Backpacking Bali 2018

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. According to the 2010 census, Bali had around 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 entire island 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. He 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. These, like Bali, 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:

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

"Transport, transport?" "Taksi, taksi?" It is mainly recommended to take a taxi called "Blue Bird" - they drive with a taximeter and are reliable. However, you won't get such a taxi at the airport. They are waiting there like vultures and try to rip you off by tens of thousands of rupees - in the end, we bit the bullet and took such a taxi and paid a little too much, but it was still within limits.

We were completely exhausted sitting in the taxi

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

It is colorful, loud, dirty, and yet beautiful and charming in a certain way - but it is also overwhelming, because besides the fact that everything looks the same at first and it is hardly possible to orientate oneself, you also have to pay attention to the average 5 potholes per 100 meters and the estimated 3 million scooters and cars. And that's hardly an exaggeration - the (left-hand) traffic is really not easy.

Arrival at the hotel

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

Nice rooms at affordable prices.

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

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

It is very family-oriented and everyone there is very concerned that nothing is missing from you :-)

After checking in and refreshing ourselves, we went out in search of something to eat.

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

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

You will always be full and still delicious here.

The first few days were always quite similar:

Study the travel guide and then see where our journey takes us + look for and book a hotel for the next 2 days.

Bartosz always did that for me fortunately. I just never thought about looking further :D

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

Our rooms were a dream... and were right next to each other, so we could go into each other's terrace.

I had 2 beautiful four-poster beds and a super large bathroom.

In the evening, it was pouring rain, so we made ourselves comfortable with some beers and waited for it to stop so we could go down to the city.

Heavy rain in Ubud ... so we went down towards the city ... there was water blocking the way

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

I was brave and took off my shoes and socks ... I simply thought that the water wouldn't decrease by just wondering ... and stepped in.

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

And off he went on a scooter and was driven through the sewerage ... passing by me ... waving!

Oh, I was mad haha ... (but only for a short while, then 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 Three Monkeys (Jalan Monkey Forest, Ubud 80571)

A really nice restaurant, but I would recommend making a reservation, as it seems to be very popular and usually full.

I 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 wrap skirt consisting of a length of fabric. It is widespread in South Asia and the South Pacific and is mainly worn by men, so it is mostly a men's skirt. It is also called differently depending on the country, for example, lava-lava or pareo.)

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

Before that, however, you should inform yourself about the dress code and temple rules.

It is usually mandatory to wear a sarong.

For a temple visit, the dress code and other rules in the temple should be observed. During a ceremony, these rules can be even stricter. A list of temple rules is often found at the entrances to the temples.

Here are a few examples:

Men/Women must not wear shoulder-free clothing or the shoulders must be covered with a cloth for strap tops

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

During their periods, women are forbidden from entering the temple.

You must not stand in front of the worshipers, so you must not stand between the shrine and the one praying.

Temples should never be climbed. You should also not stand higher 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, the man must also wear a headscarf, and it is considered respectful to also sit during the ceremony.

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

Then Bartosz came up with the great idea of ​​taking a rice field hike without a guide.

So he rummaged in his travel guide to find a suitable route.

As could it be any different ... we took the wrong path at the beginning and had to cross risky streets and gaps ... but we found rice fields ... just the wrong ones hehehe.

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

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

Hey, yeah, it was beautiful, you just hardly noticed anything about it because you had to fight for survival. But you did well!!!

After each successfully overcome uphill, I just thought that at some point you have to arrive on a straight path...haha NO WAY!

To this day, I can't explain to myself how I agreed to this hike :D

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 also miscalculated the time. It got dark halfway through the hike^^. And then we tried to get an Uber or Grab. Finally, in absolute darkness and nowhere, someone (private/taxi) picked us up.

BUT… the things you can see on this difficult path are amazing.

Just the panorama compensated for everything! So it is definitely worth it.

We also visited the Monkey Forest.

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

If you don't tolerate heat well, you should save yourself that... the humidity was felt 1000%.

The park is really beautiful to look at though.

Next stop... Bingin Beach

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

For the first night, we stayed at Teges Asri by Bukit Vista.

A fairly new facility with beautiful 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 around €25 with breakfast. And infinity pool.

On 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, lots of greenery, and small huts (mine even had a hammock... yeah).

The huts were very simple but completely sufficient if you don't have big demands.

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

The Warung gets € out of €€€€€ from me for the price-performance ratio.

Yes, I agree. Here we actually had a bacon and egg cheeseburger without the burger meat. That confused us all a bit ;)

It is only about a 7-minute walk from Taman Asih and is right on the beach.

A 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, even though he is definitely fitter than me. Well, exhausted... yes, but it was a sweaty affair ;)