Oh Bali, you have beautiful temples, rich culture and good food, but I would not want to go back there. May be it was the location, the time of year, or the taxi scam at the airport, but none of these contributed to a great overall experience. The discrepancy between the well-manicured, posh resorts for tourists and the local neighborhoods was too great, which made me feel out of place the entire time. The beach was just ok. The water was nice and clean in the morning, but by the afternoon the currents brought trash.

We hired a car and driver for a day and explored some of the sites on the island. We started early in the morning to avoid the traffic, which could get pretty bad on the narrow one-lane streets. To get away from the frustration of hassling with the locals at the Mother Temple of Besakih, we decided to skip it. Even our driver agreed that the locals around that temple are out control and advised us against it. There were plenty other temples to see.

A statue at the entrance to the Royal Temple of Mengwi
A statue at the entrance to the Royal Temple of Mengwi
The Royal Temple of Mengwi
At 7 am only the cats were roaming the Royal Temple of Mengwi
The Royal Temple of Mengwi
The Royal Temple of Mengwi
Tegallalang Rice Terraces
Tegallalang Rice Terraces
Pura Tanah Lot
Pura Tanah Lot
Pura Tanah Lot
Pura Tanah Lot

In Indonesia they grow and harvest the most expensive coffee in the world – luwak coffee. The coffee beans are consumed and excreted by the Asian palm civet which looks like a weasel. Gave it a try, meh. With my unsophisticated taste buds not worth the money:)

Tea and Luwak coffee tasting
Tea and Luwak coffee tasting
Pura Ulun Danu on the Bratan lake
Pura Ulun Danu on the Bratan lake
6R8C8345
Dressed up for a ceremony at the temple
6R8C8347
Women are carrying on top of their heads their baskets with offerings. Amazing skill.
6R8C8379
More people coming to the ceremony at the temple on lake Bratan.
6R8C8281
Waiting for the tourists to buy him bananas
6R8C8414
Typical village in Bali. According to the driver, these are decorations for the local “Christmas”
6R8C8634
The beach
6R8C7965
Dinner on the beach
6R8C7973
If you want to have dinner on the beach, you better share with the local dogs. They were not aggressive at all, they were using the ‘puppy eyes’ approach đŸ™‚
6R8C7936
The hotel villa was very nice. The net around the bed is what kept my blood safe from the mosquitoes.
6R8C7956
Outdoor bathtub
6R8C7963
private pool

We had some amazing, Michelin-star quality food with infusions, powders and foams which surely woke up our taste buds. We accidentally came across Cuca restaurant on the way back from the beach and what an experience! It’s run by a Canadian born Chef and his wife. All the tapas were out of this world, both presentation and taste.

6R8C8106
From the top: some sort of foam, smoked fish, octopus and cauliflower, sesame seed chicken, pulled pork, risotto, ice cream in caramel sauce

November 28, 2013

Leave a Reply