Driving around Bali: a travelogue (Dec.2009)

This was written for a friend who will be traveling to Bali soon, that's why I have included all kinds of details about accommodation, etc.; I apologize to all those who only want to read about travel adventures!

I had visited Bali only briefly during my travels in 1998 (I spent the majority of my time in the Maluku and Banda Islands - awesome for snorkeling at that time, but who knows what has happened since?).
This time I wanted to explore Bali by car, and I think I got a really good deal: 200 US$ for 16 days (pick-up and drop-off Denpasar airport, payment in cash at pick-up), info@balicar.com
For this price the vehicle was a very basic, a bit rickety 4WD Suzuki Katana - but it had air-con (which I was happy to have in the lowlands), turned out to be reliable, very robust, and really economical in fuel consumption.

my  faithful vehicle in front of the giant tree in Gesing village

If you want to drive, it's a good idea to get a very detailed map before you leave home; I did not see any really good maps in Bali (or let's say, I did not want to waste time in horrible Denpasar or Kuta to look for one).

If you don't want to drive yourself, you can go anywhere by taxi: the prices are reasonable, particularly if you have two or more people to share.

There are shuttle services between all the tourist destinations (used by tourists, generally with air-con), plus public buses and minibuses, usually without air-con, used by the locals (very cheap, but info about them often not easy to find, because of course the Balinese want to make money with the tourist shuttles).
Changing money: there are moneychangers and ATMs in all the tourist areas, and it's advisable to change enough money before you go into remoter areas. Exchange rates tend to go up and down a lot, so it's always a lottery. In any case, the rate gets worse with the distance from Denpasar.

In my opinion Denpasar, Kuta, Sanur, and the Bukit Badang peninsula are best avoided; I arrived early enough in the day to be able to drive to Ubud for my first night.

 Ubud Monkey Forest


Ubud is still quite charming, although there is too much traffic in the whole area, because it's close to Denpasar. However, it's a good central place for excursions to the surrounding sights: the temples of Goa Gajah, Tirta Empul, Taman Ayun for example.

Goa Gajah

I also enjoyed the Kecak and Fire Dance performances:

temple musicians

Day trips from Ubud: Tanah Lot on the west coast, and the Luhur temple district halfway up  Batukau Volcano (north of Tabanan).
The Luhur Batukau was my favorite temple in the whole island, because of its location, the beauty of the architecture, and the lack of tourists and therefore lack of touts to drive you crazy with whatever they want to sell you.
The best time to visit the popular temples is very early morning, before all the craziness starts - if you can make it so early...
I did make it early in the morning to Tanah Lot, which faces west and will be totally overrun at sunset.

 fighting cocks in their separate cages

In Ubud I stayed at the Nuriani Guesthouse, which I really liked, because it's a genuine family compound, complete with family shrine and everything; it's co-owned by a Dutchman and a Balinese family. http://www.nurianiroofgarden.nl/p

Padangbai

Padangbai is a rather quaint place for being the main ferry port for Lombok; it's actually just a small village with a row of hotels and guesthouses, plus the ferries going to and fro.
On the way to Padangbai is Goa Lawah, the Bat Cave Temple - very impressive!


Unfortunately I have to insert a warning here: GARBAGE ALERT!
If you read or hear people rave about the Blue Lagoon (eastern end of Padangbai), the White Sand Beach (western end of Padangbai) or Pasir Putih aka Virgin Beach (at the end of a very bad road that turns off at Yasri, south of Amlapura): be prepared to be disappointed.
All three beaches deserved the attribute "paradise" before they were discovered, and if you practice selective perception you'll still be able to see glimpses of it; but now, to get to the Blue Lagoon you have to follow a (potentially very pretty) path that is accompanied by garbage all the way; the hinterland of White Sand Beach is a developmental wasteland: a half-built 5-star resort, abandoned and already falling to pieces; and Pasir Putih or Virgin Beach? It's a crying shame: one of the most gorgeous beaches in Bali, only accessible through HEAPS of garbage behind the ugliest beach warungs I've ever seen. I cried with frustration and fled...

Offerings to the sea, near Ujung

From Padangbai I continued toward Amlapura and the Water Palace at Ujung, which was not as interesting as the Water Palace of Tirta Gangga (on the road between Amlapura and Amed/Tulamben), where you can watch the huge fish in the ponds and swim in the cool water of the Royal Pools (but do not venture into the toilets/changing rooms, because sadly enough they are disgusting - change in your guesthouse). Otherwise the place is charming, and I returned to it twice.

Tirta Gangga Water Palace

There is a nice selection of accommodation around the palace, from the luxury hotel inside the grounds, to basic backpacker places or mid-range bungalows just outside or in the village below.

 I stayed at the Puri Sawah Homestay (across the bridge, up a steep road), which has a beautiful setting and good food.

breakfast at the Puri Sawah Homestay

My next destination was the east coast, which is rather dry and therefore not so attractively lush as the south or inland areas like Tirta Gangga. I had read about snorkeling off the beach (as opposed to having to go on a boat tour) in the Amed area, and yes, I did find the Pondok Vienna Hotel in the village of Bunutan/Lipah where you step into the water right from their terrace. The hotel was originally owned by a guy from Vienna, but is now run by a Balinese. Not the best hotel or best snorkeling I've ever seen, but pretty nice. http://members.aon.at/viennabeach/

view from my balcony at the Pondok Vienna Hotel

Bunutan Beach

 my favorite internet cafe

the grocery bike

Balinese gas station and clothes line          

            









I also checked out the shipwreck at Tulamben, north of Amed; it's close to the beach and not very deep down, so diving is really not necessary; touts will tell you you need a guide, but you don't. Once you've made it to the beach (which is not easy because the hotels there make it look as if it was all private - just walk through!) follow the divers, or their bubbles, and you'll find the wreck. Again, it's not that spectacular, but not bad either. Tulamben is not a very large place, really just a row of hotels along the beach near the wreck. There is a kind of semi-public car park where the tours park their vans, and a few more private-looking roads to hotels. I did not stay there, but if you wanted to you'd have a wide choice of accommodation.

Next stop: Besakih, the "Mother Temple", on the slopes of Agung Volcano - very important for the Balinese, but also very touristy. The touts were extremely annoying, but I did get rid of them eventually.

There were huge crowds of worshippers, and ceremonies going on all the time - fascinating!

It happened to be a Sunday - I don't know whether this was the reason, or whether it's like that every day.

Then I went on to the Batur Volcanic area.

If I had only one place in Bali to go to, this is it!

First of all it's incredibly beautiful, particularly if you are a volcano freak like I am; secondly it's pleasantly cool (elevation of the crater lake villages about 800m, of the crater rim settlements about 1300 m); thirdly there are some corners which are not overrun by tourists, and never will be - I think...
To start with, the drive along the crater rim offers breath-taking views:

then you plunge down into the caldera, with several pretty villages and colourful vegetable fields on the lake shore.

 In Toya Bungkah on the western shore there are "holy" hotsprings (including a bathing area), but my favourite place is the village of Abang on the eastern shore. The road goes steeply up and down along the slope of the caldera, sometimes high above the lake (one of the wildest roads I've ever driven, and that means something, believe me!).

family vehicle on the way from the market in Kintimani to Abang

When I got to Abang, Nyoman and his family spotted me immediately (not very difficult, as there were no other tourists in sight anywhere) and took me to their guesthouse,"Nyoman's Lodge", the only one in Abang.
 It's a two-storey traditional Balinese house that sleeps 6 people, with a kitchen, 2 bathrooms, 2 balconies,

dining area,







stunning views of lake & volcano,

and the local gamelan orchestra practicing in the evening...
For all this, including breakfast, I paid 10 Euros a night!

Nyoman is a woodcarver by profession (this is the door he carved for the lodge) , has also worked as a driver and guide for various touristic facilities, and speaks quite good English. Both he and his wife were born in Abang and grew up there.













He took me on an excursion to the traditional village of Trunyan, which is famous for its cemetery: only accessible by boat, with the traditional open-air 'burial' - that means the wrapped dead are left above ground. Sounds gruesome, but wasn't really; the weirdest thing was that there was no smell - no idea why not.
The most exciting part of it was the trip to and from the cemetery in a very narrow two-person dugout.

the entrance to Trunyan cemetery








The excursion continued with a visit to a shamanic temple tucked away in the forest up on the crater rim, a strange place not mentioned in any guidebooks.






If you make your way to Abang by yourself, Nyoman or a family member will spot you (and you will recognize the lodge: it's the only traditional building in the village - yes, such a shame how the concrete 'culture' has taken over!); if you need transport he will pick you up from wherever you want (even from the airport in Denpasar, I understand).
nyomans_lodge@yahoo.com, tel. 081338795146

I loved the house, the people, the village, the lake, the volcano - everything!
You can also go trekking in the area (for example climb Batur Volcano), but I didn't, because I had not brought any equipment.

The drive down from the Batur Volcano to the north coast is beautiful, through lovely villages and along ridges and valleys, all the time in lush vegetation, with amazing views.
Lovina Beach is a popular place and quite pretty, but the small reef there isn't really worth it if you are an avid snorkeler. The boat trip to see the resident dolphins was worth it, however - we saw many of them, and quite close, too.                                            
Lovina sunset

 Lovina sunrise

 The best place for snorkeling is Menjangan Island in the NW corner of Bali, part of the Bali Barat National Park. It's uninhabited, and you have to take a boat tour. All the hotels in the area offer tours, but if you have your own transport the best idea is to go to Labuhan Lalang, the place where the NP boat tours start (it's not a village, just a small place with a pier, a few restaurants and the NP info booth). I got there fairly early and waited around a little until 3 more people arrived who I could share with, otherwise the trip would have been quite costly (you pay for the whole boat + NP guide if you are by yourself). The reef wall along Menjangan is spectacular, and the 3-hour trip was well worth it.
 Menjangan: deer coming to the beach in order to cool down









There is no accommodation in Labuhan Lalang; I stayed in Pemuteran, which is a bit further east and has several luxury resorts and all kinds of other accommodation. I don't generally stay in luxury hotels, but in Pemuteran I kind of fell into one:   
Taman Sari Cottages at the western end of the village, adjacent to a not-yet-developed beach and a conspicuous hill. I intended to have a look at that hill and ended up at the entrance of the hotel - wanted to turn around immediately because it looked way beyond my budget, but the doorman insisted on showing me around. And as the standard bungalow was not, contrary to my guess, 150 but only 45 US$ a night (discounted from 50$), I decided to splurge!
http://www.balitamansari.com
The place has beautiful grounds, the restaurant right on the beach (for breakfast!), and the very interesting Pemuteran Reef Restoration Project directly off their beach (no boat necessary for snorkeling).

Pemuteran sunrise

Their restaurant is way overpriced, however; you can get very nice food much cheaper at the friendly Susu Restaurant a little further east in the village.
There are many temples in the area that are worth visiting; my favourite one is Puri Pabean east of Pemuteran: it's on a rocky knoll that juts out into the sea and offers a stunning view of the NW coast all the way to the volcanoes of Java - perfect for watching the sunset. Forget about bringing a picnic, though: the monkeys living in the temple will snatch away anything edible faster than you can blink an eye! (I learned that the hard way: loss of a mouth-wateringly ripe avocado).

 Puri Pabean Monkey King

From Pemuteran I did a little backtracking all the way up to another volcanic area with 3 crater lakes, Tamblingan, Buyan, and Bratan; the volcanoes are older and therefore more eroded, that means not quite as spectacular as Batur - but still very pretty.

                                                    Lake Tamblingan

Lake Buyan

My experience with the Taman Sari resort emboldened me to bargain with the manager of another luxury place, the Anaheim Hotel up on the crater rim above Lake Buyan. The price he quoted me initially was $125, and I ended up staying there for $55 (that I was the only customer on that day may have helped).
Just west of Lake Tamblingan, on the steep slope of the volcano, is the pretty village of Munduk (nice guesthouses with beautiful views); below Munduk is a turnoff to the south, into a lovely valley covered with palm trees and rice fields. A sign at the turnoff says "Giant tree, Gesing Village" - and really, it's one of the most gigantic trees I've ever seen (I think it's a banyan tree). When you look up from the bottom of the valley you can see it at the top of the hill, towering high above all the other trees:

Durian fruit sold along the Munduk road; supposedly the fruit with the worst smell in the world, but also with the most delicious taste

 Pulukan-Pupuan road: Bunut tree (a type of Ficus)

trees you can see on many roads 

The last few days of my time in Bali I wasted on the Bukit Badang peninsula; really, I should have stayed up in the mountains or on the north coast - or maybe somewhere on the west coast, where there are some attractive beaches, too (I only saw them when I was driving past).
I was too nervous about getting to the airport in time, so I wanted to stay fairly close - but one day would have been enough: the peninsula is ruined - resorts everywhere, many of them half-built, or even abandoned - too much traffic, too many drunk machos...
The last natural beach seems to be one that can only be reached via steps built into the cliff below Thomas Homestay (between Uluwatu Beach and Padang Padang), as seen here from the terrace.