Bali – The Island of Gods is a mere two hours away from Singapore and is a good place for Singaporeans to visit for a weekend gateway. There are several flights a day from various airlines heading out to Bali from Singapore. My friends and I did a four day trip to Bali over a weekend on Jan 16. During our trip, we wanted to do some sightseeing, and yet cater time to rest and relax. Hence, we opted to do a day trip in Bali and spend the rest of the time in Bali lazing around in the comforts of our villa. For the day trip, we hired a driver and drive us around to some of the famous spots in Bali. Our day trip starts with our driver picking us up at our villa in Seminyak and move up north towards Pura Besakih and than to a good spot to view Mt Batur Volcano and ending up in Pura Tanah Lot for sunset.

Map of the route we took for this day trip in Bali

Perching on the side of  Mt Agung at an altitude of around 1000m above sea level is the magnificent Pura Besakih. Pura Besakih is the largest Hindu temple in Bali, affectionately known as the Mother Temple. This temple comprises of 23 individual temple complexes, built on six levels. As no cars are allowed at the base of the temple, visitors coming by their hired cars (or drivers) will arrive at the nearby carpark, which is around 1 km from the temple. Visitors are also expected to dress in Sarongs in order to visit the temple. Sarongs can be rented or purchased from the numerous stores at the carpark. Tickets to the temple are located adjacent to the carpark, however, the staffs here will pester you to contribute to the temple funds by means of a donation. Although it was put across that the donations are “voluntary”, the staffs at the ticketing counter will ensure tourists contribute to their donations. One can either walk to the base of the temple or simply hire a motorcycle taxi from the ticketing counter to the base of the temple.

At the base of the temple, visitors will be greeted by a long flight of stairways leading up to the split entrance that has been so iconic of Balinese architecture. A couple of stone statues standing guard before this stairways, as if they are there to greet visitors. Visitors touring the temple without a guide are only allowed to tour the base of the temple and only outside the gate up the long flight of stairways that lead to the second level. To be able to visit the entire temple, a local guide is required. We hired a guide (who charges us Rp25,000 per person) to take us to the various parts of Pura Besakih.

Guardian Statue at the base of Pura Besakih

The long stairways at the base of Pura Besakih leading to the second level of the temple

My friends posing with their rented sarongs at the carpark. Visitors are expected to wear a sarong when visiting Pura Besakih. Sarongs are not needed in other temples in Bali.

Taking a wefie before we head up to the stairways into Pura Besakih

Statues at the base of Pura Besakih

Looking at the base of Pura Besakih from the top of the stairways

Another guardian statue in Pura Besakih. Such statues are in abundance around the temple

Up the flight of stairways in the centre of the temple complex, we arrived at level 2 of Pura Besakih. The Pura Penataran Agung is located just beyond the gates on the top of this stairways and is the largest temple structure here in Pura Besakih. This temple complex is dedicated to the Hindu Deity Shiva, the God of Destruction. Passing the split gates, we entered the grounds of Pura Penataran Agung. There is a small courtyard before another door which leads to the inner grounds of the temple. This 3-door gate has both the side doors opened and the centre door remained shut. We were told that the centre door is meant for the King to pass through, commoners would use the side doors to enter the temple. Passing one of the side doors, a large courtyard decorated with numerous Balinese style pagodas greeted us. There are some temple buildings spread across the vast courtyard. During our visit, we witnessed at a far distance, a group of locals seemingly performing some form of prayers. Our guide informed us that these people are performing a funeral ritual, where the family of the deceased hired some priests to pray to their loved ones who have passed on. Our guide then brought us to a building, raised on stilts. This building is built for Lord Shiva to consummate with his wife. It is also believed that couples seeking fertility come and pray here for a child.

The doorway that leads into the temple nested on top of the stairways. Only royalties are allowed to use this doorway. Commons are expected to enter the temple using the 2 side doors.

A pavilion in the small courtyard before the second door into the temple. Here is where the local musicians played music for festive and prayers in the temple

Such Pagodas are a common sight around Pura Besakih. These pagodas are an icon in Balinese architecture. The roof is built using straws. Each pagoda varies in the number of tiers, but they are always in odd numbers. The tallest pagoda has 11 tiers

My friends posing in front of the pagodas in Pura Penataran Agung

Pagodas in Pura Penataran Agung

This structure is built for Lord Shiva to commensurate with his wife

Exiting Pura Penatran Agung on the left side door, our guide brought us through a small road to another part of Pura Besakih. Pura Batu Madeg is located on another level, at the northern end of Pura Besakih. Compared to Pura Penataran Agung, Pura Batu Madeg is of modest size. This temple is dedicated to the Hindi God Vishu, the God of Protection. There is also a small courtyard after passing the gates to the temple grounds and another flight of stairs built right in the middle of the courtyard. We scaled the stairs to head further into the temple. The view over the horizon from where we came from is magnificent from here. We could see as far as the coastline and the sea. As it was about to rain, our guide brought us back to the entrance of Pura Besakih via a road behind the compounds of Pura Penatran Agung. 

View of Pura Batu Madeg from Pura Penataran Agung

Pagodas in Pura Batu Madeg up close

View of the temple grounds from Pura Batu Madeg

Split entrance of Pura Batu Madeg

Pavilions for ceremonies in Pura Batu Madeg

Us at Pura Batu Madeg

Stairways leading to a higher level in Pura Batu Madeg

Stairways in Pura Batu Madeg

Guardian statue in Pura Batu Madeg

11 tiered pagoda in Pura Batu Madeg

Us on the higher level of Pura Batu Madeg (this is the highest level in Pura Besakih)

Guardian statue in Pura Batu Madeg

As we were walking on this narrow road,  there are some buildings to the left of us overlooking into Pura Penataran Agung. We were informed by our guide that this building houses the deity figurines that the locals bought and placed here. Occasionally, the owners of these figurines would make the trip up here to pay respect to the god their figurines represent. As we were walking down towards the entrance, our guide pointed out that other than gods, the locals also offer prayers to demons in abide to pray for peace. He also pointed out a part of the walls to us, informing us that this part has been part of Pura Besakih since the temple was built. No one knows how old the temple is. We headed out to meet our motorcycle drivers who brought us to the carpark to meet our driver. We are headed to our next destination.

View of Pura Penataran Agung from the side road behind the temple

Pagodas like these are a common sight in Pura Besakih

Taking a wefie with the pagodas in Pura Besakih

Another guardian statue in Pura Besakih

Guardian statues standing guard at the entrance of the temple

Parts of this wall has been around since the construction of Pura Besakih

As we wanted to catch a glimpse of Mt Batur Volcano, our driver brought us to a restaurant located in Kintamani that offers a stunning view of the volcano and Danau Batur, the crater lake next to the volcano. Mt Batur Volcano is one of the few active volcanos in Bali. The volcano is essentially situated inside a larger dead volcano, with a crescent-shaped crater lake – Lake Batur accompanying the volcano, the view here is magnificent. The cool crisp mountain climate with occasional mountain breeze took the heat that we have been experiencing in Bali away. We settled our lunch here, where the restaurant served Indonesian buffet cuisine. Sitting at the outdoor pavilion overlooking the volcano, our buffet lunch here offers views that are out of this world. We could never get sick of the view from the pavilion where we were seated. Looking out at the volcano, we spotted black soil at the base of the volcano seem to point that the volcano is dormant as if it is gathering its strength to display its might once again. The active volcano seems asleep at the time of our visit.

Mt Batur Volcano

Mt Batur and a nearby mountain

Panoramic shot of Mt Batur and Danau Batur

Taking a wefie with Mt Batur

Taking a wefie with Mt Batur

View of Mt Batur from the restaurant

My friends taking wefie in front of Mt Batur Volcano

My friend with Mt Batur at the background

Shot of Mt Batur and Danau Batur

The nearby mountains

Enjoying the view of Mt Batur while lunching at one of the outdoor pavilions

Part of our itinerary we wanted to do a short stopover to view the iconic rice terrace in Bali along our way from Mt Batur Volcano to Tanah Lot. As we were driving towards Tanah Lot, we did a short stopover at one of the coffee plantations – Bali Paulina Coffee Plantation. The main star in this coffee plantation is the Luwak cat, the Asian Palm Civet, which produces the world’s most expensive coffee. The coffee beans used to brew the Kopi Luwak are produced by these Asian Palm Civet, which eats the coffee beans and poop them out. Due to the limited amount of excretion these cats can produce, the coffee beans gathered by the farmers fetch a very high value. As we were walking through the plantation, other than the Luwak cat, there are other crops being planted such as ginger, pineapples, cocoas to name a few. At the end of the somewhat smallish plantation, we were escorted to a terrace overlooking a rice terrace. While waiting for our samples of different coffees and teas as well as the Kopi Luwak, we headed out to a lookout point built by the owners of the plantation using timber. At this lookout point, we were able to catch a glimpse of the rice terrace in full view. These rice terrace that was before our eyes looked as if someone is growing rice in the middle of a jungle. After sampling our beverages, we headed to the gift shop and got ourselves some of the local produces.

Pandan leaves in the plantation

Some random flowers

Cocoa trees are also found in this small plantation

Random flower in the plantation

The Asian Palm Civet in the cat. This cat produces the most expensive coffee in the world

My friends waiting for the sample of coffees and tea to come

These are the coffee and tea that we sampled

Kopi Luwak- the most expensive coffee in the world

Taking a wefie at the lookout point

The terrace looks as though someone is farming in the jungles

Walking through the plantation

My friends shopping at the gift shop

Tegalalang Rice Terrace

En-route to Pura Tanah Lot, we drove past Tegalalang Rice Terrace. Rice terrace is a method of growing rice paddies, where the farmers carved out steps on the slope of the hill to grow these paddies. By using this method, the rice farmers are able to reduce erosion and support rice paddy farming, which requires irrigation. Visiting the rice terrace is by no means free, as soon as our vehicle pulls over at the curb, a local came running towards us to collect money for the viewing of rice terrace. At the time or our visit, most of the rice paddies had already been harvested, only a small quantity is left over for harvest. We could still see some of the farmers harvesting what is left for harvesting. Despite this, the rice terrace still presents itself as a magnificent sight to be awed. We went down to one of the rice terraces to take a closer look at how the rice terrace looks like up close. What we saw is essentially a shallow waterhole with some seedlings planted onto it. We left the rice terrace after taking some pictures.

Rice terrace at Tegalalang

My friends at the rice terrace

Taking wefie at Tegalalang Rice Terrace

Panoramic shot of the rice terrace

Pura Tanah Lot

Our final stop for the day is Pura Tanah Lot. The drive from Tegalalang Rice Terrace to Pura Tanah Lot usually takes around 2 hours. As we told our driver that we would want to see the sunset at Tanah Lot, he made completed the drive in 1 hour. We were in time for sunset! Pura Tanah Lot is a temple built on an island off the coast of Bali. The temple is dedicated for the prayers to the Sea Gods in Hinduism mythology. Coming from the carpark, we were at a path that leads to 2 temples on the left and the right. The temple on the right, nested on top of a rock formation out into the sea is Pura Tanah Lot. At this point, the receding coastline tells us that it is low tide, meaning we can walk over to the base of Pura Tanah Lot to receive blessings from the priest there. The temple itself is closed at the time of our visit. Even if it is open, we will not be allowed entry as only devotees who come here to pray dressed in the traditional Balinese prayer outfit will be allowed entry into the temple. After we got our blessings, since we were not able to head up to the temple grounds, we walked over to the rocks on the coastline to watch the sunset and listened to the rhythm of the waves hitting onto the coastal rocks. The sound created by the waves is very soothing, coupled with the view of the sunset, it feels like one can stay here all day long. After sunset, we headed back to the carpark to look for our driver. After all it is already dark. As the darkness fell, so did the liveliness around Pura Tanah Lot. What was bustling in the day soon turned to silence as soon as the sun called it a day. We had requested our driver to drop us a Kuta, where we had our dinner. As I always tell my friends, when visiting Bali, one will always end up in Kuta, be it for food, for massage or for shopping. With the sunsetting at Pura Tanah Lot, this concludes our day trip around (mainly) East and North of the island of Gods. We spent the next 2 days lazing around in the villa and shopping in places like Seminyak and Kuta.

There is another temple by the edge of this cliff

Pura Tanah Lot from afar. The temple is only accessible during low tide

My friends with Pura Tanah Lot at the background. This is a great place to take pictures of the temple

Wefie at Pura Tanah Lot

Sunsetting at Pura Tanah Lot

Sunset at Pura Tanah Lot

One can receive blessings at the cave beneath Pura Tanah Lot

My friends receiving blessing from the priest

My friend cleansing herself with the spring water as part of the blessing ceremony

We got our blessings from the priest

Pura Tanah Lot at sunset, lucky it is low tide now

My friends at Pura Tanah Lot

Sunset at Pura Tanah Lot

Sunset at Pura Tanah Lot

Sunset at Pura Tanah Lot

Sunset at Pura Tanah Lot

My friends at Pura Tanah Lot

Watching the sunset at Pura Tanah Lot

Pura Tanah Lot

Sunset at Pura Tanah Lot

This is our last day in Bali, we were rather reluctant to leave Bali as that means this is the day that marks the end of our vacation and back to reality. We woke up slightly early than the previous 2 days to start packing our luggage. We ordered breakfast from the reception and it was delivered within 30 mins as with the previous days. We looked forward to the delicious breakfast every day without fail. Breakfast was delivered amid our packing. We stopped briefly to enjoy our breakfast before continuing with our packing. It did not take us too long to complete our packing and soon we found ourselves checking out of the villa. Checking out was a breeze and we even got the villa to drive us back to Seminyak Square. It seemed that this is our usual hang out place in Seminyak (not by choice as this is the only square in Seminyak). We walked around the smallish square and finally settled for coffee at one of the cafes. We arranged for a Balinese spa massage for today to fill in the time from checking out to our boarding time. After our coffee, we decided to walk around and towards the spa.

It did not take us too long to reach our destination, although it is rather out of the way and hidden off the tracks (thanks to the staff from the villa who brought us there the day before and we just relied on our memory). Although we were around 15 mins late, the warm staffs at the spa were patient and welcomed u with the biggest smile one can find in Bali. We took a 2-hour spa package and the massage skills of the staffs here were fantastic. They took away the aches and completely allowed our muscles to relax. 2 hours whisk past quickly and we were saddened to be leaving this wonderful massage joint with skilful staffs. We attempted to walk back to the villa where we will collect our luggage and be transported to the airport. How wrong we were as we were lost, attempting to find where we were using the google map on our phone seemed to fail. We had to stop a few times to ask for directions and even attempted to hail a cab, but with no avail. Somehow we land ourselves at Seminyak Square where everything suddenly looked familiar and subsequently found ourselves back to the villa, where the staffs readied the car to transport us to the airport.

It took us about 1 hour to reach the airport, where the staffs bid us farewell and thanked us for staying at the villa. What fantastic gesture!! We were slightly hungry at this point and wanted to grab a bite. However, the eateries are outside the airport terminal. We initially wanted to check in our luggage before heading back out for food as we did not want to lug our luggage along while looking for food. When we checked with the security personnel at the entrance into the terminal building, we were told we can’t exit the terminal once we went inside (well they are not exactly the friendliest staff). My friend and I then decided to just head into the terminal and get ourselves check-in, hoping to find something to eat in the immigration area. We soon find ourselves passing through immigration and were looking for food. Luckily for us, there were several options available. We settled for some Indonesian eatery and got our stomach filled up. By this time it is around boarding time and we hurried towards the gate for our flight where we spent the next couple of hours heading back to Singapore.

Though it is a short 6 days trip, we managed to see some famous sights in Bali, tried the famous Balinese massage and even find the time to relax in the villa and return to Kuta area time and time again. This is a relaxing trip and may our next trip be as relaxing!!

We woke up rather late as well today, intending to take it easy on this day. Same plan as the day before, we wanted to just relax in the villa and waste our day away. As with yesterday, we woke up pretty late and ordered our breakfast with the reception. Today is rather uneventful. After breakfast and lazing around for a while, we hit the pool and continued with our ritual of suntanning. We again tried to persist with a whole day of suntanning, however, we did not have the determination to do that. After a couple of hours of suntanning and hitting the pool, our patience ran dry and decided to head out. We wanted to confirm our spa session the next day and got the driver to drive us to the spa. We managed to confirm our bookings and hailed a cab towards Kuta. We arrived in Kuta and walked around as though it has already formed part of our ritual. As the sun is about to set, my friend and I went over to the beach and took some pictures before heading back to Beachwalk mall.

I just love the in-villa breakfast

In-villa breakfast

Breakfast is served

Getting ready for suntanning

and a dip in the pool

A few days ago, I remember coming across a sign which provides free transfer from the mall to Bali Collection. As we have researched, Bali Collection is a shopping mall. This immediately forms the image of a mega air-conditioned shopping centre that my friend and I have always fond of. We originally wanted to take the free shuttle bus from Beachwalk Mall to Bali Collection. As we checked with the timing, it is rather late. I proposed to my friend that we do not wait for the bus, fearing that the shopping mall might be closed by the time we got there. We wasted no time and hail a cab to find our way towards Bali Collection in Nusa Dua. The ride towards Nusa Dua is a mere 30 mins away.

Sunset over Kuta Beach

We were bewildered the moment we alighted from the cab. We had thought that Bali Collection is a mega shopping mall like the Discovery Mall in Kuta, but bigger. To our disappointment, Bali Collection looks more like a shopping arcade, with some shops scattered around the open-air shopping arcade, a Sogo departmental store and several restaurants serving mainly western food. We walked around and explored the area a bit, but it did not take long to bore us. As it is already way past dinner time, we walked around looking for a restaurant that serves Balinese cuisine. After all, we did not manage to taste Balinese food so far. We shopped around for a suitable restaurant and managed to find one which serves Balinese food. There is more western food than local food. The open-aired restaurant also has a live band singing and entertaining the patrons having dinner. We ordered our food and ate there. After eating, we decided to head back to the Villa as there is nothing much that appeals to us in Bali Collection.

Bali Collection

Dinner in Bali Collection

Dinner in Bali Collection

Dinner in Bali Collection

Dinner in Bali Collection

Dinner in Bali Collection

Creating some Mooncake Festival mood

 

At about afternoon, we felt bored just staying in the villa and wanted to go out for a walk. When we were driven to the villa on our second day in Bali, I remember seeing a big shopping mall near Seminyak. We originally wanted to visit that, however, I did not manage to see the name of the mall and started to ask the hotel staffs about it. They have no idea what I was referring to. My friend and I then decided to get the staffs to arrange for private transport to drop us off at Seminyak Square and find our way from there. Seminyak Square is indeed a small square with limited shops and not the type of shopping mall we were so used to at home in Singapore. We walked around the Seminyak area and finally gave up and hailed a cab. We told the cabby that we were looking for a big shopping mall. The cabby had misunderstood where we wanted to go and brought us to what he deemed a shopping mall. This does not seem to be the mall I saw 2 days ago, moreover, it reeks of touristy traps all over. My friend and I told the cabby that this is not the mall we saw. At this point, I thought it is rather pointless to go about in a wild goose chase and told the cabby to send us to Legian – a district that is between Kuta and Seminyak.

We alighted in Legian and I was feeling thirsty by now. I saw a Starbucks across the street from where we alighted and proposed to my friend to grab a cuppa from Starbucks. We chilled in Starbucks in a bit before heading out to explore Legian. Legian is just like Kuta, except there seemed to be lesser crowds, mainly due to it being early (around 4 pm). We have no idea where we were heading but just walked along the streets of Legian. There are shops set up on both sides of the street, obviously aimed at making tourist dollars. After walking for a couple of hours, the scene suddenly looked familiar.

“I think we are in Kuta Square”, I said to my friend. I remember seeing certain shops in Kuta Square. Little did we realise we were actually in Kuta Square. We welcomed the familiar scene and this time around I asked my friend if we wanted to walk towards Discovery Mall and looked for the A&W restaurant, which has extinct in Singapore for more then 10 years! This time around we managed to find it. A&W is actually inside the shopping mall. Discovery Mall is just like any typical shopping mall around the world, with an anchor department store and several other shops. We walked around the mall a bit and settled for dinner in A&W. After dinner, we walked to the back part of the mall and it seemed like the mall is built between 2 coastlines.  I turned to my friend and told him this is the quieter part of Kuta. After staying for about 10 minutes, we decided to head out front and walked along the streets of Kuta. By this time, the sky has turned dark and we decided to hail a cab and head back to rest for the day.

I have always wanted to visit Pura Ulun Danu during my previous visits to Bali. However, the temple is rather out of the way and I did not cater time to pay a visit to this temple. From the pictures I have seen, this place is quite scenic. During this trip, I was determined to pay a visit to this temple. Since this is the first time my friend had been to Bali, I thought to show him this temple would be quite apt. Before the trip, I did numerous research on how to get to this temple. This temple is in the middle of Bali, to get there one would have to get private transport. I arranged for a guide to show us around to this temple and of course the famous Tanah Lot. Our guide, Arlan, came on time and is very friendly and knowledgable. Before the trip, I communicated with Arlan via email, stating that the sights I want to visit are Pura Ulun Danu, Pura Tanah Lot and the rice terraces that Bali was also famous for. Arlan spared no efforts in bringing us to a couple of sights that are along the way.

We woke up early and ordered breakfast. As there are no dining facilities in the villa grounds, breakfast (included in the stay) will be delivered to the room. I had pouched eggs again as I was unsatisfied with those I had the day before. Well at least the villa got the pouched eggs right, it was not overcooked and the bacon with the pouched eggs was tasty too. We met up with Arlan after our breakfast and soon found ourselves travelling around Bali. Along the way, we discussed with Arlan the places we want to visit and got Arlan to propose any sights he finds interesting along the way. Arlan proposes to bring us to the Royal Temple in Kuta area – Pura Taman Ayun as it is nearby. We readily agreed and indeed this temple is around 30 mins drive from where we put up.

As we parked our car, we saw the split entrance of the temple being built. It seems that this entrance is a later addition to the monument. The entrance is a mere minute walk from the temple. Arlan explained to us that there is a moat that surrounds this temple, a typical feature of a Hindi Temple, very similar to that of Angkor Wat that I have visited some years back. We paid for the tickets and entered temple grounds through the gate. As we passed the gates we were impressed by the well-kept garden, which was a stark difference from the scenery before the gates. Perhaps this is holy ground, moreover, this is the Royal temple, more attention was paid to the upkeep of its grounds. As we were eagerly walking towards the temple to marvel at the typical Balinese architecture, Arlan pulled us one side and brought us to this huge pavilion by the side. He explains that this is a wax figurine of a typical scene of cockfighting. As cockfighting is now illegal in Indonesia (due to the involvement of gambling), the only times that cockfighting is allowed is festive periods. We did not stay long here as we were eager to see the temple.

We walked further into the temple grounds and saw some towers by the side. Arlan explained that there is a bell on top of the 2 storeys high tower. The function of this bell is to notify the residents near the temple. He went on to explain that a typical Balinese temple does not only serve the purpose of prayer to the gods, it is also a gathering place for people to resolve disputes, for celebrations as well. As the inner temple is closed for the public to enter, we can only marvel the sights through a low wall surrounding the temple. Arlan did a great job in explaining that the way to differentiate a temple from any other building lies with the colour of the roof. Temples are always covered with black straws, which is harvested from trees; while that of any other buildings is covered with brownish straws, which is harvested from the ground. I reckon this symbolises the holiness of the temple. We were brought to the back of the temple, where we can see towers after towers, that makes up the temple. Here is where we also saw a statue of Garuda, a mythical creature that serves as a mount for one of the 3 Hindu gods. The whole temple is well kept and the architecture is simply stunning. There is nothing much to see other than taking pictures with the temple, we hurried ourselves to exit the temple and head on to our next destination.

As we were about to exit the temple, we wanted very much to scale the bell tower. We asked Arlan if it is alright to do so, he gladly accommodated to our request. The bell tower has only one flight of stairways leading up to it and the way up surrounds the tower itself. I thought we would be able to get a good view of the temple and the surrounds, however, the tower being not very tall, the views are limited. Despite that, we do enjoy the breeze up at the tower. We stayed at the tower for a mere 5 mins before heading down and towards our next destination.

The add-on gate at the Royal Temple

View of the temple from across the moat

The entrance of the temple

A mock-up cockfighting ring

Guardian statue of the temple

Me and Arlan crossing the causeway into the temple grounds

Guardian statue around the temple

At the Royal Temple grounds

Watch Tower from afar

Entrance to the Royal Temple

Guardian statue in the temple grounds

This section of the temple is closed to visitors

Around the temple grounds

This is the area where prayers are being conducted

This is the area where prayers are being conducted

Zoomed-in view of the temple

Me at the Royal temple

Balinese architecture in the temple

Garuda guarding the temple

Close up shot of Garuda

Prayer section of the temple

This is the area where prayers are being conducted

This is the area where prayers are being conducted

This is the area where prayers are being conducted

This is the area where prayers are being conducted

This is the area where prayers are being conducted

Around the Royal Temple

Watchtower up close

The ceiling of the watchtower

Me at the top of the watchtower

Around the temple grounds

Around the temple

View of the temple grounds from the watchtower

Watch Tower

Before we headed to the rice terrace plantations, another sight Bali is famous for, Arlan asked if we wanted to head to the coffee plantation, where we can taste the most expensive coffee in the world – Kopi Luwak. We readily agreed to do so. This coffee plantation is rather small and was rather inconspicuous. I had half suspected this is one of the tourist places, where they entertain tourists to earn their foreign money. Nonetheless, no harm us taking a look. As we were walking through the plantation towards a hut where we tasted some of the beverages that were being produced locally, before that, staff from the plantation, seemingly the “tour guide” of the plantation, brought us along and showed us how the coffee beans of Kopi luwak is being prepared. Every process is traditionally prepared and still very manual. We then headed for the hut where the staff prepared a sample of various types of drinks that were produced on the plantation. We had to pay IDR50,000 for a sample of Kopi Luwak since my friend has yet to taste it before, we opted in for it. Kopi Luwak is naturally decaff and the taste of it isn’t as bitter compared to other blends of coffee. After tasting, we were led to a shop where they sell all the drinks that we have tasted that was produced in the plantation. After shopping for a while, we decided to head towards our next destination.

Heading towards the plantation

Plants in the plantation

Plants in the plantation

Plants in the plantation

Plants in the plantation

This is the cat which produces the world’s most expensive coffee

Refreshment sampling

Introduction to the various coffees produced here

Kopi Luwak sampling

Our next destination is high up in the mountains. From here we can see the terrace plantations at a distant. It is not what I imagined it would be as compared to that I have seen some years ago. Nonetheless, we still managed to get a good glimpse of the rice terrace. The climate up here is rather cooling, contrasting with the humid climate in Kuta or Seminyak, mainly due to the higher altitude. We had our lunch here, where there is a restaurant serving simple Indonesian cuisine. The food served here is nothing to brag about, however, the view at the restaurant is stunning, the cooling climate and the superb view, making lunching here an excellent choice. As the food served here is buffet style, we grabbed a few rounds and called it quits. After lunch, we took some pictures with the rice terrace (which unfortunately was a little too far to be visible in the pictures. Arlan the embarked us on our next stop – the Pura Ulun Danu in Bedugul.

Driving towards the rice terrace viewpoint

View of the rice terrace afar

At at the rice terrace

View of the rice terrace afar

Lunchtime

Lunchtime

Entrance to Pura Ulun Danu

Pura Ulun Danu

Pura Ulun Danu

The lake Pura Ulun Danu is built on

Pura Ulun Danu

Pura Ulun Danu

Pura Ulun Danu

Pura Ulun Danu

Pura Ulun Danu

Me at Pura Ulun Danu

Pura Ulun Danu

This is the area where prayers are being conducted

Pura Ulun Danu

Pura Ulun Danu

Pura Ulun Danu

Pura Ulun Danu

The quieter side of Pura Ulun Danu

Pura Ulun Danu

Pura Ulun Danu

The lake at Pura Ulun Danu

A Buddhist pagoda outside Pura Ulun Danu

Pura Ulun Danu

Pura Ulun Danu

Pura Ulun Danu

Before we set off for Tanah Lot, Arlan asked if we would want to visit the viewpoint for the twin lakes and Arlan make known to us that the drive to the viewpoint is less then 30 mins away. We readily agreed to visit the viewpoint. On the way towards the viewpoint, we passed by some monkeys which Arlan told us that these monkeys are the residents of the nearby forest and would usually settle by the side of the roads as they had known that passing by tourists would feed them food. Arlan pulled over to a group of monkeys for us to take some pictures before continuing our journey towards the viewpoint. He also mentioned that these monkeys can turn violent and wanted us to stay in the car. We did just that.

As Arlan has promised, the viewpoint is just 30 mins drive away and we found ourselves being presented with the picturesque view of the twin lakes. The views here are stunning, coupling with the cool mountain air, this is indeed a relaxing view and a mark difference from the hassles and bustles from the scene in Kuta. At the viewpoint, we saw some tables, and some tourists enjoying lunch ordered from a nearby restaurant. I can imagine the tranquillity associated with lunching here. We spent some time absorbing the tranquil and the beautiful scenery, as though it is lifted from some paintings here before heading towards Tanah Lot.

View of the Twin Lakes

View of the Twin Lakes

View of the Twin Lakes

Rice Terrace that we drove past

View of the Twin Lakes

View of the Twin Lakes

View of the Twin Lakes

The drive towards Pura Tanah Lot was a long one. It was around 5 pm when we reached Pura Tanah Lot. As with the other temples, we visited today, we paid for the tickets and found ourselves walking towards the split gates of the temple. What lies in front of us and beyond the split gates of Tanah Lot is the scenic coastal line where the temple overlooks the sea, coupled with the rhythm of the waves hitting the cliffs where the temple grounds are situated. From where we were, there seemed to be having 3 sections to Pura Tanah Lot. One temple to the far right, which seemed like 500m from the gate, and 2 on the left of the split gates. We were more excited about visiting the famous temple on the little island where it was built on, which is the icon of Balinese temples. We walked towards the left side of the split gates towards the island where the famous Tanah Lot temple is situated. Before landing on that island, we stopped by briefly on the temple that was built by the cliff overlooking the sea for some photo taking. From here we can see hordes and hordes of tourists by the coast and walking towards the island temple through an underwater pathway. As we wanted to see the sunset, and we were about 1 hour away from the sunset, we made known this intention to our guide, who proposed that we can spend the next hour shopping around. However, he warned that most of the stuff that was put up on sale is targeted at tourists, meaning the price would be higher than elsewhere. We browsed the market for a bit before heading back to the temple grounds anticipating the sunset.

Sunsetting at Tanah Lot

View from of the coastline at Tanah Lot

Tanah Lot Temple

Zoom-in view of Tanah Lot Temple

The temple near to Tanah Lot

View of the cliff at Tanah Lot

View of the coastline

Me at Tanah Lot

Sun setting

Sunsetting

Low tide at Tanah Lot

One of the sub-temples at Tanah Lot

View of the shore from Tanah Lot

Tanah Lot Temple

Tanah Lot Temple

Guardian at Tanah Lot Temple

My friend and I soon found ourselves by the coast where most of the tourists are. We loved watching the sea hitting against the coast, the rhythm produced by the seawater is rather therapeutic. Here we can see tourists trying to take pictures of themselves with the picturesque background of the wave, which seems angry with the coast working their power to erode the coast, as though they are trying to expand their territory. We soon find ourselves couldn’t resist the calling of the temple. By the time, the path linking the shore and the temple are hardly visible. We ask Arlan if it is okay for us to visit the temple, who subsequently told us we could get blessings in the cave under the temple. As we were walking towards what seemed to be an underwater path towards the temple, we saw a handful of temple staffs acting as shepherds escorting visitors towards the island temple. They seemed to know where to walk despite the invisible underwater path. We followed the footsteps of a couple of visitors being escorted by the staffs and soon found ourselves on the island. We got our blessings and went to the side of the temple, where a stairway is leading up the temple is visible. As with the other temples in Bali, entrance to the temple is closed as well. We took some time to take some pictures of the coast from the temple. As the sun has set, we decided to head back to the coast. By this time, the tide has almost submerged the path that we came from. However, the staffs saw us trying to walk towards the coat and came over to escort us. At this point, the seawater has reached our knee level, we walked carefully following the staffs who seemed to know where the path is without even the need to look at them. We soon found ourselves at the coast and met up with Arlan. As this is the last itinerary of the day, it is time for us to head back to our villa. As Arlan was preparing to drive us back, we requested him to drop us off Hard Rock Hotel in Kuta so we can grab a bite at Hard Rock Cafe. After dinner, we walked around the Hard Rock Hotel before hailing a cab back to our villa to rest for the night.

Up close to the shore

Tanah Lot Temple

Sunset at Tanah Lot Temple

Sunset at Tanah Lot Temple

Tanah Lot Temple

Sunset at Tanah Lot Temple

Tanah Lot Temple

Sunset at Tanah Lot Temple

Tanah Lot Temple

Coastline at Tanah Lot Temple

Today we were supposed to check out of Sheraton and head towards Seminyak, where we had booked a villa to spend the rest of our time in Bali. We woke up rather early (well early when you consider we were here for vacation) to find a rainbow casting over the sea on Kuta Beach greeting us. It has been a while we last saw rainbows, and naturally, we were rather excited about it. Looking out from the balcony, having a cup of warm coffee, enjoying the view granted by the rainbow, this is what a vacation should be. Kuta at this time of the day is very different from what we saw and had imagined at night. In the night, it is bustling with life and activities, however, at this time of the day, Kuta seemed to be asleep. It seemed like the area is resting from the busy nightlife and is recuperating to get ready for another night’s activities. We headed out breakfast, as the hotel room we booked did not comes with breakfast. We decided to head out to grab one from a nearby eatery that we saw the night before and seemed to be rather tasty. However the shop did not open till 9 am, we decided to head across to the infamous Kuta beach that tourism on Bali is believed to have started. Moreover, my friend had not been to Bali before and I thought it would be good to show him what Kuta beach is about.

Rainbow over Kuta Beach from our room

We crossed the road and hit Kuta beach. There were beach chairs scattered along the beach with vendors lazily peddling their wares to us. However, no such luck for them as we were only here to take a look at the bench. My friend and I snapped some pictures and headed to the pancake restaurant we saw the night before. We settled down and placed our orders. Breakfast was rather disappointing as my pouched eggs were overdone. We quickly had our breakfast and strolled towards the Beachwalk mall, that was right below Sheraton Hotel where we put up. This shopping mall featured some mid to high-end boutiques. As the day was still early, most of the shops were still closed or in the process of opening up for business. After walking for a while more, we decided to head back to the hotel and go for a dip.

Kuta Beach

Kuta Area

Beachwalk Shopping Mall under our hotel

Beachwalk Shopping Mall under our hotel

Me at the entrance to Kuta Beach

Kuta Beach

Breakfast

Overdone Pouch eggs

Breakfast platter

We dipped and tanned for about 1 hour. The pool in Sheraton was smallish but is great, as it is facing Kuta beach, overlooking the sea beyond the beach. The view was to die for! We tanned for a while more before packing up and heading to our villa in Seminyak. The driver from Bali Islands Villas and Spa was slightly early to pick us to the villa. Despite being early, the driver was rather professional and did not rush us at all. When the stipulated time was up, we received a call from the reception informing us our transport was waiting for us. It is very thoughtful of the staff from the villa to do so. After checking out, we soon find ourselves in the van heading towards Seminyak. the drive through Kuta area was uneventful as we saw how commercialised Kuta is, with shopping malls, pubs and hotels after hotels sprouting up in the area. It ruined the “Indonesian-ness” of the area. Kuta and Seminyak seemed to be very close to each other, we had crossed into Seminyak area without even realising we had done so.

Scooter in front of Sheraton Hotel

Time for a tan

Nice pool in Sheraton Hotel

Pool overlooking Kuta Beach

Driving towards Seminyak at Kuta Area

Driving towards Seminyak at Kuta Area

Driving towards Seminyak at Legian Area

Traditional Balinese architecture

The check in to the villa was fast and efficient. We soon found ourselves exploring the villa, covering every inch which was enclosed in the self-sufficient villa. We then headed out towards Seminyak Square to explore the around a bit. Seminyak Square seemed to be the centre of the area and is the only shopping mall around here. There isn’t a lot of shops and compared to the mega shopping malls found in most countries, one would be disappointed as the product offerings are rather limited. The whole area feels lazy with shop keepers simply did not bother to tout tourists with their wares. We soon got bored of this place and decided to walk around on foot to see where our feet would take us. My friend and I wanted to find a spa for the infamous Balinese massage as well while walking around looking for a decent spa we found ourselves heading towards a beach.

Seminyak Beach

Seminyak Beach

Seminyak Beach

Seminyak Beach

The beach here in Seminyak was fantastic, as it offered views and miles and miles of the beach with the relatively lesser crowd as compared to Kuta. One can see people enjoying the beach more here as compared to Kuta, and the amount of vendors touting their wares is significantly lesser. This enabled one to enjoy the beach more compared to Kuta. We chanced upon the infamous Ku Te Da, where one can find visitors to this Island of the Gods chilling out with a cold drink waiting for the sunset. We walked towards the main road, trying to find out way back to Seminyak Square through Ku Te Da. At this point, my friend and I were hopelessly lost, we did not even know where we are. We continued walking, based on our instincts, hoping that we would eventually end up in Seminyak Square. We chanced upon the Seminyak Resorts and was hoping to find a spa where we can settle for a good massage. However, we seemed not to have any luck with spas on this day. We ended up exploring around the hotel grounds and found ourselves settling our butts on this couch facing the sea waiting for the sunset. The ambience is great and we felt relatively undisturbed. We ordered some drinks and finger food while waiting for the sun to call it a day. Though the day was relatively overcast, my friend and I did enjoy the sunset and the lazing around.

Ku Te Da in Seminyak

Me at Seminyak

Balinese Guardian

Statue of Garuda

Seminyak Beach

Seminyak Beach

Seminyak Beach at sunset

Seminyak Beach at sunset

Seminyak Beach at sunset

Enjoying Sunset with a cocktail in Seminyak Beach

Seminyak Beach at sunset

Seminyak Beach at sunset

Seminyak Beach at sunset

Seminyak Beach at sunset

Seminyak Beach at sunset

Seminyak Beach at sunset

After the sun has set, we decided to continue our search for Seminyak Square. As we were walking, we realised we had hit the W Hotel Bali. To access the hotel, one would either have to walk about 5 mins into the hotel ground through what seems like a bamboo forest before a huge W greeted visitors. We took a buggy into the hotel and it looked hip and funky. We explored around the hotel grounds a bit before calling it a day and wanting to hail a cab to head back to our villa to rest for the night. At this point I switched on my google map on my mobile phone, I realised we are just 2 blocks away from our villa. We asked around and soon found ourselves heading into our villa. At this point, we realised the W Hotel is near to where we stayed. This is important information as we would use this to guide cabbies back to our villa in the next few days. We washed up and rested for the night for our day trip around Bali the next day.

Our flight to Bali leaves at 4 pm Singapore time. However, we went to Singapore Changi Airport very early and reached there at about 1 pm. We had thought of going there with ample time to shop around and laze. Seems like my friend and I had underestimated our time. We shopped from Terminal 1 (where we checked in) to Terminal 2 and ended up in Terminal 3. As we were buying Godiva Chocolates, we heard our names being announced over the PA system in the airport terminal. We found out that we were one of the last few passengers to board on the flight to Bali.

Immigration was a breeze, despite the numerous visitors visiting the Island of Gods, we cleared immigration fairly fast. I read from the Lonely Planet guidebook, that there will be a lot of touts outside the airport paddling their business to earn more from uninformed tourists, however, there is a taxi counter where the prices are fixed and are a lot cheaper than the touts waiting outside the airport terminal. We approached the taxi counter, however, they quoted us a price that is higher then that was being written on the board. We left the counter without booking a cab and check if there is another counter on the other side of the terminal building. As my friend and I was walking, a few touts approached us and asked if we wanted a taxi. All of them quoted a price that is significantly higher than that from the counter. We couldn’t find another counter and went back to get a taxi from the taxi counter.

Sheraton Resort isn’t that far from the airport. It took us about 45 mins to reach Sheraton. Sheraton is right next to the Hard Rock Hotel, and there is plenty of shopping around the area. It is right in the middle of Kuta area. Beneath the hotel is a shopping mall. We checked into our hotel and left our luggage there before heading out to explore Kuta area a bit. Kuta is famous for its beach and a mega shopping area. The amount of tourists flocking to this area explains why the beach is exceptionally crowded and the numerous surf shops in the area, not forgetting the number of touts, ranging from small shop keepers trying to get tourists into their shop to buy souvenirs to the honking by the cabbies hoping to get passengers into their cab. Speaking of cabs, it is important to ensure that one asks for the meter to be turned on prior to boarding the cab. I read on Lonely planet that one of the scams tourists will often face is ripping off from cabbies, Indeed throughout our stay in Bali, we have witnessed a few incidents whereby tourists and cabbies argued and some of them even got into a fight!! Kuta is the place where one can find more international cuisines then Balinese or Indonesia food.