Sights and Activities
Below are the places we saw and activities completed while visiting Bali, Indonesia:
Kuta Area
Legian, Seminayak, and Kuta: we walked the streets of these towns and also visited their beaches. The area is a very busy with traffic and a lot of small stores. The beaches had litter throughout and it was evident that too many tourist had visited.
Pura Petitenget: located Seminayak, we were not allowed inside the temple because we did not have the proper attire to enter, but we were able to view it from the outside.
Ubud
Ubud Market: a multi-level market full of goods and produce
Kecak, Fire, and Trance Dance in Padangtegal Kelod – Taman Sari Temple: the performance featured a group of choir men circling candles and chanting “chak-a-chak-a-chak,” imitating monkeys, while women and men dressed in costumes danced in the middle. The last scene, a Kecak Fire Dance, was originally developed to drive out evil spirits entailed a man in a trance dancing around and through a fire of coconut husks.
Kecak Dancing
Man in Trance Kicking Coconut Husks on Fire
Mandal Wisata Wenara Wana (The Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary): A forest full of Macques monkeys and Three Holy Monkey Temples built in the mid-14th century: Pura Dalem Agung Temple (main temple), Holy Bathing Temple, and Pura Prajapati (funeral or cremation temple).
Ubud Palace
Museum Puri Lukisan Gardens
Goa Gajah: a temple with a cave containing an elephant shrine
Gunung Kawi: groups of stone shrines cut into cliffs on either side of a river, they are approximately 8-meter-high (26 feet) niches cut into a cliff face.
Tampak Siring: a holy spring temple where locals bathe.
Coffee plantation: we were able to try local Bali coffee, hot cocoa, ginseng coffee, mocca coffee, coconut coffee, lemon tea, and ginger tea. We also learned about the process of making Luwak coffee. Luwak is a wild cat-like animal that eats the coffee and it undergoes a chemical treatment and ferments in his digestive system. When the animal disposes it the coffee beans are cleaned and then grinded to make a coffee that has stronger aroma and less caffeine than conventional coffee.
Gunung Batur (Mount Batur): had lunch at a restaurant with beautiful, although cloudy, views of this volcanic mountain standing at 1717 meters (5633 feet).
Pura Ulun Danu Batur: temple with a view of Mount Batur
Tegallalang Rice Terraces: windy levels of rice plantations on a hillside
Walked Around the Ubud Rice Field: be sure to read our article.
