Bali, Indonesia: A Destination Worth All The Hype?

BALI. A place that many (including myself) think is an exotic, far away, tropical, almost mystical place. A place where anything is possible: spiritual journeys, unique cultural experiences, yoga deep in the jungle, surfing killer waves, sunbathing on isolated beaches and the list goes on and on. What I did not realize before I went to Bali, Indonesia is the size of it. It is a massive island! All of the previously mentioned things ARE possible, and each area of the island has it’s own special vibe. This, to me, is what makes Bali such a great place to visit. There truly is something for everyone.

I can now say that I totally understand the “hype”. I understand why SO many tourists (about 5 million/year, and it keeps going up!) visit this island. Bali is gorgeous, the nature there is amazing, and the Balinese people are incredibly warm and kind. They are what sets Bali apart from other SE Asian destinations, and they are what make it special. I honestly, wanted to not like Bali, after all I had heard from other ex-pats and friends: it is touristy, over-ran with Aussies, meant for vegan-yogi-hipsters, overrated/overpriced, etc. Yes, those things actually are true (LOL), but for me, the Balinese people far outshine those things about the island. I can say that Bali IS worth the “hype”, and is definitely worth a visit.

Our visit, as it turns out, was not planned. We actually thought we were just going to be enjoying the four day holiday weekend (Malaysia’s Independence Day) at home in Kuala Lumpur. We were expecting a quiet, relaxing weekend by the pool and doing some exploring of our own city. Fortunately for us (and everyone else in Malaysia), the Prime Minister was so excited that Malaysia had performed so well at the SEA games (the Olympics of SE Asia) that he declared Monday a public holiday. As soon as we found out our four day weekend had been turned into a FIVE day weekend, we knew we had to go somewhere. We looked into trusty Air Asia, and sure enough their flight to Bali was cheap, cheap, cheap, and off we went!

We had been wanting to go to Bali for a long time, and since I didn’t get to do a ton of research before hand (it was so last minute), we decided to go ahead and splurge on a couple of resorts we had seen online that had great reviews. We knew we wanted to do two different regions of Bali: Ubud and the beach. Ubud is known for the jungle: full of waterfalls, rice terraces and temples, which for me, would’ve been ALL I needed, but for the hubby, he wanted to see the beach as well. So that was our plan: we would spend 2 nights in the jungle and 2 nights at the beach (our stay in the beach area of Jimbaran, will be in a separate blog!).

For our stay in Ubud, we chose the Komaneka at Monkey Forest. Komaneka has multiple resorts in the Ubud area, but this property was a boutique hotel property with only 22 rooms. The location of the hotel was fantastic, we were right in the heart of Ubud town and could walk everywhere, but it property itself was tucked away from the hustle and bustle. The staff was the friendliest, most accommodating I have encountered so far in SE Asia, and the room was gorgeous. I cannot recommend Komaneka enough!

Our first day was spent walking around Ubud. The weather was an amazing change from the heat of Kuala Lumpur (it was around 76 degrees Fahrenheit!) and there is SO much to see and do, and the town was way bigger than we had expected. There are streets and streets full of shops, restaurants, bars, markets, etc. We had a blast exploring the bustling streets.

In the afternoon we decided to rent a motorbike and see the countryside. It was such an exciting experience and only cost us around $4 USD! We got stuck in Ubud traffic, weaved in and out of cars and rode through the rice fields. It is a fantastic way to see the area because you truly are activating all of your senses and taking everything in.

Our first stop was a visit to the Tegalalang Rice Terraces about twenty minutes drive outside Ubud town. These rice terraces are quite small compared to others in the area, but they are the most famous because of how close they are to Ubud town. I had seen them so many times in photos and dreamed about visiting them, but to see them in person truly took my breath away. They were stunning, quintessential Bali, and the best part is…they are FREE! You can just walk right up and start looking around, and spend us much time as you want taking photos.

Truly a site to be seen, and a must-do while visiting Ubud!

After the rice terraces, we decided to just keep riding around and see where it led us. You all should know by now this is my favorite way of doing things (no plans!), and it ended up leading us to a coffee and tea plantation called Bali Pulina. We walked in and were greeted right away and led on a private tour of the plantation. They explained their specialty: the famous Luwak Coffee, or as I like to call it: cat poop coffee. That’s right, the coffee is made from a particular wild cat called the Luwak, POOP! These wild cats eat the coffee plant bean (just the bean, not the skin) whole, then they have a special enzyme in their stomach that digests the bitterness of the coffee bean and actually makes the coffee smoother. After they digest it, you know what happens next…and once the excrement is collected, it is roasted and grinder into a fine coffee and ready to drink. The whole explanation was quite fascinating and we got a chance to feed the Luwak and try the whole process, all done by hand!

Once our tour was over, it was time to sample some of their coffee and teas. We were escorted over to a beautiful covered area overlooking the jungle and rice terraces. It was a gorgeous setting to enjoy the beverages. I am not a coffee fan, but my husband enjoyed tasting the coffee and all he said about the cat poop coffee was that is was “very strong!”. I enjoyed their selection of organic teas…honestly their lemon tea was the best I have EVER had! After we were done, we walked through their shop. We ended up buying some tea, and were expecting to pay for our tour and samples. Once again, we were pleasantly surprised…it was all FREE! It was an awesome way to spend a late afternoon, and the fact that it cost us next to nothing was the cherry on top.

After a long day of exploring, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. We decided to walk into town, and stumbled upon a place that was known for their Satay. We absolutely LOVE Satay (skewered meat or veggies, grilled over an open flame, served with peanut sauce) and the cool vibe of the place made it the perfect choice. Let me just say that the food in Bali was SO good, beyond good, delicious! We did not have a bad meal in our four days, and having pretty high food expectations, that was pretty amazing to us. After dinner, we walked the alleys of Ubud and found some more cocktails and live music. Ubud was magical at night. Around every corner is a little bar with lanterns hanging from massive trees, live music, and people out enjoying themselves. So much more lively and fun than we expected.

Day two we decided to rent the trusty motorbike again, this time for the entire day, and go off our own exploring more of what Bali has to offer. We were a bit over zealous and ended up riding about two hours out of town and into the mountains. It was a real killer on the BUTT (I had the bruises to prove it, LOL) but it was something I will never forget. We saw real Bali: construction workers pouring cement in flip flops, artists carving wood figures in shops, untamed rice fields, children flying kites on rooftops. It was AMAZING! Of course, once we got on the main road, we got a taste of Bali traffic. Drivers are, of course, crazy, and the roads are not great. It was a bit scary, but at the same time, exhilarating.

We rode all the way up to Lake Beratan, up in the mountains, where the temperature dropped about ten degrees. It felt SO nice! We wanted to see a temple we had heard about that was on the water called Pura Ulun Danu Bratan. We had no idea how touristy this place was until we arrived, but it was insane…tour buses full of people were everywhere, and it was crazy town. We quickly snapped a couple photos of the temple (which was beautiful, but not anything super special) and got out of there.

Honestly, my favorite part of the day was just riding around, stopping at roadside stops for gas and beers, and trying out noodles at a countryside restaurant.

After a full day of exploring we decided to get a little R&R. One of the best things about staying at a Komaneka Resort is that you have access to all of their properties in the Ubud area. Since our hotel was one of their smaller, boutique properties, the pool was quite small. We decided to check out their newer resort, Komaneka at Tanggayuda, that had a huge infinity pool overlooking the jungle. We were able to use the pool and order snacks and drinks, all with the amazing service that Komaneka offers. It was a fabulous way to spend our afternoon.

Our last night in Ubud was spent out on the town again, eating, shopping and drinking cocktails. We really enjoyed our time in the jungle of Bali, and I could have easily spent more time there. We really tried to get out and away from the touristy spots and head towards the countryside. The motorbike was a great choice for us and allowed us to do just that, and I recommend doing the same. Of course, there are some things you just HAVE to see, but in my short time in Bali, I realized it is the feeling, the vibe and the welcome you get from the people that truly make it a unique travel destination.

Happy travels,

Courtney