After taking the 5 hour and 20 minute flight from Sydney to Denpasar Airport, we fought our way through the, rather intimidating, sea of taxi drivers, out of the airport and onwards to our Air BnB to start the next leg of our epic journey.

We had chosen to stay in Kuta, just outside the airport for a few days to get our bearings, apply for our 2nd month visa and make plans for the coming weeks.
Kuta can only be likened to the Australian version of Magaluf. It was filthy, full of drunk, young Australians and everyone was trying to sell us something – taxis, bikes, hats, sunglasses, food and young ladies. We politely declined, especially the last one!
On our second day in the country, we made our way to the immigration office to apply for our second month visa – our first month costing us $35, could be extended for another 30 days. They advise leaving 7 working days to complete the process, so we had plenty of time. After a lot of eye rolling and tutting from the woman at the front desk, we worked out where we going and the order of it all:

First, you must walk down the road and have your passport and return flight details photocopied at the local Internet cafe.
You must also fill in a form.
Back at the immigration office, you take a number and wait.
Once your number is called, you are given a folder to write your details on.
You are then recalled back to the same desk where they confiscate your passport and ask you to come back in 7 days to pay for 2nd month visa and have photos/fingerprints done.

Sooo… What on earth do we do for 7 days? We can’t head to the islands surrounding Bali because we’ve got to try get back again and we definitely don’t want to stay in Kuta any longer!
Ubud it is!

Ubud was just an hour down the road from Kuta and couldn’t have been any different. Yes, there were tourists but its entire atmosphere was different – chilled, arty, creative and a little more authentic.
We were lucky enough to stay with a wonderful family, through Air BnB, just outside the centre of Ubud but far enough away that it was peaceful with zero road noise and just the birds to keep us company. It was our little slice our heaven.

We had a busy 6 nights in Ubud, hitting all the tourist spots:
Goa Gajah – The Elephant Caves
Numerous Rice Fields
Sacred Monkey Forest
Petulu Heron Migration
Drank Luwak Coffee
Semara Ratih Dance Troupe
Tirta Empul
Penglipuran
Tukad Cepung Waterfall

After renting a moped on our first full day, we headed for Goa Gajah, also known as the elephant caves, just 15 minutes away. Although their origin is unknown, they are believed to have been built between the 9th and 11th century as a place of worship. The cave and it surrounding temples acquired the name as the main caves carving was originally thought to resemble an elephant whilst there appears to be both Hindu and Buddhist imagery throughout.
There is also a bathing pool, with 6 angel statues that was excavated in the 1950’s.
We wrapped ourselves in our sarongs – even men must NOT be naked below the knees and yes, Dave looks so very fetching in a sarong – and headed down the steps to enjoy the grounds which included a waterfall and being blessed in the Buddhist temple. It was stiflingly hot but so so beautiful and quiet.

 

Enjoying our new found freedom on the bike, we took a half hour drive to the Tellelagang Rice fields, home to the infamous ‘Bali swing’ (there isn’t just one, there are tens of them! We counted at least 12 from where we sat and drank our coffee). We were somewhat underwhelmed by our rice field experience and chose to enjoy the tourist filled rice terraces from a small, empty cafe where we tried the Balinese Luwak Coffee. Luwak coffee, or civet coffee as it is also known, comes from the partially digested coffee cherries found in the faecal matter of the Asian Palm Civet. Rather surprisingly, it tasted like normal coffee and reminded us of the slightly nutty taste of Turkish coffee. Delicious!

As with our Luwak coffee experience, Dave and I always try to do as the locals do and see the lesser known parts of a country/city. After a bit of research, we came across a rather fascinating phenomenon that occurred just 10 minutes up the road in Petulu. Since a huge communist massacre took place in the 1960’s in Petulu, thousands of herons and egrets flock to the village, to nest in their trees, between 5pm and 8pm. No one knows why but it is believed the herons and egrets are the souls of those who died, returning each night. We were lucky enough to be invited onto a local rice farmers land to gain a better view of the birds arriving in their thousands. He said he considers the birds visit a blessing to him and his village. How lovely!

 

After a truly wonderful day filled with culture and local legends, we were lucky enough to find a gem of a restaurant – Dewa Warung, in Jl. Gootama. Babi Kecap was and still is the best thing ever. It may only be pork in soy sauce but it is delicious! So delicious in fact, that we returned a second time and I had to encourage Dave to try somewhere different on the third and fourth night too!

Our next adventure took us just 10 minutes down the road to the super touristy and well known Sacred Monkey Forest. When reading about the monkey forest, we were led to believe we had to be super cautious as you WILL get jumped on and DONT look them in the eye as it makes them aggressive. I was a little concerned. However, I had no reason to be. The forest is home to 600 monkeys, 89 of those are babies and whilst you do have to be careful with regards to your belongings – don’t take food in, they will find it as well as trying to rifle through your pockets – if you allow them to do their thing whilst admiring them from a respectful distance, they are really a joy to watch. You can almost see their individual personalities. It was also a brilliant day as we got a monkey farting on video and photo of one picking anothers bum. Day Made!
All in all, its best just to be cautious, don’t take food in and respect their space. Its that simple!

Everywhere we go in Bali we see and hear music and Balinese dance tickets being sold so we were eager to see what all the fuss was about. Again, after a bit of research, we found out about the Semara Ratih Troupe. Their name evokes the Spirit of Semara, God of Love and Ratih, Goddess of the moon to produce a union that exudes the spirit of Bali. They perform every Tuesday at 7.30pm and despite Performances from various other troupes occurring nightly at the Palace, Id strongly suggest saving yourself for Semara Ratih on a Tuesday. We were 2 of maybe 20 people, maximum and were able to see every aspect of their dancing including the very specific choreographed eye and hand movements that make up so much of the mood and energy of each dance. Everything about it was enchanting – the stage, their instruments, how much joy they received from playing the instruments and performing, their hair, make up and clothes as well as the stories behind each dance. I couldn’t recommend them enough and would have returned each evening if able.

The following morning, we headed 45 minutes away to Tirta Empul, a sacred, holy temple and natural spring, listed on the Unesco World Heritage list as a place of cultural significance. Whilst we didn’t join the scores of people in the Holy Spring, we were able to sit back and appreciate the temples beauty on a really warm and sunny Wednesday morning.

Onwards, to one of my favourite past times and definitely one of our favourite excursions out of Ubud – Tukad Cepung Waterfall, with a quick detour to officially one of the worlds cleanest villages, Penglipuran. Situated 600m above sea level, it was noticeably cooler and, as it is low season in Bali, mostly empty! We passed ornately carved doors/walls, women in traditional Balinese dress walking to the temple with their offerings and dogs sleeping soundly in the midday sun before enjoying a 25p ice cream and the sweetest cup of tea ever!

Tukad Cepung was just 10 minutes south and down 152 steps through lush rainforest. To reach the waterfall, you must also walk through the river, climbing under and over rocks on the way. It is most certainly worth it. We were among just a handle of other tourists enjoying the waterfall that day so got to spend plenty of time admiring and exploring.
At the bottom of the steps, to reach the main waterfall, you turn left but if you turn right, walk past a smaller waterfall on your right, you will come across a small cave – in there you will find an even smaller waterfall, with its rust coloured walls and spot light from above! Always worth a sneak peek around, you never know what you might find!

Ubud and its surrounding villages had provided us with the peace, tranquility, decent night sleep and culture we were after but it was sadly time to head back to Kuta and retrieve our passports – or so we thought.

Friday 1st Feb, we were up early and at immigration with all our worldly possessions before half past 8 in the morning. It went as follows:

Get sent to the ‘post office’ to pay for 2nd month visa – the post office was nothing more than a desk in the back of a car, in the car park. Madness but equally as funny.

Wait just 20 minutes for our photos and fingerprints to be taken.
Get told we can’t pick our passports up until the 11th February between 2 and 3pm and NOT BEFORE. Not even for an emergency.
The hostage situation continues.
Luckily for us, we don’t need our passports to fly or visit any of the surrounding islands so guess where we headed next?
Straight to the airport and onto the next available flight out of there – Lombok, here we come. But, can you believe it, our journey wasn’t as smooth as you would hope it would be…