Bali

We‘ve been in Bali for almost 2 weeks and we feel it‘s now time to move on from this tiny island with so much character.

We found that the island was separated into 3 completely different worlds. For the tourists there are the 5* resorts which are dotted all around the island but very secluded and miles from anywhere and then there are the very busy touristy areas which are packed to the rafters with backpackers, surfers and Japanese tourists! We were lucky enough to stay in both AND experience the third by driving away from the tourists and seeing the real Bali.

We arrived into Bali after a very long detour which saw us fly south from Cairns to Sydney where we boarded another flight north to Darwin and then another from there to Bali. If we flew direct from Cairns it would have taken us 3 hours but we decided against paying the extra and took the backpacker route - all 24 hours of it!

On arrival we got a taxi straight to Ubud which is where we had booked our first few nights. Ubud is in the middle of the island and so after 2 hours driving into the hills we finally arrived at our hotel. In the dark the hotel looked really shady especially as it was down an alley but we were so tired we didn’t care too much and went straight to sleep.

Bali Bungalow

Ubud

The next morning we were pleasantly surprised to find that we were in our very own Balinese bungalow and that we were right on Monkey Forest Road which is the main strip in Ubud.

On our first day we wondered around Ubud looking at all the amazing arts and crafts which were made right in Ubud. We went to an art gallery - one of the hundreds in the area - and then stopped for breakfast - our first taste of Balinese Nasi Goreng.

Bali Art

Ubud Statues

Sukawati Market

Residence entrance

We went to Ubud’s Sukawati Market and then made a pit stop at Nomads - a wifi café/restaurant where we spent the next few hours eating, drinking and making use of the free wifi all from the comfort of the floor!

Nomads

In the evening we went to a cultural performance in the palace. The people here are Hindu and so part of the performance was based on the Mahabharata.

Cultural Performance at the Ubud Palace

Performance 5

Performance 3

Performance 2

Performance 1

The Scooter

The next morning we hired a scooter and went to Goa Gajah (Elephant Cave) a cavern which houses both Hindu and Buddhist temples.

Goa Gajah - Elephant Cave

Priyesh inside Goa Gajah Cave

Goa Gajah Bathing Pools

From there we went to Gunung Kawi a shrine located some 300 steps down the side of rice paddy fields.

Rice Paddy Fields

Gunung Kawi Shrine

Gunung Kawi

After refuelling with some lunch we headed to Monkey Forest - a sanctuary home to hundreds of macaque monkeys..

Monkey Forest

In the middle of the forest was another temple - the only difference being that it was overrun by monkeys!

Pri at the Monkey Forest

Monkey Forest Temple

Vin at Monkey Forest

Monkey Forest 2

Monkey Forest Statue

Monkey Forest and Us

Monkey Forest 1

After spending some time walking around and taking lots of pictures we decided to make the most of the scooter and headed out of Ubud on a quest to find some rice paddy fields.

Driving in Ubud

After driving around the small villages we decided to head back as it was getting dark. On our way back we caught a glimpse of a bar on the side of the road which was packed with locals. We decided to stop for a drink and got talking to a local expat from Germany. It was only after speaking to him that we discovered we had stumbled upon the famous Naughty Nuri’s Warang - a famous BBQ roadside restaurant. Of course we had to try BBQ ribs that were cooked right on the street - these were amazing and after a couple of beers decided it was time to head back.

Naughty Nuri's

Street BBQ

The night before we left Ubud the whole area was plunged into darkness due to a power cut. Thinking that we didn’t want to sit in the dark in our bungalow we instead headed back to Nomads - the perfect way to say goodbye to Ubud.

Nomads Drinks

The next morning Priyesh managed to bargain with a taxi driver to take us to our next hotel - a luxury hotel in Nusa Dua - a bargain we had bagged the day before.

Swimming pool no.2

Rooftop Infinity Pool

For the next couple of days we spent most of our time relaxing in the pools, getting all pampered in the rooftop spa and enjoying the fact that we practically had the whole hotel to ourselves! For some reason the place was deserted.

On our last day we still hadn’t decided what to do or where to go next and so went down to Kuta Beach - the main tourist area - to get some ideas.

Kuta Beach

Kuta Beach Sunset

Kuta beach looks exactly like Goa - complete with women looking to offer a massage, sell you a bangle or even a coconut or two. We spent the day wondering along the beach and around the very touristy commercial area.

In the evening as we were heading back to catch our shuttle bus back to the hotel we stopped by a roadside stall to talk to a local who had random flyers on tours running from Kuta. Somehow in the space of 10 minutes - we had managed to start up a conversation on where to rent a car and he immediately called his “friend’ who turned up with a Suzuki Jimny. Before we could think twice, we had bargained down the price of the rental and we were driving back to our hotel!

The Jimny!

The next morning we checked out of our hotel - with no idea of where to go, or what to do… and we drove out of Nusa Dua with all of our stuff.

Here we go...

Bali Streets

We luckily had a map we had picked up earlier at the airport and so headed straight for Besakhi Temple. The Balinese people call this their ‘Mother Temple’ as it is the biggest and up on a mountain (closest to the gods).

Besakhi Temple Worshippers

Besakhi Temple

From there we headed to Mount Batur - an active volcano - and took in the views of Lake Batur from Kintamani.

Mount Batur and Lake Batur

We finally decided to call it a day and look for somewhere to sleep in Lovina - a coastal town in the north. Luckily we found a beachside guesthouse which had rooms right on the beach.

Lovina Beach

The next morning we loaded the car and headed south.

We stopped at the Banjar Hot Springs where we had breakfast.

Banjar Holy Hot Springs

From there we drove to the viewpoint that lies between Lake Buyan and Lake Tamblingan.

We also stopped along the way at a deserted temple which was right by a really peaceful lake.

Temple

Deserted temple ruins

We had planned to spend our next few days in Kuta but after driving around late in the day and having no luck with hotel availability we decided to drive back to the one in Nusa Dua and booked another 2 nights there.

Nusa Dua Hotel

Again we didn’t do anything much apart from swimming and lounging around.

When we returned the car we managed to drive through Legian, a beach area just north of Kuta which had such a chilled out vibe compared to Kuta. We found a really nice hotel - which was right in the middle of all the bars, restaurants and shops and so decided to book our last 2 nights in Bali there.

Harmony Hotel, Legian

We managed to get our driver from the previous hotel to drive us straight to our next hotel and after checking in we headed straight out again. We walked onto the Legian strip and found a random shop keeper who would let us hire his skooter until the next evening.

We drove around Denpasar - the main city on the Island.

We headed out for lunch and then drove around Denpasar - the main city in Bali and then headed straight to Uluwatu - a temple located on the south-west coast of Bali - to watch the sunset.

Uluwatu Sunset

Monkey at Uluwatu

Tourists at Uluwatu

Monket watching sunset

Uluwatu Full Moon Ceremony

We were lucky enough to be at the temple on a day when the Balinese performed a ceremony to mark the full moon and so we sat and watched until the sun went down. The temple was also home to more monkeys.

Jimbaran Beach

After the temple we headed to Jimbaran beach for drinks on the beach. This is exactly like Callangute Beach in Goa where you can have food and drinks on the sand right by the sea and so we decided to come back again the following day for dinner.

Surf Boards at Legian Beach

Legian Beach

On our final day we headed to Legian beach and then to Jimbaran for a seafood sunset dinner - our last in Bali.

Seafood Feast at Jimbaran

Jimbaran Sunset

After a few final drinks on the strip right by our hotel we headed back to our room to pack our bags once again… this time for Singapore.