Bali- a tiny but one of the most popular among the thousand islands that make up Indonesia. 

With a rental bike, you can actually travel across the island from end to end in about 4-5 hours. And that will take you from cliffside temples near pristine beaches, through terraced rice fields, all the way to the volcanoes and coffee plantations. Take a ferry to the diving spots and you’ll never forget swimming above corals that are tens of thousands of years old.

Just like the wide range of landscapes, Bali has a variety of food for every kind of tourist. Forget vegetarian, you get delicious vegan food every two kilometres. On the other hand, one of the most famous Balinese dishes (this may sound a bit horrifying to the vegetarians) is the babi guling/suckling pig.

Vegan cafes in Canggu

My stay in Bali started at Canggu (pronounced Changu), a beach town on the west coast. Our search for the nearest vegetarian place led us to Green Garden Cafe. A quaint cafe run by a pleasant lady who uses all the tip money for her rescue cats! She has six of them now and this one, Pablo, was such a poser!

I had a pumpkin soup with a chunk of avocado. Thick but not as smooth as I’d like. Spent a lot of time eyeing my friend’s perfect-looking spinach soup. I tried a tempeh burger. Think of tempeh as a fermented soybean paneer, of sorts. It has a strong flavour; doesn’t work for everyone, I’d say. The smoothies, however, were an absolute treat. She used coconut milk or coconut water as the base (vegan, remember?) and you wouldn’t miss the milk one bit. 

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Tanah Lot

We had half a day left so we drove over to Tanah lot. The most spectacular beach-side temples. A sunset or sunrise at this place will give you breathtaking photographs.

We stopped for some tender coconut before heading back. Compared to the ones in Kerala or India, these were huge! Not a lot of flesh but possibly a whole liter of water in it. Trust me when I say- look for the restroom there before you decide to drive back for 2 hours.  

Of course, being served tender coconut at a table on a plate was just funny.

Next stop: Potato Head Beach Club

Potato Head at Seminyak, the party hub of Bali, overlooks the beach. We didn’t get to see it at its party best but the food was excellent! 

This here is my roasted veggies on a bed of couscous. And pita pockets served with mayo and smoked aubergine dip. If I’m not wrong, a smoked aubergine dip is baba ganoush. Some day, I’ll share with y’all my own attempt at this Mediterranean dip! 

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I can’t recall the name of this coconut-based piece of art we ordered for dessert. Just as I can’t remember the signature cocktails that were ordered. I swear I didn’t drink any, although that would explain the memory loss.

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That wraps up Day One in Canggu, Bali.