Thursday, September 13, 2012

Top 10 Things to do in Bali, Indonesia

Doing this post as requested by a fellow Instagrammer. Hehe. I've been active on Instagram these past few months and planned to record all my travels through instagram instead of blogging about it. Reason being, it geo-tags all my pictures on a world map! Awesomeness! But guess a blogpost is needed so here it goes on Bali, Indonesia. Costs included. =)

1. Rent a car with a driver

Car rental - Rp 500,000 ++/day (depends on how much they like you. haha!)

Our drivers in Bali, contact number - +6281337750722 (Ironei) :)
It's cheap! I mean it! It's really, REALLY cheap to just hire a driver with a car of your choice. Price differs according to the size of the group you're traveling with. In my case, it was a group of 8 people. Hint: Drivers without driving license are the cheapest kinds. LOL!

2. Go to Hard Rock Cafe/Hotel at Kuta Beach


Hard Rock Hotel in Bali, Indonesia and it's shop. Rp300,000 per city shirt piece.
Ala, come on! I know most of the travelers are avid t-shirt or pin collectors of the Hard Rock Cafe merchandise. I just happen to be one. Well, just starting my own collection so this place is a MUST visit on my list!


Kuta Beach


A picturesque Kuta Beach. Surfing anyone? Or perhaps sunbathing? =)
Well known for it's bombings in 2002 and 2005 killing many tourists, it is still a major tourist attraction in Bali. Kuta is well-known for it's long sandy beaches,various accommodations and hotels, and has many restaurants and bars. You could also see surfers and sunbathers here. The Balinese actually held an event called the "Kuta Carnival - a celebration of Life" to commemorate those who perished in the bombings and it lasts 9 days long.


3Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK)

Entrance Ticket - Rp 30,000/pax

Its a private cultural park spanning about 240 hectares. Used as a venue to cater weddings, concerts, events it also houses two large statues which are the armless Hindu God Vishnu and his wingless mount, the Garuda. The Garuda is his mythical bird companion. It's rumored to have its wings built spanning 23 meters long and will make it the LARGEST statue in the world. When will it be completed? I have no idea. Wiki too.

This park comprises of supporting facilities such as Lotus Pond, Festival Park, Amphitheater (to watch the Kecak Dance!), Street Theater, Exhibition Hall, as well as Jendela Bali The Panoramic Resto and souvenir shop. A good one-stop tourist spot in Bali. More of it can be read here.  =)

4. Pura Luhur Uluwatu

Entrance Ticket- Rp 20,000/pax
The beautiful sunset at Uluwatu and the menacing monkeys on the picture below, far right.
It is a Balinese Sea Temple and said to be among the nine directional temples built in the 11th century to help protect Bali from evil spirits. I can simply describe this place in two words, breathtakingly beautiful! Oh and beware of the monkeys. they tend to be very aggressive. If they see you wearing shades, they'll quickly SNATCH it from your face!! OH Em Gii!! I've seen it done!!!

Kecak & Fire Dance (balinese Cultural Show) - Rp 70,000/pax
And the man walks on FIRE!
The Kecak Dance is actually an adaptation of an ancient ritual ceremony called Sanghyang that washeld to purify a village during an epidemic. In this ceremony two young girls would go into a trance and communicate with the spirits in order to find the cause and cure the problem. It also incorporates some episodes of the ancient Hindu epic, Ramayana. (I only recognize the monkey king from this dance. haha!).

5. Tegalallang Rice Terrace

Entrance Ticket- Rp 5,000/pax
Beautiful rice terraces seen from above. Kids were there to sell postcards.
Need I say more? It's simply a ravishing place to rest your sore eyes and take numerous pictures! There are also some cafes and handcrafts shops along the road lest you want to buy some souvenirs. I actually bought postcards from a lovely Balinese girl just because she was so cute and talkative. Oh well, paid Rp50,000 for the postcards when in fact I can get it at a cheaper price at Tanah Lot. Woes is me!

6. Ubud

Puri Desa Lan, known for it's architectural structure and artsy crafts found in Ubud.
It is known as the cultural center of Bali and one can find artists' workshops and galleries throughout the place. There are also some remarkable architectural sites here as seen in the pictures above taken by yours truly. Too bad we didn't get to go the market place as it was closed due to Hari Raya Galungan dan Kuningan, a hindu festival. =)

7. Kintamani and Mount/Lake Batur 

Entrance Ticket - RP 7,500/pax
Locals love going here to just absorb the scenic view. =)
Bali still has a very much active volcano called the Batur Mountain. If the weather was nice enough, you could actually see larvae around the volcanic tops.

8. Tirta Empul - TampakSiring

Entrance Ticket - Rp 3,000 (if not mistaken)
Many locals were taking their bath here as it was Hari Raya for them.
This temple was said to be found in 926AD and ever since for a thousand of years, it has been a sacred bathing ground for Balinese for healing and spiritual merits. Fortunately for us, a mere coincidence that my friends and I were there during the Hindu festival and many Balinese were present to perform the sacred bath. Maybe next time I'll bath myself here when it's less crowded. Previous tourists who did so actually experienced a smoother and cleaner skin after doing so!

9. Tanah Lot

Entrance Ticket - Rp 10,000 
Pura Ranah Lot Temple: A Hindu ceremony was being held here as it was Hari Raya during our visit.
Once you enter the archway of an entrance from the parking lot, you'll come upon rows and rows of souvenir shops. I had to walk a little further down the walkway to reach the beach and by golly the view was mesmerizing! I basically held my breath when I saw the beach and the sea temple it grazes. This place is among the seven sea temples (as also said for Uluwatu) that form a chain along the south-western coast. Too bad I didn't get to visit the other 5 remaining sea temples. Sigh.

The sunset at Tanah Lot. =)

10. Krishna Souvenir Shop


Krishna, your favorite local gift shop.
"I love Bali" t-shirts are exceptionally CHEAP here! Those could only cost you around Rp 18,000 per piece! There are many items being sold here and some in bundles, so you could basically spend hours to no end just browsing what to buy. Make it your last stop (or first) to buy what you desire. =)

With that I end my introduction of Bali and the places I've personally visited from the 6th to 9th September 2012.. If you plan to do the same, you could follow the itinerary below. Just show it to your driver and he'll do the rest. =)

Day 1
1. Kuta Beach
2. Hard Rock Hotel & cafe
3. Krishna Souvenir Shop
4. Garuda Kencana Wisnu Cultural Park (GWK)
5. Uluwatu

Day 2
1. Tegalallang Rice Terrace
2. Kintamani and Mount Batur Volcano
3. TampakSiring
4. Tanah Lot

~ End of Post ~

23 comments:

❀aRaBeLLa❀ said... [Reply]

haaa ko wat top 10 camnih dah abis kiranya update pasal bali..deng

Jard The Great said... [Reply]

@bella.. kang meleret2.. tak abes nnt. hahaha! so update skali harung.. =p

Wilson Ng said... [Reply]

Of course there are other recommended places to go but thanks for tips!

Wilson

Jard The Great said... [Reply]

@wilson.. hehehe.. only noted the ones that I went in two days. I know I'll be back for more. =p

HEMY said... [Reply]

dasat!! jardness nye watermark kt gambar tegallalang padi field tu dh macam papan hollywood woooo

Jard The Great said... [Reply]

@hemy.. hahahaha!!! that was not my intention. tp sbb ko dah sebut.. wahlao.. not bad at all kan? hahaha

Dan Arif said... [Reply]

500k +-? maybe price have increased nowadays.. late last year I rented a minivan (suzuki apv i think) plus driver and paid 350k for it.. anyway good list ;)

Ramble and Wander said... [Reply]

Yup, a good list for a 2-day or weekend trip, I think, esp. for those of us who haven't had the chance to go there yet.

hcvvorld of Travels, Lifestyle and Photography said... [Reply]

holy god crap! this is perfect list and recommendation..and it's soooo cheap to hire a driver with any car? include Merc?

Lily Riani said... [Reply]

eh! Tagalalang tak yah bayar lar... went there 3 times. you sure ke?

near GWK, there's a place call Dreamland, nice to lepak at sunset.

Kecak humm is the best kan kan, cepat ngaku!

btw, more places for you to cover babe.

Jard The Great said... [Reply]

@dan arif... actually we paid Rp800,000 per car for two days inclusive of airport transfers. hehe. but it was worth it coz we didnt have to pay for fuel nor parking tickets.

@RAW... you haven't been there? oh ya.. right. u've been to Bangkok and Singapore only. hehehehe. You'll sure sampai one day.

@hcw... wek! wek! where got merc? hahahaha!

@Lily... the driver told us to pay when we entered the area. There's a ticket if you want prove. hahaha!

Matjoe said... [Reply]

jeles gwa dgn ko jard. tq for sharing. anak besar skit boleh la kot nk travel abroad

Alid Abdul said... [Reply]

I've been in Bali once on 2009 but don't have much memory, since I experience many bad luck, from hit a mercedez car, my motor got flat tire, engine down, etc etc ahaha,,, a bit trauma. but reading your report made me want to go there once more :)))

Masy said... [Reply]

setel dlm satu entry je, dengggg hahaahahaha

~Beb~ said... [Reply]

tekejut tgk mandi2 tuh. pg hri tu xde mandi2.. now bace bru tahu ;p

f i d a j a c o b said... [Reply]

Muka supir (supir ke yg pic first sekali, belah kiri) tu macam muka Raul Lamos ke apa nama hubs kris dayanti.. hehehe...

one of my wishlist, bali.. inshaAllah..

Btw, hi

Sheherazade said... [Reply]

thanks babe!!eheheh kena bayar tmpt2 tu ingatkan free

Biqque said... [Reply]

-we drove in bali back in 2007/2008. 2 main reasons, cheap and easier to stop anywhere we like. but the challenge was to find the way on our own. but tak susah coz we read map. mmg best!

-we didn't go to garuda wisnu. nampak cam besar ek?

-monyet tu they called "maling yg melompat"...hahaha! the only way for u to get back ur things is to hand them food. patu diorang lempar ur things hahaha siut tul!

-in kecak dance, i like hanuman (the monkey) hero habis lah! hahaha!

-tak ramai dapat berjalan kat tanah lot tu masa air surut. i did that, as well as u. bagus :)

Jard The Great said... [Reply]

@matjoe.. insyaAllah tertunai impian mu. hehehe

@alid abdull... omg! so sad to hear bout ur experience! must have traumatized u a lot! next time pergi dgn saya je la. hehehe

@masy.. hehehe. senang kerja

Jard The Great said... [Reply]

@beb... diorg mandi time ade perayaan je. nasib baik kami datang mase ade... biasanya tempat tu sunyi sepi tanpa orang je. hehehe.

@fidajacob... haha.. iya tak iya jugak! thanks for dropping by =)

Jard The Great said... [Reply]

@pia.. aku baru tahu tmpt2 tu kena byr bila supir yg minta kita byrkan. acapkali jugak kena pinjam wang kawan sbb duit tak cukup. hahahaha

@biqque... nice kan tanah lot? now that u mentioned it.. yayy!! sebbaik air surut mase kitorang dtg! ehehe

Shintandryani said... [Reply]

you've to visit pandawa beach and Padang-padang Beach, if you comes back to bali. they're beautifull.

hello from indonesia ^^ i love your blog.

Anonymous said... [Reply]

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