Bali - Landing in paradise

If you do not go to beaches in Bali, you never truly go to Bali before. The famous beaches in Bali include Kuta beach, Jimbaran Beach and Seminyak Beach. I noticed one of the difference between beaches in Bali and other beaches I went before was the wave current in Bali was so strong even on seaside. No wonder Bali was a paradise for surfers. Not to forget to mention, the sea in Bali was amazingly crystal clear! I was surprised the cleanliness due the fact of high traffic of tourists every year. 

Sunset in Kuta Beach

Nusa Dua

Tanjung Benoa Beach

Another worth mentioning was I finally had a try on parasailing during this trip! I had this in Tanjung Benoa which was famous for water sport activities. It was truly a cool experience to enjoy the scenery and felt the wind caressing my hair while I was in the middle of air. Too bad the time given was too short. I recommend if you want to have a try on this, it is worth investing a more expensive package to enjoy little more time. 

Bali is always a favourite destination for couple. Actually besides that, Bali is suitable for people who love outdoor activities especially if you come with a bunch of friends as it provides numerous activities that challenge your stamina and strength! Other activities that I experienced were ATV riding in Payangan Ubud and water rafting in Ayung river Ubud. We passed by villages, small hills and forests during ATV ride. There were few terrifying moments which the pathway was just literally enough for a size of ATV and any slight wrong control of the vehicle we would fall from the cliff. Water rafting was another unforgettable experience during the trip. I finally understood why people always warned not to play in the river. The flow of water was so fast that you would literally be moved by the water if your body was mostly immersed in the water. Besides the scary part, there were many of WOW parts that worth giving plenty of thumb ups for the activities! You will never want miss it if you are a true adventurer.

What I am going to say now is the main highlight of the trip for me, which is the dolphin tour in Lovina Beach!! A close encounter with wild dolphins was definitely worth waking up at 2am! It all depends on luck as the dolphins may not appear due to bad weather but thanks God that we were able to watch it. Not only one, but plenty of them! P/S: Sorry for the putting so much exclaimation mark as I was very excited whenever recalling this moment. :)  

Visiting temples is a also must in Bali because the scenery around the temple was so stunning! Temples that I visited were Ulu Watu, Ulun Danu and Tanah Lot Temple. All of the temples were unique in their own ways. For the Ulu Watu, I warned you to wear comfortable outfits and bring fan or umbrella because what waiting ahead of you was thousand of steps before reaching the temple. But, watching the scenery while walking the staircase could somehow lessen your tiredness :).

Ulu Watu Temple

Temple that surprised me the most was Ulu Danu temple. In fact, this is my most favourite temple. This temple was located in the middle of mountain so the weather there was pretty chilling. The temple was besides a lake which was absolutely pretty. Cooling weather plus the scenery there would make you once thought you were in Europe. 

Don't you think this seem can only be found in Europe? No, it is in Bali!

The highlight of Tanah Lot temple was it was located in the middle of sea. If you are lucky enough, you can reach the temple during low tide. However, the tide was too high when I was there so I could only manage to take the picture of the temple from a certain distance. But, the views along the temple striked my mind as well:).

The temple and me

Lucky enough to be able to capture the moment when strong wave hit the cliff

If you are a coffee lover, you definitely know that Bali is famous for civet coffee (Kopi Luwak), the world's most expensive coffee. Civet is an omnivore native to tropical Asia and Africa that mainly eats berries and pulpy fruits. Civet coffee refers to partly digested coffee cherries eaten and defecated by civet. I was fortunate enough to have a taste in this coffee. The taste of it is hardly describable. Not only it tastes bitter (normal coffee does taste bitter too), it is very powdery and have a very strong smell. It got me frowned despite the fact that I was a coffee junkie too. Anyway, it was a good try!

Civet coffee which costed IDR 50,000

On the last day of trip, I was priviledged to experience full body spa in Bali Orchid Spa. The package that I took costed US$ 70 which consisted of footwash, Balinese massage, scrubbing, Yogurt moisturiser and flower bath for 2 hours. It was totally a hilarious experience as I was pretty shy to get myself naked (Luckily I was still wearing  a disposable panties). If you think they just massaged your back, you are wrong! The massage therapist even massaged and scrubbed  my front. Oh my gosh! But anyway, it was pretty enjoyable as I did feel my muscles were less painful and I was like fully recharged after the therapy. What I liked the most about the spa was the entire place was filled with flower scent which made me feel so in peace as soon as I stepped in. 

Photo of us during footwash session

I would also like to share about the accommodation during this trip. I stayed in a villa named Bali Swiss Villa during the last two days of my trip. I pretty recommended you guys to have a try in staying in villa if you are not travelling on a super tight budget.The best of the villa I was staying was it came with a pool and a shower room with transparent ceiling! You can kinda enjoy seeing the stars above you when you are bathing :) ! The villa costed only around IDR 1.3m for 2days which was quite affordable. At first, I was quite doubtful as I was worried the villa was not as nice as the picture shown since the price was quite moderate. However, I was very satisfied with the villa! Hence, I think the villas in Bali was quite up to standard that you did not have to worry too much when searching for villa in Bali. 

The pool!! Hooray!

How could we left out souveniors for our loved ones when we were travelling? But, sometimes the souveniors were quite costly that caused a headache to the travellers. I had a super awesome place to recommend which was named Oleh Oleh Khas Bali. Items sold in this place was very cheap and even attracted locals as well. For instance, a same bag that I bought in Oleh Oleh Khas Bali only costed me around IDR 37,500 whereas it was sold IDR 170,000 in other place!

I did not have the detailed breakdown of my expenses during this trip as it was a package given by a local tour guide. This package included most of the activities I mentioned above including all day meals except for breakfast and two days dinners. The package costed me around IDR 2.2m. I believe this price was slightly cheaper as we bought in bulk quantities for 15 pax. If you are going with just few friends, do expect for a slightly higher quotation, I guess :). I also do think it is necessary to hire a local tour guide in Bali as the distance between each destination was quite far that you wouldn't want to waste your energy in driving on your own or taking public transport.

I was lucky to meet such helpful and humorous tour guide, Kenny :)

This marks the end of my wonderful Bali trip. Bali trip is good, but it is much better with my beloved university friends and my boyfriend :). Oh by the way, this is our university graduation trip! HOORAY! WE FINALLY GRADUATED!

Photo credit: My friends and I :)
[Bali trip : 7 Aug 2016 - 12 Aug 2016]