist developments, it's best known for its Indian Ocean surfing and party-centric atmosphere."

Sounds perfect right?

We were only there for two full days, but that was enough time to learn that I probably won't be back to this part of Bali anytime soon. Having said that, I'm really glad that I went.

Kuta, Bali is a fast paced, crazy busy place.  Our hotel was situated right in the heart of a maze of narrow streets clogged with shops, tourists, motorbikes, and cars. It wasn't so different from any back street here in Shenzhen or Nha Trang, Vietnam. I expected the village-side of Kuta to look tired, shabby, even dilapidated and massive amounts of motorbikes to take up the roads based on my experiences in Asia.

I didn't expect the beach to be lined with souvenir stands and frippery. Since Kuta Beach was only a 15 minute walk from the hotel, it was where we planned to spend some quality time. It was a big let down to see the state of things. Half of the beach was lined with vendors (all those umbrellas in the picture below) willing to sell you time on the chair, beverages, food, massages, gaudy souvenirs. What remained of the beach and that wasn't pounded by the surf, was debris filled sand. 

The best part of Kuta Beach was watching the surfers and the sunset over the Indian Ocean. Two parts of the descriptions that were actually accurate about this place.

Since the beach was less than we were expecting, we retreated to the hotel roof top pool. It was a refreshing shallow pool and we enjoyed lunch pool-side both days.

The main highlight of the trip was our Mt. Batur Sunrise Trek with Pineh Bali Private Tours. Mt. Batur is an active volcano (last erupted in 2000). Our hike began with a 1:30am hotel pickup. At 3:00 we were at the Pineh Colada Bali, Bali coffee plantation and organic farm, having banana pancakes for breakfast. We climbed 1717m (2.73 miles) in 1:52:29 in the dark to watch the sunrise! Our second breakfast was a banana sandwich and boiled egg at the top. On the climb down we got to see all of the things we passed in the dark including the monkeys! We were all finished by 9am! 

The Pineh website describes this experience as a once in a lifetime and it was! Our guide, Rapi, gave us GREAT support getting up and down the mountain. It was challenging and got even more challenging the higher we went. Without him literally holding my hand, I would have fallen many more times than just once on the way down.  

It was short and sweet, but as usual we tried to get as much out of an opportune trip as we could. 

Have you ever hiked at night?

Getaway Essentials and Low Calorie Day

My Saturday started with the hardest plank ever. Have you tried this? I did 3 sets on each arm holding for 20(ish) seconds each time. This really is the #ultimateplankchallenge!!

I hit up the chiropractor for another adjustment. Whatever he's doing has helped my knee. Obviously it's an alignment issue. 

The rest of the day I focused on PACKING FOR BALI!!

mrC has a trip there and since the flights are so affordable from here, I'm meeting him for a couple of days. I love being able to experience new places. 

From my previous trips to Vietnam and Maldives, I've learned to pack the essentials for a quick getaway like this. 

Swimwear: I love doing mix and match options.

Fitness wear: again mix and match goes a long way. mrC packs my running shoes for me (super lucky)!

Everyday wear: light and simple options, but variety too. Tanks, short sleeves, and one long sleeve.

Dress: of course one dress is needed!

What I ate on low calorie day

Breakfast: eggs and pb&j rice cake

Lunch: turkey slices, pb&j rice cake, pb banana protein bar

Dinner: bbq chicken breast, green beans, sweet potato fries

Snack: watermelon (my favorite) and then I had an apple

Macros: still trying to figure out the carbs, but I was also dealing was limited supply since I'm headed out of town. 

Have you ever been to Bali??

6 Mile Hike and Regular Calorie Day

It was SWIC hiking day. Today we traveled about an hour by metro and bus to the Botanical Gardens where we walked a lot!

We covered nearly 7 miles checking out the main features in the park.

Fairy Lake

Hongfa Buddist Temple

Petrified Forest

We climbed to the top of this Pagoda.

Lots of pretty things to see.

Here is what I ate today:

Breakfast: scrambled eggs and pb&pjs rice cake

Made a point to eat well knowing it was going to be a long morning.

Hiking snack: Fuji apple

Lunch: leftover quinoa and tuna, and (not pictured) pb banana bar, pb & j rice cake

Late lunch (about 3pm) and once I started I almost couldn't stop. Ugh.

Dinner: chicken salad and green beans
Better meal than my lunch and I didn't eat all of the chicken salad. Seriously spicy!

I'm disappointed that I overate at lunch. Everything just sounded good! I need to have a plan for those times when I am hungry like that. Ironically, I was still below my calorie goal for day.

Tomorrow is another day...

What do you do to prevent over-eating?

3 Awesome Yoga Poses and Breaking Fast

Morning yoga. My muscles love an easy stretch session the day after a good workout.

There are lots of traditional (common) poses that feel good: downward facing dog, lunge pose, pigeon pose, even child's pose. 

Here are 3 poses that feel REALLY good to me in the morning, especially after a full body workout the day before:

Supine spinal twist: this feels so good after a leg and arm workout. It really opens up the chest muscles and stretches the glutes.

Revolved fan: another pose that feels good all over plus stretches another large leg muscle group. Those hamstrings.

One legged arcing dog: This pose can feel awkward, but I love the stretch I get in my quads and hip flexors. 

As a distraction, I walked to the chiropractor. In addition to getting an adjustment (including on my knee), I also picked up a new foam roller. My old one was deformed which is the number one sign it needs replaced.

More distractions = a stop at a flower market on the way back to the apartment.

What I ate on fast day

Breakfast: water, coffee

Lunch: water and herbal tea

Breaking Fast (aka dinner): leftover quinoa and tuna, Fuji apple, and pb banana protein bar

I'm so excited that I completed my fast this time and I wasn't miserable. It did help that a friend stopped by and stayed longer than expected right before time to eat. 

Macros: I think I did a good job selecting my break fast meal. Just over 300 calories and very filling!

What's your favorite non-traditional yoga pose?

If you fast, what is your favorite meal to eat when you break it?

Ultimate Plank Challenge and Feast Day

I was awake extra, extra early today. After failing to fall back asleep, I decided to knock out my workout so that feast day could commence.

Last night I came across the #Ultimateplankchallenge and you know how I love a daily challenge. So this morning I jumped in and completed days 1-3: timed plank, 3x30 second forearm planks, and 3x15 crunches. 

The feast day workout had to be modified so I could give my knee a rest. I was able to complete the arm circuit using lower reps (I can't do 100 push-ups!!), but I opted for a leg workout without any squats or lunges. How? I used this routine from Amanda Miller and added mountain climbers at the end. Then I took my cool down outside. They're working on the boardwalk, so I walked in the courtyard of our apartment complex.

I worked on the active trigger points again and brought out my secret weapon. The tennis ball is small, but it can find knots in places that the foam roller and stick can't get to. Warning: if you've never used a tennis ball to roll out knots, it hurts. Just a heads up. 

My knee is better, but still not a happy camper. It's as if my knee cap is not tracking properly. This happened in the past and it turned out to be my IT band, so that's where I went with the tennis ball. There was definitely some knotting/tender spots in there, so I'm hoping this will be the answer.

What I ate on feast day #2

Breakfast: protein pancakes, watermelon, and coffee

These pancakes are awesome, but actually have twice as much protein as carbs. I think that defeats the purpose of carb loading on feast day. They were really good though.

Lunch: quinoa and tuna, grapes, pb banana protein bar, water

Left out the dairy from my regular recipe (see it here) and it wasn't bad. I was stuffed!

Snacks: (not pictured) more watermelon, some Baked Lays chips

Dinner: leftover quinoa and tuna, water, pb banana protein bar

I was 100% NOT HUNGRY, but knowing how bad I felt on the last fast day, I made myself eat.

Macros: 

Admittedly proud of my eating work today. I was still 500 calories under the goal of eating 50% more than regular calorie days, but my carbs were better than last feast day.

Let the fasting begin!!