The second part of my Bali vacation was spent in the southern part of the island to attend my friend Katy’s wedding. We were roommates in university and have stayed friends over the years, but I haven’t seen her since she moved to Australia 6 years ago. Her life has been filled with amazing travel adventures and now unconditional love with a wonderful Aussie!
My friend (and another former university roomie) Stefanie invited me to stay with her at the Four Seasons in Jimbaran Bay for the weekend. It is about an hour south of Ubud and sits on the coast overlooking the bay. Instead of a massive hotel, the resort is made up of private villas. Our one-bedroom villa included its own covered outdoor living room, sundeck, plunge pool along and a bathroom to die for! Stef and I enjoyed a leisurely lunch and mojitos by the pool, morning yoga overlooking the ocean and incredible breakfasts every morning. If you can afford it I highly recommend staying there!
On Friday night we met up with the wedding party at a very cool restaurant & bar on the beach called Nammos at the Karma Kandara resort in Uluwatu. The resort sits overlooking the ocean. We had to take an inclinator 85 meters down the limestone cliff to the beach. Mojitos and conversation flowed into the night as I got to know the Australian wedding guests.
The wedding the following day was held at a The Istana which is private clifftop luxury villa in Uluwatu. The fully staffed estate has 5 suites, a media room, two infinity pools, a children’s wing an and large outdoor livingroom/dinning room. Katy was a gorgeous bride! The ceremony was lovely and you could see how much her husband adores her! Stef and I ate some amazing food, drank mojitos (apparently the popular cocktail in Bali) and danced the night away with the mix of Australian and American guests. It was the perfect luxurious destination wedding!
Funny side story … at 2am during the drive back to the Four Season both Stef and I were falling asleep in the car. We were woken up because our driver had to avoid hitting a couple of cows that had decided to run across the road. That scare cured Stef’s hiccups immediately!
To wrap up the wedding celebrations, on Sunday the bride and groom hosted a Balinese BBQ at The Istana. Stef and I lounged by the pool, drank wine (avoided the mojitos), and chatted with our ex-pat friend for hours catching up on the years that have flown by so quickly. The perfect weekend ended with an incredible sunset while the fishing boats went out to sea (we even spotted a lone whale just off the coast).
I love my friends no matter where they scatter to in the world. This was a very special weekend which I will never forget. I am incredibly happy and honored to have spent it with Katy and Stef!
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