It was a rainy afternoon in Bali. My mom, sister, and I were planning to go to Penglipuran Village.
However, because it was raining heavily, I suggested that we stopped by the biggest Starbucks in Southeast Asia.
“Oh, you mean Dewata?”, asked my driver.
Ah, so that’s it! Starbucks Reserve Dewata, to be precise.
I wasn’t a coffee lover but since we were already in Bali, I wanted to check it out!
Not only it was the biggest Starbucks cafe building ever, it also had its own logo and offered a different experience that you wouldn’t find in other Starbucks.
First, it had its own parking lot, receptionist, garden, coffee seedling nursery, and coffee experience center. Whew, they were a lot of “firsts”!
Then, it was a two-story building with a charming design. It was minimalist, elegant, and… earthy. You would see hand-carved stone tiles, hand-carved wooden murals, and plenty of greens.
At Starbucks Reserve Dewata, you could choose to sip your coffee at one of the seating areas. Each area offered its own vibe, for example:
- Work mode — 2nd floor, with spacious tables for your laptop and electric plugs
- Tourist/Learning mode — two interactive media installation areas where you can learn how the coffees were made and hear stories of Starbucks Farmer Support Center in Indonesia
- Cafe mode — blending in with others, opposite the barista
- Me-time or private mode — long tables with limited chairs and space, perfect for me-time or dating
- Friends/relaxing mode — outdoor tables, greens
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Since it was raining heavily, it was really hard for us to find seats. Everyone seemed to want to take their sweet time, or perhaps sit there for hours.
Luckily, after wandering the whole area twice, we finally got a space with our own table! ☕🥐
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Look at the gigantic, hand-carved wooden mural! Wasn’t it amazing? 🤩🤩🤩
According to Starbucks Stories & News, the amazing art was 9.1 meter tall and came from Jepara. It wasn’t a mere decoration, it actually told the history of coffee in Indonesia.
If you’re collecting Starbucks merchandise, some items were only available at Dewata Bali, like the Emily in Paris tumblers, Dewata apron and polo shirt, etc…
So, did we manage to visit Penglipuran Village? Yes!
After the heavy rain turned drizzly, I suggested my mom and sister make a move. After all, from Starbucks Reserve Dewata (Seminyak) to Penglipuran Village (Bangli), it took around 2.5 hours.
We didn’t know about this, by the way. Our driver said it would take around 1 hour, which was 🙄🙄
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By the time we reached there, it was already 7 pm++. According to Google, the village was closed at 7 pm but we insisted to go there and saw it closed with our own eyes, lol…
Aaand… don’t trust Google 100%, friends! The village was still open, you could even rent an umbrella for a small fee.
When you google Desa Penglipuran aka Penglipuran Village, most of the photos were taken during the day.
So, this time, we managed to make our dear mom’s wish to visit the village came true. Not only that, she got some unique evening photos in the village 😊😊😊
Alright, thank you for reading, friends! Have a great week ahead ✨💖
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