Kuta Beach and Art Market

Kuta beach maybe is the most famous place to visit in Bali and it is very accessible from the airport. The place has a lot of tourist, restaurants, and hotels. Kuta is an hour away from our hotel but we decided to visit it for their art market and to check the beach.

They say Kuta Art Market is a street filled with stalls selling unique Bali art, souvenirs, and handicrafts. However, this is not what we saw in the famous street. We learned that all shops are now in a building complex. Only few stalls are being occupied in the building and moreover, there are only few stalls open when we went there. We feel that it must be because of the pandemic that there are only few stalls left. Still the art market is located on the street going to the beach.

Since we arrived early in Kuta, we decided to have breakfast first at Kopi and Kue. Food is decent but what capture my attention is the wall of vandal going to the restroom. After breakfast, we visit some of the shop going to the beach to compare prices.

Kuta beach is very disappointing. It is full of tourists which is actually normal, a lot of local offering you to rent chairs and shades, and pricey restaurant with mediocre food. The sand is gray and full of trash. Not sure if the water is even clean to swim in the first place but there are still a lot of surfers.

After roaming in the beach, we went back to the market street and bought some souvenirs. The art market is filled with magnets, figurines, key chains and other knick knacks. They also sell souvenir shirts, sarong and beach shorts. There also a lot of the local coffee and other delicacies.

Next stop in our Kuta trip is the Pie Susu store. Pie Susu is a thin pastry with layer of custard filling made with condensed milk. Near the Pie Susu store, is the Anomali cafe. We went to try their coffee and their pastry. They have different kinds of coffee from different part of Indonesia.

Although, we did not like the beach in Kuta, you may still consider visiting it if you love to surf and party at night. 

Exploring the East of Bali

East Bali is somehow overlooked by other more popular tourist destination like Ubud, Seminyak and Canggu. East Bali is a bit far from Denpasar. It is a two-hour ride from Denpasar. However, if you prefer to immense yourself to nature and more of the Bali tradition, then East Bali is a perfect place.

There are a lot of places you can visit in East Bali. Most of the tourist places in East Bali are very popular in social media because of its scenic views. We only went to three places in East Bali because it is very far from Nusa Dua from where we stay. From Nusa Dua our travel time is approximately three hours. We also took into consideration the long lines of tourist that we may encounter.

The first place we visited in East Bali is the most Instagrammed Lempuyang Temple where the Gate of Heaven is located. En route to Lempuyang temple you will see the majestic Mount Agung. You will also pass by towns and some rice field.

Lempuyang Temple opens at 7AM everyday and closes at 5PM. Cars are not allowed to go at the Gates of Heaven. At the parking lot there is a booth where you pay 50,000 IDR for a shuttle that will bring you to the Gates of Heaven. The road going up the Gates of Heaven is very steep. When you arrive at the lower ground of the temple, you will have to pay 100,000 IDR for the entrance, getting the iconic photo and for the sarong rental. They will not allow you to enter without the sarong. Men and women need to wear the sarong. There is no need to booked in advance the ticket however it is important that you arrive early because there is usually a long queue of tourist waiting for their turn to get the photo. In our case, since it is off-peaked we just waited for around one hour and thirty minutes. During peak season waiting time can reach up to three hours or more. While waiting for your turn on the photo, you may take pictures on the other area of the temple ground.

The temple ground is all concrete. The reflection shot is a cellphone camera trick. When its your turn for the photo, you will give your mobile phone to one of the staff in the temple. They have a small mirror where they just place your camera lens on top to create the reflection or water trick. You can only do five poses during your turn however; the photographer takes continuous shot so you will get more than five shots. It also better that you have already thought of the pose you will make.

Aside from the Gates of Heaven, you will also have a more beautiful view of Mount Agung. Honestly, I was captivated by Mount Agung more than the Gates of Heaven. Opposite the Gates of Heaven is a set of stairs with dragons and greenery which is also a nice area to take pictures. There are also lesser people taking picture in this area.

After Lempuyang Temple, we went to Tirta Gangga Water Palace. This is just another place where you can get good photos for your social media. The entrance fee for Tirta Gangga is 30,000 IDR. The place is full of ponds with large Koi Fish. You can buy fish food to feed the fish. The most popular attraction in Tirta Gangga are the stepping stones on the pond where you can take pictures. Aside from that the place has a lot of beautiful flowers and ornate carvings. The place can get crowded especially the area where the stepping stones are located. It is better to visit the place earlier to avoid too much crowds. Tirta Gangga opens at 8AM and closes at 5PM. There are also restaurants inside the water palace.

The last place we went to in East Bali is Taman Ujung Palace. It is quite far from Tirta Gangga as it also took us around forty-five minutes to reach the place. Taman Ujung Palace is located near the sea and has three large pools. It is offers a great view of Mount Agung especially in the morning. Entrance fee is 75,000 IDR. You will cross a bridge filled with bougainvilleas to enter the complex. Inside the complex is a building named Gili Bale which is connected to the edge of the pool by a bridge with beautiful arches and detailed stone carvings. Taman Ujung is bigger that Tirta Gangga and Lempuyang Temple. It may take you an hour to completely tour the whole place. If you are in to it, you may climb the stairs and get a better view of the whole palace and the sea. When we went to the complex, there were only three small groups of tourist.

Other place in East Bali to visit is the Virgin Beach and Bukit Cinta where you can have a better view of Mount Agung.

A Day in Ubud, Bali

 

Ubud is a town in Bali located in the uplands which is known for its arts and traditional dance. Ubud is a famous destination for waterfalls, rice paddies and rich culture. It’s one of the must-see places when you travel to Bali. Ubud has its own charm that a traveler would fall in love with.

There are a lot of tourist attraction in Ubud that it will be difficult to complete all of it in just one day. We just selected the places that we would like to visit. However, if you plan to really explore all of Ubud, it’s better to book a place to stay in the area. There are a lot of hotels and Air BnB located in Ubud. Some of them are even located in Tegalalang rice terraces.

Our one-day itinerary in Ubud includes Tegalalang rice terraces, Campuhan Ridge Walk, Ubud Royal Palace and Coffee plantation.

Our first destination was the Tegalalang rice terraces. The Tegalalang rice terraces is located at the north area of Ubud. The best time to visit Tegalalang rice terraces is early morning when the sun gives a golden glow on the lush green rice field. Entrance fee on the eastern side of the valley along Jalan Raya Cebok is 10,000 IDR. If you are coming from Ume Ceking the fee is 50,000 IDR. Ume Ceking is the common point of entry for the rice terraces. This is also the area where you can experience the swing with the rice terraces as the backdrop. However, when we went there it seemed that most establishments that offer the swing is closed. From above, you can take a picture of the rice terraces, but you can also go down and explore the rice terraces. Exploring the rice paddies need stamina. There are steps that are steep and sometimes slippery.

Our second destination is the Campuhan Ridge walk. Campuhan Ridge walk is also best to visit early in the morning when it is not too hot. It is a scenic trail and very easy to trek. The trek will take you 20 to 40 minutes depending on your pace. In our case we were able to reach the end of the trek in 20 minutes. At the end of the ridge is a village with cafes. There are also some art and souvenirs that you can buy. We decided to have our brunch at Karsa Kafe. It’s another 10-minute walk from the end of the ridge but the food and view at Karsa Kafe is worth the extra walk. A must-try is their local Balinese pancake and Bali coffee. Karsa Kafe is surrounded by lotus pond and a rice field.

After having our brunch at Karsa Kafe we went to Ubud Royal Palace. The Ubud Royal Palace is just near Campuhan Ridge Walk. It is just a five-minute travel by car, however there is usually traffic near Ubud Royal Palace. There is no entrance fee for Ubud Royal Palace. You may wander around the compound and take pictures. Ubud Royal Palace is also just near the Ubud Art Market.

Our last destination in Ubud is the coffee plantation. From Ubud Royal Palace, it took us around 30 minutes to reach the coffee plantation. Once you arrive at the coffee plantation, a staff will immediately usher you inside and will give an informational tour about the coffee, cacao, tea, and other fruit-bearing plants that they have in their compound. The staff will explain the difference between Arabica and Robusta. The staff will also show you the civet cat and the process of the luwak coffee. Luwak coffee is considered the most expensive coffee in the world.  Luwak is a coffee that consists of partially digested coffee cherries, which have been eaten and defecated by the civet cat. After the tour, the staff will take you in an area where you can have a free taste of their coffee and tea selection. However, if you want to try the Luwak coffee, you must pay 50,000 IDR. The coffee plantation has a shop inside their compound where you can buy coffee including luwak coffee. They also have other teas and other souvenirs.

There are other places in Ubud that you may visit aside from what we included in our itinerary. Some other must-visit attractions in Ubud are the Ubud Monkey Forest, Saraswati Temple, Ubud Art Market and Tibumana Waterfalls to name a few.