5 EPIC DAYS IN BALI

We are quite certain that Bali is one of most people’s bucket-list destinations, so we were very thrilled to spend a few days there.  During our 6-day 5 nights stay there we managed to explore quite a few stunning and mind-blowing places.  We tried out best to capture everything we saw, and below is our proudly presented Bali Round-up video, photos and information:

**This post is a sum-up of our time in Bali.  We will be publishing blog posts on specific places with more detailed information, photos and videos soon.  Subscribe and don’t miss out on our future posts!**

Dreamland beach is located in the South West part of Bali. Ben came here almost 15 years ago when it was really only known as a surf spot. Back then it had one small cafe made from driftwood on the rocks and was frequented by predominantly surfers and anyone who had heard the rumours of its tourist free beauty! Now it has certainly dramatically changed. It hasn’t retained the charm of back then sadly as there has been rampant development, but the beauty of the beach remains.
It’s just as famous as an ideal surfing spot, but visitors can also dive in for a swim providing they are strong swimmers.  It’s beautiful light blue water, pristine sandy beach and limestone cliffs are worth visiting if you are in the area.

There are quite a few cafes, shops and changing rooms by the entrance of the beaches.  Deck chairs and beach umbrellas are available for rental throughout the day–we suggest you bargain well!

While we noticed a few boys really enjoying themselves in the waves, the tides can get quite strong in many areas.  Dreamland beach can also have a dangerous shore-break.  We wouldn’t suggest small children to go out in the sea here by themselves.

Nusa Penida is located 31 kilometres away from the Southern East coast of Bali.  With an area of around 200 square kilometres, Nusa Penida is a popular day-trip destination where visitors can do various activities: hiking, mountain biking, birdwatching, snorkelling, diving or simply sight-seeing. As we only had half a day there, we decided to go for the underwater option!

~  Swimming with the Mantas at Manta Point

There are 2 main locations on the Island where a number of beautiful Manta Rays are spotted regularly.  We were taken to Manta Point.  Within the first 15 seconds after we hopped off our boat, we could see a few Mantas already!

Our guide said usually we would expect to see 4 or 5 Mantas.  However we were incredibly lucky on the day; at one point we were swimming with more than 10 Mantas!  Seriously it was mind-blowing.

~  Snorkelling in the crystal clear water at Crystal Bay

The name of the bay is self-explanatory.  This is known as the best spot for snorkelling in Nusa Penida Island, and visitors can usually find Morey Eels, Black-banded Sea Kraits and a variety of fish here.

~  2 Things we missed out on:

1.) Mola Mola or Sunfish!  This beautiful giant is usually spotted here in Crystal Bay between July to October at 18m-40m depth.

Photo from worlddivinglembongan.wordpress.com

2.) The Underwater Temple.  This dive spot is at Ceningan Island which is precisely between Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan Island.

Photo from www.balimahesatour.com

Well, let’s just say we definitely have a good reason to go back!  It is only 20 minutes on a speedboat from Sanur.  Public boats as well as various guided tours run daily between Bali and Nusa Penida.

Ubud is undoubtedly a must-visit place in Bali.  Ubud is famous for its waterfalls, temples, healthy and hippy cafes and most importantly their lush green rice terraces.  There are 2 rice terraces that are considered the best to see in Bali, and the one we visited was Tegalalang.

The rice terrace is accessible through a few trails between shops and cafes on the main street of the Tegalalang Village.  However, as it appeared to us that the terrace by the centre of the village was quite crowded, we decided to walk further up North for a few minutes.  We found “Carik Terrace” cafe, a 2-level cafes with far fewer people–both in the cafe itself, and also in the rice field below it.  We highly recommend this place…and oh they have nice fresh fruit smoothies too!

My avocado and lime smoothie!

We also made a stop at the Goa Gajah or the Elephant Cave Temple nearby too.  It was a nice place to wander around if you have some extra time to kill in Ubud.  Expect to spend around 20-30 mins there.

Fountains of the Goa Gajah.

This is definitely one of the less well-known spots in Bali.  Melasti Beach is located at the very bottom of Bali, and the route along the cliff has added a dramatic deep-drop look to the cliff.  We were there for an hour, and for the entire time we had the whole place to ourselves.  Although there are no shops or cafe in the area, it is a great quiet place to see the beautiful coastline of Bali, and also a really cool place to take photos!

The sea looked quite calm, especially near the shore.  We also spotted a few people floating in the ocean so be sure to bring a swimsuits to cool off after all the cliff walking!

There are quite a few viewpoints on the walkway along the cliff.  We much as we loved the breath-taking view of the location in general, we also spent endless time staring at the tides hitting the bottom of the cliff right below us.

#LOLTIPS:  Bear in mind there are many monkeys there!  They are aggressive and will sneak up on you to steal your belongings.  We saw 3 tourists having their sunglasses and hats stolen within our first 5 minutes there! REMOVE YOUR HATS AND SUNGLASSES and keep them in your bag!

We went there during the day, but here is how the temple would look like at sunset:

Photo from www.easybook.com

There are reasons why Bali is known as a “Tropical Paradise”, and one of the reasons is definitely its majestic waterfalls.  Even with our limited time, we decided to make a day trip to Gianyar which is about 36 km from where we stayed in Canggu.  Here are the 2 stunning waterfalls we checked out.

~ KANTO LAMPO WATERFALL

Situated in Beng Village (only 12 Km. East of Ubud and 30km North of Denpasar), Kanto Lampo is one of the main attractions in Gianyar.  Even with it’s 15 metre drop, this waterfall has good steady big flat stones at the bottom–therefore easy for visitors to climb up and take photos.  Kanto Lampo is actually quite a ‘new waterfall’–apparently it formed only a few years ago!  This waterfall is easily accessible by cars and motorbikes.  Once parked, visitors will have to walk down a few sets of concrete stairs and stable railings.

#LOLTIPS: This is definitely a good place to go for a dip, but it gets a little chilly in the late afternoon or when there is no sun.  It can also get crowded at certain times of the day. People come in waves and you should be able to get your own moment alone in the falls if you are patient. We walked further down past this main waterfall for just a minute and found another one which was smaller and had no people at all.  Not a bad idea to check that one out too while you are are waiting!

~ TUKAD CEPUNG WATERFALL

Located 30 mins North of Kanto Lampo waterfall, Tukad Cepung waterfall is a little bit off the beaten tourist track (it took us a while to find it’s name).  The drive to the waterfall was easy, however once parked, we had to walk down hundreds of very steep steps to get to the action. At least they weren’t slippery or muddy steps and were well made concrete stairs.

After climbing up and down and walking through a few holes between rocks, we finally got to the Tukad Cepung.  It is well hidden and surrounded by circular cliffs, which gives a feeling of being inside the cave.  The trail between the narrow cliffs is quite wet, slippery and damp, it is lush green with rocks covered in moss and lichen. Seriously magical location! This whole place is definitely one of our favourite “hidden gems” of Bali.

Unlike any other waterfalls in Bali, this water doesn’t flow into the river but instead flows gently down another cliff!

#LOLTIPS: It’s best to go to this waterfall when the Sun is quite high up in the sky, so that the light shines down onto the waterfall as well as the narrow trail between the cliffs.  We got there around 5pm and it was a little too dark already!

Tanah Lot temple looks most gorgeous at sunset, unfortunately for our visit the sky was covered with rain clouds! Here is how the temple should look in the glorious soft sun light with no rain….

Even with the rain we were fortunate to visit at the time of a large religious ceremony that evening, so we got to walk along with the locals dressed up beautifully in their traditional Balinese costume.  There are religious ceremonies happening very regularly in Bali and we suppose this is something you can potentially experience during your time there, we loved it!

Bali is truly a magical place for sunsets, and the west coast has hundreds of idyllic spots to enjoy them both on beach as well as high in the cliffs.  Jimbaran for us certainly rates near the top of the list, simply for the large choice of amazing restaurants located right on the beach with a perfect seat to the ‘show’.

Another thing Bali is very well-known for is their traditional Balinese massage.  On one of our last evenings we decided it would be a great way to end our trip if we totally spoil ourselves and seek out the VERY BEST Balinese massage!

Our Villa Manager strongly suggested we go to Jari Menari, and in researching online and asking a few other local friends, it was clear this was where we needed to go! We were not disappointed!  We went for their signature 4 hand massage with two masseuses. It is difficult to put into words, suffice to say it is not like ANY massage either of us have ever had. It was an experience of harmonious movement and really a true co-ordinated dance of hands between the two masseuses as our tension and worries melted away.  Ben & I KNOW massages, we have had tens of thousands of massages over the years and in many countries with many different techniques…. Jari Menari was without any exaggeration, one of the best massages either of us have ever had! The price is on the higher side to have the 4 hand massage… just trust us…. GET THAT!!!

Jari Menari also offers a complimentary in-house art salon.  Customers can lie down comfortably on a sofa and listen to relaxing music, get artistic and do colouring on a good selection of art pieces, or simply select books from their mini-library. A great way to slowly join the real world after a heavenly massage!

Jari Menari is located in Seminyak.  We strongly recommend you make a booking before walking in, there is a reason it is busy… it is the best!  We will be posting a blog post with a video on Jari Menari in the near future.  As for now, here is their official website: http://jarimenari.com/

Let us know in the comments if you visited and how you enjoyed it! We will be back soon to try their other treatments for sure!!

Rather than going for a large, international chain hotel, we all agreed that, in order to fully experience the “Bali Vibe”, what we really wanted was a boutique villa.  Mayana Villas was our dream villa of choice.  It is situated right by the main but quiet and peaceful main street of Canggu (North of Seminyak, a more well-known area in Bali).  The property is serene and private with only 4 villas–each with a private pool and deck chairs!

Upon arrival we were greeted with warm and welcoming Balinese smiles from the staff (as well as fresh and yummy young coconuts).  The Balinese-style decor is really nice and cozy and makes you feel at home as soon as you walk through the door!

Our private pool came with the Villa’s unicorn.  She is a little shy, and doesn’t look fully Balinese.  We named her “Alexis” during our stay there, she made very little noise during our stay and was very willing to give rides to us all in the pool.

We cannot stress enough how amazing the staff are at Mayana Villas.  Their service is impeccable, and they helped us with everything we needed (rental bikes, full-day taxi rental, advice on where to go etc.).  The staff came in to cook us breakfast freshly every morning in our villa kitchen (you make your order the evening before and let them know what time is best). There is no greater way to wake up than to the smell of freshly made coffee and the sound of breakfast sizzling away outside. They also made us special Packed breakfasts for the days where we had to leave very early in the morning.
They really made our vacations!

We could do with more mornings like this 😉

Check out our blog post on Mayana Villas for a detailed review with video and imaages!

Click here to visit their official website, and here to find out on their rates and availability.

When it comes to food and beverage, Bali is not only famous for Nasi Goreng and coffee.  There are plenty of organic health-cafes (both for vegans and non-vegans!), hip cafes, cool bars and beach clubs.  We will be publishing a post on our favourite places to eat in Bali soon.  However, if you are reading this and are actually going to Bali before we publish the post, make sure you don’t miss the following:

• SATU SATU Coffee Company in Canngu
• Macan Cafe in Canggu
• La Laguna Bar (food for sunset drinks) in Canggu
• The Spicy Coconut (Vegan) in Seminyak
• Potato Head Beach Club in Seminyak
• La Favela Bar & Restaurant in Seminyak — One of the coolest places we have EVER seen!
• Earth Cafe & Market (Vegan) in Seminyak & Ubud
• Single Fin Surf Shop, Cafe & Bar in Uluwatu
• PADANG CUISINE — local family-run restaurants which can be found everywhere on the street in Bali! Look for the plates in the windows!

To sum things up, we had an incredible time.  Bali has it all: the lush green jungles and cascading rice terraces, the tropical waterfalls, the crystal clear and deep blue ocean, the dramatic landscapes and incredible wildlife… and we only scratched the surface! There is much much more (The mountains and volcanoes will be our first stop on the next trip!).

Balinese people are the friendliest people in the world… there is a good reason the Balinese smile is so well known… Their kindness is from the heart and they are always happy to help.  Our only complaint for this whole trip is we only had less than a week there….. but we will definitely be back!

If you liked our video and blog posts, please don’t forget to follow us and not miss out on our future blog posts with videos on specific places and activities you can do–both in Bali and everywhere else in the world!

We hope you enjoyed this post and it inspired to you just a little more to visit the beautiful paradise of BALI!
We would love to hear what your favourite places in Bali are, comment below if you can share your tips!

Thanks for reading!! =)