I went to Bali in February, which is considered to be the hottest month and I would suggest you to better visit Bali in month of April to September as the tides are less and you can actually enjoy almost all the water activities. Bali being the most favourite destination for honeymoon among newly wed couples, you get to see love birds everywhere. Bali has got some sheer natural beauty of looming volcanoes and lush terraced rice fields that exude peace and serenity. It is also famous for surfers’ paradise! Bali also known as Land of God you get to see God in every one metre of distance.
The day I reached Bali was kinda tiring so I thought of taking rest in the hotel Grand Mirage Resort in Nusa Dua, on my first day and explore what all activities and places I can do over there. The stay in resort was really nice. They offered me lemon water while I was in the reception for the confirmation of my booking. They were very welcoming. After entering my room which was sea faced, So I took few photos of me in the room before I make it messy.. :P. After taking a power nap and shower I went to the reception to book my activities for all the consecutive days. So I planned for a Island hopping the very next day. The resort organised everything which was done by the VIP Tours, completely private. After booking this in the resort I started exploring the resort and its places. The following pictures of Kecak dance performance in Resort.
After exploring the complete resort, I found so many places in there like the Cool’s Leisure Lounge which includes Centre for Gym, Games, Karaoke, Mahjong Lounge, Resort Information, Water Sport Reservation, Tennis Court Reservation and Business Internet Centre, Infinity pool and so many restaurants but my favourite was the Indian restaurant names Bumbu Delhi Indian Restaurant. Let us look down and see what all I have traversed during my stay in Bali.
ACTIVITIES I DID IN GRAND MIRAGE RESORT BALI :
- FLOATING BREAKFAST – I booked floating breakfast in the hotel and chef Vinod came to me asking for the items I want to add to my floating basket right before the night of my floating breakfast. I chose Indian and Chinese cuisine. It costed me around 298 US dollars. After taking note of my food choice they told me to come to pool by 7 am so that they don’t let anyone in the pool. The experience was new – EATING WHILE SWIMMING :). I clicked few nice pictures of the pool and the floating breakfast and left the pool by 9 am as I had plans to visit and explore Bali.
- ROMANTIC DINNER NIGHT – Well, This is basically a Themed Night Buffet Dinner with candles, near the private sea beach of the resort with food and wine. It looks so exotic because you get to hear the wave sound and upon that the table is arranged with bouquet of roses and a heart shaped rose petals with candles on it. Again I booked this 48 hours before trying. It was extremely nice. Unfortunately it started raining and I tried umbrella to eat under the rain and enjoy the romantic weather, also saving me from getting drenched but suddenly it started raining cats and dogs so I had to rush to the Indian restaurant. They got me all new food in the restaurant.
ISLAND HOPPING – NUSA PENIDA
I was so tired that I kept on sleeping the morning, kept ignoring my alarm and then got a call from the Hotel reception and woke me up for the Island Hopping as the driver was waiting in the lobby; I do felt bad that I rushed to the washroom, got ready, packed my make up stuff and ran to the lobby.
The driver was pretty chilled and I apologised him for being and he said its alright, (I did my make up in the car) 😛 and took me to the Harbour where everyone was waiting for the speed boat to take us to the Nusa Penida Island.
After reaching to the Harbour, I had to do some registration work after which I got one tag and then waited there for 15 minutes. What a day out!! It started at 8:00 am from the harbour and our driver Oscar did a great job of ensuring we arrived at Sanur with plenty of time and handed us over to our next tour guide to take us to Nusa Penida.
Getting onto the speed boat does involve wading through shallow waters however every member of staff is incredibly helpful and ensured my safety getting on the boat, whilst on board and getting off at Penida pier; then the fun really began. Given a breakfast box upon arrival by my guide I scoffed through the cake and water – note you can make your own coffee free of charge at the pier (and free cups.of water).
When I got down there I saw a driver introducing me as Augusta and taking me to his car to show me the different islands in there. He took me first to the Angel Billabong beach, I asked my tour guide/driver why is it named like this? Then he replied it is because according to mythological belief that “Angels come to take bath in this beach“. Isn’t it WOW!! I got some really nice pictures by sitting on the rocks. The only problem I felt was getting to Angel Billabong’s beach was bit harassing because the roads were narrow and filled with tourists.
Advice: Be careful while clicking selfies or pictures over there because few people died getting shots in the beach.
And my second place was the Broken beach which was just 7 minutes walk from the Angel Beach. Broken beach which is one of the most picturesque location in Bali. It’s a beautiful spot which demonstrates once again how incredible nature can get! Broken beach was sweltering when I arrived and theres minimal shade so do take plenty of sunscreen!! The beach isn’t accessible. you can only having a beautiful panoramic view here and maybe try to walk the stone natural bridge. I just loved the view, I was so excited to take a photo here, And my humble and funny tour guide always stayed near to take my pictures and even helped me to have a nice angle.
Soon made my way to Klingking beach which was amazing with a view of deep blue water. My driver offered to take pics of mine – climbing in trees and took some lovely shots of mine. The place was stunning and yet again the driver/tour guide ensured I get the best pictures available. Do take small notes as toilets are 5K IDR and you may think twice about using…or take hand sanitiser.
Furthermore, I was starving so he took me for lunch, the lunch was included in the package. The restaurant they provided was kinda okay. I had Nasi Lemak (Fried Rice) and Mei Goreng (Noodle) and French fries with a mineral water. I took some 45 minutes here. I have been sweating outside so much because of the heat and the scorching sun in Bali.
After finishing my lunch, I left for the Crystal beach which was overflowing with people. So, I just took 1 tender coconut water, sat their for 30 minutes and since the heat was unbearable I told the driver/tour guide (Augusta) to drop me to the Nusa Penida harbour. He took me directly to the Nusa Penida harbour and I sat their for 60 minutes which was much better than sitting near the beach because of its hot temperature. And there was nothing fascinating about the beach and also scared because of the deadly virus travelling all over the World named- Coronavirus. So, I chose to leave the jammed place as soon as possible. Although they claimed that there was no case of coronavirus as of my travel date. But who knows as the Indonesian authorities are not doing any serious check-ups! Therefore, “Precaution is always better than cure“.
Well the roads in Nusa Penida are more like dirt tracks but this adds to the naturalistic beauty of this island. After my wait of 60 minutes. I sat on the speedboat and my speedboat back was bumpy but I loved it and every tour guide on there tended to their guests impeccably (one poor guide had 2 travel sick girls throwing up in bags on our way back). Loved this trip!! Nusa Penida is beautiful and larger than I imagined and everyone took such great care of us from 8:00am to 6pm drop off. After reaching the Sanur Harbour, the morning driver named Oscar came to pick me up and dropped me safely to my hotel.
TANJUNG BENOA BEACH – WATER ACTIVITIES
Tanjung Benoa beach is very popular among the Tourists in Bali for the water sport activities. I chose three activities out of so many activities because I didn’t have much time. So, I took Para sailing, Sea Walk and Turtle Sand. They offered me Water sport Athletic Costume to wear.
This place is great for water sports. There’s a lot of guides to help you and the prices are also considerate and reasonable. You can also negotiate with your guide and ask for a discount. They conduct all their activities methodically. Water sports vary from parasailing, sea walking, donut boat and so on. The beach was also clean. I tried the sea walking experience for a change and it was amazing. Totally new and different kind of experience. They even take photos and videos of the underwater experience so the package includes the fee for the activity and the photos.
Firstly I went for Para sailing, which was very smooth. I first went on a boat to another boat which took me for para sailing. They tied me in to a rope and one of my guide came for my support. I had done para sailing before so it wasn’t that difficult for me. But experience was really new because I did it after long 5 years. This was for 10 mins in the air, it was hot but up down there I felt the cool breeze touching my sweaty face :P. I got down the boat slowly and they buckled me up and again the same previous boat came and took me in a different boat for the sea walk.
In this Sea walk, The divers who went with me were also good they guide you professionally underwater. Water was super choppy but water was very clear and lots of fishes swimming around you. The whole experience was about 30 minutes underwater. I saw plethora of fish and you can also feed them and there are different photo points underwater. This activity is safe even for people who can’t swim as you don’t go deep down in to the ocean (only 5 meters). They provide you with all the necessary gear and a helmet you can wear under water so you can easily breathe. All in all it was a once in a lifetime memorable kind of experience. Totally worth it.
If you are really fond of Turtles then you should definitely try the turtles in TAMBAKSARI- Turtle park and Minnie zoo. They were so cute and healthy. I got the opportunity to hold and take some photos with turtles. python(snake), bat, eagle and green lizard and owl. You can look at the pictures down,
It hardly takes 30 minutes to finish the Turtle Island. I decided to go out to turtle island the boat ride out there was lovely I did get to see the fish from the glass bottom boat due to the clarity of the water and my driver was very friendly and while the guides on the island were also friendly and very entertaining. The told me to buy photos to help animals ,the animals were keept in old zoo style cages and had very little to entertain themselves not ideal condition for the poor things but over all it was a nice day out.
I would like to add the cons of this place : The way the Guide dragged the big turtle around there, so that tourist are able to take a picture with it, is something I will never forget because it was honestly one of the saddest things I have ever seen! I felt bad and told him not to move him. And I just holded the small and medium sized turtles.
The snake was presented in the most disgusting way, prepared for tourists by clipping their wings so that they can’t fly away or taping the snakes mouth, so ppl are able to pose for a picture with it.
After the “guided tour” I was “kindly” invited to eat in the restaurant next door, just to make even more money. It’s nothing about helping animals (unlike what they try to make you believe)- it’s about making money on the costs of those poor creatures.
ULLUN DANU TEMPLE BERATAN LAKE BEDUGUL
I felt this was the best temple in Bali. And please note in Bali you cannot enter temples so my reviews are purely based on surrounding and things to enjoy near by. The best thing here was the surroundings – its around a beautiful lake and there are number of places to sit and relax and to click pictures. For me having nice picture sites is the reason to pick it as the best temple.
I went there on a Thursday morning. My plan was to visit some other temple but seeing the picture of Ulun Danu I felt I should go there first. No wonder the place from my resort was 93 kms, but I decided to go there after my water sport activities and visit to the Turtle island. The driver was not ready at first to go but I told him that I will increase his pay so finally he agreed and then we drove all the way from Seminyak in car and it took us around 1 hour and 20 minutes.
We arrived at around 4:30 pm. The place was so peaceful and quiet.I was busy taking some pictures when a super nice balinese guy asked me if he can click my pictures.
I took million photos near the entrance itself. 😛 well he was cool and super funny and also spoke bits of Hindi. He took hundreds of pictures for me to make sure I had plenty of memories… Such a lovely experience.
The garden in there was huge and never ending. It has got some rooms to stay too. The end of this park had a temple which was closed and locked. It was looking bit scary since no one was allowed to enter.
Totally worth paying IDR 75000 entrance fee that they charged. Temple and park along the Lake are well maintained. Views are stunning and people love to take pictures here.
There are a number of restaurants in the temple campus. Can sit along the Lake and enjoy the views for hours. You can also do boating in the lake here.
Besakih Temple – LORD VISHNU, BRAHMA AND MAHESH
This is such a beautiful temple. It’s really huge, and there’s such a peaceful atmosphere to walking around. The Guide told me that there was a small volcanic eruption in 2017 and big one in 1963. The mountain is still active and erupt volcano any day.
The temple itself is situated at the base of Mount Agung, An active volcano, and right at the edge of the exclusion zone as the volcano continues to erupt and has done so the last few years. Be mindful of current warnings as if there is an eruption there’s essentially one road in/out and it’s along the saddle of a caldera rim in the woods separating Agung from another volcano.
Gorgeous views when it’s clear, but to enjoy these it’s best to come in the early morning or just before dusk when the clouds clear as the volcano tends to have cloud cover for much of the day-much of the year. This is one of the iconic temples in Bali! It’s a lot of stairs and very beautiful. I would say it’s a MUST SEE!
My guide offered me to do a prayer in the Vishnu Temple since I was a Hindu so I got to experience a local ritual here which was a unique experience specially since I am an Indian and I never thought Hindus can have such rituals also.
You do NOT need to purchase a sarong on your way in. A rented sarong is included in the price of admission.The temple itself has many off-limits areas, so there’s not a lot for you to see unless the sky is clear. If it is, you’ll be treated to a very up close view of massive Mt Agung. It’s about a 2-2.5 hour drive here to Ubud.
It’s a ton of walking, but it’s so beautiful. Be careful of all the tourist traps. People try to insist you need a guide here — you don’t. One of the camera guy tried to trick me by insisting he can take me to inside of Lord Shiva temple and Lord Brahma Temple wanted payment of 1 Million IDR.
You don’t need it. Be aware of these scams. You can’t see any god inside the temple. Everything will be closed. Enjoy the beauty of this temple, stay covered, and drink water as you can get dehydrated of the heat and sweat.
TIRTA GANGGA
I went to Tirta Gangga on my way to the Water Palace. You will see so many small shops selling food for fish as you get to feed the fish in Tirta Ganga. The time I arrived it actually started drizzling. So, my driver got me an umbrella.
Well it was 40,000 Rupiah entrance fee, and since it’s a garden and not a temple, No sarongs required. People wait in line to take pictures of themselves feeding the fish. And these fish are big and fat, well-fed, with no predators to eat them. Really nice garden. Construction is going on to improve the area surrounding the tiered fountain. A few places to sit, eat and people-watch. That’s it.
Tirta Gangga became popular when tourists started going to Lempuyang Temple. Not a must visit, but still pleasant. Good to click photos if you are a photo maniac. I left the place after my good 30 minutes and left for the Water Palace.
TAMAN UJUNG WATER PALACE
When I visited this place I was drowning in sweat because it was damn hot. And I would really suggest you to visit this place is during April – October because it is the dry season in Taman Ujung, Bali.
The absence of heavy rainfall from April to October makes Bali more enjoyable and convenient for the tourists heading for the water palace. Bali has only two seasons, dry and rainy. It is better to avoid the monsoon months.
The place is open to the public from 7.00 am to 7.00 pm throughout the week and is a popular tourist destination in Bali.
Therefore, visit Taman Ujung Water Palace in the early hours of the morning before 10 am if you would like some peace and quiet. You can also visit in the late afternoon, which is the best time to take photographs.
Nothing much to see here, its just the historic buildings and a massive park.
PURA GOA LAWAH TEMPLE – BAT CAVE TEMPLE
I made a quick stop at this temple and was pleasantly surprised. There was a real prayer ceremony going on which made it very Interesting I saw the family worships the God on their own. This temple is also known as the Bat Temple.
No priest like how Indian Hindu have got. The ticket price was 30000 IDR which includes matching yellow sarongs for all visitors and made for nice pictures.
Unfortunately I went at 3:00 pm when the sun was at its peak and was bit difficult to click photos out there because of the heat. An interesting thing I saw that the place had so many monkeys playing on the top of the Temple.
The several dozen or more bats hanging from the cave – easily visible from a distant, you don’t have to walk much. It was pretty cool. This temple is also right across the beach /walk way.
A small advise if you are visiting this Temple, Try to visit this place right after sunset. It is because after the sunset all the bats start to exit the cave which lasts for about an hour.
I couldn’t wait till sunset because I had a booking for my Night Safari and had to reach their by 5:30 pm. So, the driver kept telling me to leave the place by 5:00 pm.
BALI NIGHT SAFARI
So, After the Water Palace, I got something to pump me up! Yes, the Bali night safari reminded me of my colourful childhood days. So, I would say how all it started. I always wanted to go for a night safari but yes never got a chance, maybe because Bali Night Safari was in my fate. You can book your tickets from Bali Safari Park website however I got my tickets from the billing desk in there.
Before starting the safari, The Safari guide took me to the Park and showed me the biggest and and most poisonous reptile, a dangerous snake, a white tiger from India and the elephant from Africa.
Bali Night Safari was quite interesting but a bit expensive (around 66 USD per person). It includes a safari tour before night fall which was interesting, followed by a good dinner.
Since they had many non veg options but as I was eating vegetarian food I actually requested them to get me some vegetarian food and trust me the chef actually cooked me vegetarian food like Nasi Lemak (Fried Rice) and Mie Goreng (Noodles) and I was really amazed with the hospitality. The staffs there were super nice and humble. Let me show you the pictures of the Buffet food available in there –
The highlight of the place was Africa! Rhythm of Fire dance performance. This performance was captivating with some lively music.
We started for the Safari and as as it was raining ‘cats and dogs‘ they offered all of us a Raincoat. We got to chose two colour BLUE and GREEN. Imagine night safari in rain. There were 12 people inside a big netted truck. The netted truck was wet but the feeling was real, like how you can experience in a Forest. I got to feed the Zebra, Elephant, Bison was inside and the Lion and Lioness were together inside the den as they hate rain, this is what said by the Safari Guide. The Giraffe was shy to come near us. There were two white tigers from India which was kept there, They came to the top of the Truck and people were feeding him meat from the truck. The tiger sat on the Top of the truck and started having the meat chunks.
Well, I was expecting for quite an adventure for this trip for the price paid but unfortunately a big disappointment! Far below my expectations…the safari ride wasn’t as good as I have imagined since it was my first night safari and was really excited but I couldn’t enjoy it that much. There were not many animals can be seen or touched. The only one good show that I loved was the Bali Agung. The best of all….you get to know the history of Bali & engross with the love story, so tragic & full with emotions. It really touches my heart.
This got over by 9 pm and I returned back my hotel after doing some shopping in the Krishna mall (OLEH-OLEH BALI) (one of the popular mall in Bali). (OLEH-OLEH IN BAHASA MEANS SOUVENIR)
TANAH LOT TEMPLE
I would really suggest you to go this Temple before sunset though its open from 7 am to 8 pm everyday. Go there before sunset to enjoy the temple and its surroundings, the sea, dancers. Sit and have a drink in cafe and watch the sunset.
I actually loved this place, the temple is out on the sea, you can not actually go into the temple but do not let this put you off from visiting, the temple looks stunning when out int he sea and you can walk in the sea to get to a prayer area of the temple where you can get a blessing, be mindful off the tide as it does come up. The pictures down is during early morning –
Early morning as I reached there, there was very high tide so they closed and didn’t let anyone go inside the Temple. The Temple was completely covered with Sea water. So, I spoke to the manager of the Cafe where I drank my Tender Coconut water. He told me to re-visit this place at around 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm. I don’t know why but I was adamant to go to the temple. The pictures down are after 5:30 pm.
So, I cancelled all my plans for that day and decided to re- visit again to this place around 5:30pm. I arrived there around 5:25 pm and I saw people walking directly to the Temple as there were low tides, I got so excited and ran towards the temple. Really beautiful views and outlooks there, great walking through the low tide water and onto shallow rocks (be careful though, some are very slippery). lots of people coming to pray & to observe the temple. I saw people were worshiping down the temple and had mentioned on the top as HOLY WATER (can be a scam) but imagine the water I drank there was so sweet and crystal clear. How do you get such filtered water from the sea? This made me belief in the holy water, which can be used to drink and wash face. Beside this, tourists also can pray here.
When I took the holy water, I was given bija and jepun flower on my ear by the officers who kept Beji. All of officer is Pengemong in Tanah Lot temple. After which they started asking for money. I didn’t mind paying as it was really nice. I would highly recommend you to drink this crystal clear holy water that’s coming from the Temple. Communities around Tanah Lot believed this holy water can provide for the health and safety of the body and life.
Again, like other temples, you can’t go inside of this Temple. I know it sounds strange why they don’t worship God in the temple daily. I believe any positive energy should worshipped and cleaned everyday to keep the aura Alive ! I hope I find the solution one day to this mystery of not worshiping the God everyday!
ELEPHANT TREK IN BALI ZOO
You can check the tickets for this zoo in the Bali zoo website. I would really say that this is really a nice zoo. The zoo is clean and many animals. The Elephant Ride takes Approx. 20 Minutes Ride and the elephant ride is included in complete package.
So, even if you want to ride only the Elephant, you have to buy the whole package which is pretty expensive. I didn’t have much time as I reached the Bali zoo around 3:30 and the zoo is open only till 5:00 pm. They picked us up from the Bali zoo bus inside the Zoo.
When visiting a zoo, the first thought that comes to mind for me is how the animals are treated. I can happily report that Bali Zoo (from what I saw) treats all of their animals with a high level of respect and humanity.
I rode the long safari elephant trek and was pleased to see that the elephants were being guided with nothing more than the handler’s feet/hand. No sharp devices. It genuinely felt like the elephants were enjoying themselves. The elephant which was ahead of me started pooping and the elephant I sat was breaking branch and eating the leaves. Luckily I got the biggest elephant which got a teeth. The elephant was very tall and healthy.
I was lucky to also get the elephant selfies once my ride ended and got close and personal to these beautiful creatures.
Roaming through the other animal enclosures I was also pleased to see the large majority to have adequately sized exhibits. There’s always work to be done, especially with the lion and tiger exhibit sizes, but overall they were good.
The zoo is not large – which is a good thing. You see all the animals you’d hope to see without having to walk great distances.
The restaurant has reasonably priced, delicious food. I highly recommend the chocolate lava cake for dessert!
I was also very fortunate to see the Bear and Chimpanzees, They were playing. One of the Chimpanzee was interacting with people. It was really cute to see. The rein deer and kangaroos were literally on the road and taking pictures with us. It seemed as if they are so used to human and they weren’t shy or scared seeing all the humans there.
Overall, it was a fantastic day out!
BARONG DANCE IN UBUD
My day started with one of the authentic and unique sides of Bali which is a traditional Balinese dance performance, also called as Barong Dance. The price of the ticket was 100000 IDR (7 USD). It is a sort of another story telling dance narrating the fight between good and evil. The story behind this dance goes like this,
The Barong is a strange creature, half shaggy dog, half lion propelled by two men like a circus clown horse. The widow-witch rangda is bad though and certainly not the sort of thing you’d like to meet on a midnight stroll through the rice paddies. The Barong dance is truely a triumphant display of bright colours and graceful movements.
Barong dance, narrating the mythological fight between good and bad. In the story Rangda, the mother of Erlangga, the 10th century king of Bali, was condemned by Erlangga’s father for practising black magic. After becoming a widow, she summoned all evil spirits in the jungle to go after Erlangga. In the fight she and her black magic troops were so strong that Erlangga had to ask the Barong for help. In the end the Barong and Erlangga’s troops win against Rangda and the demons.
The story goes that Rangda, the mother of Erlangga, the king of Bali in the tenth century, was condemned by Erlangga’s father because she practiced black magic. After she became a widow, she summoned all the evil spirits in the jungle, the leaks and the demons, to come after Erlangga. A fight occured, but she and her black magic troops were too strong that Erlangga had to ask for help of Barong. Barong came with Erlangga’s soldiers, and fight ensured. Rangda casted a spell that made Erlangga soldiers all wanted to kill themselves, pointing their poisoned keris into their own stomachs and chests. Barong casted a spell that turned their body resistant to the sharp keris. At the end, Barong won, and Rangda ran away.
Somebody can die or get seriouly injured in a Barong dance. It is said that if Rangda’s spell is too strong a weak soldier may not be able to resist it, even with the help of Barong. He may end hurting himself with his own keris.
The masks of Barong and Rangda are considered sacred items, and before they are brought out, a priest must be present to offer blessings by sprinkling them with holy water taken from Mount Agung, and offerings must be presented.
Balinese traditional music will accompany the performance of Barong dance with this act. The Balinese traditional music instrument calls, Gamelan Semar Pegulingan.
MY SWING BALI
What a great little adventure in Ubud, Bali this place “My Swing Bali” is.You almost feel like you are part of a jungle experience or with Tarzan swinging along in the jungle. This place is a definite stop for those that love selfies or updating your Instagram profile with a wild experience. The swings all differ in level and adventure. Even they can offer white water rafting as well if you want.
They not only have swings but also these bird nests created with Mother Nature and looks literally like a massive bird nest in the jungle or high up in the trees and with all natural materials. So as I said a photographers dream stop and shoot.
Just one piece of advice arrive early in the morning like 8:00am-8:30am so that the place is mostly empty and you have the run of the mill to enjoy and take the best photos before it gets crazy busy.
Cost is IDR 450,000 or $35 for the entrance and it includes lunch and non-alcoholic drinks and there are many different types of swinging, also you get to do photo shoots in some locations with the view of nature. They also have couple swing. They also give dress and accessories for rent with a deposit for photoshoot.
1st visitors there but it soon filled up, lots of choices of swings but long waiting times. I wouldn’t say it is very safe, I refused to go on the second bigger swings because the boys swinging them were being crazy and hanging off the bottom of the swings like monkeys pushing people as high/far as possible and when asked to stop or slow down they completely ignored me, they were purposely doing it to girls.
In the end they offer free lunch, which I didn’t eat because I am not a big fan of food without proper spices. But you would definitely love it if you are like healthy food.
UBUD PALACE
This palace is situated at centre of Ubud, it used to be palace of royals, somewhere around 80 years ago and as in all Balinese temple/palace not all area are accessible but whatever is available is worth, and in this palace there was no entry ticket. Yes, it is completely free!
Though this place is centrally located but there is nothing much inside.It’s a beautiful palace but there really isn’t any information about what we are looking at, it would be nice to have a brochure or some plaques up telling us about the different parts of the palace. The publicly accessible part is only quite small and you cant get near anything worth seeing because of the number of people in there determined to take the perfect selfie.
I took somewhere around 30 minutes to this palace which was enough because only less part was accessible, and also it started raining so I just decided to sit inside the car instead of getting drenched outside. After which I told the driver to take me to the next stop – Kintamani !
KINTAMANI – MOUNTAIN BATUR
There is a very nice view of Batur volcano from here. The weather is so nice but a bit cloudy. There were many buffet restaurant up there but if you wish to have a la cart meal, it’s possible.
You also get to see the rice paddy fields on the way to Kintami, which looks so greeeeeeeeen !!
I went here on a drive from Ubud and the drive all the way was great with splendid views on either side.It started raining on the way and the driver said that I won’t be able to see the Mountain Batur. But Luckily, it stopped raining while I was having my lunch and the view was mesmerising.
Once closer to the mountains, the air is much cooler and the uphill drive is best done with open windows 🙂 The entry ticket (parking included) is 20000 IDR.
From there on the views towards Mount Batur and the lake are quite stunning and there are several restaurants taking advantage of the views. In my opinion avoid lunch in one of the buffet places as they are overpriced and the hygiene factor seemed a little low. However there were other quieter looking cafes which were not crowded at all and had the same views. I stopped near an Indian restaurant, had my Indian vegetarian meal with the view of Mountain Batur.
The views are pretty awesome and you will see many fresh fruit stalls!! My driver advised to buy the fresh fruits from the fruit sellers here as they are very fresh and pure, but I didn’t buy anything as I thought it will too much to carry and no time to eat fruits during trip. A short visit for about an hour and clicking pictures here with a walk along the small park should be good enough.
UC SILVER GOLD
After seeing the stunning scenery of Kintamani, I came UC Silver Gold to buy gold and silver – they have a big exhibition hall showcasing (mainly) a long 20 meters dragon with (I think) 9 heads.
Its meticulously crafted and made of silver…. I think it holds several records and not surprising, because it was huge. The first floor is dedicatedly for silver, second floor is for gold and third floor is the restaurant.
In one simple word – amazing. Check it out if you have time to spend because I would probably spend half my days here seeing the ornaments with so many designs. You get every design in this place. I would highly recommend you if you are a fan of silver and gold, of course a woman is! If you like it and it suits your budget, why not?
Ticket was 125,000 IDR for public. I think it worth it if you have time to read and admire the art.
Otherwise, its a jewellery shop that basically offers stunning handcraft made by local people. They have excellent services (probably trained their staff to deliver excellent services anyway) to compliment the beautiful end products. I bought two rings, pendent and one ankle bracelet. Trust me, you won’t get such perfection and design anywhere. Taking picture is actually not allowed in that place.
ULUWATU TEMPLE
Amazing temple on a cliff with gorgeous views and rich history. Breathtaking views, but please beware of mischievous monkeys
This is worth a look. Stunning cliff and ocean views. Feels spiritual here.
The real flavour of the place as all the people were wearing beautiful clothes, they were offering and praying, traditional music and dance. There is an entrance fee, very cheap and you must wear sarong. If you don’t have any you can hire one there. The temple is at the top of cliff and is small, but beautiful. Not too many steps to get there.
If you have a walk through the little paths before the temple you will see a panoramic views of the cliffs merging into the ocean.
Most people visit from 4pm onwards in order to see the Kecak performance, however, if this isn’t of much interest to you, I would strongly recommend visiting earlier in the day, as in the evening it is extremely busy and overcrowded.
Tickets are oversold for the performance and people end up on sitting on the steps and the floor. For an hour this is very uncomfortable. The views however are breathtaking and you can get some wonderful photos. It is worth mentioning too, that you are not actually allowed in the temple.
Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park – GWK PARK
Garuda Wisnu Kencana is a tourist attraction which is quite phenomenal. You could say this is one of the icons of Bali are worth a visit. Several international events have been held here so that the reputation of the place is of course no doubt.
To my knowledge, the giant statues scattered here originally planned to be a single unit. I can not imagine how big the statue that later if it is really true. Here is the iconic statue bust of Vishnu and Garuda.
This statue is the object of an interesting photo. Cultural park itself in the form of a large field terraces with views overlooking the sea very beautiful. It is advisable to use a hat or umbrella even sunblock to face the heat of Bali. Because of its shape in the form of large field, it seems too hard to walk here in times of scorching sunlight.Inside the Garuda Wishnu, you get to see a souvenir shop but its pretty expensive.
With a reputation and a beautiful view, I recommend travelers to visit here. But physically prepared to face the trip which is quite tiring to go around this park. Likewise, physical in the face of heat or rain that may occur in this place so I would suggest to visit this place in the evening as it’s open till 9:00 pm.
I actually took some time to marvel at this masterpiece. It is designed to be one of the world’s biggest and highest monuments and stands on the highest place in Southern Bali. Such a beautiful cultural park and it’s clean. The weather was hot when I arrived but still I took lots of beautiful pictures.
Apart from that, they do have some cultural shows but because it’s just a dance show, not a theater I didn’t stay for long. Maybe I missed it. No worries, the place also equipped with small cafes and souvenir shops. For first-timer i think it’s a must-visit spot but shall i come back again? 😛
After my GWK Park visit, I directly left to the Bali International Airport.
“I have a bit of a traveling addiction, and, ah, yeah. I went to, ah, Bali this spring/summer”.
My opinions and experiences are only one in a million, so if you have been to Bali let me know how it went. If you have any comments, recommendations or experiences that were different to mine, leave a comment below and I’ll get back to you.