Photo by Hendra.

My fiancée and I were in Bali recently for our wedding photoshoot, which is home to some of the most majestic landscapes that I’d ever seen. The first sight of the sun rising over Mt Batur’s Pinggan Village took my breath away. It’s not Photoshop Magic; it really does look just like this in real life! 

Walking through Mt Batur’s lava fields, with a smouldering volcano in the not-so-distant horizon. Photo by Hendra.

Contrary to what people had warned us about, six days turned out to be way too short to do everything that we wanted to do. In the Ubud leg of our trip, we spent a day going from waterfall to waterfall. There’s quite a few waterfalls in the area, and we shortlisted our options to Tegenungan Waterfall, Kanto Lampo Waterfall, Tibumana Waterfall and Krisik Waterfall. 

Kanto Lampo Waterfall

Cafe hopping is out. Waterfall hopping is in.

Tibumana Waterfall

Because the waterfalls were located in the more remote areas of Bali, I gotta say, I didn’t have much expectations for lunch. In fact, I brought along medications in case some of us came down with food poisoning. To my pleasant surprise, we came across a stretch of restaurants in the vicinity of Tibumana Waterfall. Not only was Warung D'Carik Tibumana a pretty photogenic place to sit around, with its plots of rice paddy fields and a rope swing, the food was pretty good and the entire restaurant was remarkably clean. 

It turned rainy after lunch and unfortunately, we couldn’t make it to Krisik Waterfall. The path here was also more treacherous than the other waterfalls, which we realised when we were each provided a length of wood to help make our way through the terrain. Despite the heavy rain, we still gave it a go. We persevered through the muddy grounds, the calves-deep river stream crossings, and a mountain valley that was so dark, we had to use the torch function on our phones to see what laid beyond the pitch blackness. But we finally turned around when midway through the valley, the stream that we were waddling in had swelled up to twice of its original height in a matter of minutes from the downpour. We simply did not feel safe, from the possibilities landslides or flash floods to water predators. As we returned back to the entrance in our thoroughly-soaked clothes, and much earlier than expected, the caretaker of the waterfall offered us water, probably out of pity. 

Tegallalang Rice Terrace

Ubud is also renowned for their gentle rice terraces. Tegallalang Rice Terrace is the most well-known one, though the grey skies and the rain also did the rice terrace no favours when we reached. I guess this is another place that we just have to return another time too. Fortunately, we had better luck with the rice terraces of Campuhan Ridge Walk located just across our Airbnb, which we got up early enough to visit while the morning mist was rising off the trees. When the morning sun finally broke through the horizon to illuminate parts of the field, well, that gave us the best shot of the rice fields. 

Campuhan Ridge Walk

Of course, these trips were the results of meticulous planning and a great deal of effort. At the very least, you’ll need to make arrangements for a day driver well in advance. In order to catch the sunrise on that cliff in Pinggan, we left our hotel in Kuta at 4am. Going to the waterfalls was even more of a hassle: specialised gear were required! Slippers and regular shoes are a no-no, as the trails leading to the waterfalls may involve muddy and/or rocky terrain, with water levels coming up to mid-shins. You’ll need water shoes, or in a pinch, a sturdy pair of crocs. It's best to wear a swimsuit and carry your phone around in a waterproof cover, because you will get soaked. And being considerate, we got a couple of beach towels to wipe ourselves down and to line the car seats. But I promise, it’s all worth it… at least, to do visit once. Next time I’m coming to Bali, I’m chilling. But only because I had experienced ‘em before. 

Near human-height waves at Seminyak

We also spent part of our trip on the beach-and-sun region that is Seminyak. It’s a popular tourist spot, and based on how tall the waves are here, it’s no wonder why Bali is a surfing destination. We didn’t have as good a stay in Seminyak as we could have but it was 100% my fault. I skimped on the accommodations here and got us a cheap resort. Hiring a day driver and going off to far-flung locations costs a pretty penny! Our beach had pretty coarse sand. And our room, while large and clean, was pretty spartan and the AC wasn’t powerful enough to cool our room down. But, keeping the accommodation costs low kept us within our budget while traveling to more destinations, such as going to Mengening Beach (Pantai Mengening), which was hands-down the most glorious beach that I’d been to. 

Photos by Hendra

The sand was soft, it was fine, and it was black. For an afternoon, we treaded on the black sand at low tide, watching the wet sand ripple outwards from our footsteps. We hopped across the rocks dotting the landscape as dark blue waves break upon the sand. It was not the easiest or most accessible place to get to, but like many sights in Bali, it was well worth the effort.

Another region was Uluwatu down in the south. We went to Waterblow, named after how the incoming tides would splash upwards violently upon the coast and soak the rocks with mists of sea spray. Even at low tide, it made for some spectacular views. The Uluwatu Temple is a Hindu temple built at the edge of a cliff over the roar of the waves. I was quite keen to see the interiors of the Balinese Hindu temples. But disappointingly, tourists weren't allowed to enter any of them. The sights from the top of the stairs were pretty good though. 

Traveling around Bali took us longer than I thought it would. Traffic was real bad! Double the estimated time that Google thinks you’ll take, and you would have a better idea. Bali is a huge island connected only via narrow two-way roads, often times with one lane in each direction. There’s absolutely no expressways, and traveling at 40km/hr is probably as fast as you can get even during off-peak periods. Driving in this part of the world can be nerve-wrecking. We watch friendly chatty drivers behave really aggressive on the road, cutting off traffic and trying their best to stop other drivers from turning into their lanes. Our driver slowed down when he approached a congested point of a road, then as he changed his mind, made a three-point-turn in the face of incoming traffic. I thought that Egypt, Taiwan and Hanoi were bad, but they at least had highways.

My one gripe about Bali's scenic sites was that they appeared under-maintained and had quite a bit of litter around. It was a surprise to see all the litter around after charging visitors on the entrance fees. What was being done with the collected money? In other countries, the sites with entrance fees are the cleanest and the best-maintained ones. But recently, I had thought about this topic a little more, and revised my opinion for the better. Bali’s a place that doing its best trying to cope with the constant flow of tourists all year round (I’m sure it’s not the locals doing all these littering…). In this regard, this new tourist levy seemed to be a step in the right direction to raise funds to preserve the environment and these sites for their future. The levy weren’t enforced when we landed at DPS. (Possibly some teething issues for a newly established program?) But, we were glad to have paid. It’s not that much, but every little bit matters for the future you want to have. 

As great as the sceneries were, the food was just as incredible. It’s no exaggeration to say that I woke up every morning looking forward to breakfast. My favourite breakfast is their smoothie bowl, which is essentially the ingredients of a smoothie sliced up and served in a bowl. I haven’t met one that I didn’t like, but I particularly love the one from Nook in Seminyak. Bali takes their coffee very seriously and most brunch places had the most wonderful brews. I bought bags of coffee beans from Sensa Koffie Roastery, where the entire of its ground floor was occupied by coffee bean roasters (the smaller, second floor was where the cafe was located.) In hindsight, as I tried to pack the 3 kilos of coffee beans into my luggage on my final night, it’s possible that I might have gotten a bit carried away. But all’s well that ends well. 

Sensa Koffie Roastery

We also had a good time at Seniman Coffee, where the baristas were making manual brews with the coffee syphon. Each serving took about 10 minutes to make, and I watch as they take a tasting sip from every batch before service. Mad props to them. 

While Indonesia is overwhelmingly a Muslim country, Bali is predominantly Hindu. As such, there are some quirks unique to Bali, for example a burgeoning bar culture, as well as pork-based dishes that can’t be found elsewhere in the country. We certainly had our fill of pork here. Upon touching down at the airport, the first order of the day was to make a beeline for Rumah Makan Babi Guling Karya Rebo to have the local favourite dish Babi Guling. It’s a no-frills joint, those kinda place where you first have to secure an empty table before queuing up for food. I like it. 

We each had a portion of their babi guling, with several cuts of their traditional roasted pork prepared in different ways and served with rice. There’s also the mandatory piece of crackling roasted pork skin of course, two types of pork skin crackers, sate (grilled meat on a stick) and slices of pork liver. My favourite was their flavourful spicy shredded pork. The bowls of pork soup that came alongside our dishes were so hearty and rich, they could be used as gravy over the rice.

The cooks hard at work in the kitchen grilling sate over charcoal

And can I just say, the people in Indonesia are almost to one, incredibly nice. While waiting for the food to arrive,  I was wandering around the grounds outside of the kitchen. When I came across the cooks and mimed taking pictures of them, they broke into large grins and waved me into their kitchens, which isn’t something that happens all that often.

Some of the best grilled pork ribs in my life were here in Bali. Warang Kayana in Ubud is a local gem that was introduced to us by our makeup artist. You know it’s a local-only place when the waitstaff had difficulty with English. When we reached, a cook was stationed at the storefront grilling up a storm over charcoal. Don’t let the smoke deter you! Past the smoke, on the inside of the store, it’s peaceful and smoke-free. The prices are more than reasonable, and the ribs were with no exaggeration some of the best ribs I’ve eaten. It was so tender, each rib bone slides right off the meat with no resistance. 

There were plenty of Indonesian dishes that I’ve not heard of before, which had now entered my vocabulary simply because of how delicious they were. Ayam Gerangasem Bali, chicken stewed in traditional Balinese spices, is one such dish, and the version from Warung Makan Bu Rus was terrific. 

Another word that I’ve added to my vocabulary is Mandhi, which is a Yemeni dish that translates to smoked rice. Abunawas isn’t a Balinese restaurant, but the Mandhi they serve may have been the most fragrant, the best-est rice that I’ve ever had. The accompanying chicken was tender and flavourful, but the star of the dish was the rice, and it truly was very, very good. 

We also had a good time at place Bale Udang Mang Engking, which serves traditional Balinese fare. The restaurant is set around a large koi pond, and we dined in huts overlooking the pond. It’s popular with the locals, and around another table, a family was celebrating a birthday. Roasted chickens are served hanging from a metal rack, with its juices drippings into a bowl of sambal chili.

By our last night, we went to Locavore To Go, a casual, sister restaurant to the fine dining restaurant Locavore. This is their butchery-focused stop, serving mainly burgers. We were famished when we reached, having just returned soaked from our trip to the waterfalls and Tegallalang Rice Terrace. This restaurant was just what we needed. The burgers hit all the right spots, and the Loaded Fries? Pretty amazing. Afterwards, we walked up the street to Night Rooster, a cocktail bar that is also from the Locavore group. (As an aside, I’m not sure if I’ve said it here before, but I’m rather enamoured with the craft of bartending. I cook, and I bake, and I cannot imagine the complexity in a field where using a different brand of ingredient like sugar or flour, would result in a totally different taste.) 

That said, I’m not much of a bar person. But this place was simply in-cre-di-ble, and was the perfect send-off for our last night. I’m a huge fan of the specific genre of chill-spooky, (which would explain why Scooby Doo was my favourite childhood cartoon. Does anyone watch Supernatural? As an adult, I enjoyed every minute of their Scoobynatural episode.) At Night Rooster, they absolutely nailed the chill-spooky atmosphere, and their folklore-inspired cocktails, which highlighted local flavours and ingredients, were so on point. They also get top marks for presentation. Sure, a flaming pine cone served alongside one drink may be gimmicky. But it was fun, and we had fun. You would too. 

Bali was charming, and even better than what I had imagined. I can’t wait to return.