Finally, Bali. The last destination of my 2018 Asia trip. I ended up staying in Bali for two months and even though I was basically living there rather than travelling, I still managed to see quite a few places and had some awesome experiences on this Indonesian island. I am by no means a Bali expert but if you are looking for some inspiration for your Bali itinerary, here’s my Bali diary!

First of all, a little recap: Before I arrived in Bali last September (yes, I’m only getting around to writing this diary a year later…), I had spent over seven months backpacking Asia. I travelled to Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, China, Laos, Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand again and Myanmar.

So my plan for Bali was pretty much just to relax, get some work done and be healthy – which is exactly what I ended up doing. Of course I wanted to see a lot of Bali and other Indonesian islands, too. But I felt quite tired from all my previous journeys at this point and didn’t want to push myself too much. In the end I didn’t even travel to the other islands – which is a shame, I know, but I simply didn’t have the energy.

If you have never been to Bali, it’s hard to describe the atmosphere of this unique place. Some people love it, some people hate it, some say Bali is overrated, others keep coming back or even stay for years. I say Bali is what you make of it. It all depends on what you expect to find here, where you go, why you are here and what your preferences are.

Of course, Bali is a very touristic place and there are some really crowded and party places (such as Kuta, I wouldn’t recommend staying there). And at the same time some parts of the island are virtually empty. It also has a really unique culture, lovely people, a chilled vibe, a lot of stunning places and tons of green rice fields everywhere. And it smells SO GOOD. (Unless someone is burning trash in their garden which is unfortunately very common in Bali.)

All in all, I liked Bali. I really enjoyed my time there – otherwise I wouldn’t stay for two months, right?

During my two months in Bali I stayed in two places. Firstly in Ubud, then in Canggu. And while I was staying in these towns, I also took some short trips to other parts of Bali. I think the best way to do this diary will be to separate it into three parts: central Bali (Ubud and its surroundings), northern Bali (Bedugul, Lovina, Singaraja, etc.) and southern Bali (Canggu and Kuta).

So let’s get to it!

1. CENTRAL BALI

Ubud

When I came to Bali, I spent my first ten days in Ubud. Looking back, I should have stayed longer because I actually really liked Ubud. Of course, it’s really different from the Eat, Pray, Love vibe it probably once had and yes, it’s very busy. And yet… Ubud just has its charm. Temples all over the place, busy markets, great cafés, SO MANY food options and little scented flower offerings on the streets (they are called canang sari).

Apart from checking out all the cafés and restaurants (read: hanging out in every café with my laptop for hours), simply walking around and the occasional yoga class, I did two things that could be considered touristy: the Ubud Monkey Forest and the Campuhan Ridge Walk.

Ubud Monkey Forest

I was slightly scared to visit this famous forest full of monkeys after hearing almost horror stories about people being attacked and having things stolen by the evil animals. But I went and survived!

If you ever want to go to the Ubud Monkey Forest, do not take any food with you. DO NOT. Don’t even have it in your bag, the monkeys will smell it and they WILL open your bag – I’ve seen it myself. They will even take plastic bags or plastic bottles from you. In fact, put all your valuables out of sight before you enter the forest. The monkeys here are known to steal phones, wallets, earrings, sunglasses, or anything really. And obviously don’t tease the monkeys and don’t come too close to them, they are still wild animals…

If you follow these rules, you’ll be fine. Even though there are signs telling you how to act around the monkeys, I was shocked at how many people were just being complete idiots (and then screamed when a monkey started rummaging through their backpacks).

Campuhan Ridge Walk

A really nice walk through nature that I really recommend you to take. I liked it so much I actually came here twice. It’s only 1 km each way. It gets quite busy before sunset so it’s probably best to go in the morning or afternoon. I was there in the afternoon and there weren’t many people but the downside was that it was really hot (there is basically no shadow on the path).

Tegalalang Rice Terrace

You will see rice fields literally everywhere you go in Bali but Tegalalang near Ubud is the most popular one. It’s pretty, sure, but quite small and commercialised. If you arrive by 7.30am like me, there will be almost no people and you won’t have to pay a fee to enter.

Tirta Empul Temple

A temple with holy spring water where you can undergo a purification ritual to cleanse your soul. (I didn’t.)

Sangeh Monkey Forest

Yes, I went to another monkey forest. This one is way less touristy than the Ubud Monkey Forest but still not too far from Ubud. I actually have so many pictures of me with monkeys from the Sangeh Monkey Forest because they just really seemed to enjoy jumping and climbing on me… (Even though I didn’t have any food.) This forest also had a swimming pool for the monkeys which was a crazy thing to watch.

Pengempu Waterfall

Bali has so many waterfalls and if you choose some random ones, you’ll probably have them all to yourself like we did here.

2. NORTHERN BALI

Mt Batur Sunrise Trekking

This is a very popular activity to do in Bali but I can see why. You start trekking at 4am to reach the summit of the Batur volcano just in time for sunrise and if you’re lucky with the weather, the view is spectacular! The path to go up is very narrow and filled with hundreds of people with flashlights, all trekking to the top. If there is someone slowing other people down, you sometimes have to wait a little… But it’s not a long trek, it takes less than 1,5 hours.

From the top of Mount Batur you can see Lake Batur and Mount Abang with Mount Agung behind it. And on top of that, the mysterious clouds of fog are just magical. Hands down the best sunrise I have ever seen. 🙂

Mount Batur is still an active volcano and the guide will show you some places where small fumes are coming out of the volcano’s inside.

Lake Batur and Batur Temple

The area around Lake Batur is really nice and you can find some good views of both the lake and Mount Batur. Even the nearby temple called Pura Ulun Danu Batur has some nice views.

There are also some natural hot springs around Lake Batur if you want to have a dip. The one I went to was the Toya Devasya Hot Spring (quite fancy).

Jatiluwih Rice Terrace

Possibly my favourite place in Bali. These rice terraces are huge and so they don’t look as crowded as Tegalalang. They are also a UNESCO World Heritage site and I highly recommend a visit.

The Ghost Palace Hotel (PI Bedugul Taman Rekreasi Hotel)

You can find this huge abandoned hotel and resort along the way when you are driving up to Bedugul. It could have been a really nice luxurious hotel with an amazing view but it was never actually opened so now it became a tourist attraction. It costs 10,000 IDR to go inside.

Pura Ulun Danu Bratan

One of the more popular temples in Bali that sits next to Lake Bratan.

The Handara Iconic Gate

Literally just an Instagram spot. These famous Balinese gates actually belong to the Handara Golf & Resort and they charge you 30,000 IDR to take photos. If you don’t feel like paying, you can find similar gates all over Bali. These just have a nice mountain backdrop and they are also very close to the Bratan temple. I did have my photo taken here because there were miraculously almost no other people, but I know you can find a long queue here most of the time.

Singaraja

Once you cross the chilly mountains around Bedugul (Take a raincoat!), you’ll find yourself in North Bali. Considering that most tourists stay in southern Bali, this part of Bali is off the beaten path and really worth checking out. The sea here is actually much nicer for swimming because it’s not so wild and crazy as it is in the south.

Me and my friends spent two nights near Singaraja to explore the area. Because it takes hours to get here from the other side of Bali, it’s definitely a good idea to stay for a few days.

You can find Ling Gwang Kiong, a Chinese temple, in the town of Singaraja.

Lovina

Highlight of northern Bali: dolphins! If you go to Lovina Beach, you’ll easily find someone with a boat and can arrange a morning boat trip to see dolphins. The dolphins don’t actually live in Lovina Beach, it’s a 45-min boat ride to the place where you can see them. It’s worth it, though – there were hundreds and hundreds of them! You can either watch from the boat or you can be in the water while holding onto the boat and watching the dolphins through a diving mask and listening to their underwater chatter.

Waterfalls

While I never made it to the famous Sekumpul Waterfall, I saw the Aling Aling, Kroya, Kembar and Pucuk Waterfalls. They are all next to each other and if you want, you can try the adrenaline jumps and slides here.

Brahmavihara-Arama

Beautiful Buddhist monastery that looks a little bit like the Borobudur Temple in Java.

We also stopped at the Banjar Hot Springs. 

3. SOUTHERN BALI

Canggu

Like I mentioned, Canggu was my base for the majority of my time in Bali. It’s a place with countless cool cafés and restaurants – there are new cafés popping up probably every day. My absolute favourites were the Matcha Cafe Bali and Cinta Cafe.

Canggu has several beaches but the waves are always really high which makes swimming almost impossible, so people mostly just hang out by the beach and drink. There is a big surfing community in Canggu but I’d only recommend surfing here if you’re experienced. The one time I tried surfing in Canggu I almost drowned. 😀 Kuta is much better for beginners.

I also really enjoyed the yoga classes at the Serenity Eco Guesthouse.

Oh and also… this happened. A forever reminder of my Asian adventure.

Kuta

I would never actually stay in Kuta. It’s a crazy party place and crime is very common here. But it’s not too far from Canggu and we occasionally came here to learn surfing and one time helped release baby turtles into the ocean.

And I think that’s about everything I did in Bali. It may not seem like a lot of places and activities in two months but like I said before, it wasn’t my goal to see everything in Indonesia. 😉

After Bali I was supposed to travel to New Zealand but life had other plans for me and I headed home instead. I briefly explained what happened in this Instagram post. So after more than 9 months on the road I arrived home on my birthday – 16th November 2018 – without really planning it.

What’s next? I have now managed to get a one-year working holiday visa for New Zealand, so it looks like I’m going to New Zealand in 2020 after all. Stay tuned!

Meanwhile, make sure to follow me on Instagram where I’ll be sharing the last Bali photos, followed by photos from short trips I made in 2019: US West Coast and Portugal!

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