Bali – MaiTravelSite

Ubud: Bali’s cultural capital and best bargain of SEA

maitravelsite — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 21:07:23 +0000

No trip to Bali is complete wthout visiting Ubud, Bali’s second largest city and cultural center of the island. It has a very entertaining market where you will probably find the best deals in South East Asia ( OK, perhaps Chiang Mai in Thailand is in the same line), picturesque rice terraces only a short drive away, captivating temples, entertaining live theater performances (don’t miss the Lebong dance) and again probably the best valued accommodation in all Asia.

We chose to rent a scooter to get there (3 USD/ day, though you can also book private overland transfers) and calmly meandered our way there through the main and secondary roads, watching for the careless driving and only having a nice scenery as we got closer. We passed some stunning private pool villas in Ubud as we looked for accommodation in Bali, but ended up choosing the first palace room we saw at 7/ night including a 3 course breakfast for two.

Once we settled in we headed to the market and surrounding area, which I remembered quite picturesque and knew that Liza would like it. We did make a few purchases, and found such good deals particularly for home decor that we considered buying many things, shipping thenm home, and selling them there. However the cost of shipping them was too high, and thus we discarded the idea despite our enthusiasm. That night we went to sleep hoping that the gray clouds that had been with us all day would leave and lead to a clear blue sky.

Of course it didn’t happen. A thunderstorm woke us up early and the consistent rain continued all morning. Realizing that it was going to be like this all day we chose to do as the locals: we covered ourselves in plastic raincoats and made our way to the rice terraces with the scooter.

We were surprised to find so many tourists despite the rain, but still found a place to take some pictures from without getting wet. We then decided to drive through the country roads for a while, and enjoyed finding small villages excited to see tourists visitng their town. However the rain became unbearable and we decided to drive back to Ubud, just in time for a late lunch. The rain did not stop during the afternoon either, and chose to check emails and purchase the visas for Australia.

It was not raining as hard the following day, so we decided to visit some more temples and walk through the lush green fields, listening to the peacefull sounds made by the small creeks that criss-crossed them and the not-so-peacefull roosters ever present as well. That night we were scheduled to watch a Lebong performance, but unfortunatelly the death of a relevant person in town had it cancelled. Bummer.

Seeing that the rain was not about to stop, we left Ubud and made our way back to sunny Kuta, planinng to come back whenever we learned that the weather was fine again. But we never did. News was that it rained heavily every day for the next 2 weeks, and thus chose to do other activities instead. We enjoyed Ubud despite the rain, and recommend you don’t miss it no matter what if you ever visit the best of Bali. But don’t worry Ubud, we’ll be back!

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Tanah Lot and Uluwatu in Bali, Indonesia

maitravelsite — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 20:01:23 +0000

These are the two most important temples in Bali, and Uluwatu is probably even more famous because of the world class wave that breaks nearby, and thus were two visits we were not about to miss.

Tanah Lot is about 45 minutes (by scooter )away from Kuta and is usually visited during sunset because of the picture perfect views. We chose, however, to visit it around noon, hoping to get more colors in the pictures and have more time to walk around.

Uluwatu

The temple is set on a small island accessible only during low tide, and there are different spots from which to take pictures. It is not a big site though, and we only spent an hour or so visiting it.

Uluwatu is further away, about an hour South of Kuta instead of North. Unlike the jungle-like nature of central Bali, the island’s Bukit Southern peninsula is dry and barren, with scenery not nearly as exciting as in the north but boasting the best surf in the island.

The temple of Uluwatu is on a 100 m cliff overlooking the ocean, and is also a great picture purpose. It’s main area is closed to the public ( not nice when you pay 3 USD to get in) and the nearby structures and gardens are full of monkey trying to steal the food any human might have even if it means faking an attack.

A ten minute scooter ride away is the wave of Uluwatu, an exciitng world famous left that draws surfers from around the world. Even if you don’t surf it’s fun to watch the gnarly surf action in the water when there’s a swell.

Unlike surfing in the Mentawai Islands, you’ll always find a crowd in Uluwatu.

We opted to visit each place on different days, keeping scooter time to a minimum and having the chance of doing different things while enjoying Balinese culture and people.

Bali Wrap Up

And so the month went by enjoying the best of Bali barely without noticing, enjoying the relaxed pace, good food, beach, surf and lifestyle. Eventually our stay came to an end, and we headed to our next destination, Australia, where we would spend 4 weeks exploring the east coast on camper vans and visitng old friends.

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Why Bali Is a Great Destination for Everyone

maitravelsite — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 02:10:56 +0000

Aaahhh Bali. Five years later I was going to spend yet another month in this idylic island, only that this time I am married and was traveling with my wife.

I had excellent memories of my previous stay, and knew that Liza would enjoy the place as much as I would. The only doubt I had was whether it was still as cheap as it had been 5 years ago; several travelers had told me that those great deals were long gone.

Fortunately it was not true. However our arrival on September 14th was not as smooth as it should have been because I was pulled aside into private offices at customs due to lack of space in my passport for the visa. Eventually they half stuck the visa and let me through.

We got a taxi to Poppies Gang 1, located in Kuta beach right by McDonalds, and is the place where you will find most of the cheap accommodation in Kuta and thus the place you should head to if you are on a tight budget.

Be it as it may we were arriving just a few days after Ramadan had finished, and most hotels and guesthouses were full. But an hour later we found a room in an almost new guesthouse at 10 USD/ night and a 15 minute walk from the beach- a bit too far for my liking but still quite good.

Next step was to rent a surfboard, and it did not take me long to find a place were I could get one for 2.5 USD/ day. And food… in a couple of days we had already found the three warungs where we could eat good food for almost 1 USD/ dish: Bamboo Corner, Gong Corner, and Warung Pama, all on or near Poppies Lane I.

We enjoyed breakfast at the Arena Hotel, where an awesome buffet only costs 2.5 USD. It closed late, so we had a heavy brunch most of the days.

For the next month we immersed ourselves into the Balinese way of life, at least that of the visitor: plenty of beach, plenty of surfing, a few side trips (here’s a itinerary to visit Bali), eat well, and pretty much relax and save money because this was the place to do it.

Sunset in Kuta beach

Myself, having fun on a small wave

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