In July 2018, I found out that I was going to have a 2-week stay in Jakarta for work. I’m not familiar with Jakarta, so I visited other parts and spent my free time. Bali was the first location that popped up, so I booked an impromptu 3 day trip! As clueless (Hence the instagram handle), as I am, I googled the popular places in Bali that I can do.
Bali is popular for many things like surfing, scuba diving, and a lot of tourist attractions. My friend recommended to hire a private driver and introduced me to the one she booked for her trip, Nyoman. It was inexpensive (around 40USD or less for over 8hrs of driving) and a convenient way to go around Bali! I just gave Nyoman the spots I wanted to visit and he planned the best route given the time provided.
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Kuta Beach
One of the most popular places in Bali to stay at is Kuta. I stayed there mainly because it was close to the airport and convenient for tour pick-ups. I had no plans for the first day (very early wake up for the sunrise hike). To pass the time, I just stayed around in Kuta Beach to watch the sunset.
The beach was crowded with a lot of surfers and tourists just watching around, so if you want a quiet beach, this is not the one for you. The view is nice and I took some decent shots for the sunset.
Sunrise Hike in Mount Batur
The next part is probably the highlight of my trip, which is the Mount Batur sunrise hike. You can see this in every list of the popular places in Bali! I booked a group tour through Nyoman and paid 40USD extra (inexpensive compared to other tourist websites which charge double, especially for solo travelers). It was a bit tough for me to get up at 1am, but it was worth sacrificing some sleep.
The driver picked me up around 1:30am along with 5 other tourists from Singapore and South Korea and drove to the starting point for about 2hours. The hike was not very difficult, but also not too easy (maybe I’m just not fit enough lol) and it took around more 2hours getting to the peak, just slightly before the sunrise. At the top, monkeys greeted us and tried to get our food. One managed to steal the egg I was given (which was cooked with the steam from the volcano) while I was setting up my camera and tripod. They were quite cute though, so it’s fine. They don’t hurt anyone, but will jump on you from time to time. Just be careful of your belongings as they particularly like stealing sunglasses.
Although I felt that the weather was not the best during my trip, view was still amazing and I can understand why this is a highly recommended tour. Being at the peak early also lets you view both the blue and golden hour.
The hike going down the volcano was much easier and took just a bit over an hour. Overall, the Mount Batur experience was incredible.
Uluwatu Temple
After lunch, I had Nyoman take me to another one of those recommended popular places in Bali. Uluwatu Temple, a temple built on top of a cliff. Monkeys freely roam around the temple and some tourists had their sunglasses stolen and played with (Nyoman almost lost his too). The temple is popular and is famous for watching the Kecak Fire Dance, a dance performance based on the Ramayana. As it was too crowded and worried about the traffic after the show, I decided not to watch the Kecak Fire Dance anymore. Maybe next time! Did I make the wrong decision?
Afterwards, Nyoman brought me to eat seafood in Jimbaran Bay. The food was delicious and is served by the beach so you can feel the cool sea breeze. There was also live music to give it a chill ambiance. I was shocked by the price, but I guess it was still reasonable as I ordered prawns and a lobster.
Day trip around Ubud
Aside from the beach views, Ubud is probably one of the most popular places in Bali that people visit. So I organized a day trip the following day to visit the Ubud area. It is a completely different scene from the previous day. To sum it all up, everything was just so green. I visited a couple of tourist areas namely: Campuhan Ridge Walk, Tegallalang Rice Terraces, and Tegenungan Waterfall. Then I went back to see Tanah Lot temple.
Campuhan Ridge Walk is about an hour trek. It is popular to see nature and since there are only a few people around. You mainly just walk in a straight line to appreciate how green things can be.
Afterwards, I visited the Tegallalang Rice Terraces. I guess it wasn’t the perfect time to visit as they just harvested the rice.
I spent probably around an hour walking around the rice terraces just enjoying the fresh air. One of the things to try around the area is the giant swings of Ubud. I didn’t try it anymore and just watched other people while they scream. It’s popular for your instagram game!
I made a quick trip to Tegenungan Waterfall. I can’t really say much about the place, but a lot of people were just chilling around with their families.
My last stop for the trip was in Tanah Lot temple. It is another popular temple located at the top of a large rock. Quite touristy and crowded in the afternoon. It is popular for sunset views, but unfortunately my shots were blurred and not good for posting. Sorry about that!
And that’s a wrap! I hope you liked reading through the post and my rushed experience in Bali, as well as seeing some of the photos. Overall, I enjoyed my stay around Bali despite not being able to see all the go-to sites. I definitely recommend staying around as there are so many things to do and many sites to visit. I will probably go back to explore more when I get the chance. Let me know what you think and recommend for me to visit the next time I go!