This trip was a "semi-continuation" of our winter adventure in Beijing and China. Instead of routing our BMI redemption directly back from Penang from China, we did a virtual stopover in Singapore, flying back to Penang on Air Asia and ending the redemption with a Singapore to Bali business class flight a couple of weeks during a long weekend in Malaysia. We figured we could use some sun after freezing our butts off in China.

Instead of our usual short hop on Air Asia to Singapore, we decided try out Tiger Airways instead for the first time. The flight on Tiger Airways was also slightly cheaper and we would visit the Budget Terminal for the first time as well.



For our four nights in Bali, we decided to stay at the Conrad after reading great reviews on the hotel. We split the stay with a cash booking on the first three nights and a points+cash redemption on the last night.



The wife had some expiring Krisflyer miles that were just enough for a economy class redemption on Singapore Airlines after the 15% online booking discount. I decided to join her in economy using some Krisflyer miles as well thinking that the extra miles in business class would not be worth it for the relatively short flights to Singapore and Penang.

As usual, the trip report will be available on my blog with installments below:

• Introduction
• Penang to Bali
• Conrad Bali
• Exploring Bali
• Food in Bali
• Bali to Penang on SQ Y

Penang to Bali

We were dropped off at the airport two and a half hours by a friend on his way to the office. The Tiger Airways counters were not opened yet when we got there and we met other passengers who were similarly trying to find the correct check-in counters. Thankfully, the contract check-in agents for Tiger Airways finally arrived soon after and we were the first few to get checked-in.



Surprisingly, the Tiger Airways plane from Singapore arrived to Penang more than an hour before scheduled departure. It looks like we were going to be departing on time or so we thought. Boarding didn't start until thirty minutes before departure and when finally everyone was on board, there was not enough overhead cabin space for hand luggage. This caused some bags to be checked in and for the flight to get delayed for thirty minutes trying to sort the mess out. I was thinking to myself at this point on why we didn't start boarding early so that we might have departed on time. It was another 30 minutes after doors were closed before we finally departed for Singapore. Point here to Air Asia for on time departure!

We got to Singapore with an hour delay and parked at a pretty far parking bay. Similar to the LCCT in Kuala Lumpur, there are no aerobridges at the Singapore Budget Terminal. It took us a good 15 minute hike before we made it through immigration. Our bags were soon out and we hoped on of the free buses that would take us to Terminal 2. Here's where the Singapore Budget terminal beats LCCT - the transfer from LCCT to the main terminal building is via some dingy bus service that costs RM5 per person.

There were no lines at the business class check-in counters and we got our boarding passes and bags checked in to Bali. After going through security and immigration, we decided to head over to the Silverkris Lounge in Terminal 3 first since we've never visited the one in Terminal 3 before and we needed to be back in Terminal 2 for our flight later.







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Calvin, you're my new favorite trip reporter! First the one on Harbin(my birthplace) and now Bali. My wife and I spent our honeymoon there back in August. Now your posts are going to give me nostalgia and I will want to go back. We stayed at the Conrad for half our time there.

(It's 35 in Dallas today and now I really want to go back )

What a coincidence! I have a couple more interesting trips (EK F on A380, Aussie, TG A345) coming up later in the year. What are the odds that they will trigger some nostalgia for you too? :P

Conrad Bali

The Conrad Bali lived up to the hype and reputation. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and it is now one of our favorite hotels. The hotel was well kept with lush green gardens, multiple pools and amazing views.


Main Entrance


Lobby

We were greeted with a cold refreshing towel and iced drink during check-in. We were provided the welcome letter at check-in and told that we were upgraded to the next level room and breakfast was complimentary in the main restaurant due to my Hilton Honors Gold Status. I was disappointed that there was no mention of the usage of the Executive lounge so I asked before we left. The guy helping us at check-in told us it was either the upgrade or the lounge usage. In that case, I informed him that I would have gone with the lounge usage instead and went to check with this manager for a couple of minutes and came back and told us that they've made an exception for us this time and would grant us lounge access and provided us with a new welcome letter stating that benefit.


The Conrad Bali Monkeys

We were upgraded to a corner garden view room that was pretty large. Waiting for us in the room were the infamous Conrad toys that Lydia has now made her personal mission of collecting. Our favorite part of the room was the huge bath tub that could fit both of us in it. Sorry, no pictures with us in it to share.

Read more for a ton more pictures....

Did you get a new monkey everyday? I only got one on my first night.

I wasn't aware of the upgrade OR lounge rule. Never asked. I got upgraded to an oceanview room(could be because of honeymoon status or Gold level). We just kind of showed up at the lounge assuming I had access and they never questioned me. We were only there one afternoon for drinks and food but went in several times to use the internet.

It was just a monkey and a turtle for the first night and the night we swapped rooms. The rest of the monkeys were bought at the gift shop..

Exploring Bali

We could have just spent the entire trip just relaxing and lazing around the Conrad but we didn't since it was our first time in Bali and we wanted to see the major spots. We hired a car and driver for a day to take us around. We found the driver from tripadvisor and pre-booked him for ~$40 USD for ~6 hours. He was responsive to my queries over email and we were very happy with the level of service received. He unexpectedly even acted as a guide in walking together with us and explaining the the places we visited. Needless to say we left him a pretty good tip. Let me know if you want his contact.

Our first stop of the day was visiting the temple at Uluwatu, which was a temple situated on a picturesque cliffs.







Read more (links to my blog)....

Food in Bali

As expected, the food in Bali was great and in some ways, pretty similar to Malay food we got back in Malaysia. There were some dishes that tasted new to me as I couldn't recognize the spices being used and some were spicy and definitely packed some kick which I always enjoy.

One of our favorite restaurants that we tried was Bumbu Bali. We liked it so much we ate there twice. It is nearby to the Conrad and in spite of being only a 10 minute walk away, they do offer pick ups which we did use when it was raining during our first visit. What I particularly liked about Bumbu was the quality of food served. I would summarize it was perfectly cooked Balinese cuisine. For example, the seafood that we ordered on one night was perfectly cooked with tender squid and shrimp. It was almost fine dining without the "frou-frouness".








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Calvin,

Great trip report! Thanks!

You mentioned the Maldives. I have a ton of QR and SQ miles - and was considering a trip (from IAH) to either Bali or the Maldives to burn them off. If you have been to the Maldives - which would you choose?

Bali and Maldives are VERY different. Depends on what you are looking for and/or preference. The beaches are way better in Maldives than in Bali. Imagine white sands and crystal clear water. However, you are stuck on an island with nothing much to do which is ideal for honeymoons or those who just want to relax and get away from it all. Since you're stuck on some island too, it can get pretty expensive with the food, drinks and transfer from Male.

Bali on the hand has much more to do - food, shopping, culture, etc. You can stay at the beach for a couple of days and move inland to Ubud for a totally different experience.

Let me know if you need more specifics and/ore recommendations. Lucky has a blog on this exact topic too.

This helps - thanks. We would tend to be less temple people and more beach people. Happy to sit, read, snorkel, drink, nap, etc. This said, so far our favorite place to go is Cambodia. Great resort, quiet, bit of culture, lot's of pool and massage time. The people were really nice. And it was dirt cheap.

And thanks for the link to Lucky's blog. Good reading - especially the comments after. Saw one comment that compared Bali to Cancun. That may have done Bali in for me - we prefer more quiet, secluded places. I asked an Aussie girl that worked for me if she liked Bali - she said "Yes, it's great. But it's still Indo....".

The one thing that may sway me away from Maldives is the cost. I need to sit and think about paying $15 for an orange juice - and if that would ruin the experience for me. I have done a little looking and pricing - but I think now that I found this website I may have access to some pretty good information and opinions.

On specifics, and while everyone is different, what would you say it will cost a couple for 7 days in the Maldives, decent resort, meals, wine, etc - all in from arrival in Male to getting back to Male?

That's a hard one - depends on how high/low end you get. If you're worried about cost, you can head to the nearer resorts that don't require a seaplane transfer and also opt for all-inclusive resorts.

Oh, one more piece of advice - definitely try to go for a overwater bungalow. Our first stay was a Dhiggiri (~$300 USD a night all inclusive) for our honeymoon and we stayed at a water bungalow. It was one of the best memorable trips being able to wake up for sunrise and head straight in the water. Our second trip was to Eriyadu (about the same price but only fullboard) about the which didn't have any water bungalows. The resort and the place was okay but it definitely was not as memorable as Dhiggiri. Trip reports are on my blog if you're interested.

Thanks...again. I am waiting on flight to Perth from SIN - have 1.5 hours - will read through the trip reports. Yup - over the water is a must. One thing my wife suggested was to get the over-the-water for 3 nights - then transfer to a less expensive room for the balance of the trip. Is she on the right track - or would we be disapointed?

I would do the less expensive room first and over the water later. That way there's less disappointment towards the end of the trip...