I've always been a huge fan of discovering more about a country's history, experiencing their everyday life, doing all the typical tourist things etc. I guess maybe it has to do with the idea that I'm only truly experiencing a country if I know more about their historic past and their values. That's something that I really believe in. If I'm going to Korea, I want to be able to wear a hanbok and explore a palace. If I'm going to Beijing, well I jolly well be going to the Great Wall of China and climbing it. If I'm going to Australia, I want to be able to mingle around with the animals and as for Bali, well I guess you can say that there is no exception for this country!
I spent days googling for day tours to join and I managed to come across one that I felt would be able to enhance me with more knowledge about Bali and at the same time, seems really enjoyable as well! Basically it covers all the things I want to do in Bali and I'm really excited to share with you guys about my Bali tour.
I booked my tour on
Bali-Day-Trip and there are several different tours for you to choose from. I chose the first tour because I really thought that the places we would be visiting are really interesting. Moreover, we would be able to get a driver and car all to ourselves which is awesome cause I don't really want to share one with other tourists haha!
Our driver Nyoman promptly picked us up at 9am from our hotel and trust me when I say he's the funniest, most caring, friendliest tour guide you can ever find. Within 5 mins into our car ride, we were joking around, asking questions and basically it feels like we knew him for years.
Our first strop was at Batubulan Village where we watched a Barong and Keris dance.
It was about a 30mins performance and even though we didn't understand their language, we had a paper with a synopsis of the story so we could grasp the gist of what was happening. It's basically a story about a fight between a good and evil spirit . The Barong was the good spirit where as the Rangda represented the evil one. In fact, the Balinese believe that the Barong is a symbol of protector which explains why there's so many paintings of it all over Bali. Ben was saying how the performance reminded her of a Chinese opera, just that there's a lot more talking involved.
After the performance, we headed to see some Balinese paintings. I can't remember the name of the place we went to but anw Bali has lots of paintings everywhere so it doesn't really matter which one you go to.
Only managed to take one photo cause we weren't suppose to take photos inside but the painter was nice enough to let me snap a shot (: Honestly, if I had a house of my own, I would have bought a painting back home. There was one painting of butterflies and it was sooooo gorgeous. At this place, we could actually see the painters at work and they took the time out to explain the process of painting. The difference between modern and traditional Balinese painting, the type of canvas they use, the type of paint they use etc. If you're an art lover, check one of these places out!
Following the painting shop, we headed to Tegallalang Village to view some rice terraces!
Sadly, we didn't stop here for long cause we were running short of time. For this tour, you could actually choose to dine at this village with the view of the rice terraces or at the Kintamani District, with the view of Batur Mount Volcano. We chose the latter and Nyoman was worried that if we got there too late, it would be too cloudy to get a nice view of the volcano (talk about being thoughtful!) so we decided to leave early. There were quite a lot of shops at this area if you do choose to dine here which means you can get a little shopping done along the way!
And time for lunch!
Do I need to say anything more? Omg we were so high up, we could feel the pressure on our ears. A buffet lunch with such a pretty view? Yes please! Side note, dine next to a volcano? Check.
Nyoman shared with us that Batur Mount has erupted several times already with the biggest eruption in 1926, destroying the Batur Village. It used to be near the lake but now has moved to the top. This volcano is actually still an active one emitting smoke all the time. What are the chances of it erupting when we're having lunch? Hahaha okay kidding but it's still really cool to be able to say I had lunch next to a volcano.
Next stop (also my favourite stop of the trip may I add) was the Bali Coffee Agrotourism.
Nyoman then shared with us a lot of information about the different types of coffees and plants that could be found there.
Nyoman taught us how to differentiate between a male and female coffee bean. I didn't even know there were genders prior to this trip.
Beans that can be split into 2 (like the 2 at the top) are female beans whereas those which stand alone (the one at the bottom) are male beans. Male beans taste a lot stronger so they're more suitable for those who like their coffee strong. I guess I prefer female beans in that sense cause I always find coffee too bitter haha!
We managed to get a peek into the coffee bean making process. This is where they'll roast and grind the beans. I managed to try and roast it and omg, it was soooooo hot cause of the fire hahaha.
And time for the best part of the trip! We got to try out 12 different types of coffee/tea way up in the mountains! Just check out our view!
How can you not just forget about all your worries and enjoy the view(:
There were lots of interesting tea/coffee that we tried such as Ginger tea, Bali coffee, Ginseng coffee etc. but my favourite would have to be the Lemon Grass tea and Mangosteen tea which explains why I bought a pack of tea each to bring back home! Bali coffee and Ginseng coffee were both too bitter or rather, Ben and I didn't know how to appreciate it so we didn't finish it. We finished the rest though cause they were pretty good!
You could also pay RP 50 000 for a cup of Luwak coffee which we didn't but now, I regret it. I didn't try it cause I was kind of afraid and now I'll share why. Luwak coffee is made from the poop of the Asian Palm Civet. The Asian Palm Civet eats the coffee berries and then well, poops it out. You can then process it to make it into coffee beans for Luwak coffee. This is actually the most expensive coffee in the world with retail prices reaching up to $700 USD per kilogram. Totally should have tried a cup so that I can say I've tried the most expensive coffee in the world aka, tried animal's poop. But I'm sure there'll be another chance someday soon!
After shopping for coffee and tea, we then headed to the Spring Water Temple. Nyoman was telling us how it's compulsary to wear a sarong because it's a sacred place and no shorts are allowed. And boy am I glad that's a rule cause I fell in love with sarongs right after! If you're planning to check this place out, no worries about getting a sarong cause they rent out sarongs for free(:
Cause Ben and I have no idea how to tie a sarong, here's Nyoman in action being the most helpful guide anyone can be! He still asked us what colours we wanted haha! Oh and he tied mine so prettily, I couldn't help but snap a lot of photos in it! Having my little ootd moment in the temple with Nyoman laughing along was honestly, one of the best memory I had of Bali.
Whoops! A spam of photos but how often do you get to wear a sarong and be at a temple!! Plus everywhere is so photo worthy and it wasn't really crowded which made snapping photos a lot more pleasurable.
And here's Ben strutting her stuff.
My cutie of a pie hehe.
And of course we had to take a photo tgt!
And Nyoman managed to capture a shot of our true, unglam self hehe.
It's as if I'm saying "oh is the photo taking now" and Ben's all like "what are you doing with your sarong" #noshame
Okay but more about the temple. As the name suggest, the water there is considered sacred and holy and people can actually bathe in it.
Well we didn't join in for the simple reason that we didn't have extra clothes and we weren't ready to be running around in Bali drenched hahaha.
Here are some photos of the intricate design of the place!
The temple was huge and all I rmb is finding an entrance to some other part of the temple all over the place haha.
Ben said to caption this "welcome to my home".
And of course I couldn't resist but to take a photo in front of a gold door as well.
Is it just me or does the second photo looks like some adverd for some kind of sarong party? Like 'Hey, join us at xxx on xxx for beer and chips and all sorts of junk food' Okay yah I'm pretty weird but that's all I can think about when I look at that photo.
And for the last stop, Ubud Art Market! Prior to this trip, I didn't know what to expect of Bali's shopping but I can confidently tell you now, Bali's shopping is pretty awesome. Maybe not so for the guys but for girls, you definitely can find some cute dresses here and there. As its name suggest, there were lots of paintings for sale at Ubud Art Market but there were clothes as well! I would say there's actually more fashion than art at Ubud Art Market (ironically). The markets at Bali are where you can put your bargaining skills to test and they're probably where you'd want to be if you're looking for cheap thrills.
Managed to get myself a beach dress, sarong and a hat! And Ben bought tops, chopsticks (whaaaaat, I know right) and a bag!
Just remember that most shops sell pretty much the same things so don't be too eager to buy smth cause you probably can find a cheaper deal if you walk down the road(:
To end the post, here's a photo with Nyoman!
And cause we didn't have enough time to say our thanks cause we were running late, thanks for being the most awesome tour guide Nyoman! From telling us about Bali's history, to sharing stories about your family, we had such a wonderful time exploring the place you proudly call home and I cannot wait to see you again one day!
If any of you are interested in hiring a tour guide/driver in Bali, do find
Nyoman! (nyomansuntayasa@yahoo.com) You'll find a friend in him and I'm sure you won't be disappointed.
"All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware."
Martin Buber
