It had been forever (i.e. before COVID) since I had been to Bali and I had only been through Singapore, a city I really like, in transit. This summer trip was an opportunity to remedy all that while adding some very nice extras.
This trip was my original idea for the vacation, but in the end I had the opportunity to join friends who were going to the USA in the preceding weeks, which allowed me to make two trips in a row and avoid being in Paris during most of the Olympics. The priority being the trip to Asia and the USA being just a welcome addition, it was mainly this trip that I was expecting and I did well as the first one turned out to be so disappointing but given the destination I was expecting it. But the important thing was to spend time together!
So here is the story of this journey.
Choice of the destination
I already knew Indonesia in general and Bali in particular well, but I wanted to go back there to rest for a while. Of course it wasn’t a fixed choice: depending on the available rates I could have changed my mind, like when I ended up in Malaysia, but this time there was no last-minute opportunity that was impossible to ignore. So I did go to Bali.
Now I had to decide whether I was going to make any stopovers along the way.
For reasons of pricing and ease, I targeted one of the major Asian hubs as my main destination, from where I then booked a flight to Bali. And depending on the various attractive fares found, I therefore went via Singapore, which was also my original idea, where I will be making a short stay.
All that remained was to determine my city of departure, and the best fare I could find for Singapore was from Gothenburg. So I added a detour and a mini-stay in this city that I love very much. On the other hand, I still haven’t had time to make an exhaustive visit to the city to make a travel guide worthy of the name, despite my many stays there.
Choice of flights
As SAS was about to leave Star Alliance and had not found a ‘nice’ replacement program in the alliance, I had no preconceived ideas about the airlines and things will be such that this trip will be 100% on Skyteam.
I will explain the pricing structure for each flight in the corresponding article, but here is what it came to.
I found an excellent Air France business class fare from Gothenburg to Singapore and that’s the choice I made. I then had the opportunity of interesting paid upgrades to first class on the outward and return journeys and I didn’t need to be asked twice to accept them.
I also flew Air France to Gothenburg, the only airline to offer a direct flight from Paris.
As for the flights between Singapore and Bali, I chose Garuda Indonesia for simple reasons of competitive pricing.
This gives us the following routing.
Choice of hotels
While I hadn’t overinvested in hotels in the USA, knowing that no matter the price I would be disappointed (and that was generally the case), here there was scope for a little indulgence.
As for Bali, I decided to return to the Laguna, a hotel that has real sentimental value for me and is part of my personal history as a traveller. Just for the sake of discovery, I spent the beginning of my stay at the Méridien, which I had not yet visited.
In Singapore, I also chose two hotels. On the way there, where I only spent one night, an Aloft close to the airport, and on the way back, the recent Edition, a chain that I was discovering and that Olivier had spoken highly of to me on several occasions.
As for Gothenburg, I stayed in familiar territory. First at the Radisson Blu Scandinavia, where I had one of the best upgrades I’ve ever had, and then at the Draken, which I had already tried in the past, but this time to discover its spa, which was not yet operational during my previous stay.
Restaurants
I didn’t overindulge during this trip, often making do with the excellent restaurants in the hotels where I was staying, especially in Bali.
In Gothenburg, however, I was finally able to have dinner at the Michelin-starred Bulot, after having to cancel a reservation 9 months earlier due to a 24-hour flight delay. I also tried Koizen, a sushi restaurant that is in fact the successor to Kuruya, which I had enjoyed very much during my last stay.
In Bali, I treated myself to a meal at KO, the Japanese restaurant in the Intercontinental hotel next door.
In Singapore, I won’t overindulge but will have the unique experience of trying a local speciality: the Chili Crab.
Bottom line
All this gives rise to the following articles to come, and as much writing those about my trip to the USA was a chore, so much I am eager to immerse myself once again in the atmosphere of this trip.
# | Type | Post |
1 | Diary | Preparing for a trip to Singapore and Bali |
2 | Lounge | Air France lounge, Roissy Terminal 2G |
3 | Flight | Paris-Gothenburg, Air France, Business Class |
4 | Hotel | Radisson Blu Scandinavia Gothenburg |
5 | Restaurant | Koizen Goteborg |
6 | Lounge | The lounge, Goteborg |
7 | Flight | Gothenburg-Paris, Air France, Business Class |
8 | Lounge | Air France La Première lounge, Roissy 2E |
9 | Flight | Paris-Singapore, Air France, La Première |
10 | Hotel | Aloft Singapour Novena |
11 | Lounge | Marhaba Lounge, Singapore |
12 | Flight | Singapore-Denpasar, Garuda, Business Class |
13 | Hotel | Le Méridien Bali Jimbaran |
14 | Restaurant | KO Bali |
15 | Hotel | The Laguna resort and spa, Bali |
16 | Lounge | Garuda International Lounge, Denpasar |
17 | Flight | Denpasar-Singapore, Garuda, Business Class |
18 | Hotel | The Singapore Edition, Singapore |
19 | Restaurant | Jumbo Seafood Ion Orchard, Singapore |
20 | Restaurant | Kotuwa, Singapore |
21 | Diary | Stroll around Singapour |
22 | Lounge | Qantas First Class Lounge, Singapore |
23 | Flight | Singapore-Paris, Air France, La Première |
24 | Lounge | Air France La Première lounge, Roissy 2E |
25 | Flight | Paris-Amsterdam, KLM, Business Class |
26 | Flight | Amsterdam-Gothenburg, KLM, Business Class |
27 | Hotel | Draken, Gothenburg |
28 | Restaurant | Bulot, Gothenburg |
29 | Lounge | The Lounge, Goteborg |
30 | Flight | Gothenburg-Paris, Air France, Business Class |
31 | Diary | Debriefing of the trip to Singapore and Bali |