Beautiful Bali

Again aware that we have been letting these posts slip (in part due to travelling around more and in part to due to sheer laziness), we thought we’d do more of a ‘run down’ post of our time in Bali. Often thought of as the quintessential South East Asian ‘exotic’ getaway, the culture and natural beauty of this Indonesian island was calling to us right back when we started planning our trip. We’d read some blogs complaining about certain aspects of the southern area (mainly focussed on a heavy tourist drinking culture and the reputation of the notorious Kuta area as a playground for recent Australian school leavers – think 18 year old’s in Zante for the vibe), but decided the rich culture was enough of a draw to explore for ourselves.

Whilst more expensive than other SE Asian countries, with none of the food markets and cheap eat street food you would expect, Bali surprised us when we were able to get a last minute deal on a 4 star hotel for the duration of our week in ‘paradise’ - cue pictures of us lounging round the pool, having drinks brought to our table whilst we sat on our mini ‘holiday in a holiday’. A good few days were spent this way as we enjoyed soaking up the sun and atmosphere before heading out to some restaurants in the evening. However, it wasn’t all just slobbing out by the pool, and we did explore some of the amazing sights on offer. For most of the stuff below, we hired a driver who picked us up and dropped us off in the places we wanted to see – definitely a comfortable option with nice AC and the added bonus of catching a glimpse of what it must feel like to be a movie star or one of the Kardashians.

Below is list of some of things we did in Bali:

Attended a Barong Dance performance in the traditional Balinese style, telling the story of the universal fight between good and evil through the representation of ‘good’ in the Barong (a tiger like mythical creature) and ‘evil’ in the form of the Rangda (as a witch).

We visited Celuk Village which serves as the home of traditional gold and silver handicrafts where we saw many women working the silver into intricate and beautiful designs. We couldn’t leave empty handed after seeing the low prices and Joe bought me a simple sterling silver ring with a circle design. After this we stopped in Batuan village, famous for its many galleries specialising in both traditional art works (mainly depicting Hindu figures and stories) as well as some… questionable modern designs.

We also headed to Tegenungan Waterfall which offered spectacular views of cascading water as well as clear natural spring water to bathe in. It was so hot when we got there that the many steep steps to get down to the water (and getting back up them!) made for a sweaty time.

We then visited the much talked about Ubud Monkey Forest also known as Ubud Wanara Wana. This nature reserve and temple complex is located in Ubud itself and is home to many long tailed macaques that come with their own list of scary warnings – sort of a ‘don’t look them in the eye or they’ll eat your face off’ type thing. We’ve mostly seen pictures and videos here only about the monkeys but the temples in this complex are actually beautiful and not exactly expected, so definitely worth the trip.

We also had a quick look round the Ubud Royal Palace, which is a traditional Balinese house complex and residence of the Ubud King – I say quick because they were setting up for a performance in the palace that evening so there was lots of construction of beautiful flower pieces and adornment going on, so we were a bit in the way. Afterwards we visited the hectic traditional art market in the centre of Ubud village and squeezed our way through the narrow passages as people tried to sell us all manner of random objects.

During our week we also went to the Taman Ayun Temple, located in Mengwi District (about 45 minutes from Denpasar/Kuta). The temple is a great example of Balinese architecture, complete with its own moat. Joe was required to cover his legs and so borrowed this fetching green sarong.

We had a quick stop at Alas Kedaton Temple located in a small forest which is home to a much less famous (and less impressive) monkey forest. Here Joe fed the residents with peanuts and they climbed on to our shoulders which was not actually nice given they have the strength to rip your appendages off. We were even offered the opportunity to hold a fruit bat (which we quickly passed up because ew no.)

Finally we also visited Tanah Lot Temple, a Balinese Hindu temple perched on a rock located in the middle of sea. Accessible when the tide is out, we climbed down to explore further. The site is particularly impressive at sunset and big crowds had gathered to catch a glimpse of its beauty. I was also blessed with holy spring water (hence the rice stuck on my forehead), an honour Joe passed up. We spent a few hours wandering around, soaking up the atmosphere and filling our stomachs with delicious Mee Goreng (a fried chicken/vegetable noodle dish).

Early on in the week we took a taxi to Seminyak where we indulged in a pancake breakfast before chilling on Double Six Beach, giving Joe some time to get in some surfing. We also popped into the Bali Museum which was a bit of a waste of time because most of the beautiful artifacts didnt have any explanations so we were just left wandering what everything was…

Phew I’m glad that list is over! We thought we hadn’t actually done much in Bali but I think we were wrong looking back!