Serenity Yoga Lembongan Bali Review (Bali Yoga Retreat) + Introduction to Nusa Lembongan
Sunday, January 08, 2017
For those of you who know, I had a really long break at the end of 2016 (23rd Dec to 2 Jan to be exact), and my wanderlust was acting up majorly. What better way to end the year than a reflective, calming trip with self-introspection and a mean workout to boot? I decided on going to a yoga retreat on a friend's recommendation, because she said her experience with one had changed her life. I was so excited! I started researching yoga retreats and came upon these two websites that became instrumental in making a decision on where to go:
13 Affordable Retreats with a View in Bali - This website is a list of places you can go for a yoga retreat in Bali. After reading through everything, I shortlisted Yoga Barn, H2O Yoga and Serenity Yoga Lembongan. Note: The last 2 choices are not in the main island of Bali, with them being in Gili Trawangan and Lembongan Island respectively. Ultimately decided on going with Lembongan because Yoga Barn was sold out (you should book much in advance!) and H2O Yoga was really difficult to get to, with Gili Trawangan being closer to Lombok (east of Bali) than Bali, and it not having a budget airline that flies there.
BookYogaRetreats.com - This website also shows you all the other options out there in the world (Yoga and Art Therapy in Sweden anyone?) and has some powerful filters you can use to search for what you want. I used it to do a comparison of my choices.
So finally settled on Serenity Yoga Lembongan's retreat package. It's USD 350 for a 4 day 3 night stay inclusive of unlimited yoga classes, snorkelling, a foot massage, body massage, all breakfasts included, a room/cabin at Puri Kirana and all land/boat transfers from the mainland island of Bali. You can take the longer 7 day 6 night package for USD 450. The owner, Caroline, was so patient with my questions and her emails. I booked pretty last minute too and she had to answer my emails over the Christmas and Boxing Day break. A thing to note is that there is no booking system or payment gateway on Serenity's website, so you will have to email in to ask for the availability of classes/package/rooms. Payment was made to a Bermuda Island branch of an Asian bank, so the process is slightly arduous and you will have to incur a transfer fee of some SDG20.
Day 1 - Flight from Singapore, arrival, lunch at a warung, aerial yoga and a dinner buffet
Shall we begin on our journey? This is where the island is in comparison to the main Bali island. We took a Jetstar flight 5.40am in the morning on the 28th of December. The flight was around 2h 40min from Singapore.
When we arrived there was a driver holding a board with our names on it.
The land transfer to the ferry terminal was by Rocky Fast Cruise and it took around 40min to reach Sanur beach from Denpasar International Airport.
To note though, there isn't actually a physical jetty, and the ferry stops directly on the beach of Sanur. Here you see the employees carrying up our luggage to the top deck of the boat. You will get your feet slightly wet so you'll have to wear slippers to board the ferry. I have to say the broken pieces of coral made it kind of hard to walk up!
Once there, it is a 30-40 min boat ride to the island of Lembongan.
Saw this doggo sleeping on the beach once we arrived at Lembongan.
Unloading the baggage onto the beach!
We were driven to our location via this giant tuktuk. It took about 8min from the landing point to our accommodation. It is recommended that you take a map of the island from the booth at Rocky Cruises!
Scene from the taxi.
Traditional temples were everywhere.
We got slightly lost as we alighted at the Serenity Yoga sign, when we were actually supposed to walk further up the street to Puri Kirana (our accommodation)! Serenity Yoga is basically a large shala (a large, open-air pavilion) and is closed except for its morning 8am class and evening 5pm class (unless otherwise stated). Walked all the way in and had to walk out again!
The entrance of Puri Kirana is an open-air dining space, which is next to a mini- gathering area with books and a music player.
Checking in.
Our room. I have to say mustn't expect a 5-star Bali villa because this is after all, a more rural version of Bali. The cabin was small and cosy, but if you're accustomed to the cleanliness of how Singapore is then this takes some slight adjustment to get used to.
The standing fan in the room, which unfortunately did not come with a cover. There was also one power socket in the whole cabin so do remember to come with a multi-plug or multi-USB plug.
As you can see, the floor of the bathroom was full of soap stains, so be prepared to wear your slippers into the shower!
A functioning toilet. They gave us extra toilet paper, and we got that going for us, which was nice. Extremely lowered expectations by this time. They did not provide toothbrushes and toothpaste so you have to bring your own. You also get one fresh towel a day but additional towels from the reception if you ask, free-of-charge.
Outside the cabin! Mozzies and flies are everywhere here. So to prevent yourself from becoming a walking mosquito-feeder, remember to bring industrial strength mosquito repellant. (The orange cylindrical one is particularly good, you can get it from Watsons or Guardian in Singapore.)
Another view of the entrance to Puri Kirana. This is a statue of the Hindu elephant god Ganesha.
The small chill out area, often with soft music playing.
The pool! It's not as huge as some reviews claim but it's pretty to look at. The deepest part is to 180cm?
We ventured out for lunch (Puri Kirana's restaurant doesn't serve lunch) to this local place called Warung Anjani, it is on the right when you walk out from the exit. Phew, check out the flies! Wanted to eat in but decided against it and did a takeaway to our cabin.
The decoration within the warung.
Back at Puri Kirana outside our cabin. We had Nasi Lemak and Mee Goreng which were quite tasty and cost arounf IDR30,000 each.
Wolfing down the food because WHO CAN RESIST MEE GORENG amirite?
Took a much needed nap and got ready for our first yoga class at Serenity Yoga at 5pm. The first class was aerial yoga or fly high yoga and it was my first time! :S It was really challenging, especially when you need to let go of your fear of falling down as you do the back flips assisted by the straps hanging from the ceiling. Caroline was very clear with her instructions and we got to experience the full spectrum of moves.
One of the poses where your had to sit on the straps and do hands-to-heart-center meditative pose. Even this was kind of tough for me.
Night time at 7pm was a buffet with Caroline and all the other participants of the retreat. The food was just amazing. You will definitely enjoy it if you're a fan of Southeast Asian cuisine - the vegetable and tofu curry deserve an extra shout out. We had a really great time getting to know everyone and also why they decided to come on this trip. There were friends from Australia and all the way from Denmark!
Day 2: Exploring the beach and into the murky darkness!
Balinese people are mostly Hindus, so you will see these offerings outside buildings or shops all the times with incense.
In the morning before 8am yoga, we had a bowl of fruit and some coffee. Afterward, we had a delicious meal of toast, scrambled eggs, tomatoes, onions and bacon (it's called The Works). Are you judging me for having 2 servings of breakfast? Well don't because a growing girl needs her nutrition. (Poor excuse for gluttony) Breakfast is included in the package but of course you shouldn't go too crazy with the ordering. Food here takes about 10 (if you tell them to hurry) to 20min to be served so if you are in a rush you should definitely inform the kitchen.
Going out to explore the island! We are at the northern part of Lembongan, so when you exit from Puri Kirana and turn left, you can walk all the way to the beach.
In around 3-5min, you reach this resort called Mahagiri. Some reviews say that you will get a better experience if you stay here and get the beach view room and then take classes at Serenity Yoga, but that is of course up to you. Rooms here are around IDR3,200,000 for 2 nights. Much more expensive than Puri Kirana's USD50 a night though you will get much better facilities.
The. Beach. Is. Awesome!!! Look at the crystal clear waters! We were lucky to have had a sunny day with beautiful, fluffy clouds and amazingly blue waters (the sunlight has a major part to play in this).
Cue indiscriminate photo taking on the beach!
There are all these chairs by the pool you can use, and wifi from Mahagiri Resort too.
Well, you have to buy a drink of course. The mocktails and juices here are around IDR50,000 or USD5.
It was amazing to just lounge at the beach, drink a little juice and just relax. The benefits of Serenity Yoga is that it allows you flexibility - they're not as strict as some more boot-campesque places which have a rigid yoga schedule. You can decide to take a more relaxed pace during your vacation and enjoy the other parts of the island too!
The bar and the restaurant at Mahagiri!
Lunch was at The Sampan near Puri Kirana! Had the Chicken Batutu (smashed chicken with spices) and...
Special Nasi Goreng with satay.
Back at the hotel, we decided to take a dip in the pool.
What a pity that I can't swim :( I swear I know all the strokes and everything but I just. Can't. Float. I'll always sink like a deadweight in water. I know because I've tried a MILLION TIMES to swim!
Then it was time for our 5pm yoga class. That day we did vinyasa flow, which was a pretty challenging class. 5pm is also when the mosquitos come out so make sure you use the mosquito repellant provided by Serenity Yoga to mozzi-proof yourself!
Afterward we decided to check out a warung Caroline recommended called Warung Jibaku. It is further down the road from the beach and Mahagiri Resort but when we got to the bend, the road was completely dark! As in pitch black. We almost did not make it because one half of us was too chicken to walk into the darkness, but thank goodness we somehow had the sense to bring a torchlight.
Dinner was of tomato soup...
Rice and grilled vegetables...
And the highlight, which was this snapper that was caught the day before. And it was only IDR100,000 or USD10!
Had a really satisfying meal and thankfully the walk back was much less scary since we knew what was coming.
Day 3 - The most action-packed day, snorkelling, 2 spas and yoga
In the morning, we walked for 15min to Bali Eco Deli for our pickup for snorkelling.
This was the guy who owns the snorkeling business! You can see his number on his shirt. If you booked through Puri Kirana, Mudi (the owner) can book a 4 stop snorkeling trip for you with pickup for IDR200,000.
Our snorkeling boat!
They dropped us at 3 locations around the island of Lembongan and also the neighbouring island of Nusa Penida. Sadly, we did not get to go to Manta Ray bay and see the manta rays because the currents were too rough. Also there happened to be an earthquake that morning 300km off the coast of Bali (we felt it!), so the waters were pretty choppy that day.
One thing about snorkeling is that it takes some getting used to. The sea is very salty and it can be scary for a non-swimmer like myself (we used life jackets, but got some abrasions under our arms) to be floating around in the current. However, the masks provided by the boat were pretty good in a sense that they prevented water from getting in from the top, unlike the previous times we went snorkeling.
We saw some amazing fish, such as this rhino fish, a large grey tuna and a really funny looking thin colourful fish. Have been trying to ID them but have been unsuccessful. The corals were also mostly bleached or have been turned into stone. :( I think it's mostly due to global warming and how the temperature of the sea has been raised by one or two degrees, which is detrimental to the survival of the corals.
After that, we walked back to Puri Kirana from the place they alighted us on the beach. Chanced upon some temples on the way back. Lunch was the snack pack that the snorkeling people gave us when we met them!
Walking back to Puri Kirana from the beach.
The entrance.
After lunch, we took a 30-40min walk to the spa for our foot and full body massage (1h) each. The road was very treacherous! We took a different turn so we wound up walking along the ledge to the beach pictured here.
Finally at the end of the small alley we arrived at our destination, SUB Spa.
As you can see the shack is small and unassuming. It's run by a husband and wife + grandmother trio. It's not air-conditioned but they do have fans. It's really small, and the foot massage took place in the entrance. There were other customers waiting for their turns there too (they only have 2 rooms inside) and we ended up chatting!
If you come here by yourself, you have to book wayy in advance because despite their humble shopfront, they were booked up to Jan 5th at that point. A foot massage was IDR85,000 at SUB Spa.
The view on the way back. On this day, we reached Puri Kirana and just had enough time to change into our yoga gear before our 5pm class.
There was kind of a mixup with the booking so at night, we did our spa treatments at Kemilau Spa near Puri Kirana. Would have preferred both the foot massage and the body massage to be done there instead of having to walk 30min to SUB Spa, and because Kemilau was so much more upscale! But well just going with the flow. The massage at Kemilau turned out to be one of the best massages I've ever received in my life.
The entrance itself is like a garden with fairy like lights illuminating the pathway.
In the waiting area. They will ask you to choose from 4 types of scented oil for your Balinese massage, and also give you a sheet where you can state which parts of your body are problem areas, although you can choose to just skip that and communicate with your masseuse instead.
The room itself is very spacious, with 2 beds and a semi-outdoor area for a bathtub and a rain shower. The Balinese massage I chose was really relaxing - time seemed to slow down under the masseuse's experts strokes. Was a little painful put in a good way. Most of the masseuses here are very strong. A 60 minute full-body massage here is IDR18,500 if you book without the package with Serenity Yoga.
Next it was dinner time!
We wanted to venture back to Warung Jibaku or even go a little further down the road to Warung Bambu for dinner, but were kind of tired! So we stopped halfway at Mahagiri for dinner at their restaurant. We had this beef salad for starters...
Very very fresh Barramundi with eggplant and grilled vege sambal for mains. This was really really good. Even more fresh than the snapper we had at Warung Jibaku.
Also the chicken leg. This wasn't as good. It was very bland! I guess stick to the fish or seafood because Balinese people are sea-faring people.
Day 4 - Dream Beach, rain and then the trip back
Breakfast was a delicious side of omelette with toast that day. Our flight was at 5pm, with the ferry leaving at 1pm, so we had until 12.30pm to check out and leave from Puri Kirana. Decided to go and see Dream Beach, which is apparently the most beautiful beach on the island. Negotiated with Mudi and Ketut (Mudi's husband) for a scooter taxi from Puri Kirana to Dream Beach (which is around 9km) and it cost us IDR100,000 each for a round trip. Kind of expensive I know because initially Mudi mentioned that a giant tuktuk/taxi was IDR100,000? When we checked at the Dream Beach hotel they told us it was IDR150,000 for 2 people for a one way journey back to Puri Kirana on a giant tuktuk. So you can do the math...
At the stairs down to the beach. When we reached, it immediately started raining! :(((
Had some fruit and drink at the cafe there to wait for the rain to stop. I paid IDR50,000 just to enter the pool for some pictures.
You can see Dream Beach in the background. Because of the rain that day, the sky was overcast and the waters were not as blue and the beach near Mahagiri. Can't say it was a very beautiful sight...!
Finally, Ketut and his son came to pick us up on the scooters and we journeyed back to Puri Kirana. There were giant puddles on the roads with holes in them. Definitely would not have made it in one piece if I drove the scooter by myself. (Plus the road were winding with forks in them!) What was I thinking wanting to rent a scooter by myself? I can't even ride a bicycle well...
Lunch was at a roadside bar/outfit named Tropical Juice. On our first day here, this place was still under construction. The restaurant stood out because while they were still building the place, the owners were playing music such as.... FLUME, when we passed by. That was so amazing! You won't find it on the map or the review sites because it was the first day they opened that day.
Really cute and refreshing decor.
Had an amazing dish of mee goreng again.
Next, Caroline came to say goodbye to us. Really enjoyed the trip despite some tiny setbacks (but those couldn't be controlled, such as how it started raining cats and dogs when we reached Dream Beach). Yoga was top notch with a good selection of classes, with faster classes that would make you sweat (Vinyasa Flow) to slower, restorative classes that are aimed at rejuvenation (Yin Yoga). Plus she's really really patient, answering all those mails of mine!
Finally, with a heavy heart, it was time to say goodbye to Puri Kirana, Serenity Yoga and Lembongan island. The taxi came to pick us up on the dot at 12.30pm for our 1pm ferry.
The 30min journey back to Bali island.
On the flight home back to Singapore! The clouds were so pretty.
Taking the 540pm AirAsia flight and we got to watch the sunset from the plane. We were supposed to reach at 8pm and the plane TOUCHED DOWN AT 8pm EXACTLY at Changi Airport? SO amazed.
That concludes my review of Puri Kirana, Serenity Yoga Lembongan and the various activities the island has to offer to visitors.
Till next time! (Next, I'm doing a December roundup of what I've been up to.)
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