Bali Trips [28/08 - 31/08]

The Bali adventure is a 4 days 3 nights trip and the information are distributed over 4 posts: Bali Elephant Safari, Bali Cycling, Bali Villa.

Itinerary for this trip are entirely planned by AJ. The trip is confirmed just 2.5 weeks before departure and we begin bookings for air tickets and accommodations. The trip coincides with the Singapore Presidential Election off day on the 29th August (Monday) and the Hari Raya public holiday on the 30th August (Tuesday). We took an additional day leave on the 31st August (Wednesday).

Let's get started on the adventure.

28th August (Sunday)

We rendezvous at the airport at 7.30am and check-in to Air Asia. We bought 20kg luggage check-in as well as in-flight meals for both journeys. The flight departs at 9.25am and arrived at Bali airport at 12.05pm (the 10min delay was caused by Changi airport congestion).

Once at the airport, we proceed to a counter which provide taxi service. The first stop of the day is the Elephant Safari Park in Taro (45mins north of Ubud). It cost 300,000 Indonesian rupiah for the journey. The prices are fixed and standard. And off we go.

While AJ is purchasing the taxi ride, I went to check out any SIM card which I can purchase. I shall share more on it below. The SIM card has been very useful in the next 4 days.

Once we depart from the airport, the traditional Bali architecture and style immediately comes alive around us. There are large prominent statues of heroes/gods at traffic junctions. One of them is below.



This post will continue with the Bali Elephant Safari.

29th August (Monday)

On Monday, we hired a driver/car for 10 hours for USD45. He picked us up from the Elephant Safari Park at 11am and the first stop of the day is the rice terrace view. These are carefully structured and cultivated rice terrace which we studied in geography books during secondary schools.



The vehicle is parked by the side of the road and there are plenty of shops around this area. There are also pavilions where visitors can sit back and appreciate the view.



After a short 20mins stop, we are on the way to Ubud. We have made reservation for a 1.5 hr spa with Verona Spa at 12pm. The Spa in Ubud is half the price at Seminyak. We arrived 15mins past our reservation time and we selected the Spa package accordingly.

I chose the traditional Balinese massage which cost 150,000 rupiah for 1.5 hours.



The room has a great view.



At 2pm, we proceed for lunch at Dewa Warung (recommended by Lonely Planet guide). They serves good Balinese Village Food, Indonesian Food and Chinese Food at an average price of 10,000 rupiah. The ambiance is fabulous.



We ordered Soto Ayam soup and it's great. The menu says no MSG is added to any of the dishes.



After lunch at 2.45pm, we proceed next to the Ubud market. We spent the next 45mins here. AJ has a list of the recommended prices of the items so we know how much we are supposed to bargain with the storekeepers.



We bought several paintings.



We also visited the Sukawati market. There are actually 2 markets in Sukawati. The driver suggested us to go to the less famous one and it is a good recommendation. Many of the stuffs being sold are significantly cheaper than Ubud market. If you would like to buy anything in Bali, we recommend visiting this market. Items sold in Kuta-Seminyak area are more expensive comparatively.

Next we proceed on to Tanah Lot to catch the sunset. Below is the scene at the temple with the human crowd.



To go up to Tanah Lot, you will have to cleanse yourself with the holy water. There is a long queue, so we decide to give it a skip.



We sat at one of the rocks and look at the beach.



For the evening, we will be spending a night at Amadea Resort at Seminyak. We checked in at 8pm and have to check out at 7am the next morning.



Here is how our room looks like. It's a normal hotel which cost $140 per night. They allow us to packet our breakfast the night before since we won't be able to have breakfast the next day.



31st August (Wednesday)

It is our last day in Bali and after we checked out at 11.30am, we took a cab to the Legian beach. And just laze at one of the beach benches.



It is popular with surfers.



And we took a walk along the beach.



Thereafter we did some shopping and walk around Discovery Mall. The Mall has A&W which we had for lunch (root beer float). We left at 2.50pm to collect our luggage and off we go to the airport.

Just to share on the SIM card which I have purchased. It cost 125,000 rupiah which includes the SIM card plus a 50,000 top up. It gives you many minutes of talk time and the data is more than sufficient for email, facebook and google maps. I used the mobile for contacting the hired driver and cycling coordinator. Most importantly, google maps are used several times to gauge the time needed to travel from one place to another as well as to provide guidance to drivers on the route to take.



We board the 5.40pm flight and off we go back to Singapore. I sat next to the window to take beautiful sunset shots below. We arrived back in Singapore at 8.20pm.

Bali Elephant Safari [28/8 - 29/8]

After arriving in Bali, we proceeded directly to the Safari Park Lodge which is 1hr 30mins from the airport. The journey cost 300,000 rupiah.

While we are doing the check-in, we were given the welcome drink.



The guest itinerary are as follows:
FIRST DAY
2pm: Check-in the room
2.30pm: Walk around the park (no guide)
3.30pm: Watch the elephant talent show
6.30pm: Elephant will pick up from the room to show area
6.45pm: Watch the elephant talent show
7.25pm: Night Safari Ride (it is either the night or day one)
7.50pm: Dinner (to pay)

SECOND DAY
7am - 10am: Breakfast
8am: Elephant Bathing
9.30am - 10.30m: Pick up for day safari ride
11am: Watch the elephant talent show
12pm: Check-out

The staffs are friendly and nice. Past the entrance to the lodge, we have a swimming pool to chill off the hot afternoon sun.



We have the Park-view rooms with beautifully designed elephant themes. The main difference between the Padi view and Park view is that elephants can pick us up from our doorsteps.



According to AJ, a lot of thoughtful considerations have been made in the arrangement of the washroom.



They also have a specially draft welcome letter with my name on it.



And off we go to the Elephant show at 3.30pm.



The elephants sitting down.



Some elephants also know how to draw.



They have a scenic path from the entrance to the performance / restaurant area.



And many benches / beds to just relax.



Here we have a few elephants having their afternoon tea break in the park.



It is feed the elephant time!!



There is a nice Ivory Cafe which offer affordable meals. It closes at 5pm. We ordered burger, pizza and a few drinks for dinner just before it closes.

We walked to the Taro Village temple.



The beautiful paddy field just behind the park.



We took a stroll in the morning and observe the sun rising behind the mountain.



And down the paddy fields again.



There is a quiet-peaceful village around the area.



The sun rays warming the fields.



It is breakfast time.



A sumptuous breakfast.



The elephants are also having their breakfast.



It is time to help the elephants bathe.



And we begin our safari ride with the elephants coming to our doorstep to fetch us at 9.30am.



Our ride through the forest.



Elephants crossing, please wait for the elephants to cross first.



The elephants having a water break together.



And here we are below.



We strongly recommend visitors to stay at night at the Elephant Lodge if they are visiting the Elephant Park. They will have more opportunity to take a slow walk through the park and enjoy the tranquility of Taro. The paddy fields are also fabulous to visit in the morning around 6am plus.

Before we arrived to the Elephant Safari Park in the afternoon, there is a road toll which we have to 'donate'. We gave 10,000 rupiah.

Bali Cycling [30/8]

On the 3rd day, we signed up with Bali Happy Bike Tour. Since we are departing from Seminyak, it cost 370,000 Indonesian rupiah per person.

The driver came to fetch us from Amadea resort at 7.25am and off we go for the cycling trip. Along the way, another 4 more people were picked up (2 from Sanur and 2 from Ubud). There are 6 people in all who participated in this trip.

Our first stop is actually a coffee plantation.



We have the famous Lemur coffee. The Lemur sleeps during the day as seen below. There are several coffee beans on the ground. It is said the Lemur coffee are the most premium coffee beans as it has been processed organically by the Lemur before human processing.



The guide is explaining to us on the different types of coffee.



And how we process them.



We were given a few coffee to sample. There is Ginseng coffee, chocolate coffee, normal coffee and so on.



And we ordered the Lemur coffee which cost 30,000 rupiah per cup.



There is a shop nearby which we can get many of the herbs and coffee powder. (Comparatively, we find the items in the shop to be more expensive than what you can get from Kuta or Ubud). Anyway, there is no obligation to get anything from the shop. It just happen to be there for us to get any snacks before heading back to the van.



It is breakfast time and we arrived at a highland area.



It has traditional Balinese design.



It has a very good highland feel to the place.



From our vintage point, we can see an active volcano, the mount G Batur. We heard that it erupted the last century. The volcanic rocks is the black portion just in front of the mountain.



And here we are getting ready for breakfast. (at 11am)



After breakfast, we traveled to the cycling start point. I choose the Polygon bicycle as I am more familiar with this brand.



The guide explaining to us on the use of the gears. The journey consist of 90% downhill and 10% uphill, so it's going to be easy.



We always have the van following us behind, so we can always break and stop anytime.



And off we go past the beautiful villages of Bali. I greatly enjoyed the journey a lot.



The villagers carry goods at the top of their head.



Well-cultivated rice fields. We have the guide explaining to us their tradition. Everyone will join in the planting and harvesting.



We had a temporary stop and the guide explain to us about Balinese culture. Bali main religion is Hinduism and it is based on the Indian caste system. There are also names being assigned to people from different caste and their order in the family. For example, 'Made' is normally used for the second daughter in the family and so on.



The locals are very friendly and always wave and say hi to us.



We were also given bananas to recharge our energy.



At one of the stop, we saw someone climbing up a coconut tree and throwing down coconut. No tools were used to climb up. We heard this is one of the traditional skill in Bali.



Certain parts of the road are quite bumpy, but for the most part, they are normal well-paved roads.



We are almost at the finishing point.



We cross over a dam. This dam supplies water to many of the cultivated fields.



It is lunch time and while walking towards the owner's villa, we came upon rice put out under the sun for drying.



Here is where we will dine. The plates are all beautifully laid out in front for us.



The guide explaining to us about Balinese food. My favorite is actually Gado Gado which is steamed vegetables. The vegetables are very fresh.



Here is our group photo. We have friends from Germany, Slovakia, Hungary and Australia.



My lunch. All the servings are great. (Anyway our lunch is at 3pm)



And plenty of fruits to go around. The one in orange is passion fruit and the other one is snakeskin fruit. These two fruits are quite unique and rarely found in Singapore.



This activity with Bali Happy Bike Tour is strongly recommended by me. It's a great opportunity to visit the off the beaten track and experience traditional Balinese cuisine with great guides.

Next is Bali Villa
BALI VILLA