When you’ve been blackmailed into marrying a woman by her Father, it’s unsurprisingly difficult to be civil with your betrothed. And to travel to Bali with your intended does seem like a strange thing to do. But when you’ve lived alone in your penthouse, the entirety of your adult life (not mentioning your staff of course), having someone in your space would be an adjustment to say the least. So maybe the vacation will help.
Our main male character Dante Russo, brought to us by the Queen of Romance Writing, Ana Huang, faces the possibility of being tied in matrimony to Miss Vivian Lau. Vivian is the daughter and heiress of the Lau Jewelry business built by her father Francis Lau.
Vivian, unaware that her fiancé has been blackmailed, believes the engagement to be a business transaction to benefit both parties. To ensure that he looks like he is doing his part (and simultaneously scheming to get the blackmail evidence destroyed), Dante and Vivian travel to Bali for thanksgiving to meet his parents.
The relaxed ambience of Bali and Dante’s flighty family strengthen the relationship between Dante and Vivian as they learn more about each other. Their sexual tension builds, reaching a climax (pun intended), in a forced proximity (ONLY ONE BED!), before Dante stops himself taking it all the way. At least our leading lady got something out of it.
Although Bali is by no means the pinnacle moment of the story, we learn and understand more about Dante and it allows room for their relationship to grow in a new environment.
So how does a grumpy billionaire spend a week in Bali with his Vivian? Ana Huang gives us a few ideas for their itinerary, which I’ve laid out below and (of course) in a spreadsheet.
Day One – Travel to Bali
Travel to Bali and head straight to Nusa Penida – an island located just south of Bali. Here you’ll meet up with your future in-laws and learn a little more about why they didn’t attend your engagement party. Perhaps you’ll learn more about your soon-to-be-husband as well.
If spending time with your in-laws’ house isn’t your thing (I mean you are in Bali), there is so much to do.
After getting unpacked, head to Crystal Bay Beach for a walk along the beach. From here you’ll be able to do Manta Ray snorkeling / diving so it may be worth heading to one of the operators and getting booked in if you haven’t already.
Spend the evening enjoying the atmosphere and food that Bali has to offer. Tomorrow will be busy.
Day Two – Nusa Penida
I hope you’re early risers because for this hike you will want to be up and out early.
Head to Kelingking Beach before the crowds. This beach is world famous as the cliffs kind of look like a T-Rex. Do you agree? The hike down to the beach is about an hour there and an hour back. It’s slippy and loose ground so be careful as you descend.
After this, head to Tembeling Forest (about a 30 minute drive away). Here you can swim in the spring water pools and look out at the ocean – just magical.
In the afternoon head back west toward Broken Beach. There are some amazing rock formations here and crystal clear water to look down in. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to swim here.
Just up the road from Broken Beach, you will find Angel’s Billabong. It is a natural rock pool which can be swum in (I use this term with caution). The ability to swim here will rely on a number of factors – the tides will come crashing in, depending on the strength, this might be quite ferocious (much like Dante’s wrath 😉 ). This is also a natural pool, so rocks are sticking out all over the shop and they will be slippy too. There are no lifeguards or life preservers around. So swim at your own risk.
This area is the perfect place for dinner as you’ll be able to see the sunset on the ocean. So spend your evening here and let all those reasons why you can’t fall in love with your fiancee drift away.
Day Three: Nusa Penida:
For the second full day on Nusa Penida, you’ll be heading to the East Coast.
Make a quick pit stop at the Teletubby Hills view point – those rolling hills are marvelous and remind me of the chocolate hill in the Philippines.
From here it’s a 30 minute drive to Diamond Beach and the Thousand Island View Point. Chill out at the beach and go for a dip. The viewpoint is beautiful and here you can visit the Nusa Penida Treehouse (Rumah Pohon). This is more on brand for Twisted Lies’ Stella Alonso rather than Vivian Lau but the option is there for some great insta-worthy photos.
Depending on how adventurous you’re feeling, you could always head back to the western side of Nusa Penida toward Gamat Bay. There are some excellent snorkel and dive sites. Given the island is so small, it will only take you an hour and ten minutes to drive from one end to the other. There is so much to pack into the one day.
Don’t forget about the Manta Ray Snorkeling option at Crystal Bay as well.
Day Four and Five: Ubud
Say goodbye to your future in-laws and head to mainland Bali for a few more nights exploring.
Head to Ubud – the art capital of Bali and the location of the artist that Dante’s parents went to see instead of their son’s engagement party – ouch.
They are right though because Ubud is such a creative place – there is endless amounts of inspiration. As both Dante and Vivian are big art lovers, they wouldn’t want to miss this. You really can’t travel to Bali without visiting Ubud.
As well as the art inside, a lot of these art museums are housed in incredible architecture so it’s worth visiting if you’re not an art connoisseur.
Art Museum: Museum Puri Lukisan
Ubud Art Market
Art Museum: Museum Rudana
For a walk around in the lush green countryside, do the Campuhan Ridge Walk. This 1-2 hour walk starts in Ubud and will take you through grass fields and around rice paddies. Crowds are sparse so you should be able to enjoy this walk in relative peace.
Before heading to dinner, check out Monkey Forest where – you guessed it- there are hundreds of monkeys. They will jump on you, steal your belongings and run off with them. Dante Russo will want to keep a close eye on his Patek Philipe around these little terrors.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a billionaire romance novel without a little spa day would it? What a way to unwind after meeting the future in-laws for the first time. Check out Lempah Spa for what’s available.
Day Six: Munduk and surrounding areas
We are vastly running out of time with the timeframe Ana Huang has given us. One week is just not enough time to travel to Bali!
Head from Ubud to Munduk (2 hour drive) and visit the Pura Ulun Danu Bratan Temple (Water Temple). A stunning representation of temples in Bali and beautifully reflected onto the water surrounding it. This is an incredibly popular area so head in early to avoid the crowds.
In Munduk – you can get your instagram snap of the famous Handara Golf Course. It’s an impressive gateway but like the Gates of Heaven temple (Pura Lempuyang – also in Bali), instagram has seriously exaggerated what photos you can hope to get here. Whether it be the crowds or the clever photography tricks to make it appear that you’re walking on water. I’ve read other travel bloggers that have waited for THREE HOURS for these photos. In my opinion it’s just not worth it. If this was Stella and Christian’s itinerary I would maybe throw it in there for our influencer but Vivian and Dante would definitely not be interested in this.
Bali has an abundance of waterfalls, and if you’re staying near Munduk, there are loads to choose from.
Start off with the main ones including, Aling-Aling Waterfall, The Blue Lagoon (close to Aling-Aling), Sekumpul Waterfall.
So spend the day exploring all the swimming holes in the area and then rest up before heading home tomorrow.
Day Seven: Head home
OK this was such a difficult itinerary. The book had a lot of things to tick off in Bali and one week is just not enough time. Still, it wasn’t as difficult as one week in New Zealand South Island which I created based on Ana’s Twisted Hate.
I hope you enjoyed this itinerary and it gave you some inspiration for you trip to Bali. There is still so much to do here, so if you can, I’d recommend staying longer.
As always here is the link to the King of Wrath Bali Itinerary.
Where next? Looking for more King of Wrath Inspiration? Head to Paris for an indulgent billionaire 5 day itinerary.