Two years ago, we escorted a small group to Indonesia, more specifically to the island of Bali, renowned for its forested volcanic mountains, iconic rice paddies, beaches, and coral reefs.
Indonesia is considered a Muslim country as nearly 90% of the Indonesian population professes Islam. Bali, though, has over 82% of the population that practice Balinese Hinduism with its long tradition of Hindu and Buddhist influences rooted in local religious practices. It is quite different in character and customs from any other part of Indonesia. We found the locals to be quite friendly and many were able to have basic English conversations with us. We felt safe the whole time we were there and walked to shops and restaurants, even in the evening.
The temples in Bali also have similar designs and principles to the temples in India. Balinese call their sacred temples Pura, which are a holy places with enclosed walls. There are more than 20,000 temples across the island; each one is associated with a specific characteristic such as virtue of descent or geographical area.
When we arrived at Denpasar airport in Bali, we were bused in from the airport tarmac to the Customs & Immigration arrival hall. The processing was quick and easy. TRAVELLER TIP: There is a dedicated line for Senior 60+ travellers which can save some time! Then it was about a 40-minute drive to Nusa Dua, located in the southern part of Bali, where we spent our first week.
Bali is hot and humid, night and day. Very lightweight clothing is required, although long sleeves are helpful for bugs and sun protection. It was suggested to us that we should bring a scarf to cover our shoulders in temples and religious places, but we ended up using them more to shield our shoulders from the sun! Most of the temples we visited provided scarves for men and women if you didn’t have anything to cover yourself. TRAVELLER TIP: Take an umbrella for sun protection.
During the first week of our trip, we visited several temples including the better known cliffside Pura Luhur Uluwatu, and Pura Penataran Agung Lempuyang.
The Luhur Uluwatu temple is located on a cliff 70 metres up at the top of the rock. Locals on the island believe the gods have blessed those that surf the Uluwatu wave, because of how divine the waves are. While visiting the temple, we attended a Kecak dance performance, a form of Balinese Hindu dance. A stadium type stand accommodates 1300 guests and there is an amazing view of the sunset over the water.
Penataran Agung Lempuyang temple, better known as the “Gates of Heaven”, is a popular place to strike a pose at its Instagram-worthy gate in front of a pristine pool of water that reflects the sky above it. TRAVELLER TIP: Unless you are there very early in the morning, you can expect to wait 2-3 hours to get a picture taken. There is no charge, but donations are welcomed. They use your personal cell phone or camera and allow 2 poses per person.
Bali is well known for its massages and it did not disappoint. A foot massage includes 30 minutes of amazing treatment from your knees to your toes for the equivalent of $5 Canadian. A one-hour full body massage cost between $7 – $10. There were several fish pedicure spots, which involves soaking your feet in a tub of warm water while little toothless carp, called Garra rufa, peck away at the dead skin on the surface of your feet. We were daily regulars for foot and full body massages but weren’t brave enough for the fish pedicures. Yoga is also very popular in Bali. Every morning there was a yoga class in a treetop style unit. I’m not a yoga expert but enjoyed the mix of meditation and yoga.
On our transfer to Ubud where we stayed the second week, we stopped at a Kopi Luwak coffee centre. Kopi Luwak is coffee that consists of partially digested coffee cherries, which were eaten and defecated by the Asian palm civet, which looks like a groundhog. This Balinese coffee is a delicacy coveted by foodies around the world. After a lesson in the process, we relaxed in a treetop porch where we were served 14 different samples of coffee and teas.
A ride on a Bali Swing was on our bucket list, so we stopped and enjoyed the amazing view overlooking the rice paddy as the swing flew out hundreds of feet over the fields. A beautiful end to a long day of travelling.
Warwick Ibah Resort was the perfect place to stay in Ubud. Centrally located, this boutique resort has only 18 rooms, and is built like an old palace with beautiful grounds. The girls shared a 2-bedroom villa, complete with a small private pool. Afternoon tea was served daily at 4:00 pm. A young man would arrive with a tray laden with goodies and seemingly effortlessly climb the stairs to our unit. As you can see from the video, there were many stairs up to our unit, so not accessible friendly.
Ubud has lots of great restaurants, and we used TripAdvisor and Yelp to find recommended places to eat. Sun Warung was rated #2 for local Balinese fare, so we decided to give it a try. A 4-course dinner with a local rice (Nasi Goreng) or noodle (Mie Goreng) main course was delicious, all for only $5.10 Canadian, including a Radler beer!
One day we visited the Ubud Monkey Forest. It is the sanctuary and natural habitat of the Balinese long-tailed macaque. About 1049 monkeys live in this sanctuary. It’s a little overwhelming at first as they are free to go where they want and you are warned not have anything on your person that will attract them because they have been known to steal glasses or hats off your head, take any kind of food, or grab a sparkly necklace. One jumped on one of the ladies in our groups’ head and she did her best to stay calm and not panic as they warned us at the entrance that they are playful. Eventually he just jumped off and looked for something else to do!
On our return flight we had a layover in Ghuanggong, China. It’s a large airport, clean and easy to get around. We planned to use credit cards for anything we needed, but unfortunately the credit card machines were all down, so no coffee or food for us. TRAVELLER TIP: They did accept WePay and AliPay, which we have since set up!
Bali is an inexpensive place to visit and we will definitely go back! It would be a nice add-on to an Australian vacation; just a 6-hour flight from Sydney. Also, many cruise itineraries include Bali at the beginning or end of their Australia / New Zealand itineraries. Click here for more about our upcoming our January 2022 cruise or read about it in an upcoming article!
