Bali, Indonesia - Sanur, Uluwatu, Kuta - January 2020

 We wanted to stay somewhere near the beach and not too far from Denpasar airport for our last three full days in Bali. Kuta and Seminyak seem like nice beaches to enjoy.  We stayed in Sanur because it was less commercialized. 

Sanur Beach - across from our hotel

Sanur Beach

Our driver from Ubud came up to take us to GWK Cultural Park and to Uluwatu Temple for day trip while we were in Sanur. Both places are in the Badung district and not too far from where we stayed in Sanur.

 The Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cutural Park is a big tourist attraction which is quite impressive and interesting. It's an modern iconic landmark of Bali, situated on a large field on the hill of Ungasan in Badung region. We spent half of the day there to explore the huge park and watch a few cultural performances.   

Statue of the God Wisnu riding on the Garuda wings

Huge statues at GWK Cutural Park entrance

Impressive statue in GWK park.

Statue of the God Wisnu 

Statue of the Garuda in the background

A performance at GWK park

With the cast of a cultural performance

The last temple we saw in Bali was the famous Pura Uluwatu or the "sea" temple. It's located in Uluwatu, South Kuta, at the west end of the southern coast of Bali. Tourists often visit the temple at sunset and stay for the traditional Balinese Hindu Kecak & Fire dance in the evening.

Uluwatu Temple in the background

Uluwatu Temple perched on the cliff

Uluwatu view.

View of the "sea" temple facing the ocean

Kumbakarna Laga statue in Uluwatu Temple complex.

It was a very stormy and rainy afternoon when we visited the temple. The Kecak dance was cancelled. We were disappointed but had to leave Uluwatu before a torrential rain storm began.  Many places were flooded on our way back to the hotel that evening. It was the biggest rainstorm in the southern Badung district in many years.

We spent our last day in Bali exploring Kuta Beach. The beach in Kuta is much busier than in Sanur. The outdoor market and shopping mall are popular hangouts for tourists.

Hard Rock Cafe in Kuta Beach

Kuta Beach

Kuta Beach, a popular surfers' beach

We were told not to miss a night market not too far from our hotel in Sanur that had variety of street food. 


Food stalls at Sanur night market

 We left Bali on our early morning flight back to Bangkok... It's February 1st, 2020.

Bali, Indonesia - Ubud, Badung, Karangasem, Tabanan - January 2020

Bali sounds like a perfect tropical island to visit in January. That's where we headed after leaving Yogyakarta. We planned to explore most of the island in ten days splitting our stay in Ubud and Sanur Beach.

Arriving in Denpasar airport, south of Ubud

On our way to Ubud, we stopped at a Luwak coffee plantation. Luwak Coffee is a coffee that consists of partially digested coffee fruit which have been eaten and the beans defecated by the Asian palm civet. It's also called civet coffee and mainly produced on Indonesian Islands of Sumatra, Java and Bali. 

Luwak Coffee plantation. 

A vegan lunch from the restaurant next door to our hotel

Our bungalow (hotel) in Ubud

Paul's new friend living nearby our bungalow

Ubud city center and markets are about 3 km from our hotel. We often walked to town and used taxi to come back to the hotel. Ubud city center was not UBER friendly and taxis were by far the most popular public transportation mode. The district center was very touristy and lively. There are shops, restaurants and historic attractions such as: Ancient temples, museums and the famous Ubud Palace which attract tourists days and nights.

Based in Ubud, we hired a private car and driver to take us sightseeings everyday from Ubud to the nearby temples and tourist attractions. 

 

Saraswati Temple, a popular Hindu Temple in Ubud, near Ubud Palace.

Saswati Temple at night

Ubud Palace

BADUNG:  A short drive from Ubud, we reached Badung district in the west. The district is located in the center of Bali Island and the city lies on a river basin. In addition to famous beaches like Kuta, Seminyak, Badung has amazing temples and parks for families. 

Entrance at Tukad Sayan, Badung

A temple in Tukad Sayan

A temple in Mengwi, Badung 

Village temple in a beautiful setting - Mengwi, Badung

Village of Baha - Badung
 

 Gianyar : Just north of Ubud, Gianyar district's attractions are: the rice terraces, Monkey Forest, Elephant Cave, waterfalls and Holy Water Temple.

Tegalang Rice Terraces, our first stop

Beautiful rice terraces

Elephant Cave (Goa Gajah)

Waterfall in Gianyar 

A very active temple built around a bubbling spring, Pura Tirta Empul is an interesting place to observe Hindu pilgrims purifying themselves by means of ritual bathing. It was a full moon day when we visited this temple. The place was very crowded with pilgrims to bring offerings and to bathe in the spring.

Tirta Empul Temple (Holy Water Spring)

Tirta Empul Temple - The gate leading to the holy water spring.

The pilgrims' bathing rituals of purification at the spring in Tirta Empul Temple .

Karangasem: We explored the eastern district of Bali the next day. From Ubud and through the city of Semarapura, we visited Lempuyang temple Heaven's Gate. It's a part of a complex of temples surrouding Mount Lempuyang. Tourists often call it the Gate to Heaven Bali.

Lempuyang Temple Heaven's Gate

Lempuyang Temple Heavens' Gate - Backside

View from Lempuyang Temple Heaven's Gate with Mt. Agung in the distance. 

After leaving Heaven's Gate Temple, we crossed a spectacular rice field and a beautiful water palace in Ababi, Karangasem.

Rice fields (organic farms)

Organic Farms in Ababi, Karangasem

The famous Ujung Water Palace in Karangasem

Lotus pond in Bugbug, Karangasem

East coast of Karangasem District from Bugbug

Rounding the east coastal drive back to Ubud, we visited one of the most holiest places of worship on Bali Island, the Pura Goa Lawah or "Bat Cave Temple".

A main gate to Pura Goa Lawah (Bat Cave Temple)

Pilgrims with their offerings at Bat Cave Temple

A main shrine in the inner sanctum of the temple

A ceremony in Bat Cave Temple

Small gold shrines inside the cave

Tabanan: Is a district in the northwest corner of southern part of Bali, about 30 km from Denpasar. There are many main attractions in Tabanan district. We visited: UNESCO heritage site of  Jatiluwih rice field, Tanah Lot Temple and Ulun Danu Bratan Temple on lake Bratan-Bedugul . 

Jatiluwih rice field

Resting in Tabanan

UNESCO heritage site - The rice field of Jatiluwih

Tanah (earth) Lot (sea) Temple has a unique offshore setting and namely the Silhouette of the Temple. It was built on a rock island facing the open sea. 
 

Main Gate to Tanah Lot Temple

Tanah Lot Temple complex

Tanah Lot Temple sign

Tanah Lot Temple in the background

Ocean view from the other side of the temple

The Tanah Lot Temple island in background

Tanah Lot Temple on its own (rock) island

Spectacular sunset could be viewed from this vantage point.

Also located in the Tabanan district, about 50 miles to the north of Tanah Lot is another famous temple Ulun Danu Bratan Temple. This temple is known as the "Bali temple on the lake". It appears to float when the Bratan Lake rising.  

Ulun Danu Bratan Temple in the background

Ulun Danu Bratan Temple

A spectacle setting and a beautiful garden surround the temple.