Although March is the rainy season in Indonesia, we wanted to visit Bali during the end of our time in SE Asia to experience one of the island’s most unique holidays – Nyepi. Nyepi is the New Year’s Day of the Balinese Saka calendar. The eve is celebrated the day before with massive Ogoh-Ogoh parades and the day is celebrated by the island completely shutting down. No one is allowed to leave their home, all businesses are closed (even the airport), and everyone takes the day to meditate.
We arrived about a week and a half before so we could explore the island and then got to celebrate with everyone. I was a little worried Bali would be like Mykonos – so famous and crowded that it wasn’t really our jam. Thank goodness I was wrong (and visited during the shoulder season). Bali is one of our favorite places we have visited in our travels.
Ubud
Ubud is the heart of Bali. It is touristy, but is a delightful place to wander. There were local art stores, vegan cafes, spas, and yoga studios just about everywhere we looked. A few of our favorite things in Ubud –
The temples are absolutely beautiful. Most temples on Bali are closed to visitors, but a few are open during certain hours. My favorite was the Pura Gunung Kawi Sebatu temple. It was built in the 11th century and we got there before the majority of tourists so we had it to ourselves.
Indonesia is home to some of the best coffee in the world. We visited a couple famous coffee shops for some delicious single-origin local coffee and a local coffee plantation.
Bali is home to a lot of delicious vegan and vegetarian restaurants. We loved trying them out and finding some delicious kombucha and fresh juices along the way.
The Campuhan Ridge Walk is famous in Bali. It is about 2 miles along along this lovely ridge in the jungle in the middle of the city. We woke up early one morning to explore and got to see the views and check out a local market.
SE Asia is full of amazing spas and Bali is no exception. Bali is especially famous for flower baths. I found a cute spa and tried out the trend. It is as ridiculous as it sounds. Worth trying once, would not try again. Stuck with standard massages for the rest of our time on the island.
Intrepid Tour
While researching Indonesia, we discovered it could be pretty unsafe during the rainy season (mudslides, road issues, etc.) so we decided to book a tour for the majority of our time on Bali. We’re really glad we did. We met some great people and got to explore a much less touristy side of the island.
Ubud
Our time included a couple of days in Ubud, but with many different activities. We had a nice walking tour of the city and our guide explained the three major types of temples. He also welcomed us into his family home, teaching us the significance of each element of the traditional offerings and allowing us to make our own.
We attended a fire dance performance which was fascinating. The performance we saw told ancient religious stories. My favorite part was the music. Instead of using instruments, they used a form of chanting.
The rice terraces are a major tourist attraction in Bali. We visited on our way to the next stop on our tour. The views were lovely!
Undisan
We went on a very rainy biking tour. It was comical how downhill this ride was – I think I used the pedals twice on the 2-hour long ride. But, we had a lovely time and went for the best meal we had on Bali afterward (expertly prepared vegetarian nasi campur with avocado juice – tastebud heaven).
The next morning we woke up early for a yoga class. One member of our tour was a yoga instructor in Melbourne and the hotel had the perfect location. The class was lovely!
Afterwards, took a walking tour of a local town and learned about traditional wedding jewelry.
Sibetan
We’ve gone on a lot of Intrepid tours. Every company has pros and cons, but we really enjoy the vast majority of things about Intrepid. One thing we really love is their dedication to involving local communities and making sure tourism money goes where it should.
In Sibetan, our trip included a lovely homestay experience and tour of an off-the-beaten-track town with some of the kindest people I’ve ever met. The tour included their snakeskin fruit plantation, a basket weaving class, and an arak (Balinese moonshine) tasting.
Mt. Batur
The hike up Mt. Batur is incredibly famous. In theory, tourists wake up early (~3am), hike up a mountain full of monkeys, and are rewarded with a beautiful sunrise and a view of Lombok. Since Bali is so rainy this rarely happens.
Carey had the guts to hike and I took the easy route with a jeep. Neither of us got to see the sunrise, but we both had a lovely time (and had some great views of Mt. Batur the day before).
Lovina
Lovina was one of my favorite stops in Bali. It is a fun coastal town that is right by some amazing reefs. We took a day tour out to the reefs and got to go snorkeling. The fish were some of the most unique I have ever seen!
While in town, we had one of the best meals of our tour. Our guide arranged for us to go to an amazing cook’s home and were served food family style. The sweet soya beans were so good I will dream about them for years!
Across from our a hotel, there was a fun restaurant running a karaoke night. On our way back a group of us had some fun and then got trapped there in the rain. More excuses for more fun.
Sanur
On our way to Sanur, we stopped at one of the most famous temples in Bali. Many people were there leading up to Nyepi.
Sanur is another major tourist town in Bali. We didn’t spend much time there since we were quick to get back to Ubud for Nyepi, but we enjoyed our good-bye meal with our group.
Nyepi
After our Intrepid tour ended, we headed back to Ubud (only ~1 hour drive) for Nyepi. Time for the Ogoh-Ogoh parades!
They were everything I expected and more. We wandered central Ubud and saw a lot of the statues. Before the crowds got too crazy, we got a ride back to our hotel and watched the parade at the village nearby. The parade was fantastic!
The next day we got to relax in our lovely villa with our own private pool. Hotels on Bali have great Nyepi deals since very few tourists want to be there on a day they can’t leave the hotel and we found one at a 5 star hotel that had been on Conde Nast’s top 25 resorts in the world list. It was perfect!
The next day we enjoyed one final coconut and I headed out.
Carey got to spend about a week on Komodo, the island famously home to komodo dragons. We both love Indonesia. and will definitely be back to explore the other islands.
