Experience the Fun-Loving Bali

Bali is such an amazing and awesome place to travel to. A medley of spectacular mountains and breathtaking green paddy fields against the limitless blue sky and stupendous beaches with infinite ocean of blue. In addition to these nature beauty, you can look forward to immerse in their rich and vibrant culture and feel the warmth of Balinese. Most importantly, you can explore Bali the way it best suits you! Are you someone who loves adventures or loves to party or loves the culture or loves the nature or loves the food or a blend of them? Bali will be your best getaway which satisfy that spirit in you. Here are some of the thrilling activities awaiting for you in Bali!

For the ADVENTUROUS spirit

It's kind of a YOLO if you're not a usual mountain trekker just like me. This was really an impromptu arrangement to trek Mt Bateur to catch the sunrise after passing by the mountain and got attracted to its beauty. We got a Batur trekking guide who is usually from the local guide organisation under the goverment and Bali guide organisation at IDR 410,000 per person. The trekking will start at around 4am and it will be a 5km up hill route and then another 5km down hill route. The first present you get from the trekking is the galaxy of brightly shinning stars that glisten like diamonds in the sky, it's way too charming. The trekking route get tougher as you ascends, it get steeper and more slippery. It will take you around 2 hours to reach the top of Mt Batur with the rewarding sunrise right infront of you. Just remember no matter how tough it is, you just got to remind yourself you're already one step closer to the top, persevere and complete the climb! Most important, be in the right gear! Sport shoes is definitely highly encouraged and stay light!

Another activity not to be missed is their rafting! Paddling along the valley against the water current at the foot of the mountain enjoying the picturesque of mountains that passes you was such an enjoyment. We did our rafting with Alam Amazing Adventure at discounted rate through our guide! The rafting adventure will take 2.5 hours and around 16 km along the Telaga Waja river. During the raft you will pass some bamboo bridges, waterfall and have a last action jump at Bajing dam which are 4 metres high. After rafting, just walk a few minutes back to the shower and changing room facilities and buffet lunch will served at their River side Restaurant with Indonesian Food and during lunch time you will be able to see your Bali rafting adventures and choose if you would like to be burn into CD for IDR 350,000. One interesting thing about them is that, you can either choose to walk down the paddy rice field to the starting point or you can choose the flying fox route down! The whole journey was fun-filling one with our jovial river guide and to mention, all the bali guides were really friendly, you can easily strike a conversation with them be it to know more about bali or some random chats! There's schedule for the rafting too, do check out the link given for more details!

Address: Perum. Mekar II Block C4 No. 4, Jl. Mekar, Bali 80221, Indonesia

If you like to know more about their culture and traditions, it's good to visit some of the following places and experience it yourself.

Barong dance narrates the story of fighting between evil and good. The masks used are considered sacred items, and before they are brought out, a priest must be present to offer blessings by sprinkling them with holy water taken from Mount Agung, and offerings must be presented. If you're keen to learn more about the culture and beliefs of bali, you can make a trip down Obyek Wisata Budaya Sahadewa for this 1 hour show. The ticket will cost you around Rp 100,000

It's one of the most famous and traditional temple which not only attracts their locals but also many tourists in a year. Just like what you see from the picture, it's a belief that the spring water coming out from the shower head will help to purify our soul and mind from the bad influences/luck in life and eliminates diseases. It serves more for healing purposes.

Address: Jalan Raya Ir. Sukarno, Tampaksiring, Bali, Indonesia

Sometimes you just couldn't get enough of these amazing scenery view. It really for a moment take your mind off everything and immerse yourself in wherever you are.

Terrains of green paddy field that was so smoothing to the eyes, and feeling fresh among these paddy plants. When it comes to the harvest period, see how these paddy plants turn the area into a dazzling piece of gold land.

Bali has housed a few temples at scenic locations. One of them is none other than the uluwatu temple which are perched on a cliff overlooking the infinite blue and sparkling clear indian ocean and surrounded by towering cliffs that makes it totally insta-worthy. Another that it's worth checking out will be Tanah Lot, but due to time constraint, we gave that a miss.

If you're not a trekker or has the stamina to climb up the 5km long Mt Batur, no worries! You could still enjoy the astounding landscape by taking a drive along the Kintamani area! Aren't the view amazing? It was this view that inspired us to embark on the Mt Batur Sunrise Trekking!

The picture above shows the Dreamland beach. Something different about this beach is that, their beach chairs and umbrella are 'chargeable'. We are not too sdure if it's an official thing or it just happen there are quite a number of locals who will keep a lookout and whenever you want to sit on it, you got to pay for it. it's around Rp10,000 per person per chair. If you like to have some 30 minutes foot massage, it's another Rp 50,000 but not to expect anything good from it, after all they are not the professionals. Just lie back and relax under the summer sun and enjoy the view of people surfing and sun tanning or get yourself right into the action!

1. Nasi Campur

It's one of their famous traditional local dish. Nasi Campur is also known as "Mixed Rice" with a scoop of white rice accompanied by several small portion of side dishes which are make up of some vegetables, meat and fish. Different area serves different variation of Nasi Campur, i like the one at Warung Nyoman, cruchiness from mixed fried chicken and fish pieces and the unique lemongrass scented sate lilit.

Address: Warung Nyoman Nusa Dua Jl. Pratama 66X

2. Ayam Presto Telur Asin

When you think of accommodation in Bali, i'm sure pool villas are the ones that will first come to your mind! I must admit, there are really too much choices when come to the different kind of villas available. The one we chose was Tony's villa. It is a tropical paradise surrounded by green foliage conveniently located in the town of Seminyak with friendly staff attending to you. If you happen to opt for accompanying breakfast with the room, it's not too bad too, it's not buffet style but there's 4 sets of breakfast for you to choose from - Balinese, Indonesia, American or Intercontinental. Room wise, it's quite spacious with a king size princess bed, a dressing up corner and the wash up area that comprises of the toilet, soaking tub and 2 standing shower (1 enclosed and another open and surrounded with greenery). It has its down point to be surrounded with trees, that is the attraction of mozzies, but not to worry, the room do provide some cream that resemble that of insect repellent and it does a superb job in keeping the mozzies away from you, so just remember to apply it before bedtime! If you're a party-goer, this is a great accommodation for you as Potato Head Club and some other clubs are just a stone throw away from the villa. You don't have to worry that you will go hungry too, there are a couple of eateries and cafe just down the street.

Address: Jalan Petitenget, Seminyak, Kuta, Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361, Indonesia

Beside all the fun and joy we have in Bali, of course there's one more thing that we could never miss out! MASSAGE! After a tiring day of walking and activities, it's always awesome to end your day with a good Balinese massage! Their massage prices varies by quite a bit, depending on the area you go to, the ambiance and the kind of service provided whether there's a private room or a shower place after massage and such, really make a difference to the price you are going to pay for! If you don't mind paying for around USD 35 for a good 1hour massage coupled with good ambiance, you can go to ADI Spa. We went there for a good relaxing massage to relieve all our achiness and tiredness before heading back to the sunny island! Though the price is a little steep, but we get to choose the kind of oil we would like to use. You can choose from the series - jasmine, green tea, frangipani, apple or lavender. After which we are showed into our private room, we can indicate the level of intensity we would like for our massage and at the end of the massage, we could take a refreshing bath before leaving. The surroundings of the spa itself feels really traditional and whole area was perfumed with essential oil that soothes our mind and body.

Address: Jl. By Pass Ngurah Rai No. 501, Nusa Dua, Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361, Indonesia

Now come's the most important detail! How do you travel around Bali? Very much depending on your purpose of stay, if you just plan to explore around the vicinity of your accommodation, you can go free and easy and use Blue Bird Taxis that goes by meter to take you to further area which you have in mind. But if you have the thought of exploring Bali all around from north to south, south to west, west to east and more, it's best and advisable to get a personal driver! We engaged Andy ( andytour79@gmail.com , can just mentioned recommended by Rachelle) as our personal driver whom is like a guide to us who share with us loads of information and stories about Bali. Most important, he is able to help us secure good rates for the water sports and attractions and know where to recommend us for good local delights. You can just let him know what are the places or activities you intend to go/do, and he will plan out the itinerary for you! The information you will be most interested in - the rates! We got it for Rp 470,000 for 10hours and additional Rp35,000 for every additional hour per car which can sit 4 people, so rates may vary depending on the car size and the number of people you have.

Hope my travelogue helps you in planning your Bali trip! Just for your information, i spent around 4D3N in Bali for this time round and manage to comb what was mentioned in this travelogue just missing the partying part out though as we really have no time for that, and so based on your preference, you can adjust your schedule around, for instance, more of adventure and nature but less of culture and so on and so for! I believe you will fall in love with Bali as much as i do! Have a fun-filling trip and be sun-kissed in Bali!

This post was originally published on Pooh's Adventures.

1. Parasailing (Other water sports such as jetski, flying fish, banana boat etc)

Are you game for some adrenaline rush activities that will send your heart fluttering? If you are speed lover, you should definitely try out their flying fish, banana boat and jet ski with prices ranging from USD 30-40! Or do you enjoy to be up in the sky having an arresting bird eye's view of the whole ocean? Then parasailing is the thing for you! There are 2 kind of parasailing - first kind is where you will sail up and had that breathtaking moments for 2 minutes before landing on the beach while the second kind is where you will have to travel out to the middle of the sea via a speedboat and be transferred to another bigger boat where you will para-sail up into the sky and revolve around for 7 minutes before landing back on the boat and heading back to the beach area. Not only that, for the second kind, if you're with groups of friends, you all can do it together in group of 2 or 3 whilst for the first kind, you can only do it solo. The first kind will cost you about USD 30 while the second kind cost you double the price but triple the fun and joy! In addition to all these activities, there is different kind of diving and coral swimming too which ranges from USD 100 - 200 depending on the type and duration. There's bound to be something for everyone! The place we did our parasailing was with BMR Dive and Water Sport, recommended and arranged for us by our driver (more about him towards end of the post!). The staff were really friendly, and there were lockers available to safe keep our belongings and the scenery we had up in the sky were really scenic!