Well, the time had come for me to do the one thing I told myself I was going to do no matter what. Head to Bali, and turns out it was by myself! Because of time constraints with school, my friends could not join me for any part of my 11 day trip around Bali. I started in Ubud, then headed off to the Gili Islands, and finished up in Uluwatu.
First, let me tell you about Ubud. Getting here was a journey, I had a 7 am flight meaning I had to be up at 3:30 to get to the airport in time. I made it with time to spare so I waited an hour then boarded the plane and voila! 6 hours later I landed smoothly in Bali. I prearranged airport transfer to my place in Ubud because it was a 1.5-hour drive and finding them was easy enough. Sadly I started to feel ill with a large headache and a little nausea setting in as we drove through the streets. This stuck with me all day and instead of exploring I lay by the pool and soaked in the sun hoping the pounding headache would leave.
The hostel I’m staying at feels more like a resort. Yes, I do share a room with 5 other girls but there are full on lounge chairs, a swing overlooking the rice fields, palm trees everywhere, and a nice pool that’s is very refreshing on a hot day. It also offers free breakfast and has outdoor showers!
After laying in the sun for a few hours my headache still persisted on and off. Finally, I headed into town to look for some Advil and found the Indonesian version. After 30 minutes it helped immensely. I then wandered some shops and bought my favourite souvenir very flowy Bali style elephant pants! I then went back tot the hostel and watched the sunset while reading by the pool. Finally, I was hungry so I put my new pants on and headed off to find some food. I found this very yummy smoothie place and the smoothie was only $2.5! With a drink in hand, I headed back to the hostel to relax for the night as it had been a long day.
Day 2- after a well needed nights sleep I woke up and enjoyed a breakfast at the hostel for free. It was very yummy fruits and some bread that I enjoyed. After this, I packed my day bag and set out in search of the market. It was only a 10-minute walk so soon I was there. I spent a few hours here wandering the hops I search of a pair of elephant pants and a cute top. I found loads of stalls with this and chose one to batter the price with. With my skills, I got it down a good amount and was set with a new outfit! I also found a few cute rings for me and family. Sadly I couldn’t find a snow globe which is the one thing I need as I collect them everywhere I go. Never less I have loads of time and shall keep looking. As it got closer to noon I headed back to the hostel to recharge and go for a quick dip as it was super hot out. Along the way, I got sidetracked by this cute looking cafe and stopped in for a very yummy pink smoothie! After my quick lunch stop, I arrived at the hostel for a nice jump in the pool while my phone and the GoPro charged up!
As the clock struck 1 I headed out, set to find the sacred monkey forest. It was a 30-minute walk away but I eventually arrived. I paid $80000 RP or $7.68 CAD t get in and it’s worth it. There are loads of monkeys wandering around and the place is huge. Loads of tourist stop by the entrance because that’s where the first monkeys are but after a quick glance I kept going and found some secluded areas where if could observe them without huge crowds. Now as I walked this place I kept finding hidden paths that led me in a totally new direction. I probably walked the whole thing twice stopping to shoot some pics along the way. There are loads of signs saying don’t look the monkeys in the eyes so I took that advice. Well except for one moment and all that happened was that the monkey growled at me and grabbed my arm. So from now on I guess take signs seriously! But other than that nothing happened and no one got hurt from what I saw. However loads of monkeys were fighting with each other and when that happened the screeching got so loud! After spending hours getting lost in this forest I made my way back to the hostel but not without stopping for some much-needed ice cream.
The second I got back my feet were immediately plunged into the pool. I kid you not they hurt so bad from all the walking. I stayed there as the sun set and admired the beauty around me and how peaceful everything was. Well, it was getting dark and considering the shower was outdoors and had no light I got in and rinsed all the sweat of the day away. Then I headed out in search of some dinner. I found it and it was yummy but spicy. It was a kind of cheese quesadilla with corn and loads of peppers in it, interesting and it was only $6.50 CAD! With dinner done and it being dark this meant the day was over as I settled in for the night.
Day three came very early as I had a tour booked that was picking me up at 6 am. This meant I had to wake at 5:30 am, and it wasn’t bad other than the fact that it was drizzling with rain. I got picked up 2nd out of the 3 “groups” and because I was the only solo traveler with 2 other couples on this tour I got the front seat. This left me lots of leg room to stretch out as it was a 2-hour drive to our first designation.
Once we finally arrived at the first stop we hopped out and our driver helped us get sarongs. I had bought one at the market so I just needed help tying it. The reason we needed sarongs was that we were at the lemphung temple also known as the gates of heaven. At any temple, you must have your shoulders and knees covered. Here we walked around and took photos while our driver started to stand in line for us at the iconic gates. We all came and took our place in line and thus started to get to know each other as little did we know this line would take 1.5 hours! Eventually, we reached the end and rushed in to get a few poses. After we all got our photos by the gates it was off to the second location.
Next, we went to a water temple. This was beautiful it had a stepping stone path through a coy pond where you could look down and see hundreds at your feet. There were a set of bridges and all over were carvings and statues of symbols such as dragons or even a chicken. It sounded amazing as well as the sound of water flowing roared above the people’s voices. As we left this temple there was a stand where you could see a bat up close. This was not a normal Canadian/America bay though. No, it was huge and you could see every detail from it’s large claw-like toes to the leathery wings. We marveled at the size and then we’re off for lunch.
By now the tile was 1 pm and we had not eaten anything all day. Luckily it was time to stop for lunch. Our driver took us to a buffet lunch for only $10 CAD that overlooked the rice terraces and was very peaceful. The food was very yummy as well with a good variety. And for dessert, they had tons of fruit and fried bananas!
After the quick lunch stop, we moved on to a waterfall. Now, this was a hike to get down to as we arrived at the top and there were many stairs to get down to the bottom. Once we got to the bottom we then had to walk a bit through streams but it was very cool and cavelike. Once we arrived the waterfall wasn’t much of a swimming hike more of a stand under and shower waterfall. I did manage to go in it and then on the way back there was a boulder you could climb and it provided very pretty views both from the bottom and the top. As we hike back up the stairs from the waterfall I could feel a bit of tiredness setting in but it was my lucky day as we were heading to a coffee Plantation next!
I was not expecting this part of the trip but it was still very interesting. We got a tour of the area where the pick the beans from and then how they make the coffee. They have a special type of coffee called a cat-poo-chino and yes it is made from an animal called a Luwak who eats the coffee beans from the plant and then poop em out, workers then gather the decided and wash it/in a shell the beans/prepare it into a coffee that people drink. So next time you hear of a cappuccino think cat-poo-chino aa that is what the locals do here in Bali. After the tour, we got to taste test all sorts of flavours. They had many different kinds of teas and coffees and for someone who does not normally partake in these beverages, I can say most of them Tatar’s very good. The coffee wasn’t bitter at all and the variety of teas were all very interesting. And yes we did try the Cat-Poo-CHino. After fuelling up we were on to our final part of the day…the swing.
This was not the famous Bali swing but I like to think it was better as it was not busy at all and they gave you this constant beautiful cloth to flow behind you as you swung out over the forest. I was up first and got strapped in pretty securely. It felt very freeing seining our over the first and being able to let go and just look around. The workers would help so you didn’t have to kick or anything and it almost felt like you were flying. It was spectacular.
With our last stop down it was gone to head back and drop us off. I was the second stop and got back around 7 pm to a rainy Ubud. I was out and about for 13 hours so I got back and rested the rest of the night away after packing as I was to leave Ubud the next day and move onto my next destination in Bali.
It's All About The Journey 