Team Marshall: Bali - Ubud and Around the Island

This year for spring break during the last week in March, Kris and I decided to check out the island of Bali in Indonesia. What made us decide on Bali was not Eat, Pray, Love, but the low rates we found on a great hotel and our friends bragging about their trip to the island.

We hit the island at the perfect time: during shoulder season (just as rainy season was ending and just before the high season began). We absolutely loved our trip and hope to go back again during another break. I know, I know, there are so many great places over here to explore, and while we do want to check them out, Bali was just SO INCREDIBLE! This little jaunt, which we dubbed our second honeymoon, was our second-favorite vacation ever (the favorite being our first honeymoon in Mexico).

The traveling was a bit exhausting: we took a 6 hour bus ride to Tokyo (we took the early bus so we could stop at TGI Fridays for dinner!), got to the airport 3 hours before our flight, took a red eye to Malaysia, and after a 3 hour layover flew to Bali, then drove 1 1/2 hours to Ubud.

Vacation started with a dinner at TGI Fridays in Tokyo, Japan.

Indonesian Rupees are so colorful that they really do look like monopoly money. About 10,000 of them equal about $1.10 USD.

We also ran into a few hiccups along the way. When we woke up on the morning of our flight, just before we left to catch the bus, we got an email saying that our hotel was overbooked and we had to find a new hotel! So on the bus I had to search for a hotel and then try to book it. Also, I lost my wallet in the Malaysian airport, but didn't realize it until we got to Bali, and by then it was gone forever. Kris was so gracious and patient about the loss. I couldn't ask for a better husband.

Despite the bumpy start, once we finally got to Ubud, the excitement we felt about our new surroundings revitalized us. After settling in to our hotel and jumping in the pool, we took a taxi to Dirty Duck, a really good restaurant where we ate Ubud's speciality of crispy duck. Then we walked back to our hotel, stopping at little shops to haggle and browse. I had found Don's Bali Guide, a guide to shopping and fair prices in Bali. It helped me get really good deals on everything we bought, without getting ripped off (or ripping off the sellers). We quickly discovered that if there was buying to be done, I would do the haggling. Kris is much too nice a guy to get the low prices. :-)

After buying lots of awesome gifts for family and friends (and a few things for ourselves), we went to the Ubud Palace for a Balinese dance show. It was really cool. The dancers made sharp eye movements to the left or right as part of their dancing, which I later imitated to Kris as much as possible (since he found this to be a rather creepy aspect of Balinese dance). After the show, we went to dinner at Sagittarius. It was SO GOOD! We got 2 drinks, 2 pizzas, and garlic bread for about $8! You can't even get a small pizza in Japan for that price!

Dirty Duck Restaurant grounds. You could eat in these small pavilions if you wanted to.

We couldn't believe this beautiful place was really just a restaurant.

Kris enjoys lunch.

Many shops had beautiful flower offerings like this one.

Monkeys from Ubud Monkey Palace feasting on leftovers.

Ubud Palace was the setting for the Balinese dance performance.

Balinese dancers

Balinese dance music played on a type of xylophone

Balinese dancer

The next day, we checked out of our Ubud hotel and took a tour of parts of Bali with Bali Explore Tours. At 95 miles wide and 69 miles long, Bali isn't a huge island, but it's not small either. The island is home to many different, beautiful landscapes (including rice fields, mountains, beaches, lakes, volcanoes, coral reefs, and a national park) and over 10,000 religious temples or shrines: there is lots to see and do on this little island.

Our tour guide Nyoman drove us all over the island. He was really easy to talk to and funny. From him we learning all kinds of interesting information about Balinese life, culture, family, and traditions. It was really interesting. He even knew more about American pop culture than Kris did!

First we stopped at a wood carving shop in Mas, a village known for its wood carvers. The work that they did was so intricate and impressive. Of course we had to buy some things while we were there!

I loved this beautiful carving.

Wood carvers at work in Mas

Next we went to Celuk, a village known for its silver and gold crafts. We watched men working on different pieces of jewelry, which was interesting, but their working conditions made it seem almost like a sweatshop; especially when we went into the bright, polished, air conditioned jewelry showcase room, where jewelry was being sold at high prices. It was pretty obvious that the men we saw working on jewelry were not getting paid or working in conditions that fit the high prices of the items they were making. We didn't spend much time at that particular place.

Lauren outside the jewelry shop in Celuk

Jewelry shop in Celuk

Jewelry makers at work

After that, our guide took us to Taman Ayun Temple, a lovely buddhist temple with beautiful garden grounds as well as a fish and lotus pond. The name of the temple translates to "beautiful garden". Nyoman described to us how Balinese Buddhists believe that "the Spirit" is in everything and everyone and that special buildings or statues can be given this "spirit", so they are given sarongs to wear and food to eat. He also told us that during special holidays, people have picnics on the temple grounds and there is music and dancing.

Outer garden

Kris climbing the bell tower

Us in front of the inner gate

Many rice fields are found throughout Bali, and we saw lots of them during our drive. We stopped at one particularly beautiful, large field. We ate lunch at a restaurant overlooking these rice fields.

Rice field

Us at the rice field

After lunch, we went to a coffee plantation. At this particular one, they grew luwak (also known as civet) coffee. It is one of the lowest produced but most expensive coffees in the world. It is made from coffee beans that have been eaten and pooped out by an asian civet (I am NOT making this up! Just Google luwak coffee or civet coffee if you don't believe me). The civets can only eat so many coffee berries at a time, so the coffee beans can't be harvested as quickly as normal coffee, thus the high price (it can be sold for up to $150 per pound!). I tried a cup of this unusual coffee and it was VERY good -- but not so good that I would pay the $60 per pound that it was being sold for at the coffee farm.

Coffee roasting

Fresh roasted coffee

Kris tried his hand at grinding coffee beans.

The asian civet responsible for eating luwak coffee berries

Coffee beans that have been defecated by the luwak. Our tour guide called this "the sheeeet".

Famous Luwak Coffee

After our tour of the coffee plantation, we got to sample some of the tea and coffee.

Yum!

The last stop on our tour was Ulun Danu Beratan Temple, a temple that looks as if it were floating on a lake. It was really a beautiful site. Kris and I especially loved strolling through the lovely gardens and sitting on a bench to enjoy the view. And kiss. ;-)

Temple on the lake

Me in front of the inner temple door

Me in front of the inner temple door. While waiting to take this picture, Kris and I tried to chase away the other tourists by kissing. It didn't work.

One man fishing

Look out, Kris!

After our long day of touring Bali, our driver took us to our next hotel, the Ayodya Resort on the beautiful beach of Nusa Dua. But more on that part of our trip later...