Stop two on our honeymoon: Bali! Bali is a small beautiful island of Indonesia. It is well know from the book and movie Eat Pray Love. Bali was featured in the movie as love and once you have been there you will see why!
When we first got to Bali we wanted to go explore the island on our own. We rented a scooter from our hotel for only $4 for the full day. It took about five minutes to find out why it was so cheap. Be careful if you do not know what you are doing it can be very dangerous to get around the island. With such narrow roads and the lack of rules on the road it can easily get overwhelming. So we decided to book a private tour through Bali Discounts. They were great! they picked us up from the hotel and transported us around to see the various attractions around the island. We did two days of tours with our guide that w highly recommend you do! We did the Tanah Lot Sunset Tour and the Bali Elephant Ride and Ubud Tour. We only had a limited time in Bali so this was a great way to see what the Bali has to offer.
Tanah Lot Sunset Tour:
This was the first tour we did in Bali and it was a perfect way to start our trip. Your trip does not start until the afternoon, so you are able to enjoy your hotel or spend the morning soaking in the sun at a local beach. Once it is time to go they pick you directly from your hotel!
The first stop on your tour is a beautiful Hindu temple, Taman Ayun. You can access this temple on your own but I recommend having a guide. There is so much significance in every structure. We love to learn about different religions and cultures so this was a very interesting place.
After the temple, we decided to take a detour and get Kopi Luwak. If you have never heard of this, it is coffee that is part-digested coffee eaten and defecated by the Asian palm civet. It sounds gross but definitely worth a try.
Next place on the tour is Alas Kedaton Monkey Forrest. This forrest is home to hundreds of grey long-tailed macaques. As soon as you enter the forrest you will be assigned a guide that will walk you through the forrest and is equipped with a stick to defend you from the monkeys. For a small fee you are able to feed the monkeys. Be aware, the monkey will jump on you and take any loose personal belongings. At the end the guides take you to their individual shops. Don't worry you do not have to buy anything.
The last attraction on the tour is the Tanah Lot Temple. This is a little rocky islet that can only be accessed during low tide. Unfortunately you are not allowed on top of the rock because only prayer may be allowed in the temple. You arrive to the temple about an hour before sunset as the crowds begin to funnel in. This will give you plenty of time to explore the numerous shops in the local market, peak into the numerous tide pools, or walk up and down the coast. Once you see the sun setting pick a spot and get comfortable. It is absolutely breath taking. Definitely a must see while you are in Bali!
Our tour is concluded by nice dinner as you view of one of Bali's many rice paddies field. Then they took us back to our hotel.
Bali Elephant Ride and Ubud Tour:
After a great first tour, we were very excited to go on the second tour. We were fortunate enough to have our same tour guide from the previous day. He was great and really allowed us to make our own schedule and if we wanted to stop some where he would allow us to stop.
On day two we ventured up to Ubud. We started our tour in Bali Elephant Camp. This was a great opportunity to get up close and personal with a Elephant. You go on a 30 minute ride around the property accompanied by a guide. The staff was great and seemed to really enjoy taking care of these beautiful creatures. We also had the pleasure of feeding and petting a baby elephant! If you get motion sickness easily, I do not recommend.
After the elephants, we visited the Tegenungan Waterfall, which involved a long hike down to the waterfall and back. Be prepared for the climb up after the waterfall, but the view was definitely worth it! There are stops along the way where you can take pictures with different swings or signs that say 'I love Bali'.
Just like that it was lunch time. Our tour guide recommended babi guling and I am glad he did. Babi guling is suckling pig, which is what Ubud is know for.
After lunch, we traveled to the heart of the Ubud Village and went to the Ubud Palace. The city of Ubud is crawling with tourists due live performances and miles of shopping in the local market. The market had every souvenir imaginable and with loads of competition, this can be one of the cheapest places to get your souvenirs and gifts. Make sure to haggle for everything. You will end up getting ripped off if you don't give a counter. You will have two hours here to explore the palace and market. Which is plenty of time to see the city.
The next stop on the tour is the Tegalalang Rice Terrace. i am sure you have seen these rice terraces on every girl's Instagram who went to Bali. You are able to walk through the rice terraces but make sure to bring change. You have to give a donation to the owners of the terraces. Their are multiple checkpoints along the way you have to donate as well. Their are multiple checkpoints beacuse the land belongs to multiple people. The hike is beautiful and plenty of opportunities to get your best Instagram pic.
After we went to all the touristy areas we still had time with our tour guide so he decided to take us to a local beach where we were able to enjoy the tranquility of the ocean while we sipped on our fruity beverages.
Our trip to Bali was one I will not forget. If you only have two days in Bali, I would definitely recommend these tours. You get to experience so much of Bali in such a short amount of time.
Feel free to check out our other stops on our honeymoon:
Stop 1: Singapore
Stop 2: Bali
Stop 3: Cambodia
Stop 4: Bangkok
