Nusa Dua is the completely opposite of Ubud – while Ubud is rushing waterfalls in the rainforest, Nusa Dua is sandy beaches and pristine coastline. Arriving at Kayumanis Nusa Dua was two parts surreal, one part an architectural showcase of what would be my dream villa if I lived on the beach in Bali.

Walking through the labyrinth of pathways to our villa, I was in a tired daze from a day exploring, and luckily, we were being taken straight to our room where check-in procedures were performed while I semi vegged out on the couch. I couldn’t stop laughing about how the outdoor bathroom was described as the ‘sexy room’ during the room tour . Somehow, they make modern minimalist and traditional Balinese work together in a fusion of the most perfect little walled mini-compound. The living room space was separate from  the bedroom, which was actually the best case scenario as it curbed my midnight ginger cookie cravings (more on this later). 🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪 (The number of ginger cookies consumed in one sitting at the spa.)

After taking a short breather, we were escorted back through the labyrinth of dimly lit paths to the spa. This was just as well, because I think we would not have otherwise been able to find the rooms nestled away in a private corner of the hotel grounds. My favorite part of the Kayumanis is that even at full capacity, you could never see another soul during your time there (except maybe at breakfast time if you opt to eat at the restaurant). For two introverts at heart, a few days of pure seclusion sounded like pure paradise.

The treatment began with a foot massage as we sipped ginger tea, and I stuffed my face with ginger cookies (we weren’t going to get a chance to have dinner till 10pm, so I had my dessert first). What they didn’t tell us was that our room would be stocked with two entire jars of cookies and nuts that were replenished every single day for the length of our stay. That was literally the closest thing I’d had to the magically refilling cookie jar of my childhood dreams I’d ever gotten.

After the foot massage came a heavenly full body massage, and we showered off together afterwards, before finishing off our tea and heading to dinner. We had dinner at the hotel restaurant, Piasan, as it was already 10pm and it had started pouring with rain. We sat outdoors on the platform overlooking the fountains as the sound of rain engulfed the silent air. I noted that even though the rain was coming down hard, the torches in the drive remained lit. It was just us and one other couple, and I distinctly felt like I was on Survivor island, complete with tiki torches in the slick rain.

The outdoor seating area of Piasan Restaurant – but no tables are set up during the day.

The communal hotel pool – but the private pools in each villa are so good that we didn’t run into anybody here our entire stay!

The next day, we took a taxi to Seminyak to wander the shops and grab brunch at one of the cute cafes in the area. We had decided on Kynd Community, but there was a half hour wait, so we went up the road to Balibo.la, with its incredible flexitarian menu and gorgeous decor.Bali is very humid, so after our wander around Seminyak, we headed back to the hotel to cool off a bit before dinner. The Kayumanis team had arranged a wonderful afternoon tea. The table was completely covered with 5 plates of finger sandwiches and sweet treats, and I got to taste another Indonesian dessert that I loved as a child. I was so so excited to see the baked cassava, and if I hadn’t just had lunch, would have devoured the entire plate all by myself.

If it seems like we’d been doing nothing but eating, that would be partially accurate. We hadn’t been able to keep up our usual exercise regimen, so went for a run together along the boardwalk. I got a vision of Maze Runner as we ran down the path to the beach.

The Nusa Dua peninsula is lined with hotels, and it is always interesting for me to check out what the other properties surrounding the one we are staying at look like. One had motivating messages written on the towels that lined their chairs facing out onto the boardwalk, which I thought was amazing (I sorely needed the motivation to keep running in the heat). 😂

We had had a stressful few weeks so I wanted to do something nice as a thank you to Jase for being such a supportive loving human being. Not every day is a good one, and we take each speed bump as another challenge in the journey of life, but I want to make sure that there are days where we can just be present in the moment, on a beach, on the opposite side of the world. We had already looked over the menu on the previous day when we had arrived at the hotel, and the 7 course seafood meal was everything I had hoped it would be. After the live traditional Indonesian music finished, they put on corny romantic songs – but hey, I have no problem shamelessly singing along to “A Thousand Miles” if it just happens to be playing during my date night.

Instead of breakfast at the restaurant like the previous morning, we opted for the sunrise breakfast over breakfast served in our villa. It was a little overcast, but there is something about waking up for a sunrise that makes you feel like you’ve begun your day with purpose.

Nusa Dua is a great place to stay if you are wanting to explore the southern side of Bali – spots such as the gorgeous Kelingking beach on Nusa Penida Island. Can’t wait to be back one day. ❤

5 Comments

  1. This looks like the most ideal vacation. My bucket list just grew larger- what wonderful photos as well! Thank you for sharing. (And all your outfits are amazing)

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