Bali Adventures: Exploring the Island of the Gods

I look outside the airplane window and take in the beauty outside. The sky is painted a pale blue and is accompanied by hardly any clouds. I step out of the plane with frizzy hair and sweaty palms. I let the humidity fill up my lungs as a gentle smile creeps up my face. What a beautiful place, Bali.

DAY 1: We start our day at 9:00 by driving down to Ubud to explore the famous rice fields. Whilst driving down, we stumble across a Batik art museum that is conducted by local Balinese people. Batik art originates from Java, Indonesia, and is created by using wax as a dye and painting specific brush strokes to create a beautiful piece of art on cloth or fabric. I was lucky enough to admire a group of Balinese women creating these works of art up close. These paintings require time and patience which is what I admire most about this art form.

After witnessing this beautiful art form, we continued our journey to the Ubud Rice fields.

These rice fields were breathtaking and gave me a deeper appreciation of the natural beauty of Bali. The fields were filled with bright green planes of grass and tall, lush trees that towered over you as you walked through. I also had the pleasure of swinging through the rice fields on a giant swing. Later that day we visited the monkey forest also located in Ubud.

As the name suggests, this forest was filled with monkeys. These monkeys were very cheeky and often stole people’s glasses and food, luckily my family and I weren’t attacked by the playful animals.

After our adventures at the monkey forest, we ended the night with dinner at a traditional Balinese restaurant. I had never tried Balinese food before so this was a very different food palette from what I am used to. This cuisine mostly includes many vegetables and rice. Rice flour is a key ingredient in many of the dishes and desserts which happen to be my favorite part of my meal. I ordered a mini rice cake for my dessert which was accompanied by coconut and pandan syrup.

DAY 2: On our second day in Bali, we decided to climb Mount Batur. Mount Batur is approximately a 4-hour climb up and down the mountain depending on your hiking speed. Since Mount Batur has a splendid view of the sunrise, we decided to wake up early to see it.

The hike uphill was extremely strenuous and required immense strength, but with great persistence, we made it to the top just in time to gaze at the spectacular sunrise. The sky was painted a deep blue with slivers of orange and yellow peeking through the middle. The hike uphill was very rocky and slippery not to mention extremely cold, which made it difficult to find the motivation but with help from our gregarious tour guide, we were able to reflect on the great climb we had achieved. Mount Batur is also located near an active volcano and we were lucky enough to experience its natural hot springs after finishing our climb uphill. The warmth was soothing and with this boost of serenity and incentive, we were ready to climb down. The climb downhill was much easier and less intense, the weather started to warm up and it was much easier to make our way down the mountain.

Many lush trees surrounded us as we climbed down which made the experience much more enjoyable and breezy. Mount Batur was one of my favorite tourist attractions we visited because of the simple beauty it enticed and the feeling of accomplishment when we finished the climb.

DAY 3: Day 3 was one of my favorites because we explored Bali more and learned more about the culture and tradition. Our day started with quad biking on the roads of Ubud, which is a popular means of transportation in Bali. These bikes are wider than regular motorbikes and have more manual features. We rented our bikes from a quad bike company that provided a tour guide, as well as a mud and road trail to ride on. The bikes were fast, making braking essential, and we rode through the busy streets of Ubud. The mud trail was more challenging due to its density, but we eventually got the hang of it. The experience was both beautiful and enjoyable. Following quad biking, we traveled to Uluwatu to visit a Hindu temple and watch the traditional Balinese dance known as Kechak. The temple was breathtaking, and it was fascinating to see how Hinduism was celebrated differently in Bali compared to what I’m used to. Bali’s unique interpretation of Hindu stories and deities was especially intriguing to me.

After visiting the temple, we viewed a Kechak dance performance in front of the temple which also had a picturesque view of the sunset. The Kechak dance revolved around a Hindu story about the gods Rama and his wife Sita. Sita was captured by the treacherous Ravana. I was blown away by the talent and stage presence these talented dancers presented. I noticed how sharp yet gentle their movements were which helped the audience get a clear idea of how the storyline was progressing. A unique feature that the Kechak dancers incorporate into their performance is the organic sounds and songs that are used for the dance. There is a group of males that all sing in unison and change their tempo and rhythm depending on the storyline and what mood needs to be conveyed to the audience. The performance was a delight for me as it provided insight into how various nations showcase their affection for the performing arts.

DAY 4: On day 4 we visited an island off an island called Nusa Penida. We caught an hour-long cruise to the island and when we landed it felt completely different from where we had been already in Bali.

The weather in Nusa Penida was much warmer and more humid, although, towards the end of our trip, it did become dewier and started raining. In Nusa Penida, we first explored a few beaches. These beaches were breathtaking, the warmth of the sun made your toes sink deep into the sand and the ocean created a calming environment when the soothing waves crashed at the tips of your feet.

After visiting our first beach, we decided to make our way down to a more popular one to relax and finish off our day. We kicked our feet up and relaxed near the beach for a couple of hours before making our way back to our cruise to head home. After getting back with frizzy hair and tanned skin, it’s safe to say it was an amazing day.

DAY 5: Today we visited the Mt. Lempuyang temple located 2 hours from Ubud. As this is one of the most popular tourist attractions, there were many local Balinese people selling goods and food next to the car park and up the mountain. The Balinese people’s way of living, by selling food and resources was very inspiring to me because it gave me a new perspective on how certain families made a living abroad.

We had to climb a steep slope for five minutes from the car park to reach the entrance of Lempuyang Temple, but travelers who preferred motorbike transport could pay for it. Upon entering the temple, we were greeted with holy water and given a sarong and shawl to show reverence towards the temple and its people. The Lempuyang Gate of Heaven, the most popular tourist attraction photo location, welcomed us. However, we had to wait for three hours to capture a photo in front of the gates, which gave us enough time to explore the other temples on the mountain. After taking our photos, we bought a refreshing coconut drink from a nearby shop outside the temple. Following our visit to Lempuyang Temple, we headed to Tanah Lot to witness the breathtaking sunset, which reinvigorated us after the exhausting journey. There were several shops selling souvenirs that we could explore. Bali was an unforgettable experience, and I’m eager to discover more of its hidden gems.

-Maya Bharadwaj is a 14-year-old travel enthusiast from Melbourne who is deeply passionate about writing and journaling.