This 4 day trip to Bali changed my perspective on travel. This was like any other trip, to go and have fun. But this trip left my soul feeling enlightened, and now every trip i take, i want to feel that again & again. Luckily, i also learnt what it takes to experience it.
We arrived at Bali's Denpasar Airport, and the flight landing here blows your mind away. We hired a cab to Ubud for a decent price at the airport . You can also request the hotel/stay to pick you up from the airport.
Ubud is Nature's gift to Bali, the lush green paddy fields surrond you while you are riding on clean roads. The busy area of ubud is the ubud market which has so many cool cafe's,spa's & restaurants and is a vegan paradise.
This morning, we headed to the beautiful Campuhan Ridge walk, which is a great place to trek and enjoy with lush greenary and valley that surrounds it. The path is so picturesque, this is a must visit for great IG shot. Come here early in the morning as it might get very sunny later in the day.
We then rode off to Tanah Lot, which is approx. 1 hour bike ride from Ubud. Tanah Lot is a beautiful place to be visited during sunset, or even early morning for sunrise when the crowd is less. With temples facing the ocean, and interesting rock formations, this place is a true beauty. We sat almost on the tip of the rocks cherishing the best sunset view of our lives.
We then headed to the famous Sacred Monkey forest sanctuary. The temples, and forest with huge trees and staff caring for and playing with monkeys, this cool place is a experience in itself. Take care of your belongings like sunglasses, phone and hats.
Being in bali, we wanted to make use of our time here, and decided to ride to other must visit places from ubud. Renting a cab in Bali's traffic would not let us cover all the places we wanted to. So we decided to wear our helmets and ride with care!
After a long bumpy ride, we arrived at the "Broken beach".
This was a beautiful beach with fierce waters, almost reminding me of the intense breakup scenes in movies :)
We first wanted to go to Kelingking beach, having heard about the trek which could very difficult to achieve and the sun gets too harsh mid morning. It took us about an hr to get to kelingking beach from Ferry terminal.
Bali swing in ubud, approx. 30 min ride from ubud center, has giant swings with fantastic views of forest as you swing to the sky. There are also huge bird nests to capture amazing pictures. The giant swings will sure give you adrenaline rush, and some swings are specifically designed for couples!
We arrived early at uluwatu temple ,which is approx 1 hr 30 mins bike ride from ubud. We bought our tickets at the entrance and were also given a cloth or sarong to wear upon entry into temple. Being early let us roam around this beautiful sea temple soaking in the photogenic views . Tickets to kecak dance were being sold inside the temple with huge crowd. Luckily, we got our tickets and were seated at the stage on cliff top getting sunset views.
On our day 2 morning, we visited the Tegenungan waterfall in ubud, this was such fun riding the village roads surrounding by greenary. There are a lot of spots here such as bird nests to capture moments, and the waterfall itself, even though not a huge one, leaves you feeling refreshed.
Nusa penida was definitely on our list, and knowing that we could do a one day trip there by ferry, we were so excited.
On day 3, we reached sanur beach which is less than 1 hr from ubud by bike. The first ferry starts at 7am , and takes about 45 mins to reach Nusa Penida. These ferries also run at limited timings in morning & afternoon, and the last ferry returning from Nusa penida is 4.30PM. We took the ferring starting at 8AM from Sanur Beach. Arriving in Nusa penida, there are bike or taxi rentals available. We opted for the bike which costed us Rp 75,000/-.
Tip: Check the bike thoroughly for any problems including tires, as there wont be any repair shops later on the way.
Food here in Bali is to die for:
Day 1
We went for a full package which includes all swing rides with local balinese lunch as we spent most of our day here.
Kecak dance is a balinese dance depicting the story of'Ramayana', which is performed between 6PM to 7PM local time.The music and the performance is soul stirring and you get a sense of connection with yourself as the sun goes down.
We rode back to Ubud which took us aprrox an hour as there was not much traffic. It could seem a lot of riding, but the experience was worth it, and looking at the traffic in Bali, hiring a cab would have taken away a lot of our time.
Tip: It always good to follow the main roads (especially at night)wherever in Bali, but google would suggest shortcuts,so make sure there are other people riding or driving and do not ride on empty roads.
Day 2:
If anyone asks me the most risky decision i have taken on my travel so far, it will be this trek. This trek down to the kelingking beach requires a lot of perseverance & willingness. Looking at the steep, unclear path below, and with no proper rails to hold onto, every step had to be put with caution.
But the ocean below kept calling, and suddenly, i was reminded of the movie 'The Beach'.
But whats travelling without a little risk ?
We trekked down carefully and took us around 30 min to reach the bottom.Most of the people stop halfway, as the path gets even steeper with rocks. We were cautious to not hold on to any broken railings and making sure our step forward was not slippery. We wore sandals, and it could have been better with sandals that have belts.
When we were finally arrived at the bottom, it was jaw dropping. There were just a few others down there with a few local men guarding tourists so that they don't get into water if the waves are harsh.
After spending some time admiring the view and appreciating our fitness levels, we decided to hike back to the top.
Going to top wasn't hard as you are not looking down at the steepness, but it was very sunny. And in about 20 min, we made it to the top, a little burnt.
Lot of shops were serving coconut water and snacks at the top, we went for some coconut water to re-hydrate ourselves.
Now that we had a "life defining" experience, we happily rode off to other beaches. Well, we then realized we had a long bumpy rides ahead of us.
Crystal clear blue waters that jelled so well with colors of the sky, this beach is formed to look like two broken rocks just meeting each other at the top to make a path.
There is a restaurant here, which was perfect for us to have lunch.
We also next covered the crystal Bay which had some great views, but wasn't so worth it with all the travel that takes from broken beach to here.
That was our trip to Bali, through which we realized that travelling is not just about visiting mandatory places, but pushing our limits in every place we go, going out and doing something you don't always do, and see where the day takes you!
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