Jet lag, a surf, a flight, a small child who has not adjusted. Most of my clients are awake at six at least once. And at six, the Bali that gets written about does not exist yet.
Of the places around here that publish opening hours, roughly a quarter are open by seven. That sounds thin until you realise it's the only quarter that matters to you that morning, and no app sorts for it.
It's mostly coffee, and that's fine
About sixty per cent of what's open early is a café or a bakery, a much higher share than the island as a whole. Early Bali runs on coffee and pastry, not on breakfast as a meal. If you want rice and eggs before seven you want a warung, and you want one near a market rather than near a beach club.
What I actually do with the hour
- Markets, which are finished by eight and are a completely different place at six than at nine.
- Beaches, which belong to fishermen and dog-walkers until about half past seven and to everyone else afterwards.
- Anything with a queue later in the day. The temple that's unbearable at eleven is yours at half six.
- The drive. Roads that take an hour at ten take twenty minutes at six, which is worth more than most people believe until they've done it once.
If I know you're an early riser I plan for it deliberately rather than treating it as a problem, and you get a version of the island most visitors never see.
What I'd do with this
If you're thinking about something like this, here is what I'd do with it — the part you'd feel immediately, and the part that takes a bit longer.
This week
- Send me your dates and the rough shape of it. You get an honest yes or no from me, usually the same day.
- I'd hold the two or three things that disappear first: the villa, the boat, the table worth having.
- I'd plan one day properly, so you can see how I work before you hand me the whole trip.
Over a season
- I'd build the journey around how you actually travel, rather than a template with your name on it.
- I'd be the only number you need while you're here, including for the thing that goes wrong at midnight.
- I'd keep a file of what worked, so your next trip starts further along than this one did.
I read every enquiry myself, and I answer it myself. Anggun