Backpacking Bali

Bali 2018 / Kuta/Ubud/Bingin Beach/Sanur/Padang Bai/Gili Air

First of all, some facts about Bali:

Bali is an island belonging to Indonesia in the Indian Ocean with a tropical warm average climate. The capital of the island is Denpasar. With an area of 5,561 km², Bali is by far the largest island in the province of the same name. In the 2010 census, Bali had about 3.9 million inhabitants and an estimated 4.22 million in 2012.

Most of Bali's mountains are of volcanic origin and cover about three-quarters of the island's total area. The Gunung Agung volcano ("Great Mountain") is the highest mountain on the island at 3,142 meters. For the Balinese, it is the seat of the gods. It is also the pole of the Balinese coordinate system. The penultimate eruption in 1963 claimed 2,000 lives and devastated numerous villages and fields. It last erupted in 2018.

The reason for the volcanic activity is the subduction of the Sahul Plate (part of the Australian Plate) under the Sunda Plate (part of the Eurasian Plate). It is also responsible for the volcanism on the eastern and western neighboring islands. Like Bali, these are part of the so-called Sunda Arc, a volcanic island arc that is generally typical of ocean-ocean subduction zones. South of the Sunda Arc, the seabed slopes towards the Sunda Trench. Such deep-sea trenches are also typical of subduction zones. (Source: Wikipedia)

It all started with a somewhat lengthy journey:

Almost 19 hours flight from Berlin Tegel -> Doha (the capital of Qatar, located on the Persian Gulf) --> Denpasar (Bali)

"Transport, transport?" "Taksi, taksi?" It is mainly recommended to take the so-called "Blue Bird" taxi - they have a taximeter and are reliable. But you can't get such a taxi at the airport. They wait there like vultures, trying to rip you off by tens of thousands of rupiah - in the end, we bit the bullet and took such a taxi and paid a little too much, but it was still within reason.

Totally exhausted, we were sitting in the taxi

A first Balinese taxi ride, driving through red lights and honking like crazy - survived!

It's colorful, loud, dirty, and yet beautiful and charming in a very particular way - but it's also overwhelming because besides the fact that everything looks the same at first and it's hardly possible to orientate oneself, you also have to pay attention to an average of 5 potholes per 100 meters and an estimated 3 million scooters and cars. And that's hardly an exaggeration - the traffic is really intense.

Arrival at the hotel

Our first accommodation was the Hotel Pendawa Gapura - Kartika Plasa Gg Pendawa 3, Badung, Bali, Indonesia 80361

Nice rooms at reasonable prices.

The hotel is located in a small alley and is away from the street noise.

The courtyard is beautifully designed with palm trees and a small pool.

It is kept very familiar and everyone there is very attentive to make sure you have everything you need :-)

After checking in and freshening up, we started looking for something to eat.

Everywhere, good and cheap. Just around the corner from our house, there are two outstanding warungs (guesthouses/street kitchens) - Nasi Goreng or Mie Goreng for about 0.90 € or a plate full of "everything you want" for about 1.20 € - plus the friendliest people in the world.

(Unfortunately, I forgot the name of the first place - Bartosz, your part :-P)

On the 2nd day, we went to the Batan Waru Restaurant (in the Lippo Mall Kuta)

You will always get full and the food is delicious.

The first few days were quite similar:

Study the travel guide and then we decide where we want to go + look for and book a hotel for the next 2 days.

Bartosz always did that for me, fortunately. I just never thought about it :-D

We continued with the KuraKura Bus to Ubud to the Putri Ayu Cottages (Hotel)

Our rooms were a dream... and right next to each other, so we could go from one terrace to the other.

I had 2 beautiful canopy beds and a very large bathroom.

In the evening, it started pouring rain, so we made ourselves comfortable with beers and waited until it stopped so we could go down to the city.

Heavy rain in Ubud... so we went down towards the city... water obstacle (here the scooter photo)

We thought for a while whether we should just walk through it.

I was brave and took off my shoes and socks... I thought the water wouldn't decrease by just thinking about it... and I stomped through it.

Bartosz didn't really feel like it and offered some money to a local if he would drive through it...

And there he was, sitting on a scooter and being driven through the sewer... waving at me as he passed by!

Oh, I was so mad haha... (but only for a brief moment, after that I had to laugh myself :D)

By the way, the scooter guy didn't want to accept any money, super nice young man!

In the city, we went to the Three Monkeys (Jalan Monkey Forest, Ubud 80571)

A really nice restaurant, but I would recommend making a reservation as it is very popular and often fully booked.

I would estimate the price range to be €€ out of €€€€€

Ubud has many small temples that can be visited, but in some of them, you can only enter with a sarong (a sarong is a wraparound skirt consisting of a single piece of fabric. It is widespread in South Asia and the South Pacific and is mainly worn by men, so it is usually a men's skirt. It is called differently depending on the country, for example Lava-Lava or Pareo.)

A temple visit is a must for a first visit to Bali.

However, you should inform yourself about the dress code and temple rules beforehand.

Usually, wearing a sarong is mandatory. Dress codes and other rules should be observed when visiting a temple, and they can be even stricter during a ceremony. A list of the temple rules is often also posted at the entrances to the temples.

Here are some examples:

Men/women are not allowed to wear sleeveless clothing, their shoulders must be covered with a scarf when wearing tank tops

A sarong (a long skirt for men and women) is usually mandatory. Often, an additional scarf must be worn around the waist.

Women are not allowed to enter the temple during their periods.

Do not step in front of those praying, do not stand between the shrine and the person praying

Temples should never be climbed. One should also not stand taller than the priest.

Certain areas may not be entered or may only be entered with an escort (Guardian of the Temple, for example at Pura Besakih).

During a ceremony, men must also wear a headscarf, and it is considered respectful to sit down during the ceremony as well.

On the way back to our accommodation, we also saw cute geckos

Then Bartosz had the brilliant idea to go hiking in the rice fields without a guide.

So, he searched in his travel guide for a suitable route.

Of course, it turned out differently... we took the wrong path at the beginning and had to cross risky alleys and gaps... but we found rice fields... just the wrong ones hehehe.

After a long back and forth, Bartosz found the right path, and so we went uphill, on the right path, to the rice fields.

This path... I swear it was hell!!!

Bartosz: Hey yeah, it was beautiful, you just didn't notice much of it because you had to fight for survival. But you did a good job!!!

After every successfully conquered uphill, I just thought that we must eventually come to a straight stretch... haha NOT A CHANCE!

I still can't explain to myself today how I agreed to this hike :D

Bartosz: Yeah, very brave when you don't know the length of the hiking trail and the differences in altitude ;) I didn't know either. And I also miscalculated the time. It got dark when we were halfway through the hike^^. And then we tried to get an Uber or Grab. Eventually, in complete darkness and in the middle of nowhere, someone (privately/taxi) gave us a ride.

BUT... what you can see on this challenging path is incredible.

The panorama alone made up for everything! So it's definitely worth it.

We also visited the Monkey Forest.

Bartosz: Hundreds of monkeys live here. And sometimes they try to steal from you. One cheeky monkey almost took my wallet. They think you have snacks in your pockets...

If you can't tolerate heat well, you should skip this... the humidity felt like 1000%.

The park is beautiful to look at, though.

Next stop... Bingin Beach

Bartosz: Then we took the KuraKura Bus to Denpasar and then a taxi (3km/20€) to Bingin Beach.

The first night we stayed at Teges Asri by Bukit Vista.

A relatively new facility with nice bungalows. There are several of them in Bingin Beach.

Here I booked a suite for Ina. A little palace for the lady. The bungalows cost about €25 with breakfast. And an infinity pool.

The second day in Bingin Beach we stayed at Taman Asih Homestay.

(Jalan Cemongkak-Pantai Dreamland Kuta Selatan, Pecatu, Bali, Indonesia)

The facility is beautifully designed, with lots of greenery and small cottages (mine even had a hammock... yeah!)

(Photos)

The cottages were very simple but perfectly adequate if you don't have huge demands.

In the evening, we met with an acquaintance of mine, who was also on his first Bali trip, at Kellys Warung (Jalan Pantai Bingin Beach).

For the price-performance ratio, the warung gets € out of €€€€€ from me.

Bartosz: Yes, I agree. Here, we actually had a Bacon&Eggs Cheeseburger without the beef patty. That surprised all of us a bit ;)

It's only about a 7-minute walk from Taman Asih, and it's right on the beach.

A meter-long staircase leads to the warung, which was built on the cliffs.

This staircase had such big steps that on the way back to the hotel, my knee hit my chin every time.

Even Bartosz was exhausted, and he's definitely fitter than me.

Bartosz: Well, exhausted... yes, but it was such a sweaty affair ;)

The next day, we continued our journey to the harbor in Sanur.

We wanted to take a speedboat to the Gili Islands, and according to the internet, this would be possible from the harbor in Sanur. Unfortunately, we were mistaken... while there are many speedboat offices there, the actual crossing is from Padang Bay Bali.