We met up with our English-speaking driver at 8.30am (after breakfast at Kuta Beach Club) at our hotel lobby. I have booked for his services via email before reaching Bali and he charged Rp 400,000 per day (around 10 hours) which includes 7 passenger vehicle with air-con, driver, gasoline and parking fees. After engaging 2 full days of his services (visiting around Bali), I found him to be honest, polite, safe (driving), punctual and willing to accommodate (change of plans, itinerary taking more the 10 hours, etc). Highly recommended! I forgot to take a photo with Ketut but I will definitely use his services again when I travel to Bali the next round! His contact details are below:
Driver: Ketut Darmayasa
Email: ketut_balidarma@yahoo.com
Hp: +62 85237151520
Today’s itinerary will be:
- Ubud
- Tegallalang Rice Terrace
- Kintamani Volcano
- Coffee Plantation
- Uluwatu Temple
- Jimbaran Bay (Seafood)
First stop – Ubud market. If you are interested in cultural shopping, you may visit Tohpati Village (hand-made Balinese batik), Celuk Village (Silver craft centre), Lodtuduh Village (painting craft) and Mas Village (Wood carving) while on the way to Ubud.
Food and drinks stall in Ubud market.
Ubud market- Balinese bamboo wind chimes.
An overview of Ubud market. It was slightly drizzling when we were there. π
Ubud market – wet area where many food products are sold to the locals.
Balinese performing their morning prayers at a temple located at Ubud market.
Warung Babi Guling Ibu Oka at Jl. Tegal Sari No 2. Ubud. It was not opened yet when we arrived so we waited around for a while. It’s better to be early than late as they close once they sell out for the day. By the way, Warung Babi Guling Ibu Oka was also recommended by Anthony Bourdainβs No Reservations
We got a table inside and made our orders – Daging Babi Guling Rp 40,000, Sprit (drink) Rp 7,000, Fanta (drink) Rp 7,000 and Krupuk (crackers) Rp 7,000.
Daging Babi Guling Rp 40,000 at Warung Babi Guling. This is superbly tasty! Yum yum! We only ordered a small portion to share as we wanted to go on tasting other delicacies.
Next, we ask Ketut (driver) to bring us to Bebek Bengil (Dirty Duck Diner) which was located a stones throw away at Padang Tegal, Ubud.
The interior of Bebek Bengil (Dirty Duck Diner) – very spacious area with Indonesian-styled seating on a raised platform. Fantastic setting and ambiance!
Famous Bebel Bengil Crispy Duck Rp 68,000 at Bebek Bengil (Dirty Duck Diner). This rocks!
We also ordered Barbecue Pork Ribs Rp 65,000 at Bebek Bengil (Dirty Duck Diner). I still prefer the Bebel Bengil Crispy Duck! π
Other then the above, we also ordered 1 Avocado Juice Rp 24,000 and 1 Mango Juice Rp 26,000. Total for the meal is Rp 211,365 (including 5% service and 10% tax).
While eating halfway, it started to rain and we got stuck in the our pavilion so we really took our time to consume our food. For every pavilion, I noted there was 2 waitresses around waiting for any call for service. When it was raining, they also quickly help to lower the blinds to shield us from the splashing rain. The rain was big but short…and we were able to continue with our journey.
Next destination, we went to Tegallalang Rice Terrace.
Tegallalang Rice Terrace – offering a spectacular view of rice terraces.
Tegallalang Rice Terrace is also known for having the longest row of art shops in the whole of Bali. I had initially planned to have lunch here but we were too full after the breakfast at our hotel and snacks at Warung Babi Guling Ibu Oka and Bebek Bengil (Dirty Duck Diner). Haha!
Next, we went to Kintamani (Mount Batur), which is an active volcano and it has erupted about 24 times since year 1800 and still active up to now. On the right side is Lake Batur, the largest lake in Bali and is used as an irrigation source. With the beautiful panorama and cooling weather, it is clearly the must-visit place for tourists!
For those more who are more adventurous, you can try trekking at Mt. Batur to catch the sunrise, you start the trek around 2am and trek for 3hours before reaching the optimal point for watching the sunrise. I wanted to plan for this but had violent reactions from my travel mates. Haha!
Following, we went to a Oka Agro Wisata Bali (Farm / Coffee plantation) at Br. Temen, Susut, Bangli (Jurusan Tampaksiring – Kintamani) Bali. Here you can see a Balinese roasting out Bali Coffee.
Guess what? The famous coffee seeds that are digested and then dumped out by Luwak (Asian Palm Civet). From left to right, coffee seeds that are dumped out, coffee seeds that are cleaned and coffee powder (roasted and grounded). I didn’t dare to open the container which has the dumped out coffee seeds to take a whiff. Haha!
We were given some samples for tasting. From left to right, ginger tea, lemongrass tea, chocolate, Bali coffee and ginseng coffee. I find all of them nice! By the way, they also sell the powder here so if there is anything to your liking, you can buy it. We bought 1 packet of 450g natural lemongrass tea (100% organic) at Rp 180,000.
Free Bali tobacco for anyone who smokes! Natural as well! ^^;
There is a kept Luwak (Asian Palm Civet) for all visitors to view. The Luwak must be sniggering that all these folks are eating my dump! Wahaha!
Since we are here, just gotta try the Luwak Coffee at Rp 30,000 per cup. I thought it was very aromatic but too heavy for my taste but nevertheless, it’s still a very good coffee! My friend said it was not his cup of tea, of course it’s not, because it’s a cup of coffee! Wahaha! Corny joke… π
Uluwatu Temple – Please take off your glasses, hats, earrings, hair pins or anything loose. Otherwise, the monkeys around will snatch it away from you!
Fantastic view of the cliff and the ocean.
Uluwatu Temple, built on the cliffs of Indian Ocean.
Here comes the monkeys…there are many of them and they are very fast! If they managed to snatch anything away from the tourists, there are some locals around to help recover the item by feeding the monkeys. In return, they ask for tips from the tourist when they are returning the item. This incident was witnessed by me!
Pura Luhur Uluwatu is one of Bali’s kayangan jagat (directional temples) and guards Bali from evil spirits from the SW, in which dwell major deities, in Uluwatu’s case; Bhatara Rudra, God of the elements and of cosmic force majeures. Visitors are not allowed into the temple’s compound.
Look at the amount of people around to catch the sunset. The further end is a circular stage where many people are gathering around to get good seats to watch an art dance called Kecak Dance, which is held every night at Uluwatu Temple. It costs Rp 70,000 and starts at 18οΌ00.
Sunset at Uluwatu Temple (landscape).
Sunset at Uluwatu Temple (portrait).
Sunset at Uluwatu Temple (portrait & using dynamic mode).
Sunset at Uluwatu Temple. The sun is dissappearing soon and we chose to leave before the rest of the tourists move off to avoid any jam in the carpark.
Finally, it dinner time and we headed off to Jimbaran Bay for seafood. We took a while to locate the Lia Cafe Jimbaran (my choice as it’s reasonably priced) as our driver wasn’t too sure of the place. The other place in Jimbaran Bay, which I will try if I have more time will be Sharkey’s Seafood.
Fresh seafood for selection at Lia Cafe Jimbaran.
You dine at the beach area overlooking the sea. For those who are able to come earlier, you can catch the sunset from here too!
Too dark here, so I have to use the flash to show you what’s on the table. π We ordered a large Bintang beer here for Rp 30,000.
Here comes our side dishes – soup, salad, potatoes, rice, vegetable and 4 different types of sauce.
Lia Cafe Jimbaran – Paket (package) B consists of fish (0.5 kg), crab (0.5 kg), prawn (7 pcs), clams (7 pcs), 2 soft drinks, soup, salad, potatoes, rice, vegetable, 4 different types of sauce and dessert (fruits) for Rp 200,000. My friends had this!
Lia Cafe Jimbaran – Paket (package) C consists of lobster (0.5 kg), crab (0.5 kg), prawn (7 pcs), clams (7 pcs), 2 small bintang beer, soup, salad, potatoes, rice, vegetable, 4 different types of sauce and dessert (fruits) for Rp 290,000. My partner and I had this! We both love it!
I think we had dinner for almost 1.5 hours and Ketut (driver) waited patiently at the carpark for us to finish. By the time he sent us back to hotel, it was already 9.40pm and over 13 hours since he met up with us in the morning at 8.30am. No complains from Ketut. Superb attitude!
Passing by the hotel bar area and there was a live band going on. It was a Saturday night!
The receptionist at Kuta Beach Club told us that our room have been changed to a double bed configuration. They have previously told us to pack our luggage and they will move it to the new room once it’s ready (since we are out). So here comes the photos of the room…the table lamps are of different colour…
Kuta Beach Club – Standard Double Bed room. Well, I got the room (at a good location) at around S$100 per room per night so it’s decent enough for me but my partner was complaining about the dirtiness of the washroom, the bedsheets, mosquitoes, etc, etc, etc…
Kuta Beach Club – our double bed room is on the ground floor as opposed to the twin bed which was on the second floor. I believe all room types comes with their very own private balcony for relaxing but this particular location is good as it faces the swimming pool!
The next day, Ketut (driver) will be meeting us at the lobby at 9am. The itinerary is as follows:
- Jatiluwih Rice Terraces
- Pura Ulun Danau (Lake Bratan)
- Pacung Rice Terrace (Lunch)
- Gitgit Waterfall
- Pura Tanah Lot (Watch Sunset)
- Dinner
Please do check back again!
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