Uluwatu Day 2, Blue Dreamy Beaches and a Night at Savaya

My second day in Uluwatu, July 27th, I practically spent the whole day with Natalia and Paulina. We made plans to grab breakfast at the Loft at 8am so that we could get an early start to the day. It was so perfect because I got the avocado toast with scrambled tofu on top, my favorite savory dish, and then we split an order of waffles. We each got a little more than one waffle, so practically we had a breakfast dessert. They were vegan waffles with a blueberry yogurt sauce and maple syrup, they tasted perfect. I was so so happy to have them there to chat with and share a dish together. I also got some coffee here and raked up quite the bill. I love Bali, but it is definitely not as cheap as it’s claimed to be, also I keep treating myself with fun drinks, juices, smoothies, and desserts that almost double my bill by the end of it. But, I am only in Bali for so much longer and who knows how the vegan scene will look like when I leave. 

Natalia and Paulina wanted to get their nails done before heading back home to Germany tomorrow, and I stayed back at the cafe for a few moments longer, telling them I would likely meet them at a nearby nail salon they had their sights on. As I walked to the nail place they originally sent me, I stumbled on a market that was at the yoga studio I was planning on going to soon called Alchemy. If it sounded familiar, you are correct because I went to their Ubud location my last day there, and when I found out they have an even bigger place here I knew I had to go. I was even planning on going to a class there this morning, but I swapped out the idea for a good nights sleep to recover from the hustle and hike. So I slept in, missing my yoga for the morning, but instead I spent more time with my new friends and that was a fair trade. I spent so much time at this market, getting some souvenirs and also checking out the restaurant they had attached to their yoga center, knowing that I would have to eat there because it was 100% plant-based and had the most beautiful open concept seating. I spent so much time at this market, they were practically done with their nails by the time I hopped on a scooter to meet them at a beach spot. They wanted to tan at the beach before going home, I totally understand that from my days bronzing days as being tan was the best beauty hack. 

We went to Blue Point Beach, but as we went down the stairs and arrived at a narrow sandy area between the cliffs with surfers holding onto their boards and trudging toward the water, no one was sitting on the sand as this was more of a port for the surfers than it was a laying out area for the vacationers. We took note and hiked back up the stairs to go to a beach more our aligned to our needs. But, let me confirm that this beach was absolutely beautiful. It reminded me of Maya Bay with cliffs surrounding you and the sand creating a picture perfect landscape you question if you could ever imagine up something so gorgeous. It was beautiful and I savored the moments that I could gaze upon the view, the blue water and tan rocks circling the area. 

We all hopped on scooters and went to Dreamland Beach. As we walked on the sand and toward the water, seeing all of the umbrellas and chairs, we knew this was a tanning beach and a swimming one as well. The waves were heavy, high, and crashing into the many bodies in the water, those just trying to swim or riding them out. We found a spot on the beach that had a cliff behind us that provided me some shade, yet created a border in which just in front of me were Natalia and Paulina getting their tan on. I opted for shade because I definitely get enough through daily living, and Natalia soon joined me as the sun was also just extremely hot to sit in. They went swimming while I watched our stuff. I wanted to go out there too, but the waves were crazy and I was still recovering slightly from getting slammed by them while surfing. I slightly regretted not hopping into the water, but I have two more months to swim in the ocean, this water was so blue and gorgeous I really couldn’t take my eyes away from it to then move myself into it.

We started getting hungry so we went to one of the beachside restaurants, snagged a good spot, and ate our lunch there. I stayed there instead of going back to the beach to bake in the full sun as the sun had migrated higher in the sky that the cliff no longer provided that necessary shade like the umbrella was still giving me at the table. Plus, I had a great view here and being able to sit upright while reading, a luxury compared to my backpack pillow on the lumpy sand.

I didn’t have the most filling lunch because there wasn’t many vegan options here sadly so all I had was a stripped away bowl of pasta and was still hungry after. Tonight we were going to Savaya, one of the nicest beach clubs in Bali and we had to go in by 6pm for it to be free and avoid the $30 cover. It was already 3:30pm and I wanted to get food before, knowing it would be difficult to find something there. I also had to get ready, so I left the beach and made a pit stop for a hearty vegan burger to carry me through the night. 

It was perfect timing when I got my food, ate it, returned to my hotel, showered, got ready, and then hopped on the back of a bike toward Savaya. I waited for Natalia and Paulina to arrive, as I was not stepping foot in a nightclub without my girls. 

We went in exactly at 6pm, walked around the club aimlessly to see why people hype it up so much. It was a really cool place and I got to experience it with friends that now feel as though I’ve known them forever, chatting like good friends and taking cutesy photos to timestamp our experience there. We were also joined by a friend that they made while traveling other cities, she was from Germany and at times they would all start speaking their native tongue and I would just stand their waiting for them to switch back to the language I was more familiar with. 

I was nervous for the club because the music dictates how much fun I have during a night out, and I had an intuition that they would have EDM DJs, EDM being one of my least favorite genres. I just want words to sing along to, and when you are sober at a club just hearing some tecno sounds, there’s only so long that it'll still string a bell to you. Thankfully though the girls got some food so we found a table while they ate, we did go to the dance floor for a bit, made some stops to the bathroom to regroup and give my ears a rest from the loud music. After about an hour dancing to the tecno music, Natalia, who also didn’t drink that night and dislikes edm, asked if I wanted to just hang by the restaurant so we went there and chatted! It was so much better hearing the music from a distance and instead build a friendship that I already treasured after knowing her for only a few days. We found more and more commonalities and talked about them for hours. It was the perfect situation for me at the club... to have someone to talk to when the music and dancing was just not doing it. I was grateful for her and I promised her that I would come visit her at uni in Berlin, I hope to stay true to that as well. 

We talked a while, Paulina was out on the dance floor with Selena, their friend from Germany, and we would go back to the dance floor to check back in with them here and there. We got there at 6pm, and around 11pm I was getting tired and knew that I would be getting home by myself and didn’t want it to be too late. The club closed at 12pm so I wasn’t leaving that entirely early. I really wanted to have my morning and felt content with my time at Savaya. I gave them a big hug goodbye in case I didn’t see them tomorrow. We made breakfast plans but they had an early flight and Natalia mentioned that Paulina likes to stay out until 5am, so our planned 8am breakfast, I had a feeling, was likely not going to happen. But, having that potential plan made saying goodbye less hard. I don’t know what I would’ve done without them here in Ulu, I had so much fun because of their company. It’s one of those things where you believe everything happens for a reason, that I was in the lobby ordering a taxi the exact same time as them. It was a blessing from God that I found them, knowing I was nervous about spending my time in Ulu alone in a hotel and not a hostel. I was nervous and feared the loneliness would affect my time in Ulu, but instead I was provided at the last minute the sweetest friendship. 

I have met a lot of people on my trip, but I don’t think they understood how impactful their friendship was to me at the time. And they were only traveling for a few weeks and I don’t think they met many people so I was one of the few new friends they made. Plus, I was a few years older, just completing a stage of life they were about to enter, so I have a feeling they looked up to me slightly and connected with me from that perspective. These are two people I truly hope to see again in my lifetime and that our hug on the Savaya dance floor wouldn’t be the last one. A challenge of making new friends here is having to say goodbye to the good ones, except if they are truly that good you can only hope that it won’t be the last goodbye.