Bali

Mr_Lahey

I rocked up in Bali last night and woke up this morning to realise I am in Kuta.
So a huuuuuuuuuge thankyou to Incapuppy for being such a darling and convincing me to head down here. It is awesome

A quick look in the usual LP and Wikitravel has shown that really there doesnt seem to be a great deal to do here, which is great, but I am pretty much all beached out from Thailand so am wondering if anyone can give me some good advice of what to do.
The plan is basically to stay in Kuta/Legian for a few days then maybe head over to Sanur then up to Ubud before finishing up in Lovina before doing one back to Java. I can change this to suit though as nothing is booked.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Pollycat

Definitely spend a bit of time in Ubud.

Is Besakih on your list to visit?
Tanah Lot?

What is the attraction in Lovina?

pborojon

Mr_Lahey wrote: »

I rocked up in Bali last night and woke up this morning to realise I am in Kuta.
So a huuuuuuuuuge thankyou to Incapuppy for being such a darling and convincing me to head down here. It is awesome

A quick look in the usual LP and Wikitravel has shown that really there doesnt seem to be a great deal to do here, which is great, but I am pretty much all beached out from Thailand so am wondering if anyone can give me some good advice of what to do.
The plan is basically to stay in Kuta/Legian for a few days then maybe head over to Sanur then up to Ubud before finishing up in Lovina before doing one back to Java. I can change this to suit though as nothing is booked.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

What about a villa in Seminyak? Shopping and some excellent bars and then back for a dip in the private pool!!

Ooooh and La lucciola for a meal at sunset!!!

Mr_Lahey

Thanks.

The attraction with Lovina is the dolphins and the black volcanic beaches. Also i heard that the best snorkelling is on the North coast.

Besakih is something im considering but ive heard the hassle of getting there and whilst your there not being worth the effort???

Incapuppy

I realise that this may not be relevant as you may have already done stuff/moved on from Kuta by the time you read this, but here goes.

Kuta and Sanur are both at the southern end of the island nearest the airport for onward travel, so if you are planning to stay in Sanur it would make sense (to me) to do that last before you head off again. Are you still going to Lombok, out of interest?

Have you done/are you still doing Borobudur and Prambanan? You obviously need to take things on their own merit but if you have seen this and also having recently 'done' Angkor Wat then I'm not sure anything else can quite compete with the sheer awesomeness of these two places. Having said that, there are some incredibly beautiful temples/sights in Bali.

I'm not sure what you mean about the hassle of getting to Besakih? I've not travelled much in Asia, but certainly the roads in Bali are, for the most part, better than most I have encountered in Sri Lanka, so quit moaning and get sightseeing!

If you don't already possess them, get a cheap sarong for each of you for visiting temples, I found at some places that it was still considered respectful to wear a sarong/sash even when wearing full length trousers and it will save you from having to 'hire' one once there.

I have not seen and done all of this (gives me a good reason to return) and all links have been randomly googled:

The kids would probably love the water park at Kuta:

http://www.waterbom-bali.com/

You are best placed from Kuta (or Sanur although this is further away) to see the coastal temples of Pura Uluwatu and/or Pura Tanah Lot.

http://www.edwebproject.org/bali/gallery/tanahlot.html

En route either way between either Kuta/Sanur and Ubud you can see the temple of Pura Taman Ayun at Mengwi and there is also a monkey forest (plus temple) at Alas Kedaton.

http://www.edwebproject.org/bali/gallery/mengwi.html

http://www.balistarisland.com/Bali-Interesting-Place/Alas-Kedaton-Monkey-Forest.htm

From Ubud you can spend a nice hour or two at the bird and adjacent reptile park at Rimba (some nice 'hands on' opportunities for the kids with both birds and reptiles. Komodo dragons if you haven't already seen them in Java.

http://www.bali-bird-park.com/aboutus.html

From either Sanur or Ubud (Ubud nearer) we didn't visit but you could go to

Bali Zoo

http://www.bali-zoo.com/

or Bali Safari and Marine Park (not cheap for all the 'add ons' tho)

http://www.balisafarimarinepark.com/BaliSafariFrontPage.php

The main elephant safari park at Taro which features a beautiful herd of rescued Sumatran elephants is nice, and whilst all proceeds go to a great cause it is VERY expensive compared to other elephant rescue places we have visited in Asia

http://www.balistarisland.com/Bali-Adventure-Sightseeing/BAT-Elephant.htm

I would not recommed any other elephant visit/ride places that drivers may try and take you to simply because AFAIK there are concerns about animal welfare at the other sites

We liked the tombs at Gunung Kawi, not a huge site but a long way down (and even worse back up!) among some beautiful scenery and not far from there the holy spring water temple Pura Tirta Empul

http://www.balistarisland.com/Bali-Interesting-Place/Gunung-Kawi.htm

http://www.balistarisland.com/Bali-Interesting-Place/Tampak-Siring.htm

Pura Besakih, the biggest and 'mother' temple (a must see for Bali in my opinion) is best visited from Ubud

http://www.balistarisland.com/Bali-Interesting-Place/Besakih-Temple.htm

and whilst doing that combine it with a drive up to Kintamani for the views over to Mount Batur (volcano) and Lake Batur beneath it

http://www.balistarisland.com/Bali-Interesting-Place/Kintamani.htm

From Lovina (if visiting again I would definitely include stays near here on the north coast or north east coast to see more of the less developed Bali) or en-route between Ubud and Lovina go and see the 'floating' temple Pura Ulun Danu on Lake Beratan/Bratan (spelling?) very scenic and surrounded by pleasant gardens

http://www.balistarisland.com/Bali-Interesting-Place/Beratan-Temple.htm

http://www.edwebproject.org/bali/gallery/bratan.html

and I found it fun to bathe in the holy hot water springs at Air Panas Banjar

http://www.rumahkita-bali.com/en/album/p034.htm

Ubud, of course, has the Sacred Monkey Forest (with temples)

http://www.monkeyforestubud.com/

The old royal palace Pura Saren Agung

http://www.travbuddy.com/Puri-Saren-Agung-Ubud-Royal-Palace-v8056

the water palace Pura Taman Saraswati

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pura_Taman_Saraswati_(Ubud,_Bali,_Indonesia).jpg

and loads more besides.

That should do you for starters! I have already emailed this to you so hopefully you'll see it soon either way.

TTFN x

Incapuppy

PS: some I have already covered but there is also the super-duper handy list on TA

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g294226-i7220-k3372299-Up_dated_Things_To_Do_List-Bali.html

Pollycat

Wow, fab info from Incapuppy. :T

Hope you have (or plan to see) seen Borobudur & Prambanan, definitely worth it.

Prambanan had suffered an earthquake last time we visited (Sept 2007) so some of the buildings were roped off but still worth seeing.

Even if you have seen these, Besakih is so very different, I agree with Incapuppy - it's a 'must-see'.
Although there are people who want to sell you stuff or want to give you a guided tour, we found a firm 'no thanks' managed to give them the message.
I'm sure you've experienced much worse hassle in your travels.
The view up to Mount Agung is stunning.

We also liked Lake Bratan (referred to I think by Incapuppy as Lake Beratan) as a stop-off on a day tour.

Incapuppy

Pollycat wrote: »

We also liked Lake Bratan (referred to I think by Incapuppy as Lake Beratan) as a stop-off on a day tour.

Oooh, yes, I think it is Lake Bratan, I took Beratan directly from my locally produced free map of Bali! I will go and amend spelling, thank you! Have also PM'd you

Mr_Lahey

What can I say!

Thanks IP for probably the most useful post ever posted on here! Thanks also to everyone else who helped!

I am sat with a bottle of Bintang and will be putting all the recommendations into some sort of manageable plan.
We havent yet done Yogya, from Jakarta we came right along the North Coast via Surabaya in a bit of a hurry tbh. But our flight back to Singapore is from Yogyakarta so the plan is from Bali to head to Probolinggo for Bromo and then to Yogyakarta for Borobodur and Prambanan.

I am the sort of person who judges each place on its own merits and i tend not to compare places. So whilst the temples of Angkor amazing, whilst there i didn't say, compare them with the Pyramids of Giza, which imo are amazing, but overated. When we go to a country i hate nothing more than getting home and someone saying "did you do so-and-so?" and me saying "no" To that end we try and do everything we can, obviously we can't do 'everything' but we try

Thanks again for the advice and take care

:beer: