The last leg of our Indonesian getaway happened in Bali, the most famous travel destination in the country of Indonesia. According to statistics, Bali accounts for approximately 45% of Indonesia’s total tourist numbers. Reported to have attracted 5.5 million foreign visitors in 2017, Bali offers a lot of natural wonders, man-made structures and various activities to tourists and travelers to let them experience for themselves authentic Balinese culture. Let’s find out some of these in this blog post!

This is the sixth and final leg of Shembot Squad’s great Indonesian getaway. We entered Indonesia via Jakarta, experienced its beautiful travel destinations for 10 days with Bali as our final destination in the world’s largest archipelagic country. If you are new to reading this series of blog posts about Indonesia and want to learn more about how we were able to pull through this adventure, please refer to the primer, the 1^st leg, the 2^nd leg, the 3^rd leg, the 4^th leg and the 5^th leg of our travel. Enjoy!

PLACES OF INTEREST IN BALI

Tegal Sari Kopi Luwak (Bali Coffee)

We started our first day trip in Bali by visiting Tegal Sari Bali Coffee, which offers authentic and interesting variants of coffee!

Wonder what’s the most popular among these variants? Kopi Luwak!

Said to be the most expensive coffee in the world, kopi luwak (or kapeng alamid) is produced when coffee cherries are eaten, the half-digested , then eventually defecated by the animal civet. Growers of these coffee, clean, dry, roast and then grin them up before they can be consumed!

Handara Gate

Named as Balour Balinese gate of Handara, this Instagram-worthy travel spot is actually the gate of a golf resort called Handara Golf Resort. This gigantic traditional Balinese gate makes for a wonderful picture with beautiful green scenery at its background.

Pura Taman Ayun

Located in Mengwi subdistrict in Badung Regency in Bali, Pura Taman Ayun is one of the most visited and most attractive temples in Bali.

Taman Ayun means beautiful garden and this translates to what we have witnessed in this huge temple: pretty flowers, luscious plants and trees, and deep, wide trenches filled with water that bear fish and lotuses.

It was already late in the afternoon when we went here, and even though there were still many tourists then, it felt like we were alone for most of the time because the temple compound was actually huge!

We saw worshipers leaving the temple and some other locals fishing in the waters. Among all the places we’ve visited that day, it was in this place that I felt the calmest.

Sun Boutique Hotel – Kuta

If ever you’re looking for a great place to stay while in Bali, check out this boutique hotel at the heart of the city. Aside from offering neat and pretty air-conditioned bedrooms, this hotel has free breakfast buffet, free taste of Balinese massage as well as a swimming pool that entices visitors to take a dip.

Kuta Night Life Strip

Aside from the typical natural and manmade wonders that Bali has to offer, this city is also known as a place with riveting parties all night long.

We hopped from one bar to another, but it was in Sky Garden Bali that we got to really have a good time. Located along Kuta’s popular night life strip, this club is voted as the # 1 club in Indonesia for 2018.

BALI NIGHT LIFE. We actually started our Bali trip the night we were there by going to one of their most popular club: the Sky Garden.

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MUSIC. Featuring popular DJ’s every week, Sky Garden Bali operates from 5 PM til the wee hours of the morning.

By the way, take note of the bars’ special promos as some offer less expensive entrance fees and alcoholic drinks during a particular time (e.g. late night hours).

Tegallalang Rice Terraces

While the Philippines has the best and most picturesque rice terraces among those that I have seen in the Southeast Asian region, the terraced rice fields of Indonesia is not to be missed when you are here in Bali.

Found in the northern side of Ubud in Bali, Tegallalalng Rice Terraces is said to use the subak (traditional Balinese irrigation system), which was passed down from generation to generation since the 8^th century.

I was actually surprised to find that this travel destination is very commercialized. Tourists and travelers have had to “donate,” meaning pay, before entering certain premises. Some locals would stop with their activities and pose for pictures. While they won’t be explicitly asking for pay, tourists would somehow feel compelled to give them a donation. Nevertheless, these terraces are still a scene to be seen when you are visiting Bali.

Bali Swing

The Bali Swing was actually the place that I was most looking forward to visiting during our Bali trip. I had actually pictured myself swinging here while witnessing the beautiful green scenery in front!

You’d have to pay about $35 for entrance fee with full use of their attractions as well as free lunch buffet. It would be way too expensive if there’s only the famous Bali swing around. Thankfully, the place has other attractions that are worth-taking pictures, too!

Outlet stores in Bali

The last activity that we did before leaving Bali was visiting its outlet stores! We saw some huge discounts that could really lure visitors into buying their merchandise!

ROUGH DRAFT OF BALI ITINERARY

DAY 1

8 PM – Arrival in Bali

9 PM – Wash up in hotel

10 PM onwards – Late dinner, club hopping

DAY 2

10 AM – Start of day tour. We visited Tegal Sari Kopi Luwak, Handara Gate and Pura Ulun Danu Bratan.

3 PM – Late lunch

4 PM – Continue touring. This time, we visited Pura Taman Ayun.

6 PM – Head back to hotel. Dinner.

DAY 3

10 AM – Start of day tour visiting Ubud

12 NN – ETA in Bali Swing

3:30 PM – ETA in Tegallang Rice Terraces

5 PM – Head back to downtown Bali

6 PM – Visit outlet stores

7 PM – Head back to hotel. Prepare things before heading back to the Philippines

9 PM – ETA at the airport

Expenses in Bali:

Note: During our stay in Bali, it was only during the 1st day that we were complete. James already left during Day 2, meaning we were only 6 when we toured the northern part of Bali. Meanwhile, Ardee, Carlo and Flip had to leave after, which means there were only 3 of us who toured Ubud during Day 3.

Bar-hopping in Bali – 100,000 IDR per pax

We did have dinner first and drank alcoholic beverages along the Kuta Night Life Strip before heading to Sky Garden where we paid 100,000 IDR each for a late night entry.

Bali Tour Day 2 – 880,000 IDR per group of six (146,667 IDR per pax)

Northern Bali Tour: Tegal Sari Kopi Luwak, Handara Gate, Ulun Temple, Taman Ayun Temple. We have booked Grab and asked the driver if he could tour us up north. We settled on the amount given above.

Bali Tour Day 3 – 400,000 IDR per group of three (133,333 IDR per pax)

Ubud Tour: Bali Swing and Tegallalang Rice Terraces. Just like during Day 2, we have booked Grab and asked the driver if he could tour us in Ubud for half day. He agreed with the amount given above.

Bali Swing – $35 each (all attractions plus free lunch buffet)

This accounts to roughly P1867.

***PRO-TRAVELER TIP: If you are looking for a cheaper alternative, Bali Swing has neighboring attractions that have swings as well. Do not hesitate to ask your driver/ tour guide about this.

Tegallalang Rice Terraces entrance fee – 15,000 IDR each

Grab from outlet stores back to hotel: 20,000 IDR (6,667 IDR per pax)

Sun Boutique Hotel – P685 per pax, per night

We have booked our stay here in Sun Boutique Hotel online. Considering the fully air-conditioned modern minimalist rooms and amenities of this hotel (not to mention the free breakfast buffet), the price of about P700 is really surprising!

By the way, the hotel also provides shuttle from and to the airport!

TOTAL: P4,772.22 each (However, this doesn’t include food during lunch, snacks and dinner; souvenirs; as well as the alcoholic beverages and food during the time that we had along Kuta Night Life Strip. If I would include them here, the expenses would go up to P6,000 or more.)

***

Thank you very much for reading, guys! I hope this blog post has increased your excitement to visit Bali, Indonesia’s premiere travel destination. While we have certainly done many things here, we were not able to go to one of the most sought after place in Bali: Nusa Penida. If only we had more time (and more budget as well, haha), we would have visited it! Anyway, if you have time, go to that beautiful place!

As mentioned, this is the last leg of Shembot Squad’s travel adventure in Indonesia. Thank you for sticking with our trip until the end!