Bali, Indonesia - Part 2

Places to visit

Kuta Beach
 
Along Kuta beach is home to some of the best resorts in Bali, there's also "Potato Head", a favourite among tourists to watch the sunset while sipping on drinks and dipping in the pool. But if you want to go to potato head you will need to book in advance as the seats fill out extremely fast. The beach itself is very long, the sand is a bit course but the water is very clean and a beautiful shade of blue during the day. We walked for ages along the beach, there were fishermen mending their fishing nets and dogs running around, it was picturesque and idyllic. Watching the hues of the sky change as the sun was setting was a memorable moment.

Bali Water Sports

Bali is famous for it's beaches and water so they offer a whole bunch of water activities, from the pretty tame to the extreme, depends on what you're looking for I guess. "Bali Water Sport" is the one we went to. We chose to do the "Banana Boat", you lie in a rubber shaft which is dragged along by a boat at high speed so the shaft flies into the air. It's exhilarating and a bit scary at the same time, I think I screamed my lungs out for the first 2 minutes because all you're holding onto is these 2 rope handles when you're almost vertical in the air. 
They also offer this thing called the "Sea Walker" where you walk along the sea floor and feed the fishes with bread (ok so maybe that's a bit bad since bread doesn't exactly grow in the ocean but oh well..). We were fortunate enough to see a clown fish hiding in the corals. All the while you're down there, instructors follow you and film you, after you're on the surface, they will ask if you want to buy the video. Bring your waterproof camera if you have one. 
 

Turtle Island

One of the activities offered is the glass boat to Turtle Island, a conservation type of place that breeds sea turtles. The island also has other animals like snakes and exotic birds, you have to pay a contribution and that goes towards the conservation (I hope it does anyway). I guess this isn't one of those places that I think is extremely worthy of visiting, but they do let you hold their turtles which I thought was really cool anyway. 

Tegalalang Rice Fields

The rice fields are a interesting sight, you can climb them if you want or you can chill in one of the cafes perched along the path overlooking the fields. It's surrounded by a forest but there are paths which makes it a lot easier to get around, we got down to the bottom of the rice fields but decided not to climb any further as the heat and humidity was just too overbearing.






Goa Gajah

Also known as the elephant cave, it's the only temple we managed to visit during our stay in Bali. The temple is surrounded by some forests, you can stroll the maze-like paths which takes you to waterfalls and rock carvings throughout the forest. It was extremely humid when we visited the site, if you don't have your own sarong, the temple staff will make you wear a polyester one which does not help with the heat. As with most attractions, you need to pay an admission fee to the temple, if you like Balinese culture then this place is worth a visit, just bring a hat and sunnies.

Monkey Forest

Don't be fooled by the cuteness! These monkeys can be quite ferocious. Before going in, make sure you buy some bananas from the ladies at the entrance to the forest, you can hold a banana up in the air and a monkey will climb on you. As with any wild animals, don't act stupid and be respectful. It can be quite tempting to try to get close to them especially the baby monkeys but remember that they are territorial animals and their mothers are always around. Tina got scratched by one lol. 

Kecak Fire Dance

Get a local or tour guide to take you here,  they need to buy the tickets for you which can be quite chaotic. The stage is up on a cliff and you need to climb up a series of stairs pass through some really nice scenery. The dance starts off pretty slow, 50 guys huddle together and sing in this very low, trance like voice which was pretty impressive. It's a old Balinese tale of love, revenge and friendship, all against the beautiful backdrop of the sunset. Near the end where the battle between the white monkey king and the evil guy occurs, they lit a big fire, I think the people sitting at the very front got quite a scare as the fire was kicked around. I would say that this was an experience like no other, well worth the trek up the cliff.

To be continued...