RTW TP Run in Jan 2026: Day 11 – Afternoon and Evening in Denpasar, Bali

By Nige on January 28, 2026 at 7:06 pm
Type: Post
Story: Round the World Tier Point Run in Jan 2026 Category: Travel
Tags: Denpasar | Hilton

I was half considering leaving the start of my tour to later in the morning, in the hope that the traffic may have calmed down a bit. But I also had to consider that I’d be risking falling asleep if I left it too late.

The tourist advice was that you should head out early to these places to avoid the crowds and to avoid the heat. The decision was made then.

I ordered my second Grab taxi of the day from the hotel at just before 10am.

My first stop was the Big Garden Corner Park, which was described as “the perfect location for one-stop destination in Denpasar”, with “hundreds of spots can be found within the vast park, stone sculptures, and greenery spots”.

It was about 17km away and took about 40 mins to get there. The traffic was pretty awful and it was exactly what you imagine Asian mad driving was like. I’ve seen some of this before and it could easily scare you, but ultimately, you just have to get stuck in!

I think the trick is to be assertive and if there’s a reasonable gap, go for it. Other drivers are very responsive and will adapt around you. Worst case, they will stop. Us Brits are way too polite back home!

There were loads of scooters on the roads as well, but as mad as it was, I didn’t see any accidents whilst I was on the road.

Although the Grab driver (Krishnan) didn’t speak much English, we did manage to communicate some of the basics. He had only been a Grab driver for 1 month and he was only doing it because he didn’t have another job.

He asked me about my trip and realised I wasn’t seeing much of Bali, so he offered to take me on a ride around all of the sights the next time I was in town. That was pretty impressive based on the very limited English he could speak. Well, at least that’s what I think he was telling me!

We arrived at the Big Garden Corner Park and it didn’t really look quite as official as I was expecting. There wasn’t a massive sign that the Grab taxi driver could easily see, so he ended up dropping me not quite at the right place.

When I paid my £6.75 entrance fee, it felt like I was the only visitor in the park, although I did come across one other guy with his daughter.

The whole place was (I guess) traditional Indonesian and not very western, which meant it had a bit of a quaint vibe, but it didn’t really hit the spot for me.

There were some very interesting artefacts and photo opportunities, but that was about it.

Therefore, after about 15 mins, I was ordering my next Grab Taxi to take me to my next tourist sight: the Bajra Sandhi Monument.

The monument wasn’t too far away and the drive only took about 15 mins. What was nice about these taxis was the air conditioning! Very much appreciated!

I walked around the monument and it was pretty impressive. There were a number of people walking around; some were doing yoga (or some other similar technique) and some were even practising for a concert.

I could have paid to access the monument, but I decided I really didn’t need to do that and I was getting a little hungry and a little tired. So it was time to order my next Grab Taxi to take me to my next spot: the Level 21 Mall.

The mall wasn’t too far away either, and the heat and humidity was starting to build, so having access to an air conditioned mall was just the ticket.

The mall was a classic western-style shopping complex, with a mixture of local and global brands. This wasn’t an expensive place, but there wasn’t really that much for me to get too excited about.

Until I stumbled across Burger King! A quick pit-stop was organised and today, it was the turn of the mighty chicken burger.

The food went down well. Well enough to make me feel sleepy, so it was time to order my final Grab Taxi of the day to get me back to the hotel.

Thereafter a snooze was enjoyed in my air conditioned hotel room!

After waking, I tried to check in via the Cathay Pacific app to my next flight back to Hong Kong. I noticed that unfortunately the aircraft was an older-style A330, with recliner seats. Not great for a 5 hour flight.

I struggled with the app. It insisted I needed a visa for getting into Japan, even though as a UK passport holder I don’t need one, and even if I did, I’d be able to get one on arrival.

The other obvious issue (which I accept Cathay may not have worked out) was that I was due to connect on to another Japan Airlines flight out of Tokyo on the same day, so I wasn’t even entering Japan.

In the early evening I decided to enjoy a couple of beers and dinner in the hotel restaurant, which turned out really well.

I got a table right next to the pool, which looked very pretty with the lights as the day drew to a close.

The menu was a nice combination of western and classic Indonesian dishes.

I went for an Indonesian combination of chicken satay to start with, followed by a Nasi Goreng as a main course, washed down with two Coronas.

The food was excellent and not too filling. I held myself back from asking for the dessert menu!

When I asked for the bill, the young lady that served me knocked 25% off. I’m not entirely sure why, but I was grateful!

Next up: A gallery of photos from Day 11 of my RTW trip of a lifetime.

---

Round the World Tier Point Run in Jan 2026