Where is that?
That's the first question my mother asked when I told her I was going to Bali to celebrate my best friend's birthday. For those of you, like my mother, who aren't sure where Bali is, it's one of the many beautiful islands that make up Indonesia. As we learned on our trip, Bali is to the Australians as Cancun is to Texans...easy to get to with beautiful beaches, amazing natural experiences and plenty of fun-filled nightlife!
Getting to Bali from Texas takes at the very least patience, possibly prescription drugs depending on how well you tolerate being in a flying metal capsule! We opted to take EVA air with a layover in Taipei because it was the fastest route to get us to Bali. After 16 hours and a short layover in Tapei we ended up on the infamous Hello Kitty plane from Tapei to Bali which was an unexpected treat!
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| Even the barf bags are Hello Kitty! |
In order to maximize our time in Bali and see as much as possible, we split our vacation into 2 areas. We spend the first 3 days in Nusa Dua at the Melia Bali resort, which was absolutely gorgeous! We splurged for a swim-up room and had our own access to the pool right from our patio.
Day 1
We woke up super early to be able to catch the sunrise over the beach. My camera couldn't quite adjust between the humid outside air and the freezing cold AC inside our room so my pictures aren't the best but it was a breathtaking sight.
After the sunrise we headed to take in some of Bali's famous culture and took a day trip to visit the Pura Besakih temple. Pura Besakih is the most important, holiest, and the largest temple of Hindu religion in Bali. Little did we know we visited the day before one of their most important religious holidays, Galungan so preparations were underway for the big festival. On the drive to the temple we saw many people already displaying or preparing to display their Penjor in front of their homes. For an in-depth explanation of the significance of the Penjor check out this link: http://blog.kura2guide.com/balis-penjor-what-are-they/
Helpful tip: in keeping with religious tradition you are expected to wear pants or a long dress when visiting temples in Bali. If you aren't dressed appropriately you may be denied entrance. There are tons of street vendors waiting outside temples to sell you a sarong...save your money and pack a long maxi dress!
One of the other highlights of this tour was our stop at Mahagiri restaurant overlooking the rice paddies for lunch with view of Mt. Agung. You can book this tour ahead of time through several different tour providers or you can do what we did and book it through your hotel concierge.
Day 2
Who needs sleep on vacation? Up at the butt-crack of dawn again we decided to take our adventure to the open seas and head to Gili Trawangan for the day. The Gili Islands are 3 islands just off the coast of Lombok. The easiest way to get to them from Bali is by plane or by fast boat. If you choose the fast boat option, do your research! Our experience both to and from Gili T. was fine and we had no issues but there are horror stories out there....in fact, just as we arrived back to the US at the end of our trip there was a fast boat explosion that killed several tourists.
Once you make it to Gili T. you have 3 options to move around the island; on foot, by bicycle, or by a horse-drawn cart called cidomo. We decided to hop on a cidomo and headed to hotel Ombak Sunset where we spent the day soaking up the sun and doing a BFF photo shoot on their famous swings! Sadly, we couldn't stay for the sunset because the last fast boat left at 4 but the daytime views and pictures are gorgeous too.
Day 3
Our third day had us up well before dawn to hit the Mt. Batur sunrise volcano trek. Mt. Batur is an active volcano with the most recent eruption in 2000. After a 3 hour ride, a light breakfast and a safety briefing it was time to hit the trail. Hiking a volcano in darkness is an experience, that's for sure but the guides were amazing and the views at the summit was worth every drop of sweat and curse word flung from our bodies. Words just don't do it justice.
Once the sun is up, you have some time to explore the area before working your way back down the mountain. You can see active steam coming from the walls of the caldera and you get to hang out with some naughty little gangsters!
The hike down is much harder than the hike up due to the slippery loose gravel even though you can actually see where you're going. More than one person in our group busted it going down the mountain so by the time you reach the bottom you are SO ready for the next leg of the journey, a dip in the pool that is fed by natural hot springs. Amazing!
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| The shaded area at the left is all the damage from the lava flow during the 1968 eruption. |
Day 4
It was time to say goodbye to the Melia and the beach and move on to the jungle surroundings of Ubud. When we first started researching everything we wanted to do in Bali we came across pictures of The Kayon Resort on Pinterest and decided that we needed to go there. I cannot say enough good things about this resort, it was absolutely magical and the staff were outstanding! It is literally carved out of the middle of the jungle with natural waterfalls right outside your room. The infinity pool is to die for! It is no surprise this resort is listed as the #1 resort in Ubud on Tripadvisor.
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| The view from our balcony |
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| Breathtaking views from the infinity pool! |
Day 5
Finally, a day to relax and enjoy the fact that we were on vacation! Every morning the hotel offers rice paddy trekking so we decided to take advantage and learn the science behind the beautiful landscaping. We trekked into town, saw a local working on traditional Balinese woodcarving in his home, and worked our way back to the hotel through the rice paddies. After that, it was fun in the sun by the pool for the day before heading into Ubud center for some shopping.
Day 6
My absolute favorite experience of the trip! Day 6 we headed to Elephant Safari Park for our Bathe and Breakfast with the Elephants tour. If you've always wanted to get up close and personal with these gentle giants, this is the way to go! There are a limited number of tickets for this tour because it is a small, intimate experience so if it's on your must-do list book it early. As part of this tour, you get to the park before it opens to the general public to help bathe the elephants.
After a good scrub down, it's time to take a dunk in the pool!
Day 7
Our last adventure in Bali was a tour to hike to Sekumpful Falls. Our first stop on the tour was a chance to see how Kopi Luwak is made and to sample various types of coffees and teas. Kopi Luwak is one of the world's most expensive coffees because the beans have to be harvested from the poop of an animal called a civet. (sounds delish, right?)
After our coffee break it was time to hit the trails and head for the falls. Our trek started with a tour of the local village, their temples and their rice paddies.
After our tour of the village it was time to head to our goal, Sekumpful Falls!
Our last leg of the tour was a stop at another important Balinese temple, Pura Ulun Danu Bratan, a water temple on the shores of Lake Bratan.
Our own personal "Eat, Pray, Love" experience was everything we had hoped for and more! Now on to the next adventure....
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