Bali: Kuta

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 =)