The story of Bali was told us from our first day on, since we arrived in Singapore. Although Singapore is a perfect location for starting your travels, many of the people we got known to in Singapore, focus their travel activities to Balii only. Ittook us 4 months until we finally got there. Being there, we do not know why it took us so long. It is just a 2h flight from Singapore to Bali, and you do not have to spend to much money for that flight. But finally we are in Bali.
We chose to concentrate the first trip to Bali on the Ubud region, not going to the nice places at or near the beaches. We preferred Ubud as we wanted to experience some jungle feeling and the different sceneries you can explore in this part of the island.
Having arrived in Bali it was a little touristy as everybody was offering an overpriced taxi. But after a short brekky at the airport, which was actually pretty nice, we ran into a driver, who was offering his service for an okayish price. Ok - the difference to the overpriced taxis is only a small amount in your home currency, but everything is negotiable on that island. So it gave us a better feeling to have negotiated the price. Both, driver and us, have been happy though.
Having arrived, we directly dove into the Goodlife everybody is telling about Bali. Meeting with friends from Singapore, we were lucky to be guided to 2 very cool places in Ubud for lunch and drinks at the pool. There are hundreds of cozy restaurants and cafes in town. We have been to Watercress for lunch. Afterwards, we went to Folks Pool & Garden, which is a very hip and cool place for drinks during daytime. Nice food, drinks at or in the pool, laughs with nice people: that is one of the secrets of Bali. There seemed to be no worries at all.
It was a pity that our friends had to leave back to Singapore as the atmosphere at the pool was unbeatable. So we went to our accommodation, and we realized that the poolside and the cafe are not
the only two nice places in Ubud. We booked a little Spa Resort. The reason why we booked it was pretty much the location. We had direct view on the jungle, surrounded by rice
fields.
Friendly staff, clean accommodation, friendly staff who always remembered our names, and the style of the resort made us feel happy. We will definitely come back to Pramana Watu Kurung.
From Ubud we tried to explore a little bit more of Bali. We booked a driver who was told to show us some beautiful spots and places around Ubud. We went to the rice terrace in Tegalalang, to
Mount Batur, and Pura Tirta Empul - a spring water temple.
At least, this was what the driver had been told. The first stop was different. He drove us to a small art school, located on the way. An appreciated stop as the teacher told us a lot about his
obsession - painting - about the way Balinese people build their houses and use to live together in the community. In the end, he was happy to sell one of his paintings. The way they live is:
different. They build up their houses like bodies, the teacher told us. With the Head being a small temple in each and every house. The kitchen, housing of family boss, and a place for ceremony
being the body of the housing construction. Legs and arms are defined by several housing elements of the different family members living in the compound.
When we thought to go to the rice terrace, the driver thought about another stop, he called Bali swing. Nothing more than a pure tourist point of interest. You can buy a swing over a artificial rice field or try some of the special coffee. Finally we got to the rice field, being charged another entrance fee where we realized that there is no real entrance fee at another entrance. But that is how they seem to make their business. Tourism. If you do not stick 100% to the plan you have and the instructions the hotel gave the driver, they will try to suck you a little bit. But that is something, you have to accept. In the end - again - you are discussing about little amounts, which do not kill you, but maybe make the Indonesian inhabitants live a little bit more comfortable. Best way to react on the slightly edited plan of the driver by either being relaxed or telling him exactly where you want to go next and what to do. We always try to think about how we would be treated by a taxi driver back home. It often helps.
The Tegalalang Rice Terraces are impressive. We took our time and have been strolling across the the fields for nearly 2 hours, flying the drone and watching the workers cutting the plants. It was our first time on a rice terrace. It is not a common thing but a very impressive scenery and atmosphere. We loved it.
As the weather turned bad - obviously it is raining time in late November - we decided to go back to the Resort after the stop Mount Batur and have some treatments at the Spa. Massages is something you should not miss when being in Bali :)
What makes Bali so special from our point of view is the massive degree of relaxation you can enjoy, the numbers of smiles people throw at you, the quality of the food, the alternative activities you can enjoy. It is a different atmosphere here. Sometimes it is a mystic atmosphere, which makes you forget all the troubles you may currently stick in very very fast.
We are happy that we still have a few days until returning to Singapore.
Write a comment