We were on our way to scuba dive in Wakatobi, a small island in Indonesia, and added a pre- and post- stay in Bali to acclimate and give us some buffer between our international and domestic flights. From Miami we flew Qatar airways through Doha, where we also had time to do a little sightseeing during our long layover.
Since we were staying in Bali before and after our dive trip we opted to stay in two separate locations. Upon arrival, we stayed in Nusa Dua, at the Grand Hyatt Bali, and before our return we stayed in Karang Beach, at a local hotel called the Puri Santrian. More about those later.
Bali attractions and tourist track
With only two full days in Bali before leaving for Wakatobi we were somewhat ambitious in having booked two action-packed full day tours.
As exhausted as we were from the long international flight, we thought this could be a good idea to force us to acclimate and adjust to the time zone. Perhaps a good strategy for younger travelers, but we were exhausted after the first full day and opted to cut the second day of tours short to enjoy our resort and relax a bit before diving.
Our driver (or diver with an extra r as he called himself) Suka was a local and knew the island well. He took us to numerous attractions, giving us history and information along the way.
Royal Temple of Mengwi or Taman Ayun Temple
We started by visiting the Royal Temple of Mengwi, or the Taman Ayun Temple. Built in 1634 AD as a family temple for the King to honor the spirits of his ancestors, this 17-acre complex of beautiful gardens is in a rectangular area surrounded by water.
In 2012, Pura Taman Ayun became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was a nice site to visit and it took us about 45 minutes to visit the grounds and the small museum on site which had photos of various celebrations held at the temple.
Touring the countryside
As we headed to our next stop, we could not help but notice the various smaller temples all along the streets. Suka explained that most of these were family temples and that each home usually had their own temples and as families grew more temples were added. There were also larger community temples. The numerous temples easily surpassed the number of churches in Rome!
We also saw many small rice fields along the side of the road. The conditions were good for rice farming here we were told, and there could be three harvests per year.
Ulun Danu Bratan Temple (Water Temple)
Next, we drove to what may be the most famous temple, the Pura Ulun Danu Bratan (also Beratan) water temple. This picturesque temple next to Lake Beratan is probably most famous for being featured on the 50,000 Indonesian rupiah note. It makes for some lovely photos with the lake and mountains in the background.
The temple area has been a site of religious worship with artifacts like a sarcophagus and a stone slate dating back to 500BC. The temple itself was originally built around 1556 but was rebuilt in its current form by the King of Mengwi in 1633. It had a mixture of Hindu and Buddhist architecture. It’s dedicated to Dewi Danu, the Balinese Goddess of Water.
A working temple, it is cleaned and maintained by the local community to this day. It was a beautiful site to visit, and we spent over an hour here appreciating the views. It is also possible to rent a boat and take in the temple from a different perspective.
Jatiluwih Rice Terraces
Next, we headed to the Jatiluwih Rice Terraces where one could walk through the rice fields marveling at the views of terrace upon terrace of rice. While the rice was getting more mature and thus longer and a bit yellower during the time of our visit, it was still very pretty. Suka said it was even more spectacular when younger and greener.
The Jatiluwih Rice Terraces themselves span over 1500 acres in the Batukaru mountains. Families have been maintaining these terraces and cultivating rice here as far back as the 9th century!
Do park the car and take the time to walk amongst the terraces for the best views. All the paths are paved but watch where you step. We saw a snake slither away next to the path. We had also heard many of the snake bites that do occur happen in rice fields. I guess the snakes like views too, or perhaps the water and fields to hide in.
Traditional Dance Show
We also took in a traditional dance show at the Barong and Keris Dance. This morning show, Eka Budhi lasted about an hour, and we were happy to experience it. There are also evening dinner shows but with our tight schedule we took what we could get.
The colorful costumes, overly dramatic expressions of the made-up actors accompanied by traditional instruments was quite special. We didn’t understand the dialogue, but we were given some written sheets to follow along. It was a nice experience.
Pura Puseh Batuan Temple
The history of this temple can be traced back in Balinese historical records to over 1,000 years. This is one of the few community temples that has opened its doors to tourists. Some of the original stones are on display but the active temple is maintained and updated by the locals.
Much of the carvings are made in sandstone and have faded over time. The community has added to and enhanced the temple. Suka told us that part of the reason for this was to entice the younger generations to participate in worship and to visit the temple.
More about Bali
As we traveled in the car, often stuck in traffic, Suka gave us a bit more information about Bali.
- There are over 4 million residents.
- Schools are not free but rather both public and private schools are paid and quite expensive.
- They have a generic health coverage system that costs about 3$/month and covers most hospitalization and health needs.
- Salaries are not what we’re used to in North America and as a comparison he said a driver would make the equivalent of about $300 USD a month.
Good to know
Arriving in Bali’s DPS Denpasar airport, we had a meet and greet team from the Wakatobi Dive Resort that helped us with our luggage and transfer.
The arrival in Indonesia was quite easy, and you can do a lot of the formalities online before arrival. We were told we needed a Bali Tourist Levy tourist donation (approx. $9) which we pre-paid online receiving a QR code. For whatever reason our Chase Visa card didn’t work for payment, but our Citi Mastercard was ok. In the end no one ever asked to see any the QR codes, oh well.
You can also clear customs 48 hours before arrival by filling in your declaration after which you get another QR code. No one asked to see that QR code either, hmm.
You can also apply for an e-visa ahead of time allowing you to skip the line. But, in our case, we had to renew our passports a couple of weeks before our trip and when we tried to apply, a local holiday made it impossible to get this done in time. Instead, we opted to get the visa on arrival which was easy too. The visa cost was $32 each, and the line moved quickly.
Where we stayed
Grand Hyatt Bali in Nusa Dua
On arrival we used points to stay at the Grand Hyatt Bali in Nusa Dua. This huge resort was in a secluded location right on the beach in an area where we found many of the large North American hotel brands.
The beach was beautiful, and the expansive grounds and numerous restaurants made it easy to spend a few days here without running out of choices. We barely had a chance to explore all the 5 pools. All the staff were very kind (as was everyone in Bali).
Our room was quite spacious and while we didn’t get much of a view with our point-redemption based room we could see that many rooms did offer ocean views. There was a small safe, a mini bar with complementary water and the room was a decent size for a short stay.
Just beside the resort we found a beautiful park with a seaside temple. Nearby there was also a waterspout. A short 15-minute walk, we took an early morning stroll to explore this area and even saw some macaque monkeys. The temple was closed but we could see huge waves breaking over the side of the peninsula.
Overall, we would recommend this resort if you want to relax and enjoy the beach. It turned out to be less than ideal for sightseeing as the location made it longer to get to the many sights due to traffic. We even needed over 3 hours to get back through traffic from the rice fields.
Also, with the secluded location you were pretty much limited to the hotel amenities restricting selections to the higher priced choices available on the hotel grounds. That said, there were no worries about getting Bali-belly or being unsafe so this could be an easy stress-free spot for someone to simply relax.
The restaurants were all good and there were plenty of lounge chairs and spots to hang out. It was only about a 30-minute drive from the airport.
Puri Santrian in Karang Beach
On our return from the dive trip, we opted to stay in a locally owned and operated hotel in the Karang Beach area. The Puri Santrian Beach Resort had beautiful grounds and turned out to be the most luxurious (and the best bargain) hotel that we stayed at during this trip. It was also about 30 minutes from the airport.
The location is vibrant and full of shops, and the hotel borders a beach promenade that allows you to walk along the beach and find market stalls, massage parlors, tourist agencies and many restaurants. It’s hard to walk more than a few feet without getting solicited to buy something.
While we liked the idea of supporting a locally owned business and having options available to explore, we have to say that the beach itself here was a sad sight. Not just because at low tide it was very far from shore but there was so much garbage strewn everywhere it really did not look appealing for swimming.
At low tide, locals would wade in the shallow water looking for small fish and crustacean to feed their families. It reminded us of a similar scene we saw in Zanzibar. It made us sad to see people struggling to survive amidst the luxury hotels.
The Puri Santrian hotel itself was quite nice with the three pools and many beautiful statues and carvings throughout.
Our room was spacious, and we had a huge safe and mini-bar. The air-conditioning worked really well. We had a Premier Deluxe room with a view of the gardens with a nice balcony from which to enjoy the birds and squirrels.
We saw big turtles and koi fish in the many ponds and the grounds were superbly manicured.
Our room came with a complimentary breakfast which offered a good variety, and we even had a small teatime service with some cakes included. There were also two restaurants on the premises, but again, being in a busy area there were many choices in the neighborhood to choose from.
We would recommend this place for the lovely grounds and for the reasonably priced and well-appointed rooms. Anyone looking for a great beach may be disappointed, but many may like being closer to the action with all the local shops and activities.
Overall impressions of Bali
One thing is for sure, the Balinese people we met were all friendly and kind making our holiday even more enjoyable. Also, the accommodations and overall cost is quite inexpensive in Bali by North American standards so that’s always a good thing.
This was probably the furthest we had ever traveled, and that says a lot considering all the places we’ve been fortunate enough to visit. Getting there was long and exhausting but we are glad we did it. In the end we are happy that we took a few days to visit some of Bali’s attractions before heading out to dive at Wakatobi. It was nice to see some of the beautiful temples and picturesque rice terraces as well as experience a cultural Balinese dance show.
We also heard good things about the diving in Tulamben on the north-east side of the island. Should we return to Bali, perhaps we would stay around there for a future visit.