Bali - The Island of Gods, Culture & Nature

We visited Bali for a few days and the traffic reminded us of Bombay and Delhi. However, the temples, culture and nature in Bali is stunning and the beaches (although crowded) gave us beautiful sunsets. 

The mountains were visible from Sanur beach, where we stayed.

The fishermen, walked into the sea with their fishing rods and caught massive amounts of fish. Shallow waters allows them stand and fish.

If one get a chance to walk along Sanur Beach, do visit the Turtle Conservation Centre.

Indonesia has 6 types of turtle species and 4 of them were found in Bali.

Sunset at Kuta Beach.

A small video to showcasing the hustle bustle around southern Bali Area. Things to do:

1. Walk along the Sanur beach

2. See the water spray and lights display on the beach

3. Visit the turtle conservation centre (kids would love it, during the feeding times)

4. Visit the number of small temples around the area & see the beautiful temple gates

5. Go to Kuta for an evening sunset

6. Go to Uluwatu for the view of the temple and the cliffs

When walking around the Sanur village, one can admire the beautiful gates each home has. Most homes have this beautiful gate and then a small temple and a house (where they live) inside the four walls.

We also saw a Shivling in Sanur. 

Location: Prasasti Belanjong Pillar

You can also visit many temples around the area and admire the colourful idols. However please dress up decently.

The South East Asian make the scariest Indian mythological figurines. 

Another home, with a remarkable gate!

We admired these gates and the gate keeper!

We also went to Uluwatu Temple. They don't allow you to visit the temple from inside, but you can admire the figurines and the cliffs. 

Cliffs of Uluwatu.

A scary monkey statue!

We were fortunate enough to get lovely sunshine, but the heat & humidity was killing us.

Blue skies and incredible waves.

The monkeys stole my wife's prescription sunglasses and they had to be bribed to give it back. It cost her RP 50K to them them back! 🤣

We then went to Ubud. The home of Yoga, YingYang, Cacao Ceremony, Sound Baths, Vegan food, pretentious millennials trying to "fit in the local culture" and scooter traffic. 

Another temple and a beautiful gate.

Saraswati Temple in Ubud, it's worth the visit for it gardens and they will not allow you to enter inside the temple.

The actual temple, from outside.

The Ubud Palace.

We were lucky to be in Bali during the Galungan and Kunigan festivals. The have these long bamboo decorations called - Penjor all around the town.

Some of them are quite impressive.

Nature is still raw in some places. As soon as you leave the towns of Ubud, Uluwatu, Sanur, Cangoo, etc; you do find a lot of nature growing wild. 

There are actual rice fields within Ubud.

We also visited the Besakih Temple. Its on the foothills of Mount Agung.

Location: Besakih Temple

We again, were not allowed inside the temple. 

I think it is right approach by the Balinese people to avoid tourists to enter temples. They want to completely the situation of "one crazy person"!

The dancers wore stunning colours for the festival. You can se tourist admiring the occasion from the steps, but were rightfully not allowed inside.

The Besakih Temple is a complex of many temples. 

Their main temple is the Shiva Temple in the middle of all the temples.

A video of that day and our visit to the temple.

Bali would not be Bali, without the terraced rice fields!

We visited Jatiluwih Rice fields. This is a long drive from Ubud, but was worth going through the villages and towns en-route. This is also a UNSECO World Heritage Site, so worth the visit. It costs around £3.5/person to enter. 

Location: Jatiluwih Rice Fields

We reached there quite early, around 9:00 AM, and there was just another couple walking around before us.

Any shade was welcome!

We also saw the Mount Batukarun in the background.

The crowds start arriving around 11:00 AM.

A small video showing our drive and visit to Jatiluwih!

On our way back, we went to Leke Leke Waterfalls. The entry fee is £2.25/person.

You keep walking for about 15 minutes, you hear the waterfall but only see it at the end. 

A small video showing our visit to Leke Leke Waterfalls.

Vietnam: Folie à Deux

 We did get a 2nd chance to visit our favourite country on the trip! And off we went to Da Nang on a flight from Manila. 

One can't not visit Hoi An, if one is in Da Nang! The town centre was as beautiful as it was on our previous visit.

and extremely clean and picturesque with the millions of hanging lanterns.

...and as the even set in, the boats came out in numbers in the river.

One must try to be here at 6:30 PM every evening.

The rides are for ∂120K (£3.80) per person.

We then managed to go to Nha Trang and stay there for a while. The view from our hotel window in the morning was absolutely stunning.

...and the full moon night was magnificent too.

We didn't realise that at one time Nha Trang had a huge Hindu community. We visited the Po Nagar Temple on the hill.

The Hindus still pray here and the Shivling signifies it.

The place has gone through a lot of renovation recently and will surely become a big site for the tourists.

Renovated temple.

Hot Pot! One of the best ways to share a meal! Or not!

We also went to the Long Son Pagoda! 

One can see this Buddha Statue from far and across town.

We did see a lot of Korean and Chinese tourists here.

We walked back from the Pagoda to the hotel and saw this statue. It does showcase, how symbolism is important for governments to put across their point to the people!

Nha Trang beach. Water is cold here during the April sunshine. 

We went snorkelling around. But the cold water wasn't very comfortable for us. We did manage to catch few fish though.

The umbrellas are for ∂30K!

I managed to not freeze!

I did see this CocaCola lady on our boat!

Lunch was served & watermelons were munched!

When in Nha Trang, try to visit the Doc Let Beach. It is about an hour's drive from Nha Trang. The water is blue, the waves are calm and warmer waves. 
Location: Doc Let Beach

We also went to this coffee shop near our hotel a few times and this greedy cat kept searching for food in my bag!

Location: Kh'om Coffee

Now, she didn't find and food, but she asked me to move and then slept near me!

The shop is run by these 20-21 year old kids. They are pretty relaxed, but professional. Worth the visit. 

We then packed our bags and went to the Southern Hemisphere!