Bali
Bali, land of beautiful beaches, amazing temples, delicious food and warm, welcoming people. We spent three weeks exploring in January; here are some highlights from our trip and inspiration for yours!
Temples: Bali is 90 percent Hindu, and there are hundreds of temples everywhere you look, in each small village, or covered in vines along the side of the road. During the day, Balinese leave offerings to the gods at the base of temples or holy areas. The offerings are often a small 'bowl' made of folded banana leaves containing flowers, burning incense, grains of rice or other food. Below is a list of some of the larger temples. Often these places are quite tourist, but they are definitely still worth a visit.
Pura Taneh Lot This temple is built in the ocean, visit it as the sun sets behind it over the waves.
Balangan Beach & Pura Ulu Watu temple. Another temple perched high in the cliffs 200 feet above the ocean. It is definitely worth it to attend the kecak (monkey dance) performance as the sun sets. Watch out for mean monkey's along the path to the temple that will snatch your sunglasses, or even the rubber band out of your ponytail!
Beautiful floating garden temple: Puri Taman Ujung
Another water temple: Taman Ujung Water Palace in Amlapura
Pura Besakih, or Mother Temple, considered the most holy temple of Bali.
Beaches:
The water in Bali varies depending on where you are, but there is plenty of that clear turquoise blue ocean to snorkel, surf, or swim away the days. Some of our favorite beaches:
Candidasa : nice beach in a quiet village
Padang Bai: from here you can hire a boat that will take you to Blue Lagoon, which is very nice for snorkeling and diving. The Blue Lagoon is actually a small bay, with a steep white sand beach, located just a tiny bit north east of Padangbai.
Head to the small island of Nusa Lembongan via a 30-minute ferry ride from Benoa Harbour, about a 10-minute drive south of Sanur.
You can also take a boat to the even smaller Nusa Dua and there are beautiful secluded beaches there and surfing around the point.
Ubud:
This was our favorite town for eating, shopping, massages, and museums & culture.
Visit the Monkey forest temple: walk up Monkey forest road, where you'll find tons of furniture, home and clothing shops, then take a break in the Monkey Forest. Watch out for the monkeys, they look cute but are quite mischievous!
A good place for massage and all types or other treatments is Ubud Bodyworks Healing Center.
The Neka and Arma museum have the best collections of balinese traditional art and of the first westerners painters to come to Bali that brought the art traditions to balinese artists.
Hills above Ubud:
Take a rice Patty walk on Sideman road, which is an amazing unesco world heritage site of protected rice patties
Catch sunset in Petalu, which is a heron roosting area
Also visit Jatiluwih rice patties
Central Mountains:
The sunrise hike at volcano Gunung Agung is amazing. You begin hiking at 4am and the sun rises over all the lakes and the ocean below. You are literally above the clouds on the top of the volcano. You can choose to hike only to the top and back down again, or continue across the edge of the volcano (and smoking craters!) to the back side of the mountain and down to the base a longer way.
Where to stay:
Desa Seni (near Canggu)
Eco-friendly village made of crazy wooden buildings from all over indonesia,
amazing food from home grown ingredients, yoga studio, lovely pool, go for
the day, eat, swim, pet the dogs, chat to Tom the owner (architect/furniture
dealer) and have a cocktail - it is absolutely magical at night. If you want
to stay over ask for Widja house
Or you could just go for it...
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
