Having done little more than sitting around getting drunk during my first trip to Bali, I thought I’d better make an effort to actually see something, on my return.
A friend of mine was dropping in on his way from the US to India and so I decided to jet up to catch up.
Once I started planning, a friend from Perth also decided to join and then there were three.
I got a cheap flight with Batik Airlines – the budget offering from Malaysian Airlines. It was cheap, coming in at $885 return for Sydney-Denpasar direct. But then, nothing is cheap since the pandemic.
I only had a week, but we still managed to squeeze a lot in.
| Sunday | 12th | Sydney-Denpasar | |
| Monday | 13th | Ubud | |
| Tuesday | 14th | Sanur | |
| Wednesday | 15th | Seminyak | Nusa Penida day trip |
| Thursday | 16th | Seminyak | |
| Friday | 17th | Denpasar-Sydney | |
Sunday the 12th of February eventually rolled around and I went to the airport early for my 0715 flight OD172 to Bali.
The flight was typically delayed and I landed an hour late, around 1130.
Aussies can now get an e-Visa online which was super quick and easy. I think it cost about $35.
You also have to do a Customs declaration online. You can do it here.
One of my friends – Wendell – had already arrived and had organised a car to take us around for the day, before heading back to the airport to meet our other friend.
The car cost us about $100 or IDR 1,000,000 for the day.
First up, the driver took us to Nusa Dua, which was random because it wasn’t on our itinerary. I think he was trying to sell us parasailing or something. We knocked that on the head pretty quickly and before long we were back on the road en route for the Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park (GKW).
It’s where the big, 122-metre-high statue of Garuda Wisnu Kencana is located. You can see it from just about any part of the island.
Entry to the cultural park is IDR300000 ($30) plus another IDR40000 ($4) for a buggy up to the big statue.
With the ticket you’re able to climb up to the top to the viewing deck of the statue.
If I had my time again, I probably wouldn’t bother with that. It’s expensive and a bit boring, and you have to do a tour, so it sort of slows you down. I think it took 45 minutes for something we could have done in five.
There are a few other temples and statues in the cultural park that are worth exploring, plus the gardens are pretty nice, so it’s worth spending a bit of time checking it all out.
After a bit of a wander we went back to find the car and head to our next destination: Melasti Beach.
Traffic is pretty bad in Bali and so we spent a lot of time in the car but we were adamant we wanted to see as much as possible.
It took us 45 minutes to drive the 6 kilometres to the beach, but it was worth it.
The beach is big and clean and nice and not too busy. It’s also surprisingly one of the few things we were able to do for free, in Bali.
We spent some time chilling out, taking photos and playing with the drone, before we hopped back in the car for 45 minute drive to Uluwatu Temple.
Entry to the temple is IDR 50,000. We also had to pay IDR 50,000 for a sarong and IDR 150,000 for the Kecak Fire show. For all the hype I’m not sure I’d recommend Uluwatu Temple. The setting is cool, but the temple itself is nothing special. And it’s overrun with tourists (and Monkeys).
The fireshow was interesting but it was far too hot, uncomfortable, and long and a bit boring.
We were at the temple until about 1900 before heading back to the car to make the long journey back to the airport to collect our other friend. That 20km took us an hour an a half, and so, about 2030 we were back at the airport.
We decided to just get junk for dinner because we’d had a long day and still had a way to go until our final destination – Ubud.
The drive was about an hour and a half, with a 20 minute break for dinner.
At 2230 we arrived at our home for the next couple of nights – Gynandha Ubud Cottage.
The hotel didn’t have many reviews because it was newly opened and so we were a little apprehensive, but we took the chance and it paid off.
It’s only small, and a bit off the beaten track (but only ever so slightly) but it packs a punch. The rooms are massive and clean and bright.
The bathrooms are fabulous. And the views of the two-tier pools and sweeping vibrant green rice fields are amazing.
Breakfast was just OK. Fairly basic and at $10 probably not worth it. It was included in our room rate, so it didn’t bother us, but our friend had to pay for his.
When I say the hotel is off the beaten track – it’s only about a 400 metre or five minute walk down to the main street. It’s just that it’s a long a little, narrow path, along a river/storm water canal.
Walking up in the dark (or riding up on a motorbike) can be hair-raising.
Monday 13th we had an early start so we could check out Saraswati Temple before our driver collected us for our tour of Ubud.
The temple was all closed up but we still managed to wander around a bit outside and get some good pictures.
At 1000 our driver collected us and took us the short distance (about 10 mins) to the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary.
I don’t love animals – especially not monkeys – but it was a pretty cool experience.
Entry cost IDR230,000 for the three of us, or about $25. We also paid a couple of dollars more to get some epic monkey selfies. It’s a bit of a tourist trap, but it was fun all the same.
Next stop was Tegenungan Waterfall. It was about a 30 minute drive south.
There’d been heaps of rain and so the waterfall and the river was a bit murky and brown but it was still pretty spectacular. Also nice to cool off a little bit in its spray after a bit of a walk down.
Entry was IDR60,000 or about $6.00 (for all of us).
We found a nice cafe to cool down in with a cold mango juice before hopping back in the car to continue our tour, this time north, to Tegalalang rice terraces.
There are heaps of places to go but our driver took us to Uma Ceking.
It cost IDR150,000 or about $14.50 (for the three of us) to enter with the option to pay more to use the swings and everything – made famous by Instagram’s influencer girls.
The weather wasn’t great, but we still took the opportunity to go for a wander.
It’s all a little overrated to be honest, but I’m glad we saw it.
We had a bit of a lunch before continuing on our way.
The last stop on our tour was Pura Tirta Empul – The Holy Spring Water Temple. It’s another one of those places, made famous by Instagram.
The weather still wasn’t great and the temple was super busy, but again, it was worth a look.
Entry was IDR150,000 or about $14.50 (for the three of us) and I think it probably cost more if you wanted to dunk in the water.
We headed back to the hotel to get freshened up before heading down the road to Paon International for dinner.
On Tuesday the 14th we had another early start ahead of a long day touring more of the north of Ubud.
We had breakfast early then stopped in to Lazy Cat Cafe before meeting our driver around 0830.
It was about 2.5 hours to Lempuyang Temple – was up in the northeastern corner of Ubud.
Entry was IDR135,000 or about $13 for the three or us. The entire experience is a bit of a shit fight, and I wish we had done more research before we went.
The guys at Walk My World have a pretty good guide on what to expect.
But yes, it’s true. You have to literally take a number and stand in line. For HOURS. There’s plenty of shade, but it’s still a bit of a slog.
If I had my way again I’d probably go and buy a ticket then go away for lunch and come back. We ended up waiting about 2 hours before giving up. I think we were number 210 and it was 140 when we got there. It takes more than a minute per person. Plus a minute or so in between photos. It’s all a bit of a circus and not really worth it if you ask me.
We went down the stairs to the lower level and got great photos without having to wait.
We probably should have done that in the beginning and bailed, but now we know.
About 20 minutes down the hill we popped into Maha Gangga Valley for lunch.
It was IDR225000.00 or about $22 for the three of us – just to enter. Then we had to buy lunch.
The settings are pretty nice though – very lush and green with a fair few things to see and do.
You can also stay there if you’re that way inclined – there are about a dozen cute little teepee-style tents.
After lunch, we continued to Tirta Gangga – a short 15 minute drive up the road.
The temple was better than I expected. Big with heaps of fountains and ponds to explore.
Entry was IDR50,000 or about $5. You can also buy food to feed the fish. I think it was about IDR5,000 or about 50 cents for a pretty decent-sized bag.
If the temple isn’t on your bucket list, I’d add it. It’s pretty cool.
The last stop for the day for Taman Ujung – Water Palace.
It really started bucketing down when we arrived here and to be honest there wasn’t a great deal to see, so I’d probably not have bothered if it wasn’t on our way.
Entry was IDR75,000 per person.
After an hour or so at the palace (mostly trying to dodge the rain) we hopped back in the car for our long drive south along the coast to Sanur – and the Ari Putri Hotel where we were spending the night.
The drive was about 2.5 hours and so we were pretty tired by the time we arrived.
We paid the driver IDR200,000 – or about $200 for the two days of driving us round before heading into the hotel.
The hotel seems like it’d seen better days but it was big and well functioning. It had two pools as well as a couple of bars and restaurants. The location seemed pretty good too. The best part? It was only about $37 dollars for the night. They even upgraded us to a large (but dated) suite.
We were pretty tired after a long day so just wandered across the road for dinner and a few drinks at Jepun.
I think it was happy hour so we took advantage of a couple of two-for-one cocktails.
After dinner we decided to get a massage before heading back to the hotel.
Early the next day (Wednesday 15th) Wendell left us to head back to Perth and Vivek and I had an early morning transfer (IDR5,000) to Sanur Beach to get our ferry to Nusa Penida.
It’s only about 5km but took us a good thirty minutes – even at 6 in the morning.
We had booked our tickets with 12go which was easy enough. But when we rocked up at the terminal around 0630 we were told we needed to exchange our confirmation for a ticket at the tour operator office.
It was pelting with rain and the Angel Billabong office isn’t the closest.
Also some guys we met said they’d gone to the office and it wasn’t yet open. By the time I got there it had opened and I exchanged the booking confirmation for a badge, before running back to the terminal in the rain.
The ferry from Sanur Beach to Nusa Penida was IDR290,000 for the two of us ($29) and while we’d booked for the 0730 departure, it was more like 0800 before we left.
The trip took about 40 minutes and so a little after 0830 we were on Nusa Penida to meet our guide.
There’s an Island Tax you have to pay on arrival – it’s about $2.50 each.
I booked the car and driver through Klook.
It cost about $75 for the whole day and then I had to pay ten dollars more because we wanted to explore the island’s west AND east.
It took us around 45 minutes to get to our first stop – the very popular Kelingking Beach. It’s probably lucky we went as early as we did – even with the delayed ferry – because it started to get busy as we were leaving.
It costs $5 each to visit.
Also known as T-Rex beach – Kelingking – is even more popular thanks to Instagram. And there’s a reason. The tall green cliffs and deep blue wild seas make it pretty epic.
We made the precarious hike down in a record 25 minutes and the climb up in about 20 minutes. It’s not an easy climb. It was wet and slippery and super steep.
The weather wasn’t great, but for all the effort, I’m not really sure it was worth the climb. I’m glad I did, but I probably wouldn’t do it again.
Next up – Broken Beach. Our driver dutifully warned us: “broken beach, broken road”. And he wasn’t exaggerating. It only took us about 44 minutes but it was pretty rough. And when we arrived around midday we weren’t the only ones. There were people everywhere trying to get the ultimate snap.
There’s also a $5 fee to visit the sites here.
Thankfully it’s all very orderly and the drivers all seem to be mates and know where to distribute the visitors so it’s all quick and relatively easy and organised.
A short walk away from the bridge is the Angel Billabong. Again, because of the rain, it was a bit murky and brown so the photos weren’t amazing and it was definitely too rough for anyone to go in.
Finally, it was time to traverse the island to our last stop – Diamond and Atuh Beaches.
The fee for these beaches is only IDR5000 or $2.50 each and included a bit of a walk up a hill to the lookout.
You can walk down to Diamond Beach – we didn’t bother – still traumatised after our mission down to Kelingking beach – but in retrospect I probably should have fought the crowds to race down.
We grabbed a couple of fresh coconuts for the road before heading off around 1400.
The driver took us north along the coast of the island which was a nice drive and around 1515 we arrived back at the port.
We choose Rayfish Fast Cruise (for no particular reason) which cost us IDR345,000 and was scheduled for a 1600 departure.
There didn’t seem to be a pier at Nusa Penida – or at least not one that our tour operator was using – and so we had to wade through the water to climb on the boat.
We arrived back in Sanur Port around 1715.
We’d organised a car (again, through Klook) to collect from the port to take us to our hotel in Seminyak. It was $35 for a half day (six hours) and he asked us to pay for parking at Sanur Port ($5).
We had the plan to go to Tanah Lot for sunset but because the ferry was delayed it was 1910 before we arrived. Sunset was about 1845 but we still managed to get some good shots with the last light. We also didn’t have to pay to get into the temple complex because it had already closed.
It was another 1.5 hours before we got to our hotel in Seminyak – Blue Zea Resort.
Everyone said it’s a brand new hotel – but I think it’s just been refurbished. All the same it was big and clean with a couple of pools and a great breakfast. Not bad for $75 bucks.
It was already 2130 so we decided to skip dinner and go for a much-deserved massage instead.
After breakfast on Thursday the 16th, Vivek headed off to the airport and I decided to have a relaxing day before my final adventure – a sunrise hike up Mount Batur.
Another friend, coincidently, had been at Jimbaran Beach for a conference, so I grabbed a Grab motorbike to head over there for a quick coffee and catch up.
I had a bit of a walk around the area before hopping back on a bike to head back.
I had to change hotels – this time I booked into Puri Saron hotel for two nights.
I had an early dinner at Cafe Kami before returning to my room to chill ahead of my 0130 pick up.
I booked the tour on Klook.
It was a little less than $100 for the driver, hiking guide and a trip to the hot springs afterwards.
I was tossing up between doing a group tour (for company) or a private tour (so I wouldn’t be held up by any fatties or oldies) but in the end I decided just to go alone so I could jet up and down without wasting too much time.
Anyway, the driver turned up right on 0130 and I tried to have a bit of a nap during the 2h hour drive up to Mount Batur. Pro tip – doing the hike from Seminyak is a rookie error. It’s much closer to Amed Beach – or even Ubud.
We arrived around 0330 and it wasn’t long before we were staggering up the mountain in the dark.
The hike was HARD. I thought I was pretty fit but I was out of breath for most of it.
It was dark and cold and the slippery gravel mades it tough on our legs, back and core. It was sort of misty and lightly raining which I think was a saving grace because it would have been pretty sweaty otherwise.
We got up there in a little under 40 minutes, meaning there was plenty of time for breakfast before sunset.
We took plenty of photos of the volcano and sunrise before beginning the scramble back down to the car.
Around 20 minutes later we arrived at the Batur Hot Springs which were a nice treat after the pre-dawn hike.
The hot springs were pretty cool – there were multiple pools of varying temperatures. When I arrived there were only a few people there but it started to fill up through the morning.
I stayed soaking for about an hour before heading back to find the driver and beginning the long drive back to Seminyak.
I got back to the hotel around 1130 and had a bit of a lazy day chilling and wandering.
I went for a final massage, had a pizza on the beach at La Plancha.
Before heading back to the hotel to pack up and call a Grab for my nighttime flight back to Sydney.
I was on Batik (ID6005) again – with a scheduled departure time of 2055. It was a bit delayed and in the end I rolled off the plan at 0610.