Bali Travel Diary - Part 2 - The Tourist Attractions

Hi guys,

This is the second part in my Bali travel series. In case you missed the first part, you can check it out here. In the first part, I covered the different grounds of Padma Ubud Resort. In this post, I’ll cover the different tourist attractions that you must visit in Bali.

Getting around:

The resort provided a free shuttle to Central Ubud, which is the main town center with restaurants, shops, and all sorts of entertainment. Once we reached Ubud, we came across a charismatic cab driver that offered to take us to Monkey Forest. We ended up hiring him to be our tour guide for all the places that we visited in Bali. He took us to so many places that we didn’t even know about.

After the monkey forest, we took a tour of the town center and ended up at a massage parlor where we got a full 90 minute body massage for less than $20 for two people, yes you heard that right.

Monkey Forest:

Hold on to your camera, your phone and bag as these little tyrants are quick to grab anything of interest to them. If you are looking for a best friend, go ahead and offer them a banana and you’ll have yourself one. I did not want any monkeys close to me so there were no bananas offered.

Tegenungan Waterfall:

This waterfall is about thirty minutes from the main town center. It is a hidden gem in the middle of the jungle with a bathing area at the bottom of the falls. The hike to reach the falls is quite exhausting but worth it. There’s a pathway that leads to the top of the falls where you can take a picture with the rainbow as your backdrop - just stunning.

One thing I loved about Bali are the different types of attractions that are available from waterfalls, volcanoes, temples to gorgeous resorts!

Butterfly garden:

On our way from the waterfall, we passed by Kemenuh Butterfly Park. I love butterflies - there’s just something about them that fascinates me, so I was so excited to go to this garden. I have to admit though, I was underwhelmed by this butterfly garden. It was not as exciting as I imagined it to be, perhaps because they weren’t that many butterflies to see.

Lumbung Sari House Of Luwak Coffee:

Fancy an afternoon tea or coffee anyone? This coffee plantation grows different types of coffee, including the famous Balinese Luwak coffee. I’m not much of a coffee drinker so I was more excited to try the different types of teas that they had on display. They gave us a tray with 14 tiny mugs, all containing a variety of coffee and tea. They were all really good but I ended up purchasing a whole pack of lemongrass tea, which was quite expensive for my liking.

The Volcano (Mt Agung)

After visiting the coffee plantation, we drove about 90 minutes to go see the volcano at Mt Agung. This is still an active volcano that erupted a few months after we visited, leaving thousands of local residents displaced. The last time it erupted was in 1963.

Our driver took us to have lunch at a local Indian restaurant, that provided the perfect view of the volcano.

Temples:

There’s no shortage of temples to see in Bali. Literally, almost every house has a family temple right next to it. We visited three temples on this trip that were popular with tourists – Tanah Lot, Taman Ayun Temple and Pura Tirta Empul.

1.) Tanah Lot Temple

This temple sits on a large rock right by the shore of the ocean. It’s home to the ancient Hindu pilgrimage temple, which is a popular tourist site in Bali. There were so many people at the site when we visited but the sunset views were breathtaking. Tourists were not allowed inside the temple unless they were going in to pray. That means that we did not get to see the inside because we were not about to be prayed for in the name of any god other than the one that we know.

2. ) Taman Ayun Temple

The most notable thing about this temple is its architecture. It has rows of uniform square structures with thatched roofs made out of black aren fibers. This is common when it comes to Balinese architecture. The temple also has a massive garden with a pond, perfect for anyone just looking to lounge around.

3.) Pura Tirta Empul Temple

This is the last temple that we visited on this trip. Similar to Tanah Lot, this temple had a lot of visitors (tourists and locals). It is known for its bathing pool that is believed to have holy spring water used for purification. Both women and men are required to cover their bottom half in a wrap; these are available for rental for a small fee. The vibrant wraps with intricate patterns/prints are very similar to what women wear on a daily basis in most African countries.