Welcome back to part 2 of my experience in Bali. If you haven't read Part 1 already, here is the link - https://www.tripoto.com/bangkok/trips/how-i-spent-13-days-in-bali-part-1-3bf176ab3d8f141d2. Do ensure to read to know my journey in this beautiful island during the first week.
I had a very early start today as my plan was to go for a jeep tour to Mount Batur to see the sunrise. I had initially planned to ride to the Mount Batur from Ubud using the scooty that I rented but the manager at the Airbnb advised against this as he said it would not be safe to drive 40 kms to Kintamani, a district in North Bali at an odd hour. So I woke up at 3am and booked a Grab taxi to Mount Batur which costed me IDR 430K. The drive was more than an hour long and I'm glad that I did not go by myself because the roads were lonely with limited streetlights, it was raining in certain areas and the last 10kms had curvy roads with several hairpin bends. I reached the meeting point and met Putu, the jeep driver who was supposed to drive me further up to the sunrise point. Putu was a friendly tour guide. We started the drive to the sunrise point in his 4x4 jeep. It was a complete off roading experience and the drive was nearly 30 minutes long. After reaching the top, we hiked up a little bit more to get a good view of the sunrise. Within 15 minutes, the sun started to rise and the view was amazing.
Putu wanted to take some pictures of me with the sunrise in the backdrop and he was good at it.
After that we left the sunrise point to see the black lava. We crossed through several onion farms. It was a 20 min drive to the black lava fields.
Black lava that you see in the picture above is the sedimentation from Mount Batur's forceful volcano eruption in 1963. This is now a popular tourist spot.
Putu dropped me back to the meeting point where my taxi driver was waiting to take me back to Ubud. I booked this sunrise tour on Airbnb and it costed me Rs. 1,700 and I had to pay Putu an additional sum of IDR 250K as I was a solo guest. So the total cost for this tour was roughly Rs. 3,000 which I was felt was not bad for someone who is visiting for the first time. You can also choose to join a trekking group to trek all the way up to Mount Batur although lately there have been some restrictions for this activity so do ensure to check the government rules before paying for bookings online.
On the way back to Ubud, my driver suggested to stop by a local coffee shop. He took me to Alas Bali coffee. The staff was friendly, they took me around their coffee plantation and showed me the whole process of how coffee beans are procured and processed into a product for end users. They offered me 13 cups of various coffees and teas for tasting.
Of all, the coconut coffee and lemongrass tea stood out for me which I bought from their store. The plantation tour and coffee tasting were completely free. My driver drove me back to my hotel in Ubud. He was an excellent person as he took to me all the way to Kintamani and brought me back safely. I reached back at around 12pm. I was so tired that I went back to my room and crashed on the bed and slept till late afternoon. Then I got out and decided to explore the market side. There are several shops where one can buy clothes, souvenirs, etc. I spotted a bar on the way and decided to stop for a beer. The name of the bar was Beer Brothers and they served craft beers. I ordered for a Honey Kolsh beer which had a bittersweet taste. What I loved the most was that the beer came with free peanuts which Indian bars don't offer anymore. Then I headed to a coffee shop as I had to pick up a few coffee packets for friends and family. I did my coffee shopping from Black Eye Coffee. They had all varieties of Indonesian coffee. I bought a few packets of Robusta and Arabica coffee. That was the end of the day for me. It was probably the most tiring day that I had in Bali.
The next morning, I was up early. This day was the last one in Ubud as I was to checkout of my hotel and ride to Amed later in the day. But before leaving, I wanted to see Ulun Danu Beratan Temple which was an hour away from Ubud. I rode all the way to the temple. The roads were beautiful and the weather felt cooler as I headed North.
Since it was early in the morning, there were very few tourists. The temple looked beautiful with mountains in the backdrop. The whole place felt serene and calm as there were hardly any people around and the weather was cool compared to the hot and humid weather in Ubud. I saw a couple restaurants next to the temple but they don't start service until 10am but I requested for an Arack shot which is a local alcoholic drink and they were kind enough to serve that. The shot was quite strong.
I rode back to Ubud for breakfast. I stopped at Monkey Cave Espresso cafe. Ordered for a latte and sandwich. Both were delicious.
I went back to my hotel, freshened up and checked out for my next destination - Amed.
A few notes about Ubud:
1) After Nusa Penida, I did not like Ubud to be honest. Nusa Penida was a beautiful remote island which lesser tourists but Ubud is a fully developed town of Bali crowded with tourists. The traffic is very bad. One would take 20 minutes to go a distance of 1km in a taxi. A two-wheeler or walking are better ways to get around town.
2) You will not have problems with cash in Ubud as there are several ATMs and money exchange options available when compared to Nusa Penida. However, if you are using cash, the safest and best option would be to exchange money at a local authorized bank. Bank Bri is a local Indonesian bank. Their operation hours are from 10am to 3pm. I got a better exchange rate there than what I got in Canguu. Although you will see several branches of this bank in Ubud, for money exchange only Cabang branch offers this service.
I started my ride to Amed from Ubud. It was a 70km ride from central Bali to far east Bali. I reached my homestay in Amed later that afternoon. My host Candra was very friendly. She helped me with checking in. The homestay was located on the beach and one could go snorkeling right in front of the property.
All beaches in Amed are black sand beaches due to the sedimentation from volcanic activity from Mount Agung. In the evening I went for a spa. I went to Alala Amed Spa, they welcomed me with lemon ginger tea. I chose hot stone massage and the service was excellent. My body was feeling much better after that long ride from Ubud. I came back to my hotel, had dinner at the cafe and went to sleep.
Woke up the next morning to see that it was raining. I had booked a snorkeling activity which was supposed to start at 8am but the organizer informed that they would start later in the morning as they wanted for the rains to clear out. So I headed to the cafe at my hotel for breakfast. Soon after the rains stopped, I headed to the meeting point where I met Kadek, the activity organizer. We hopped on to his boat which was parked at the beach along with several other boats and set sail from there to towards to the snorkeling points.
I got off the boat and into the water twice. First to see beautiful coral reefs and second to see the Japanese shipwreck. There were also scuba divers at the shipwreck point exploring the ship more closely.
I got back to the hotel, showered up and went out again to see a popular temple called Tirta Gangaa.
The place was crowded with tourists as it was 12 noon. There were several wedding photoshoots going on as well. But the temple was interesting to see. One could buy fish food and feed the fish.
The temple is based on beliefs in Balinese Hinduism, where river Ganges and its waters are considered sacred.
After I was back at my hotel, it started to rain again and this time it did not stop until late in the evening. So I decided to stay at my hotel and chill for the rest of the day. This was my last day at Amed.
A few things to note about Amed:
1) This is a beautiful offbeat town in East Bali. You should definitely visit if you're interested in snorkeling and chilling at the black sand beaches or even if you're interested in doing the Mount Agung trek as the trekking point is much closer from Amed.
2) It is better to come fully prepared with enough cash as I did not spot many ATMs in the area. There is Indomart supermarket for basic necessities and a pharmacy on the main road but best to carry basic medicines for emergencies in case the pharmacy is not open.
3) The roads from Ubud to Amed are quite good but there was one point where I struggled to ride. The road was quite inclined and it was very difficult to ride up with my heavy suitcase. So for navigation, always ensure to choose 4 wheeler as mode of transportation on Google maps as it will then navigate your destination using main roads.
Today my plan was to ride to my next destination in Bali - Sidemen. After breakfast, I checked out of my hotel and started my ride to Sidemen. It was an hour long ride and the roads got curvy towards the end. I reached my hotel and checked into my room.
The town is beautiful with several lush green farms. The weather here was very pleasant.
In the evening, I went out for dinner. I had rice with chicken soup and Arack mojito to drink. It was delicious. After dinner, I went to bed. Unfortunately I planned on spend only a day in Sidemen. I wish I had more time here.
As usual, I was up early the next morning. The plan was to ride through the beautiful rice terraces in Sidemen, have breakfast and leave for Kuta.
I had breakfast at a cafe with a beautiful view of the resort's pool and Mount Agung.
After that I rode around town for a while enjoying the weather and the view on both sides of the road.
Sadly I had to get back to my hotel and check out. I checked out of the hotel and left for my next and last destination in Bali - Kuta.
A few notes about Sidemen:
1) Sidemen should be a must visit town if you're interested in enjoying the quiet environment and being close to nature.
2) There are several waterfalls spots around the twon and also several trekking spots.
3) You can also choose to just relax and enjoy the fresh air in this town. Most cafes have amazing views of the hills and rice terraces which takes dining experience to the next level!
4) Roads to Sidemen are curvy. So exercise caution if you are riding a bike to this town.
The ride to South Kuta was nice and smooth and I reached my hotel in less than 2 hours. After checking in, I went out to eat lunch.
Had delicious pork ribs at a cafe in town. Then I headed to see the popular temple in town called the Uluwatu temple.
Views from this temple were mesmerizing as the temple is located on a cliff. This is also a Balinese Hindu temple. There temple is inhabited by several monkeys and one should be careful of their belongings as they tend to snatch away personal belongings that might catch their eye.
So this was the end of my Bali trip. I had to go to bed early again that night as the next morning as I had an early morning flight to Kuala Lumpur where I planned on spending 2 days before my return to India.
I hope you enjoyed reading this blog. Feel free to ask any questions in the comments.