Uluwatu Day 4, Last Full Day, Finding One Last New Beach to Explore

My last full day in Ulu, I decided to chill again. Because I went to yoga at Alchemy yesterday, I was able to write a review for them, granting me a free class. I was aiming for “fire yoga” at 7:30am so I could get a start on my day, but when the alarm went off I knew I needed an extra few minutes of sleep. Knowing their class schedule, I slept in a little longer and decide to go to "slow flow" at 8am instead. The extra thirty minutes of sleep did wonders and I am grateful I passed on the hard yoga session as slow flow was enough of a challenge. It was a refreshing class, a traditional yoga class was exactly what I needed this morning.

Even thorough my dinner last night was at Alchemy, I could not resist the build your own bowl they offered for only $5, getting chia seed pudding as a base, three fruits and two granolas to make a delicious and filling bowl. It was so good, I regretted not going back for more while I was here, and knowing I wouldn’t have enough time tomorrow before my ferry. I enjoyed each bite and felt as though I was living at this yoga studio for the amount of times I’ve been here during my stay(four times now).

I went back to Single Fin to do the usual laptop work, finally catching up on journalling and getting the coffee and juice combo. It was low tide when arrived so not many surfers were out, and by the time I left the waves were getting higher and the bodies on board grew exponentially. I wanted to stay longer to watch them, but there was a beach I wanted to visit and still needed some lunch. 

I tried going to a place down the road from Single Fin the other day to order a specific dish, a vegan bagel that was only $4, but when I arrived for a late lunch, they had run out of stock for the day and I literally left the restaurant because they didn’t have many other vegan options. But today, I hoped that the weekday meant there would be less patrons and arriving earlier maybe meant I could snag the meal before they ran out again. By chance, I got the last bagel and it was so delicious. I am really proud of myself because before the trip I wasn’t a big mushroom fan, hesitated eating them at the beginning of the trip, but now enjoying them more in my dishes. This bagel was packed with tempeh, mushrooms, greens, and a yummy chickpea sauce that made each bite better than the one before. 

I have zero self control when there is a vegan dessert in my midst, and being next to the bakery showcase, I eyed up the vegan donuts. There were three different ones to chose from, a hearty carrot cake one, a strawberry jam filled one, and a simple cinnamon and sugar. I wasn't sure if the cinnamon sugar would be too plain, but the donut was only $2 and I thought it would be worth the try. My final test was when I asked the waitress what the most popular donut was and when it was the name of the one I had in mind, I knew it was in the cards for me to try. To make me feel less bad about getting it, I got it to go and ate part of it now, and the second half later at the beach. My first bite, I was blown away by how soft and light it was. It reminded me of the fried bread my family would get at my grandparents town parade festival. Except, somehow it tasted healthier and even lighter than what we would get. Such an amazing pick, this restaurant was making up quickly for the fact I had to leave it yesterday. 

After my meal, I hopped in a scooter and went to the last beach that was on my list. I was slightly disappointed at the beach, in comparison to Dreamland and Padang Padang, this beach was the furthest away and didn’t provide much. There was no shade and part of the beach was smoked out by someone lighting a fire likely to burn some unwanted materials. It was cute to see all of the kids learning how to surf on the baby waves that rolled into the shore, but for a while I was just frying in the sun, applying loads of sunscreen, and reading my book. It finally turned a bit cloudy so that saved me from the never ending rays, and because I went later in the day, soon enough, the UV died down to a more acceptable level. I did not love this beach and sadly wouldn’t recommend it, going this far for a mediocre beach was tough. I wish I would have gone to a nearby one and had a good experience seeing it again, but at least now I know. 

I read on the beach which was a nice way to spend the afternoon. Before leaving, I grabbed dinner at a place on the beach and watched the sunset from my seat with a rice bowl in front of me. Returning to my hotel, I just chilled for the night, packed up my stuff, sadly, and then went to bed early ish in anticipation of my departure from mainland Bali tomorrow.