Bali is one of the most visited tourist destinations in Indonesia. Indonesia predominately a Muslim country but Bali island has vast majority of Hindu population. The place is famous for its beautiful Hindu temples, great beaches and nightlife. Air Asia frequently comes up with promos to Bali and you can get great tickets deals to Bali via Kuala Lumpur. Most of the hotels in Bali are very affordable and they give lots of amenities at a very good price. Kuta is the best place to stay at Bali and it is very close to the Bali airport. Kuta street is famous for nightlife, restaurants and shopping malls. This is the most happening place in Bali. The seafood at most of the restaurants in the area is delicious and very reasonably priced. You can also buy lots of great handmade souvenir from shops near Kuta street. The best way to explore Bali is by renting your own car. The cost of renting car for a day is 50 USD. I had booked my car from balicab.com and the driver picked me directly from the airport. The driver was very friendly and he was also my guide for the 1st day at Bali.
Uluwatu Temple – Our first stop was Uluwatu temple. It is recommended to visit the place during sunset but during sunset time it gets very crowded. I really don’t like visiting crowded places so I visited the place early morning. Bali has lots of issues of traffic because of its narrow roads, higher concentration of motorbikes and lots of tour vehicle.
I took around 30-minutes to reach the temple from airport. The place is a must visit place if you are coming to Bali. The temple is situated right at the edge of the cliff. The height of the cliff should be around 70 m. The sea was rough and it was a great view to see waves hitting the bottom of the cliff. I saw a lot of monkeys around the place. I had to wear a traditional dress called Sarong before entering the place. The complex is very big and there are also other temples to explore inside the complex. The temple is one of the key temples among the Bali’s spiritual pillars. It was a wonderful walk inside the temple compound because the place was not at all crowded. The Balinese architecture, unique split gates and ancient sculptures enhanced the beauty of Uluwatu temple. The temple was situated at the southernmost part of Bali island.
Tanah lot Temple– After a long 1 and half hour ride I reached Tanah lot temple. The traffic was very bad and we had to cross Kuta in order to reach the temple. Tanah lot temple is another important land mark in Bali. The temple is a Hindu shrine and it is situated very close to the sea. You can’t visit the temple during tide or rough weather. The temple is situated on top of an outcrop and the waves constantly crashes the stones near the temple. small shrines. restaurants, souvenir shops are situated both sides of the road connecting the parking lot with the temple compound. I couldn’t reach the temple because of high tide and rough weather but the view of the temple was beautiful from shore. After spending around 1 hour at the temple we moved on to our next destination.
Luwak Coffee: After a short ride from Tanah Lot temple I stopped at a Luwak coffee farm in order to try the infamous Luwak coffee. I was shocked to know the Luwak coffee making process. Luwak is a furry small cat like animal and the animal is fed coffee beans and the beans left intact in the digestion system. The poop of the Luwak is collected for beans and in the farms the beans are roasted then they ground them into powder. I tried the most basic variant of the Luwak coffee and to be honest I didn’t like the taste. It tasted little bitter and the flavor was very strong.
Tegallalang Rice Terrace – The rice terrace is located in Ubud region. It was a long 2 hours ride from Tanah lot temple to the Rice terrace. The view was mind blowing the season was not a dry season and we could see fresh rice harvest. My guide helped me to avoid lots of small huts put near the area asking for donation. You can also walk close to the rice terrace but you have to take big downhill steps without any support in order to have a closer view. I also learnt a lot about the process of rice harvesting from my driver/guide.
Mount Batur – My last trip for the day was Mount Batur. It was around 1 hour ride from Rice terrace to reach Mount Batur view point. The mountain is an active volcano and it is located at the northern part of Bali island. There are multiple viewpoints of Mount Batur and my guide recommended a spot in order to have great view of Mt Batur. We stopped at a restaurant and I went to the rooftop of the restaurant. I ordered some food and enjoyed the great landscape of Mt Batur in the background of Lake Batur. You can also do sunrise hiking to the crater of Mt Batur.
We started our return journey at 4 pm. It took us 3 hours to reach Kuta from Mt Batur. The traffic was very bad during our return journey. We started our tour around 8.30 am and we finished the tour around 7 pm. I would recommend to take your own taxi and skip all kinds of group tours.
During my 2nd day at Bali I decided to rent a motorbike and explore the northern region of Bali. It is very easy to rent a motorbike in Bali. Most of the rental agency don’t even ask for driving license or passport deposit. You have to be careful while riding your motorcycle in Bali because of the heavy traffic.
Pura Taman Ayun – I started early morning from Kuta area. I followed google maps navigation and reached Pura Taman Ayun temple. Fortunately, there was less traffic early morning and I reached the temple within 1 hour. The temple was located just at the outskirt of Denpasar towards the north. Taman Ayun temple is one of the top temples in Bali.
The temple was built by the ruler of the Mengwi kingdom. The temple is divided into 3 inner courts. The first two courts of the temple have open courtyard and fountains. There are also multiple small lakes around the compound. I followed the main path of the compound and finally reached the 3rd inner court. The gate has grey stone carvings. You can’t enter the 3rd court but can view the structure from outside the perimeter wall. The height of the wall is just 3 feet. The court has many shrines with multitier roofs of levels 3,5,7,9,11. The roof of the shrines was thatched and it was black in color. I would recommend to take picture of the shrine from different angle because the view was completely different.
Pula Ulun Danu Beratan – Pula Ulun Danu Beratan was situated around 1 hour ride from Pura Taman Ayun. It was a long ride along the narrow and twisty roads of Bali. The weather started to change, it became cooler and I soon realized that I am gaining altitude. The temple is situated at around 1200 m elevation level compared to Kuta which was just near the sea level. Finally, I reached the foot of the mountain and I had to follow the road along the mountain in order to reach the temple. There were lots of tea and coffee plantation along the road and it was very foggy and cold. I didn’t bring my jacket because I was not expecting this cold and the road was steep. Finally, I crossed the mountain and after a little bit of downhill ride I reached the temple. The temple was situated near Danu Beratan lake.
The entrance fee to the temple was 50000 IDR. It is a beautiful water temple situated on the shores of lake Beratan. Lake Beratan plays an important role as a main water source for irrigation in Bali. The temple was used for offering ceremony to the water temple. The tiered roofed shrines are unique to Balinese culture and it was clearly visible. It was built in the 17th century. You should spend more time to walk around the lake in order take pictures of the temple from different angle.
The temple is no doubt the most beautiful temple in Bali. Lake and the mountain ranges on the background were adding beauty to the temple. The temple compound is big and it takes about 2-3 hours to explore everything. There are small cafes, souvenir shops and gardens around the temple complex. The temple is featured numerous times in Indonesia tourist websites.
Around 2 pm I started my journey back to Kuta. After crossing the mountain, I took another route in order to visit the Ubud region. The roads were very tricky to navigate and it is difficult to figure out the way if you don’t have google maps. I was constantly looking at the maps and finally I reached the Goa Gajah temple. This was my last stop for the day.
Goa Gajah – Goa Gajah means elephant cave. The place was built in the 9th century and it was used as a sanctuary. The cave consists of both Hindu and Buddha image. Lots of different types of creatures are carved into the rock at the entrance of the cave. The place is also included in world heritage site. A small pond is situated near the elephant cave entrance. From the parking lot you have to come downhill in order to visit the temple.
I went back to Kuta beach in order to see the sunset. The beach was not at all beautiful compared to the beaches in Philippines or Thailand. The sand along the beach was not that white and the water was not that clear. The sunset was pretty average and I saw lot of trash along the beach. Next day I was all set to take the shortest 25-minute flight to Lombok. Lombok is another island situated near Bali and it is relatively less crowded.
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