Travel
But once there, it came as a surprise that the public transportation system in Bali is almost nonexistent. We spotted a couple of bus stations in Denpasar's vicinity, but no buses. And there are no trains on the island. So for our exploration of Bali we needed to entirely rely on taxis and personal drivers hired for the day. Which felt fancy to say the least.
We were served cold drinks at the entrance and one of the ladies there accompanied us around the garden, pointing out all kind of interesting details about the plants. And I enjoyed it tremendously.
At noon, we finally arrived at Besakih Temple, or the Mother Temple how the locals call it, for being the largest and holiest temples of Hindu religion in Bali. And we were smitten by the complexity of the building raising in front of us. Widi said he would patiently wait for us in the parking lot. We could take our time and enjoy the views and the amazing architecture.
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Travel
A Day Trip In Bali. Besakih Temple, Orchids and Countryside
I came to the Bali bandwagon pretty late. Basically only after reading 'Eat, Pray, Love'. And my, oh my, was I curious about this island with pretenses of paradise!
But once there, it came as a surprise that the public transportation system in Bali is almost nonexistent. We spotted a couple of bus stations in Denpasar's vicinity, but no buses. And there are no trains on the island. So for our exploration of Bali we needed to entirely rely on taxis and personal drivers hired for the day. Which felt fancy to say the least.
We did our homework in advance and we had a list of places to visit in Bali. We didn't get to see them all though. Bali might be small on the map, but its culture and flora are quite unique and take time to visit. We stayed one week and we barely scratched the surface.
One morning we hired Widi, one of our hotel's drivers to take us to Besakih Temple. We also agreed with him to stop for anything interesting on the way.
Our first stop was the Orchid Garden. Now, because of its climate, Bali is packed with beautiful flowers all year round, including orchids. One doesn't really need to pay the €10 entrance to see lots of orchids together. But if one is as obsessed with flowers like I am, then you have to go in!
We were served cold drinks at the entrance and one of the ladies there accompanied us around the garden, pointing out all kind of interesting details about the plants. And I enjoyed it tremendously.
That was till my DSLR decided those weren't appropriate working conditions and started acting weird because of the incredible heat and humidity levels. I was so worried I was going to lose my camera before arriving at Besakih! Relying on my phone's camera when visiting the largest temple in Bali just wasn't an option. Fortunately, once we got back in the car at air con, my DSLR cooled down and it started functioning normal again.
Next stop was a short one. We basically only got out of the car to take a few pics of the beautiful rice terraces. They were absolutely amazing! And the palm trees bordering them were creating a surreal view.
Then we passed through a village in celebration. And what presented in front of our eyes was like out of this world. Bali is incredibly different from everything we've seen in our travels! And we were thrilled! There are so many things to do in Bali that are soothing to the soul.
At noon, we finally arrived at Besakih Temple, or the Mother Temple how the locals call it, for being the largest and holiest temples of Hindu religion in Bali. And we were smitten by the complexity of the building raising in front of us. Widi said he would patiently wait for us in the parking lot. We could take our time and enjoy the views and the amazing architecture.
The temple is huge. Actually it is made out of 22 temples built on the slopes of a volcano. We climbed the stairs and explored the terraced courtyards. And we took a ridiculously large number of pictures.
We spent a couple of hours walking around and when we reunited with our driver asked us if we wanted to meet Ketut, the medicine man from 'Eat, Pray, Love', as we had plenty of time left before sunset. We politely declined. We don't believe in fortune-telling. Plus we were circumspect. This sounded too much of a scam. We even wondered how many Ketuts were now in Bali. After all, the book didn't come with his photo or anything. And our experience in 'paradise' told us a visit to the old man's house would come with a price.
So Widi suggested we took a slightly different road back and stop on the way to see coffee. We liked this idea much better. Well, what we imagined to be a coffee plantation, it turned our to be one coffee plant and many coffee beans. Expensive ones.
Nevertheless, we had a very interesting experience. We even ended up being grateful for this unexpected perk of our trip.
Once the car stopped, a local guide came and took us on a tour of what turned out to be a presentation garden with many different plant species, more like a Balinese botanical garden. We met this woman shaving coconut and just next to her there was a boiling pot where 100% natural coconut oil was being made. I tried a drop of the warm oil on my hand and I must say my hand never smelled better. Nor the scent lasted longer.
Then the guy offered us some snake fruit that he picked from the tree right in front of us. It was beyond delicious. We were offered snake fruit in our hotel before, but the freshly picked one was so much tastier!
And then came the most funny and yucky part of our tour. We met the Asian Palm Chivet or Toddy Cat. Well, we met him, he didn't meet us because like any respectable cat, he was sleeping. But we learned he and his brothers and sisters were responsible for making the most expensive coffee in the world. How? Well, they eat the coffee beans and when they poop them... well, the result is the best coffee ever. I didn't like coffee before, and after knowing this, I will surely not start drinking it. Ever! Not even the cheap one!
So our stop here was an educative one. We learned quite a lot about Balinese agriculture and cat poop.
This is smiling Widi. He has excellent English, and was a very good guide the whole trip. Plus he is a talented driver and his skills really showed in the chaotic Balinese traffic. His car is brand new too, which made for a very comfortable ride.
Our last stop for the day was on a black sand beach. We've never been on a black sand beach before. And we were in awe. While the locals were gathering clams. All wrapped up in clothes not to get sunburned.
This beach was amazing! And it belonged to the locals. We were the only tourists here. Even the dogs wondering around were a bit disconcerted by our presence. But other than that, this was one of the most serene places I've ever been to. And I wanted to have a piece of it. So I asked our driver for a little bag to take some sand as a souvenir. But he was the sweetest Balinese even when he told me to wait by the car while he would go pick the sand himself. I wasn't expecting so much courtesy.
And then we went back to Grand Mirage Resort. And my husband and I were in the 7th heaven. We had a perfect day. And it was the first time we experienced a tailor made on the go day tour.
If you want to go on a day trip with Widi when in Bali, you can call him at (0361) 972049. It would mean the world to him.
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- Video: Travel Memories From Bali
It's been exactly one year since my husband and I visited Bali, and this video by Stephan Kot reminds me of all the beautiful and relaxing moments we lived there, the lush green of the rice fields, all the pretty flowers, the traditional dances...
- Ubud. The Best Of Bali
Bali stood out for us for two beautiful reasons - its culture and its flora. It is hard for me to imagine a place with more flowers in bloom at once than this island of love and gods... And from the traditions point of view, it's pretty intriguing...
- Grand Mirage Resort, Bali. An All-inclusive Heaven
As we arrived at Grand Mirage Resort in Bali, we were welcomed with two ice-cold orange juices. It was extremely hot and the humidity levels were off the charts (at least that's how it felt to us) and sipping the refreshing drinks certainly was a...
- Kamandalu Resort, Bali. The Enchanted Village
It's not every day you hear 'You have been upgraded!'. We arrived a bit after midnight at Kamandalu Resort in Bali, and as the person at the reception uttered the four magical words, we couldn't believe our ears. Location Nested...
- Our 10 Favorite Postcards From Asia
During our latest trip to Asia we came up with this pretty cute idea - every evening we would pick a photo we took during the day and post it as a postcard for our followers on the social networks. We would like to thank everyone for the +1s,...