Bali 2010 : Kuta, Ubud and its surroundings 3D4N

Itinerary summary:

Day 1

Arrival - free and easy in Kuta

Day 2

Pasar Seni Sukawati - Tampak Siring - Mount Batur - Tegal Lalang - Goa Gajah - Ubud

Day 3

Pura Taman Ayun - Tegal Sari Bali Coffee - Pacung - Bedugul - Pura Tanah Lot

Day 4 

Ubud Market - Souvenir shop - Malioboro - Nusa Dua - GWK - Uluwatu - Jimbaran

My maiden trip to Bali was back in 2010.

It was a free and easy trip and we hired a driver to bring us around for about 50000 IDR per day (driver fee has since increased by about double).

Upon arrival, we checked in to Yulia Beach Inn for a night stay before moving to Ubud the next day. Since we do not have much planned out on the first day, it was pretty much venturing about Kuta.

Bought some local drinks and snacks upon arrival - finally had a taste of the infamous Teh Botol (Jasmine tea)!

And these are the souvenirs from the local stores. The tooth fairy box is just too adorable!

The offerings they make, which you can notice everywhere you go. It can be found outside residences and businesses.

We visited Pasar Seni Sukawati the next day. You can find all sorts of souvenir here, from food stuff to clothings. But be sure to have some haggling skills because you will definitely need to bargain your way to avoid getting ripped off!

The driver also brought us to Tampak Siring, which is another temple to visit around. (After a while, the temples all look alike to me :P)

And we also visited Kintamani area which highlights the beauty of Mount Batur. Usually, if you hire a tour guide, they'll drop you off at the restaurant nearby which serves buffet lunch, but it wasn't really tasty.

After lunch, we made our way to Tegal Lalang to have a view of rice terrace. We met this beautiful local girl trying to sell us souvenirs at the site. Though we didn't buy any from her, she was very photogenic and really likes to be in the photo thus we took a picture of her and some pictures with her as well.

After Tegal Lalang, we made our way to Goa Gajah, another attraction in Bali. It's another temple but for each temple, there is actually a distinct feature which you can find. For this, I believe it's the bath area within the temple compound which really impresses upon me.

If you haven't already read it somewhere, Bali is an incredible place to get art pieces. The local art scene is getting more well known now, and often, you'll find tourist carrying bulking pieces of paintings home. It's actually getting them at a steal, considering the price that you will have to pay for.

Pura Taman Ayun is another popular site. There are many temples in Bali, known as pura. Usually, the drivers will bring you to the must-go places and there, you'll be charged a ticket price and see loads of locals trying to sell tourists souvenirs and local made goods.

As with any trips, if you hire a driver or a guide, they'll also bring you to places where they'll earn commission. The good thing about planning your own trip is that you'll be able to minimize that as much as possible. For this trip, we were brought to Tegal Sari to see how they produce kopi luwak (civet coffee) as well as meeting the civets themselves.

There are also fighter cocks in the compound and we were lucky to see some of them (although they were in cages).

Our driver then brought us to Pacung where we had our buffet lunch. There were a few locals playing local instruments outside the restaurants, and if you ask, they'll be glad to swap their place for you to pose with their instruments!

We also visited the famous Bedugul and had loads of fun taking pictures there. I think our driver knew that we were a bunch of girls who love taking selfies so he gave us ample of time to do so.

We spent the evening waiting for the sun to set at Tanah Lot. It's just beautiful, the sight of the setting sun, surrounded by water and cliffs although you'll also be surrounded by a huge crowd.

On our final day, we had a substitute driver whom we have been recommending to our friends. He's a little quieter than the other driver but he seems to us as a far more honest guy. We asked him to bring us to somewhere the locals usually have their meal and he brought us to Malioboro. This is seriously my favourite meal in Bali which I cannot find anywhere else in the world. The chicken was cooked with high pressure so it is like soft shell crab kinda food. Totally yummy!

We spent the afternoon baking under the hot sun and enjoying the view in Nusa Dua. It is probably one of the more luxurious area in Bali where the famous hotel establishments set up their businesses in Bali. Most people who live in Nusa Dua will just spend all their time maximising the amount spent on the resort or villa. So if this is your cuppa tea, go for it! We love the beaches though. They're really clean and pretty.

Next stop is GWK which we wouldn't really recommend. There isn't much to see except some 2 huge statues in the vicinity. You could hire a segway to go around because the area is big but otherwise, it's not really worth the money.

On our way to Jimbaran and to the driver's house (because he said he lives nearby and we thought it might be a good idea to see how the Balinese lives), we saw some local ladies. It always amazes me as to how they can balance such heavy stuffs on their head without holding on to it. The driver's house was very bare. They live near Jimbaran but not where all the luxuries are. Instead, it was a single storey terrace house with minimal furniture and plain cemented floor. We were greeted by his family and his little son who was really glad to have some candy and teh botol with us.

Before we end the trip, we also visited Uluwatu, infamous for its notorious resident monkeys. The monkeys were said to be so atrocious that they'll snatch the bags of visitors and purposely dropped it off the cliff before their eyes. So our driver reminded us to keep our bags safely in the car before we proceeded to the temple area. It is also advisable to not wear accesories such as sunnies, dangling earrings, necklaces for fear that the monkeys will attack you.

We ended our trip with a supper at Jimbaran, a famous place to have dinner on the beach. It was a perfect ending to the trip with fireworks and musicians entertaining us all night long.