Thirty days in Canggu with no plan.

Landed in Bali around sunset and took a Grab to The Daun in Canggu. Really good price, amazing location. By the time I got there it was dark, so I walked next door to M Mart for water and called it a night.

Walked across the street for breakfast at Negrita Cafe. No scooter yet. Found out US wall chargers don’t fit Indonesian outlets, so back to M Mart for an adapter. Walked down the road to check out ZIN Cafe and its gym, ZINFIT, then the beach to look at the surf schools and board rentals. A friend took me to Times Beach Warung for sunset dinner and drinks, and then we walked around Canggu so I could get my bearings. I’d suggested we walk. She said: OK, you want to walk, let’s walk, you’ll see. I saw.

Up at 6 for breakfast, and I learned fast that Canggu is a 7:30–8am kind of town. Found Doppio Café: great food and a great look. At 9 the rental shop next to The Daun set me up with a scooter, and they do petrol fill-ups too. Spent the afternoon planning the trip, then rode with a friend to Ulekan for dinner, probably my favorite restaurant of the whole trip and where I found out how good Indonesian food really is. After dinner: Shooters, for mini golf and throwing axes at a wall.

Rode around alone to learn Canggu. Breakfast at Tiga, very good. At 9 sharp a friend picked me up on her bike for beachwalk Shopping Center, since it’s far and she knows the shortcuts. She said I should practice in Bali traffic before I tried them or I’d slow us down. She was probably right. Bought a bunch of island-vibe clothes, came back, and spent the evening planning the activities I want to do and what they’ll cost.

Cold brew at The Daun’s own café. Canggu has a real trend for good coffee. Then a friend and I rode out to Uluwatu for the day, and it’s amazing. I’m already planning a trip back just for Uluwatu. Lunch at Jimmy Beach Cafe on Balangan Beach with a front-row view of the left-hand reef break and super blue water. Then the Sundaze market at Hatch for a few tees and board shorts at a good price, a haircut at Cukuruku Barbershop while she was at her hair appointment, and dinner at Papi Sapi. Amazing. Uluwatu left a lasting impression on me.

Slow morning, then brunch and more trip planning: what I’ll do each day. Sunset at Times Beach Warung with a friend, her cousin and another friend. Sunset dinner and drinks is basically a daily ritual in Bali. After that we all went to Berawa’s Kitchen to eat more, sit and talk. Caught up with a college friend in Jakarta about coming to visit.

Filled up the scooter and learned it’s called petrol here. Call it gas and people look at you like an alien. Then a whole day at the café planning the trip ahead. Didn’t do much else.

Surfed for an hour on a board from My Mate Surf, then breakfast on the beach at Manta the Oasis with a view of the surfers. Later that day I had every symptom of dengue. Not great, but there was no way I was missing a minute of Bali, so I pushed through. Dinner with a new friend at La Baruna, the beachfront restaurant in Pererenan, then a walk through the streets and the Bali Niki Art Market looking for board shorts.

Really feeling it today: totally fine until I eat, then 20–30 minutes of feeling awful, and low energy all day. Dropped my laundry with the hotel staff and tested breakfast at Negrita Cafe. Same thing. Spent most of the day in bed. Felt better by evening, so I picked up a friend on the scooter for ramen at Chotto Motto in Seseh, and my stomach hit again right after. Ice cream was a struggle. She told me to try coconut water, so I took one home.

Finally feeling better. It only lasted a few days. Lay in the sun outside my room, did push-ups, squats and crunches, then spent the day at the café still trying to plan the whole trip. I left with no clear plan, so I keep sitting around trying to figure out how to plan the things I want to do.

Laundry came back after two days: washed, folded, vacuum-sealed and smelling amazing. Straight into the suitcase. Brunch at Open House with a new friend. Amazing food and good vibes, one of my favorites. Sunset drinks at Warung Alus on Munggu Beach with kites all over the sky, a super beautiful spot. Custom frozen yogurt at MIYO for dessert, then home after a long day exploring.

Morning at the café sorting out what activities and entertainment I want to do, when, and what they’ll cost, in a way that’s clear to me. Dinner with a friend: appetizers at YUKI, which were amazing, then she took me to a local spot with authentic Indonesian food, better prices, and money that stays in the community. I wish I knew its name. Drove around looking at the villas I could have rented, then home.

More planning, more budgeting, more time sitting and suffering because I didn’t plan this trip before I left. Then another haircut, at Dirty Sanchez. Then a night at Alex Villas, since I’m thinking about coming back to Bali and wanted to see what a nicer villa is like. Super nice. A friend came over, we had manicures, pedicures and massages come to us, ordered sushi on Grab and watched movies. Had a blast.

Week two done. Duck and spicy rice on Grab for breakfast, snacks and water from Pepito Market for my room, dropped my friend home, then the café until close, sorting out a trip to Jakarta.

Breakfast at the café, then my first workout of the trip on a day pass at ZINFIT, the gym upstairs. First time lifting in kilos: I almost died putting 225 on the bench thinking it was 135. A Grab to beachwalk Shopping Center to meet a friend, sushi at Genki Sushi, a few hours walking around, then back to hang by the pool with the staff where I’m staying.

Making plans for two days in Jakarta, hoping to see a college buddy. Day two at the gym, and pretty sore after. Home early.

Breakfast at the café, then a Grab to the airport with a friend and a flight to Jakarta. Checked into the Shangri-La. My college buddy had gone to Singapore for the weekend, so we missed each other. We met my friend’s friends at a club, and I love that clubs in Asia are restaurants and clubs at once, because I’m an old man and I like to sit and eat when I drink. Pretty good night.

Breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant downstairs, then a three-hour Grab to Serang in Banten with my friend. Checked into the Aston and took it easy. That was the day.

Breakfast at the hotel, a ride back to Jakarta, a flight to Bali, more driving. A travel day. Home around 9:30pm, dinner on Grab in bed and movies.

The whole day at the café getting the trip better laid out. Brunch there, dinner there, home to sleep.

Realized I’d been eating at the same café way too much, so I tried Fold, and I’m really happy I did: amazing food and cold brew. Dinner on a rooftop watching the sunset.

Breakfast at Revolver, which three people had told me to try, and now I see why. Another rooftop dinner at sunset.

Cafe Coach for breakfast. Amazing food again, and a coconut cold brew that was so, so good. Bali has a ton of good restaurants.

Brunch at Cocomo: pricey, but wow, that food was amazing. Dropped my laundry at March Wash for wash-and-fold: same day, faster, and half the price of having the hotel do it. Planned the trip while I waited, picked it up, then dinner on Grab and movies in bed.

Brunch at Two Face. I had plans for a wild adventure, but a pretty cool guy started talking and we sat there five hours. Caught the sunset at the beach, then a new friend messaged me on Instagram about dinner. Better than nothing! We got ramen at Yumei Noodles, right next to where I’m staying and hidden off the street. I never knew it was there.

Brunch with the same friend at Kawisari Coffee Farm Shop & Eatery. So good. We left the bikes there and walked Echo Beach up to the sunset point, then Smoke Bali for American BBQ. Two hits in one day. Walked back to the bikes and rode home.

Authentic Indonesian breakfast at Warung Varuna, on a friend’s suggestion. Then planning stop 2: I hadn’t even booked my hotel in Da Nang yet, so I booked it today on Airbnb. I also applied for my Vietnam visa at the last minute. I was supposed to do it three weeks ahead, and paid $100 for an expedited service instead of $25. Dinner with a friend at ACME, which I can’t believe I hadn’t tried. The brisket sandwich is super good. At least I tried it before it was time to go.

Brunch with a friend at 7AM | 7PM. Lots of hype, and I see why. Walked to Pererenan Beach to see the Gajah Mina statue, then along to Echo Beach to watch the surfers and the sunset, and back for the bikes. Ramen at Ramen Hamatora because I kept seeing Naruto on the sign, and it was good. Then, finally, FINNS Beach Club, and it was sick. I’m old and sick of clubs, but this one excited me. Then the G Swing to wrap up the day.

My last full day in Bali, and I’m sad. Laundry to March Wash so I’d pack clean clothes, brunch at BAKED while I caught up with a buddy back home on FaceTime, then cleaned my room so the staff wouldn’t have much to do after I left. Packed, unpacked and repacked. I always get paranoid I’ll leave something behind. Dinner at KYND Community: I’m not vegan and didn’t know it was a vegan place, but I didn’t want to be rude and leave, and honestly I enjoyed it.

Returned the scooter, walked to ACME for one more brisket sandwich, and took a Grab to the airport. Sad the whole ride, and a little excited for the next stop. Then I got a little tipsy at the airport bar and missed my flight. It was the last day of my visa, so I bought a new ticket to Hanoi for a night and decided to have a good time with my mistake. More on that in stop 2.