The last few months of 2015 were on the chaotic side so we
thought the picturesque Indonesian island of Bali would be perfect for some end
of year R&R. Think: beaches, snorkelling, massages, yoga, Hindu temples,
rice paddies, and spicy Indonesian food. Who wouldn’t sign up for all of that?
Our trip was in the balance for a few weeks in November when a volcano
on the neighbouring island of Lombok erupted and the resulting ash cloud caused
10 days worth of cancelled flights which left thousands of passengers stranded.
Air traffic continued to be limited in the following weeks but fortunately it
slowly cleared up and flights returned to normal shortly before our scheduled
departure date.
We had two weeks in Indonesia which we split over Bali and Lombok. Our
time in Bali was divided between Kuta in the south and Ubud in the central
region of the island; in Lombok we were based in Senggigi. Although they are
neighbouring islands, Bali and Lombok are rather different from each. While
both are blessed with extreme beauty, volcanoes and exquisite beaches, only a
small number of the tourists that flock to Bali travel further to Lombok. Thus
most of Lombok is actually not geared for tourists, however this does not make
Lombok any less attractive as a travel destination. The other big difference is
that Bali is predominantly Balinese Hindu while Lombok is largely Muslim. Lombok
also tends to be drier than Bali.
The temple at the end of Kuta Beach
Details of the temple decorations
The holiday started in Kuta exploring the southern region of Bali. The first day was spent exploring Kuta, orientating ourselves to the area, adjusting to the heat and humidity, and acclimatising to the full on-ness that is South East Asia. First impressions were: it’s loud, dirty but tidy at the same time, so many temples and offerings everywhere, the beaches near the city are not that impressive, so many scooters everywhere all the time, most people seem to speak at least some English, people are generally friendly, tourists are walking dollar signs. It was quite an in your face kind of day.
During our meanderings of the first day we booked a private driver for a
tour of the Burkit Peninsula in the south for the second day and invited our
new friend Matt who we met on the plane from Perth to join us. It’s common and
relatively cheap to hire a private driver for sightseeing day trips around the
island and we did this several times in both Bali and Lombok. Our Burkit
Peninsula tour started on a beautiful beach in Nusa Dua, moved onto Luwak
coffee tasting and then to Uluwatu temple.
A Luwak
Luwak coffee is produced from coffee beans that have passed through a Luwak.
Bron and Matt at the coffee tasting
The colourful tea and coffee tasting tray
Pura Luhur Uluwatu is one of Bali’s most sacred places of worship and a
fine example of classical Balinese architecture. There are many temples in Bali
and with so many similar features, they start looking the same after a while.
This temple stands out for its dramatic setting on the edge of a cliff jutting
out into the sea while waves crash on the rocks below. We enjoyed a walk along
the cliff top away from the temple in both directions with impressive views
over the ocean and of the temple. One should be aware of the monkeys that live
around the temple who regularly take people’s belongings.
Pura Luhur Uluwatu perched on the edge of the cliff
Cliff top walk at Uluwatu
Main gate at Pura Uluwatu
Water feature at the entrance of the temple complex
From Uluwatu our driver took us to Padang Padang, one of the most
reputed beaches in Bali. The route to the beach from the road is down a narrow set
of stairs between high rocks adding to the secluded air of this small beach. It
was quite crowded but we enjoyed a swim in the tropically warm water and some
sand chill time on this lovely beach.
Padang Padang beach
Matt suggested sundowners at the utterly gorgeous Rock Bar at Ayana Resort.
At like $20 a cocktail (it was that kind of resort) it was only going to be one
but it was worth it. Set on the edge of a rock face, the waves were pounding
with the incoming tide letting off magnificent spray. It was a magical place to
watch the sun sink below the horizon. The final stop for the day was Jimbaran
Bay for a choose-your-own seafood dinner on the beach with your toes in the
sand. We chose a variety of fish, calamari and crab to share and washed it down
with Bintang, the local brew (well, the boys did anyway). Actually, the real
final stop of the day was the rooftop bar of our hotel for a chocolate lava
cake! This became how we ended everyday in Kuta.
Views from the Rock Bar at Ayana Resort
One of the pools at Ayana Resort
The next day we sought the services of a driver on the street near our
hotel to take us to Tanah Lot and Mengwi. It’s always a bit of a lucky packet
but this time we got a really nice friendly driver. Tanah Lot is a rock
formation separate from the mainland and only accessible during low tide. A temple,
Pura Tanah Lot, was built on top of this little rocky island. It is an
important place of worship in Bali and one can come here to wash in the holy
spring water and be blessed by the priests. This temple is popular with
tourists for the beautiful setting in the ocean, particularly at sunset.
Pura Tanah Lot
Pura Taman Ayun in Mengwi is hardly visited by tourists and we couldn’t
understand why. It is a private temple for the prince and his family but is
open to visitors. It is quite different to many of the standard temples and was
our favourite one of the holiday. One is free to explore the grounds and can
walk completely around the walled inner temple which is unusual. We loved the
Kori Agung or main gate and the 7 Meru towers increasing in height from 2 to 11
tiers. Each Meru is a shrine to a different Balinese mountain deity. It bucketed
with rain when we visited this temple, our driver kindly lent us an umbrella,
but this added to rather than detracted from our experience. We highly
recommend visiting this temple when you visit Bali. The rest of the day was
spent exploring Seminyak and Legian, the neighbouring suburbs of Kuta, and of
course happy hour cocktails on the rooftop at sunset.
The main entrance at Pura Taman Ayun
The gate keeper
The main entrance to the inner temple
Taking shelter from the rain wondering what all the structures around us are used for
Peering over the wall into the inner temple
The 7 Meru towers
The inner temple
Our third and final full day in Kuta was spent more relaxingly enjoying
all the rides at Waterbom Bali, the third best waterpark in the world as voted
for by Trip Advisor. Waterbom caters for everyone with various water slides
appropriate for different ages, a lazy river that meanders around the park for
floating along in an inflatable tube, various games, open pools with pool
lounger areas, various eating options, and you can even have a massage. It’s a
great family day out and we had a really fun time at Waterbom. Matt joined us
for happy hour sunset cocktails and dinner on the rooftop for a last time
before we all moved onto the next destination.
Sunset and cocktails on the rooftop
Next up: Senggigi and Lombok! More about that next time!
Bron is running to catch a plane to London! See you soon London
Finnemores =)
